£660
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£660
Parents reveal fury after 'heartless' airline charged £660 for oxygen to keep their daughter alive on flight | Mail Online
I know it's the Mail, but,,,
My airline provides this for no charge, even tho' there's alot of activity in the background to be able to make it happen.
£660
I know it's the Mail, but,,,
My airline provides this for no charge, even tho' there's alot of activity in the background to be able to make it happen.
£660
we assumed......free
Judging by the title of the thread I thought for one moment that was what FR charged for excess baggage priority boarding etc etc... However i wonder if they looked at alternatives with other carriers rather than accept KLM's extra charges (if it was true that is).
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Nobody was available from KLM yesterday.
If KLM had played their cards right they could have had some very useful positive publicity from this. Instead they have damaged their image. Yet another sad example of the disadvantages of modern-day management and methods.
If KLM had played their cards right they could have had some very useful positive publicity from this. Instead they have damaged their image.
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KLM Physically Challenged Passengers
The link, easily found, on the on the KLM website clearly explains what is needed in order to have oxygen supplied during flight. It states that there is a standard charge for this, but doesn't say how much. One is to phone their special number to find out that detail.
I am not at all surprised that KLM, or any airline for that matter, would charge for supplying oxygen. Maybe if the couple had done some simple research they wouldn't have been so keen to unleash their fury via the Daily Mail.
The link, easily found, on the on the KLM website clearly explains what is needed in order to have oxygen supplied during flight. It states that there is a standard charge for this, but doesn't say how much. One is to phone their special number to find out that detail.
I am not at all surprised that KLM, or any airline for that matter, would charge for supplying oxygen. Maybe if the couple had done some simple research they wouldn't have been so keen to unleash their fury via the Daily Mail.
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Sorry but I'm with KLM on this one but agreed they need to have someone prepared at least to make a statement.
Well those two claims simply don't add up. You can't possibly have a condition with just 200 sufferers that has a treatment which has been tried and tested and peer reviewed in the usual scientific journals (the standard test any competent doctor, as opposed to journalist will apply to such a treatment).
I'm afraid this is what happens when emotions take over from rational thinking. We can do amazing things with modern medicine but there are still limits.
I would not wish this condition on any parent, but airlines have their policies about what is chargeable, I presume the fee is a reasonable reflection of the actual cost of such provision and not a Ryanair style price-gouge?
There are equally wide ranging conditions on the types of wheelchairs that an airline will take - you can't just whip out the discrimination whistle just because the airline doesn't carry you on the terms you naively expect.
The condition, which effects just 200 children in the world, has left the toddler unable to walk, talk or feed herself.
Her parents, Shane Barton, 23, and Jennifer Stermann, 26, raised £15,000 to send her to the Caribbean to undergo radical ‘Dolphin Therapy’ which has been proven to reduce the symptoms of the condition.
Her parents, Shane Barton, 23, and Jennifer Stermann, 26, raised £15,000 to send her to the Caribbean to undergo radical ‘Dolphin Therapy’ which has been proven to reduce the symptoms of the condition.
She has defied the medics to make it to three and her parents hope the dolphin therapy could dramatically improve her life. Jennifer, who is 20 weeks pregnant with the couple’s second child, added: 'It’s not guaranteed that it will help, there’s just a chance.
I would not wish this condition on any parent, but airlines have their policies about what is chargeable, I presume the fee is a reasonable reflection of the actual cost of such provision and not a Ryanair style price-gouge?
There are equally wide ranging conditions on the types of wheelchairs that an airline will take - you can't just whip out the discrimination whistle just because the airline doesn't carry you on the terms you naively expect.
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I am not at all surprised that KLM, or any airline for that matter, would charge for supplying oxygen. Maybe if the couple had done some simple research they wouldn't have been so keen to unleash their fury via the Daily Mail.
How much is HMRC making from this trip? As we know, they don't count the capital of Curacao as Amsterdam so are they not taking 3 x £82 for the privilege? Just to put things in perspective, that is half the oxygen charge - how heartless of the HMRC to charge the full rate for a sick kid!
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Is there a doctor on this forum?
Does the flight itself not pose a real risk then to someone who is so vulnerable, and does this not also create a huge possibility of the flight needing to be diverted to find treatment? Given the lack of land between AMS & SXM, not to mention the lack of specialist hospitals in the region (how many childrens' units are there - maybe one in SJU?), it all sounds very risky to me.
Three-year-old Jolina Skye Barton suffers from Ohtahara Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy which can spark dozens of seizures a day.
@ Hotel Tango
Agreed, but the cynic in me can't help but feel that the story would be unlikely to get any further than an in-house magazine.
Big corporation does something good = no interest
Big corporation does "evil" = equals public outcry
Keeps the shareholders happy though, and these days that is the over riding concern of airline management, or so it appears anyway.
