Faking disability to board early
May 22, 2013, 7:49 pm
#16
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: JAX
Posts: 142
According to this article, you can "rent" a disabled person for a day at Disney to jump the lines.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/m...ZRkIVc1zItXGDP
The moral compass in this world is sadly shifting the wrong way.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/m...ZRkIVc1zItXGDP
The moral compass in this world is sadly shifting the wrong way.
May 22, 2013, 8:59 pm
#17
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Hawai'i Nei
Programs: Au: UA, Marriott, Hilton; GE
Posts: 7,142
UA treats people like crap in the boarding process. If I weren't 1K anyway, I'd probably fake a disability too when I have a need to board early. They set themselves up for it to some extent by treating people like cattle. Last time I flew I was standing there and there was a family of five who had missed their international connection due to UA indifference and then they were rebooked on a subsequent flight with seats scattered all over (and they had small children). And they just wanted to get on early so they could try to find people to switch with them and the gate agent was like, "Get lost." If it were me, I would have suddenly become disabled and if they challenged me threatened a lawsuit.
May 22, 2013, 9:05 pm
#18
Suspended
Join Date: May 2011
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 1,961
May 23, 2013, 1:17 am
#20
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,919
My mom just broke her leg a few weeks ago and by the time we fly again in just over 3 weeks she will just be out of her cast. So in order to get her over long distances in the airport and not make her over do it she will be in a wheel chair just to be on the safe side but she will be able to walk the short why down the jet way and with in the plane. Would you also deem that as "faking" it?
May 23, 2013, 4:25 am
#22
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Canberra Australia
Programs: QFF
Posts: 31
As a small business owner, with one Disabled parking spot on our small lot, I always wonder what to do when I see someone hop out of the car having just parked in the spot. They usually have a blue badge, but they certainly don't look or behave disabled - and the reason that the spot is the prime spot is to allow people who struggle to move around to be closer.
At the end of the day, I bite my lip and make sure that the check doesn't bounce. Getting involved or saying something is somewhere near 99% downside for me. But it still grates.
At the end of the day, I bite my lip and make sure that the check doesn't bounce. Getting involved or saying something is somewhere near 99% downside for me. But it still grates.
May 23, 2013, 4:37 am
#23
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: YVR
Programs: Aeroplan, AAdvantage
Posts: 2,100
I had boarded as disabled a couple times with a wrist problem where I could not really rotate my right wrist (I have even told the screener when they pat me down and asked to stand with palm up -- that won't happen buddy, you need to live with my right palm down) so putting my carry-on to the overhead bin was more than a bit tricky with only a left hand and a right arm so I decided I fall into the "needs more time" category. Sometimes I was wearing a removable wrist cast sometimes not because it was bloody uncomfortable so what you would've seen is a middle age guy taking out a wrist cast, putting it on and boards as disabled... Of course this doesn't mean some people won't fake it -- but don't be so sure.
Last edited by chx1975; May 23, 2013 at 4:44 am
May 23, 2013, 9:33 am
#24
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 7,560
Just what I was going to say, but you beat me to it.
I have a close friend who is disabled but doesn't look it... who can sit, and stand, and walk short distances looking perfectly normal. When she travels she needs a wheelchair to get to the gate, and she needs to board ahead of others because she can't stand for long. She is regularly being accused of faking it - "you can stand, you can walk, nothing wrong with you".
So - please don't judge people by appearance. There are disabilities that are invisible.
May 23, 2013, 9:48 am
#25
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,574
It's too bad that Fake Disability Guy couldn't have been seated next to Fake Service Dog Guy. Those two deserve each other... @:-)
May 23, 2013, 11:56 am
#26
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: back to my roots in Scotland!
Programs: Tamsin - what else is there to say?
Posts: 47,843
It is true that some people need wheelchairs for long periods, when they can stand or walk for short periods and I try to remember that.
OTOH, there are the 'miracle' destinations known to some airlines - where on boarding, large numbers of passengers require wheelchairs. On arrival, when they would be last off the plane and needing to wait for those wheelchairs to arrive, miraculously, they are able to stand, disembark and walk off without them. Hence they have been miraculously cured of what ailed them on boarding...
