My wife is disabled.She wasn't born that way, nor has she courted disaster or welcomed her condition. Five years ago she was a hard working professional dedicated to her career as a senior personel manager.
Previously, she worked as the senior staff sister in a busy A & E ward until "nurses back" necessitated a change in direction.
I believe she understands people particularly those under great stress for one reason or another, and she has great empathy with you professionals working in the front line of the aviation business and having to deal routinely with the public.
Her disability (Parkinson's amongst other incurable conditions) is not visable to the casual observer, but has left her unable to walk more than 50 yards or stand for longer than five minutes but worst of all has cost her a career and the loss of mobility which most people take for granted.
After the unpalatable truth finally hit home, we made a conscious decision to live our lives as fully and rewardingly as was possible and this included travelling.
Now days a car is a must, together with ownership of a wheelchair, and short trips, viz. mainland Europe, are carried out using car and ferry.Longer journeys to Australia,USA, etc., have been successfully completed with exemplary service from the long haul carriers.We are not stupid and are aware that the cost for this service has been effectively included in our ticket price.
So, at last, I reach the latest Ryanair faux pas!
This issue of who pays for a chair at Stanstead (and others A/P's probably) is not a new thing and has been bubbling for some time, and I believe that Ryanair state somewhere in their T and C's that this is a service which is not provided free of charge. Now, someone has had the backing to challenge Ryanair and has been successful. Great!
Ryanair, displaying childish petulance, retaliate with the threat of a 50 pence surcharge per passenger.Again, great - who cares?
Sounds to me like a result. Ryanair fares remain unbelievably low,comensurate with their level of service, but wheelchair passengers are not penalised.
Finally, to those posters who appear not to live in the same world as me, a few words.
If you wish your views to be taken seriously or treated with respect I suggest writing them in grammatical English (with or without spelling mistakes) and save the txt speak for the chat lines. Failing that you could always buy or borrow a Skoda.
Some posters seem to suggest that some disabled passengers are faking their condition and milking the situation.They should pull their weight a little more and pay for any service received.They may be surprised to know that my wife totally agrees with their views.She is mortified at the attention she gets and horrified at the problems her condition causes other people.This worries her to the extent that she will walk,climb stairs and stand in line whenever possible. I, however, am only too aware just how much this small statement of independance is seriously affecting her declining strength and ability to cope with simple things.......like breathing. The loss of self esteem suffered by the disabled, (and the need for constant attention from other people is a major factor in this loss of independance), is a situation which the normal able bodied passenger cannot begin to understand.
May I humbly suggest that before making rash statements or reaching over hasty judgements a little thought and consideration is used.