Sitting next to disabled pax
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: United Kingdom
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The airlines I have worked for have required that a disabled passenger is seated in the window seat, so as not to impede the exit of the other passengers in an emergency. However, we would normally waive this requirement if the other people in the row were part of the same group.
I have to admit I would have been surprised that you had asked to be moved. But then I would have expected the crew to ensure that this person was seated in a window seat anyway.
I have to admit I would have been surprised that you had asked to be moved. But then I would have expected the crew to ensure that this person was seated in a window seat anyway.
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: UK
Age: 65
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The one-size-fits-all approach belongs to the last century
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Norfolk
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Thanks TightSlot for asking the question.
At the point of both booking and check-in the staff should be better trained to ask about ability once the pax have declared they have a disability. Taking my acquaintances as an example, they only declare that they have a disability so their spare limbs (for swimming or other activities) can go as medical equipment rather than count against their lugggage allowance as at 5kg+ a pop for a below knee prosthesis it soon mounts up. Their disability has no material impact on their ability to evacuate.
Something simple that banded disabled pax into bands according to abilty wouldn't be too onerous. And most of "us" are used to providing that level of info when booking other services and accomodation. For example, a hotel chain I use offers rooms that are fully accessible for wheelchair users and ones near the lifts for those who don't need the full access but can't walk too far. I'm not so niave as to assume that this would be simple to implement but it's something that could develop over time, particularly for frequent flyers. With an aging population and increasing incidences of disability (in the industrialised countries at least), this may become more and more necessary.
Also the wider industry needs to do some actual research involving diasbled populations in evacuation exercises as from the research I have done, its not been tried much. Although if anyone out there knows more about it I'd love to hear about it.
Shortm - that was a typo on my part, the CC asked me to move as the regs required them to, and fair play to KLM, it was done much more politely than I've experienced in the past.
At the point of both booking and check-in the staff should be better trained to ask about ability once the pax have declared they have a disability. Taking my acquaintances as an example, they only declare that they have a disability so their spare limbs (for swimming or other activities) can go as medical equipment rather than count against their lugggage allowance as at 5kg+ a pop for a below knee prosthesis it soon mounts up. Their disability has no material impact on their ability to evacuate.
Something simple that banded disabled pax into bands according to abilty wouldn't be too onerous. And most of "us" are used to providing that level of info when booking other services and accomodation. For example, a hotel chain I use offers rooms that are fully accessible for wheelchair users and ones near the lifts for those who don't need the full access but can't walk too far. I'm not so niave as to assume that this would be simple to implement but it's something that could develop over time, particularly for frequent flyers. With an aging population and increasing incidences of disability (in the industrialised countries at least), this may become more and more necessary.
Also the wider industry needs to do some actual research involving diasbled populations in evacuation exercises as from the research I have done, its not been tried much. Although if anyone out there knows more about it I'd love to hear about it.
Shortm - that was a typo on my part, the CC asked me to move as the regs required them to, and fair play to KLM, it was done much more politely than I've experienced in the past.