OTOH, there are the 'miracle' destinations known to some airlines - where on boarding, large numbers of passengers require wheelchairs. On arrival, when they would be last off the plane and needing to wait for those wheelchairs to arrive, miraculously, they are able to stand, disembark and walk off without them. Hence they have been miraculously cured of what ailed them on boarding...
May 23, 2013, 12:13 pm
#27
Join Date: May 2010
Location: SNA/LAX
Programs: AA Gold
Posts: 128
Wow, this thread has reminded me of my 55-year old aunt. She is in great health and walks for miles every day to workout.
However, when it is time for international travel, she always requests a wheelchair so that she can skip the lines and not have to deal with crowds. It's absolutely disgusting and shameful. It never ceases to shock me when my family goes to pick her up from LAX and we see her being wheeled out of customs in a wheelchair by a nice gentleman who probably has better things to do than deal with this bs.
This sort of behavior takes away resources from the people who really need it: disabled people and seniors. It's unbelievable the lengths some people will go to so that they get undeserved special treatment.
However, when it is time for international travel, she always requests a wheelchair so that she can skip the lines and not have to deal with crowds. It's absolutely disgusting and shameful. It never ceases to shock me when my family goes to pick her up from LAX and we see her being wheeled out of customs in a wheelchair by a nice gentleman who probably has better things to do than deal with this bs.
This sort of behavior takes away resources from the people who really need it: disabled people and seniors. It's unbelievable the lengths some people will go to so that they get undeserved special treatment.
May 23, 2013, 1:07 pm
#28
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 324
) BUT prior to needing the wheelchair, she still had serious stability and endurance issues requiring the use of a handicap space. To the untrained eye, she appeared "fine" (although one might notice she walked slowly and unsteadily, and later on she did need a cane before ultimately needing the wheelchair)So we sympathize with people with "hidden" disabilities. BUT, at the same time, we find it incredibly annoying to go out and find no available spaces but see people virtually running to their "handicap access" car, or people parking in the zebra stripes between spaces (especially the one with the "What Would Jesus Do?" bumper sticker -- THAT was a sight to behold), or getting early boarding but then running off after we land. I don't believe in hell, but if I did I would hope there's a special place for fakers.
May 23, 2013, 1:31 pm
#29
In Memoriam
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Easton, CT, USA
Programs: ua prem exec, Former hilton diamond
Posts: 31,801
Just last week WCBS ran a story about the huge increase in wheelchair requests at the New York Area airports
Airline passengers are often frustrated by the long wait to get through security. However, people seem to be finding a way around it by using a wheelchair, even if they are not disabled.
As CBS 2′s Emily Smith reported on Monday, there has been an uptick in the use of wheelchairs in airports in the Tri-State Area and nationally.
“We’ve handled maybe 100 wheelchairs a year. Now there are some times where we can handle 100 wheelchairs in a day,” Westchester County Airport Manager Peter Scherrer told Smith.
They go on to point out that while more disabled people are traveling, the increase is still above that
The increase is partly because more people with disabilities are traveling, but disability advocates are blowing the whistle on able-bodied passengers who they contend are playing the system to save time or board the plane sooner.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/05/...chair-abusers/
Airline passengers are often frustrated by the long wait to get through security. However, people seem to be finding a way around it by using a wheelchair, even if they are not disabled.
As CBS 2′s Emily Smith reported on Monday, there has been an uptick in the use of wheelchairs in airports in the Tri-State Area and nationally.
“We’ve handled maybe 100 wheelchairs a year. Now there are some times where we can handle 100 wheelchairs in a day,” Westchester County Airport Manager Peter Scherrer told Smith.
They go on to point out that while more disabled people are traveling, the increase is still above that
The increase is partly because more people with disabilities are traveling, but disability advocates are blowing the whistle on able-bodied passengers who they contend are playing the system to save time or board the plane sooner.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/05/...chair-abusers/