Tanic

I've never seen this happen before, but hope it continues.

This weekend there was the usual hoard of pre-boarders in wheelchairs who congregated in the first few rows of the 800. As the airplane pulled into the arrival gate, the Newly Healed sprang up and waited in the aisle to deplane. The FA remembered who they were, and ordered them to return to their seats and wait for the wheelchairs to arrive. She reminded them that it was "too dangerous" for them to be standing in the aisle in their medical condition.

The reaction was priceless as the rest of the pax deplaned while they waited for wheelchairs!

Blitzjb

Yes!! another SW miracle flight!

joshua362

Great, finally some reaction to the madness. Maybe a small fee, refundable deposit or scarlet lettering to identify those who asked for an inbound wheelchair would help curb the abuse.

I gotta assume a large percentage have figured out its a great way to beat security lines causing the only one-way need. But the airline has to supply and pay for the service in both directions?

And finally, why is this a free service anyway? When the day or incident comes that I am a slight burden to others, I'll be glad there is an accommodation option but I wouldn't expect it to be completely free. (I know there is probably some well meaning Federal Act out there that backfires...)

For instance, I can't walk into a doctor's office without insurance expecting free treatment. In fact he'll charge you double for paying with cash. But that's another rant...

justhere

Not sure if that's legal or not. The FA doesn't know what the passengers' medical conditions are so how does she know that it is "too dangerous" for them? Just because someone cannot walk a long distance doesn't mean it's dangerous to stand. There's a word for treating disabled people differently from able-bodied people. Now if only I could remember what it is.


I know people are frustrated with the abuse and I get that. However charging extra might run afoul of the ACAA or the ADA (not sure the ACAA applies in the terminal). Also, I'm quite happy not to use the service. I just need a wheelchair and I'll push it myself.

The problem with the whole "needs a chair to get on but not to get off" is that the two situations are different. Outbound, the passenger has to get from the curb or carpark or wherever they are coming from and navigate through the terminal to the gate. Often that is a fair distance and they cannot easily walk that far so they need a chair.

Getting off the plane they might only need to walk from the door of the plane to the gate area if no chair is available in the jetway. They can sit in the gate area and wait for a wheelchair or cart to either get to their connecting gate or leave the airport.

Not everyone who walks off the plane but used a chair to get on is abusing the system.

rsteinmetz70112

It is illegal to charge extra for accommodations, just like it is illegal to charge extra for "service" animals.

pinniped

The flights to Orlando in particular are miracle flights. They've healed millions over the years.

toomanybooks

Is it illegal to take names and give people the notion that WN is keeping an eye on the miracles?

rsteinmetz70112

Probablynot, but it's probably illegal to do anything about it.

aaronp84

I'll weigh in with my experience last week on Hawaiian Airlines. On each of my 4 flights, the FAs told wheelchair boarders to remain seated to expedite the rest of the passengers deplaning. This was on 717s and widebody A330s. The wheelchair passengers stayed in their seats, and deplaning was much quicker than typical on WN.

jamesteroh

I wish more FA's would do that. And it wouldn't be hard to do on a widebody, if someone in a wheelchair wants an aisle seat require them to sit in the middle row. No passengers would be blocked in that way if they weren't travelling with them.

justhere

The bolded part is illegal.

rsteinmetz70112

Why? The OP is not talking about middle seats, but the middle section of a wide body, which of course doesn't not apply to Southwest..

justhere

The short answer is because it's against the law.

I know he was talking about the middle section. But middle section or middle seat, it doesn't make a difference. The airline cannot stop someone from sitting in any particular seat based on their disability (exception is exit row).

The ACAA says "Airlines may not keep anyone out of a specific seat on the basis of disability, or require anyone to sit in a particular seat on the basis of disability, except to comply with FAA or foreign-government safety requirements. FAA's rule on exit row seating says that airlines may place in exit rows only persons who can perform a series of functions necessary in an emergency evacuation."


So to require someone to sit in the middle section because of their disability would be the airline keeping someone out of a window seat (for example) and is therefore illegal.

WestCoastFlyer

I see this frequently and am happy that WN pays attention to who pre-boards and actually prohibits them from sitting in the exit row, despite the magical healing powers of the jetway. Yes, I'm annoyed by those that abuse the process.

However, after spending a couple weeks traveling with mom who is disabled let me share a few facts with those that think that pre-boards should be in the back.

First, unless it's a very significant disability, that wheelchair only takes you to the door of the aircraft. Mom has severe COPD and walking a few rows is fine. Walking 30 is out of the question for her. I'm happy to share stories of other passengers who we saw who practically crawl into the aircraft.

Waiting to get off last. Not a problem as long as the flight terminates at your final destination but not when there is a plane change. The next time you fly, try waiting to be the very last person off the aircraft. Hang around a few extra minutes after the flight. Then head to your connection, waiting for every elevator, cart, or other inconvenience you can think of because running and taking stairs or escalators is out of the question. Hopefully you don't have to use the restroom.

Before you say, leave extra time between flights. Easier said than done when booking online. Especially when that extra delay could cost hundreds of dollars extra. I guess you can call in and pay that telephone booking fee. Here is a hint - elderly or disabled doesn't equal wealthy.

Traveling and being disabled is a huge pain in the .... Traveling with someone who is disabled is also a huge pain in the .... It's also one of the most rewarding experiences to allow them to see the world and to see that there are still people who care about others and go out of their way to help them rather than push them to the back of the aircraft as some type of annoyance.

If someone wants to fake or exaggerate a disability to get the front row on a WN flight that sucks. To punish those who really need those front rows and to get off first (early) for the extra time to change planes is ridiculous.

To the OP it's great that you were able to take advantage of pre-board with your arm issue. I hope that you never have to experience the process with a real disability.

donjo

I was on a flight departing AUS today and there were 15 wheelchairs. I watched many of these people walk up to the gate with no apparent disability, only to park themselves in a wheelchair and wait to be taken on the plane ahead of people who paid to board in the A group. I don't claim to know the personal histories of these folks, but I am a physician and have no trouble identifying someone walking briskly to the gate, only to feign disability to gain an advantage. Sure there are legitimate pre-boarders but this is getting out of hand. When we landed the FA said we only have one person with a connecting flight. She asked the disabled to remain seated to expedite de-planing. Out of the 15 who took wheelchairs on the plane, only 3 required them to exit. I heard the three elderly people in row 1 saying it was a great benefit to get on and off the plane first without paying extra. Really shameful. I respect elderly people and wouldn't mind giving one my place in line on occasion, but do these people have no shame?