Article from: The Advertiser 01 Aug 2006
A REGIONAL Express airline passenger due to have spinal surgery today was yesterday left to lie on an Adelaide Airport pavement for 20 minutes because airline staff failed to meet her with a promised wheelchair.
Broken Hill woman Sher Stephens is unable to walk more than a few steps and needed the wheelchair to cover the 216m from the airline's arrival hall to the airport taxi rank.
Her partner, Paul King, said he had phoned Rex a week ago to request its wheelchair "meet and assist service" at the end of the flight from Broken Hill yesterday morning.
"I need to be in a wheelchair and they (Rex) knew it," Ms Stephens said.
Seeing her discomfort and no Rex staff nearby, another passenger, Kim Behr, went to the main terminal to ask for the wheelchair.
While Ms Stephens and Mr King waited a taxi drove by, but the driver said he was unable to take their fare because he was required to join the queue.
They would need to take the first taxi off the rank, the driver said. "That's a joke," Mr King said.
Ms Behr said that on returning with a Rex staff member pushing a wheelchair, the airline worker had been reluctant to help.
"He said 'we can only do so much, this is not part of our service'," she said.
The staff member had said the couple should "find their own way", she said.
Rex managing director Geoff Breust said the staff member had been spoken to and the original "meet and assist" request had not been forgotten. The airline had two wheelchairs, one of which was being used at the time, he said.
"People need to be a little bit patient," he said.
"We cannot have people just waiting there to provide a service."
The airline had also asked Adelaide Airport Limited for a taxi rank outside its new arrival hall, Mr Breust said.
But an airport spokesman said a suggestion had been made to Rex that it offer passengers a taxi-booking service on departure.
"The airport has set aside a pick-up area outside the Rex arrivals area, which these pre-booked cabs can use," he said.
Mr King said yesterday afternoon he had not received an apology from Rex.
* The Advertiser's transport reporter Anna Vlach was a passenger aboard Flight ZL4817 yesterday morning.
And check out the photo on the following
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...5-2682,00.html
Coincidence the reporter was on the flight?
Sadly the winner should be the pax, as they are the bread and butter.
Will wait and see.
Rock On!