Whinge Whinge Whinge
I won't disect all the comments in this thread, however Mr Fearnely is out of line, and out of touch with society.
Firstly,Mr Fearnely should stick to what he understands - and that sure doesn't invove anything about airline operations. There are several factors involved here which have been stated already:
1) Pax wheelchairs don't fit down the aircraft isles, and they don't fit inside DPL's ( Disabled Passenger Lifters which for the laymen are like an elevator which lift's the pax from the ground and almost into the aircraft door and avoids the steps). This occurs frequently with LCC's because they don't always use aerobridges due to flying to cheap ass airports that dont have aerobridges, and boarding is and disembarkation is done across the tarmac and up and down stairs. And yes, some of the airports designs are absolute crap, however the LCC's in their thirst for a quick buck at any expense choose to purposely operate this way.....aagh if only the general population knew !
2) The pax personal wheelchair has to be loaded into the aircrafts container hold, therefore taking the wheelchair at the check-in counter and transferring the pax into the airline's wheelchair creates a smoother and more timely boarding process for ALL passengers.
3) Staff are trained to assist wheelchair pax to the best of the staff's ability. What has yet to be mentioned is that staff are 'damned if they do and damned if they don't' meaning that if you ask the wheelchair pax if they would like assistance, they yell at you and say that you are treating them like a second rate human, or they say you are making out that they are different, or incapable. Then if you don't ask them if they need assistance they yell abuse at you saying that you are discrimatory, that you are uncaring and even prejudice.
So perhaps wheelchair pax could spare a thought for the genuine people out there who are simply trying to assist you, without knowing what it is that you want. Being disbaled certainly doesnt make a person any less of a human being than somebody who can walk, so disability aside,people like Mr Fearnely need to stop acting like complete a#*holes which is what he is for such an outburst. This bloke has a chip on his shoulder that needs removing. Wheelchair or no wheelchair, he is a complete tool.
I have dealt with many gracious, caring,thoughtful and understanding wheelchair pax in my time, and I give credit to all of them who are inconvenienced when they fly simply due to the required logistics involved. It's a pity Mr Fearnely wasn't more like them.
4) This comment is aimed at the LCC's, particularly Senior Management. You have no idea the level of abuse that ground staff receive due to having to work with third rate procedures, third rate equipment, third rate airports so that you can bleed as much money out of the public as possible. You provide the wheelchair pax some basic understanding of what will be required, but you dont outlay the true picture to them. Well now finally, if only for a few days, the true picture is revealed and the negative publicity you are receiving is rightly so, years to late.It is simply that a tool like Mr Fearnely has been the one to bring attention to it.
I reiterate that my comments are not made 'against wheelchair pax', considering one of my closest friends is disabled. My disgust is aimed at the Airlines who dont tell the wheelchair pax the true processes of flying with them while leaving frontline staff to cop abuse day in and day out from the pax, their families and friends. As for Mr Fearnely, again he needs to understand their are two sides to this story and perhaps 'vent' in a more diplomatic and proactive fashion rather than 'simply assuming' that the whole aviation world is against him.