{"id":36592,"date":"2017-07-25T06:21:46","date_gmt":"2017-07-25T06:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=36592"},"modified":"2017-07-25T06:21:46","modified_gmt":"2017-07-25T06:21:46","slug":"if-youre-using-a-wheelchair-while-traveling-how-to-get-help-resolve-problems-and-keep-your-cool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/travel\/if-youre-using-a-wheelchair-while-traveling-how-to-get-help-resolve-problems-and-keep-your-cool.html","title":{"rendered":"If you’re using a wheelchair while traveling, how to get help, resolve problems and keep your cool"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re using a wheelchair while traveling, how to get help, resolve problems and keep your cool<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

If you’re using a wheelchair while traveling, how to get help, resolve problems and keep your cool:-Brian Mattson\u2019s mom is 93. The Agoura Hills resident wrote to On the Spot to talk about a less-than-satisfactory experience his mother had with getting special assistance at LAX.<\/span><\/p>\n

She\u2019s mobile, but she cannot walk the great distances often required by airline travel.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d say his mom\u2019s experience was the exception to the rule, but recent reports from a friend who had suffered a complex orthopedic injury suggest otherwise, as do the experiences of others (I was married to one) who use a wheelchair or have mobility issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here is what you need to know to ensure your trip is as smooth as possible:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25baIf you need a wheelchair or use a wheelchair, make sure you indicate this when you book your flight.<\/span><\/p>\n

You should reconfirm this before the original flight as well as any connecting flight. But know that this doesn\u2019t ensure help will happen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25baKnow too that in most cases, the people who provide the wheelchair service are not airline employees but contractors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTraining is required for airline and contractor personnel who deal with the traveling public,\u201d the Air Carrier Access Act noted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Good to know, but that doesn’t guarantee anything.<\/span><\/p>\n

In my experience, the communication with those contractors about who needs help, who needs urgent help because of flight times and how to prioritize those often contradictory needs varies from good to whatever the polar opposite of stellar is. Thus…<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25baThe key to chaos control in travel is to build in lots of extra time. You can be stranded in a wheelchair-no-man\u2019s-land (the hubs and I often sat for 30 minutes or more) waiting for what seems like eons if you are trying to make a flight.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25baThe extra-time dictum isn\u2019t just about timely transport to gates, said Cory Lee of the website Curb Free with Cory Lee: Sharing the World From a Wheelchair User\u2019s Perspective.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI frequently fly out of Atlanta and the way that parking is set up for the international terminal, you have to ride a shuttle bus from the parking deck to the terminal,\u201d he said in an email.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not all the shuttles have wheelchair lifts, he said, \u201cso it often takes up to an hour for an accessible shuttle to appear.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve nearly missed flights in the past just because I was waiting on an accessible shuttle.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I’ve started doing in the past few months is calling the airport shuttle number about 20 minutes before I get there so that I don’t have to wait as long.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25baLee\u2019s proactive approach is designed to keep the unexpected from wrecking his travel plans, but even the most proactive planner may need help. Do not, not, not back down from asking for assistance. You have a legal right to it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWheelchair assistance is indeed mandated under the Air Carrier Access Act,\u201d said Candy Harrington, a co-founder of Emerging Horizons, which she describes as \u201can accessible travel information source.\u201d She is also the author of a dozen books (the 13th is in progress) designed for \u201cwheelers and slow walkers.\u201d Destinations include Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia and other national parks, as well as books on accommodations, road trips and more.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you are talking about an arriving flight,\u201d Harrington said in an email, \u201cthen the rule is that the wheelchair has to be there by the time the last person is off the plane for \u2018prompt\u2019 wheelchair assistance\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes a passenger would sit on an empty airplane waiting for a wheelchair for up to an hour \u2014 and sometimes they’d miss the connecting flight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25baThe carrier law says that \u201cairlines must obtain an assurance of compliance from contractors who provide services to passengers\u201d \u2014 but again, that doesn\u2019t mean it happens.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Diana Dawson, a longtime colleague and journalist, was recovering from an accident that shattered her ankle, she needed to take a business trip from Austin, Texas, to Tampa, Fla.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what she wrote in an email to me, which would have been comical if it weren\u2019t so disturbing:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChanging planes in Houston, no one came to wheel me up the ramp so the \u2026 pilot did it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he got to the top [of the ramp], he said that was where his area stopped.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut then he got frustrated because there was no one to take me to the next gate. He had a little time between flights, said he could stand to stretch his legs and took me himself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Stars for extraordinary customer service; no stars for the failure that created the situation.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Dawson changed planes in Houston on the way home, \u201cthe wheelchair never arrived so I had to walk up the ramp to get to one. They then plopped me in one, but there was no one to push it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA guy finally arrived, was worried I\u2019d miss the plane and literally ran to the next gate pushing the chair.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe parked it beside the wall in the preboarding area.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the gate agent called our flight, he asked that all preboarding people come in front of him and line up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe saw me parked against the wall a few feet from him, but he just ignored me. Finally, again, I had to get up and walk down the ramp.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Houston and many other airports, we have a problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFlying as a wheelchair user continues to be a hassle and timeliness doesn’t always seem to be a priority to the airport staff,\u201d Lee wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25baAgain, call. A lot. Make a pest of yourself but pleasantly so.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn the day of, or even the day before, your flight, call and let them know that you’ll be flying out and need assistance,\u201d Lee wrote in his email.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRequest that someone meet you at the ticketing counter if you need assistance throughout the airport, or at passenger dropoff if you need a wheelchair.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25baKeep your phone charged and at the ready, even after you\u2019ve made those preflight calls because you may need yet another number that\u2019s not reservations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBefore flying anywhere, research to see if there’s a number online for the airport’s special needs department,\u201d Lee wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n

Enter it into your phone so you can call immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a starting point, see Cheapflights\u2019 Tips for Travelers With Disabilities or go to the airline\u2019s website.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25baIf you\u2019re struggling to get what you need, ask to speak with a complaints resolution official, or CRO.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf an employee doesn’t know who the CRO is, then ask to speak to a supervisor,\u201d Harrington wrote, \u201cas they most certainly know who the CRO is; they may even be one.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn any case the CRO is specially trained to solve disability related problems and has the authority to do so (under the Air Carrier Access Act) \u2014 even over airline contractors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25baAs with most adventures and misadventures, one key to dispute resolution (after asking nicely and making sure you\u2019re armed with information about the law and about services) is to keep your cool.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard because our emotions and intelligence live in the same house, but you can control which one will triumph in a supercharged situation.<\/span><\/p>\n

One suggestion from the Mayo Clinic website on anger control: Identify solutions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of focusing on what made you mad, work on resolving the issue at hand,\u201d it says. \u201cRemind yourself that anger won’t fix anything and might only make it worse.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Odd, because we just want someone to make it better. But these days, the architect of your well-being often is you. Which, when you think about it, is a pretty good advocate to have.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/travel\/la-tr-spot-wheelchair-20170723-story.html<\/span><\/p>\n

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