Grounded Man Takes 1,240 Mile Taxi Ride
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Grounded Man Takes 1,240 Mile Taxi Ride
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Back in Oz
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God bless the cabbie! Well done son. Thats what its all about. The customer says where, and you deliver. Not much difference really to what most of us do on a daily basis. I think a lot forget that - the guy sitting in the seat behind us is paying our wages! Who wouldn't accept a charter from Brissie to Adelaide!! Hands Up!! 
Join Date: Mar 2001
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It certainly reflects badly on Qantas that they were able to take him from Adelaide to Qld without a carer, yet wouldn't return him home in the same circumstances.
They should be made to cover his further expenses, and the individuals responsible need to be hung-out to dry. For god's sake, the bloke is a quadraplegic!
They should be made to cover his further expenses, and the individuals responsible need to be hung-out to dry. For god's sake, the bloke is a quadraplegic!
1. It says BNE is on Australia "northeast coast". Enough said.
2. Wouldnt it be interesting to hear the full story before hanging
Qantas out to dry along with the staff member who
was only doing their job.
Then again why let facts get in the way of a good story.
2. Wouldnt it be interesting to hear the full story before hanging
Qantas out to dry along with the staff member who
was only doing their job.
Then again why let facts get in the way of a good story.
Join Date: Mar 2001
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Facts ARE......
* A quadraplegic person is allowed to board A QANTAS aircraft in Adelaide to travel to BNE with no mention of a carer being required. His "level of assistance" was a company employee.
* Come time to go home..... Sorry, not allowed to board, reason..... NO CARER.
You work it out, if you are only just hearing about this story for the first time, then you are a few days too late. The story is out, and has been for a few days now, TV and all.
If "someone" had done their job properly in the first place, this NEVER WOULD HAVE HAPPENED.
Don't let your story get in the way of the facts....
* A quadraplegic person is allowed to board A QANTAS aircraft in Adelaide to travel to BNE with no mention of a carer being required. His "level of assistance" was a company employee.
* Come time to go home..... Sorry, not allowed to board, reason..... NO CARER.
You work it out, if you are only just hearing about this story for the first time, then you are a few days too late. The story is out, and has been for a few days now, TV and all.
If "someone" had done their job properly in the first place, this NEVER WOULD HAVE HAPPENED.
Don't let your story get in the way of the facts....
Last edited by 429 CJ; 25th May 2002 at 08:12.
Join Date: Apr 2002
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Surely a Charter Flight would've been cheaper do you think????
Get a Metro or King Air for the job ,Surely.........
5 grand would have cover it....
Some one from the Charter company could have been a Carer?
Cripes!!!!!
Get a Metro or King Air for the job ,Surely.........
5 grand would have cover it....
Some one from the Charter company could have been a Carer?
Cripes!!!!!
Join Date: May 2001
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Surely it would have been more cost-effective and timely to pay for an return airfare for either the cabbie or a QF staff member to travel with the bloke instead of going through a 4 day trip from hell.
Seems to be a bit over the top gerttng a taxi to take him home. If another form of transport was required surely a bus or train would have been more comfortable & cheaper.
S2K
Seems to be a bit over the top gerttng a taxi to take him home. If another form of transport was required surely a bus or train would have been more comfortable & cheaper.
S2K
Join Date: Oct 2000
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Latest I heard was that, in addition to his physical disabilities, the passenger is significantly mentally disabled.
The passenger approached the cab driver and asked to be driven to Adelaide. The cabbie checked with his base and a figure of $5,550 was quoted. The passenger accepted the figure and was taken to a bank in order to obtain the funds for payment in advance.
The $5,500 represented most of the passenger's savings.
The passenger approached the cab driver and asked to be driven to Adelaide. The cabbie checked with his base and a figure of $5,550 was quoted. The passenger accepted the figure and was taken to a bank in order to obtain the funds for payment in advance.
The $5,500 represented most of the passenger's savings.
Join Date: Dec 1999
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The options they didnt investigate make me wonder if anyone was looking out for this guy. A Qantas staffer certainly could have accompanied on a paid ticket, but with the money we are talking about, why not a professional nurse from a private clinic on a full return ticket? If this guy had bought a full first class ticket with Qantas, might that have changed their view of things? After all, first class passengers are just about treated with as much attention as the disabled on airline flights. Three days in a cab through central NSW to Adelaide is a awful idea, even for the able bodied. Lawsuit?
Join Date: Oct 2001
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It's a sad story, but the facts have to be right. This is a post from airliners.net which puts the story in perspective:
* * *
What most of you may not know is that I *own* three cabs in Katoomba in the Blue MOuntains, just to the west of Sydney - at about $A260K a pop, we are talking about $A780K here.
I am therefore subscribed to several different cabbie mailing lists, and have heard a number of different versions of this story.
Most of the versions seem to amount to the same thing - that the passenger was such a P*I*T*A when he flew over from ADL to BNE that it was recorded that QF did not want to fly him back. And since QF is not a common carrier, they did not have to fly him back. The cabbie concerned, whilst being reluctant to admit as much on TV, has said that if he had known it would have been such a difficult trip he would not have bothered, despite the money on offer.
Seems to me that QF are getting more flak than they deserve. On the one hand, they are given a stack of flak for having unruly paxs on board, and then when they do decide they do not want to carry one of those unruly paxs they are berated for doing so.
Not necessarily defending QF here, but having been speaking to the cabbie in question for well over eight months, I will trust his judgement, which is that QF got it right.
Dave
* * *
What most of you may not know is that I *own* three cabs in Katoomba in the Blue MOuntains, just to the west of Sydney - at about $A260K a pop, we are talking about $A780K here.
I am therefore subscribed to several different cabbie mailing lists, and have heard a number of different versions of this story.
Most of the versions seem to amount to the same thing - that the passenger was such a P*I*T*A when he flew over from ADL to BNE that it was recorded that QF did not want to fly him back. And since QF is not a common carrier, they did not have to fly him back. The cabbie concerned, whilst being reluctant to admit as much on TV, has said that if he had known it would have been such a difficult trip he would not have bothered, despite the money on offer.
Seems to me that QF are getting more flak than they deserve. On the one hand, they are given a stack of flak for having unruly paxs on board, and then when they do decide they do not want to carry one of those unruly paxs they are berated for doing so.
Not necessarily defending QF here, but having been speaking to the cabbie in question for well over eight months, I will trust his judgement, which is that QF got it right.
Dave
Join Date: Sep 1999
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When we hear the words "Today Tonight exclusive 6.30pm..." we conclude that the fiscal blow has been somewhat softened by a classic case of chequebook journalism.
I personally don't think it's bad publicitity for QF. There must be more to the story when you think he could have bought a return ticket for a friend in BN to be his carer on the quad's return trip for a lot le$$ than the cab fare.
I personally don't think it's bad publicitity for QF. There must be more to the story when you think he could have bought a return ticket for a friend in BN to be his carer on the quad's return trip for a lot le$$ than the cab fare.