No, but with a little intelligence KLM themselves could have generated good PR from it.
Big corporation does something good = no interest
Big corporation does "evil" = equals public outcry
Yet another sad example of the disadvantages of modern-day management and methods.
Last edited by Avionker; 17th Apr 2012 at 14:43.
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Airline provide it 'free'?
I suppose just like the bottle makers gave it to the airline for free, and the O2 suppliers provided their bit for free, and the safety inspectors provided their time for free, and the equipment makers provided their certified equipment for stowing the O2 bottles securely, and the handlers loading and unloading (and securing any residue) all of the above for free.
Oxygen under pressure is a 'dangerous good' and cannot be boarded without significant (and costly) checks. Can you imagine what would happen if a bottle was mishandled inflight and turned itself into a torpedo? It could, or more likely would, endanger the aircraft and everyone on board.
No, I don't want airlines providing this for free. They might be tempted to cut corners.
I suppose just like the bottle makers gave it to the airline for free, and the O2 suppliers provided their bit for free, and the safety inspectors provided their time for free, and the equipment makers provided their certified equipment for stowing the O2 bottles securely, and the handlers loading and unloading (and securing any residue) all of the above for free.
Oxygen under pressure is a 'dangerous good' and cannot be boarded without significant (and costly) checks. Can you imagine what would happen if a bottle was mishandled inflight and turned itself into a torpedo? It could, or more likely would, endanger the aircraft and everyone on board.
No, I don't want airlines providing this for free. They might be tempted to cut corners.
They should have checked before booking. Then decided if they wanted the flight. For anything not 'bog standard' you need to check. But by all accounts (see past threads here in SLF) and experience of colleagues, an unadvertised service of KLM is the high probability of losing your bags when you transit through Schipol. I work on the basis that generally speaking, if airline A offers better value for money - which doesn't necessarily mean alower price - than airline B, then A gets my business. But it depends on how one judges 'value'.
Having said which, a typical 'where you are screwed' is a BA codeshare transatlantic where for timing reasons, you have to take the codeshare operated by American Airlines. Who are pretty crap on service these days, even in first class.
Having said which, a typical 'where you are screwed' is a BA codeshare transatlantic where for timing reasons, you have to take the codeshare operated by American Airlines. Who are pretty crap on service these days, even in first class.
Está servira para distraerle.
It would have been perfectly reasonable had KLM insisted that the girl be accompanied by her own doctor if she's that vulnerable. It's considerate of the airline to even provide supplementary oxygen at a charge when by the tone of it all, had the little girl died on board, the airline would have found themselves with a damages claim at worst and bad publicity at best even had the parents signed a waiver.
No doubt the £660 will be provided by a donation, which is probably the law of intended consequences. The Dolphin Academy on Curacao cooperates with the Dutch Make a Wish Foundation which permits children with a life threatening disease to live their dream of swimming with dolphins.
No doubt the £660 will be provided by a donation, which is probably the law of intended consequences. The Dolphin Academy on Curacao cooperates with the Dutch Make a Wish Foundation which permits children with a life threatening disease to live their dream of swimming with dolphins.
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They could always cancel and drive down to Kerry so she can swim with Fungi. 
They'd want to do it quick, though. Yer man was on the radio a few days ago saying he's going to have to put his prices up by 5€ to comply with some directive or other.
They'd want to do it quick, though. Yer man was on the radio a few days ago saying he's going to have to put his prices up by 5€ to comply with some directive or other.
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Do tell how you can justify £660 $1200 , while we provide this at no charge.
My point is simple:
- For a child so ill surely it isn't just a case of having access to 'free oxygen'. I mean does the child need oxygen during a 'normal' day - what other care is needed especially if the child has an attack whilst on the 'plane. What about the impact on other passengers. As much compassion as I may have I'd feel pretty uncomfortable if a clearly disabled child was in distress on a flight and needed serious medical intervention.
- The 'assuming' aspect. We seem to live in an era where people 'assume' a lot & think that asking for something means that one shall receive. The actual GBP figure I have no idea if is reasonable (but see above - is it just about having access to a bottle of oxygen in the cabin...?).
The child is ill, respect for saving up to arrange some care to enhance the quality of the child's life - but given the severity of the illness couldn't the parents have discussed this with KLM (or any preferred carrier) in advance - they aren't going to turn up at check in with a severely disabled child are they?
- For a child so ill surely it isn't just a case of having access to 'free oxygen'. I mean does the child need oxygen during a 'normal' day - what other care is needed especially if the child has an attack whilst on the 'plane. What about the impact on other passengers. As much compassion as I may have I'd feel pretty uncomfortable if a clearly disabled child was in distress on a flight and needed serious medical intervention.
- The 'assuming' aspect. We seem to live in an era where people 'assume' a lot & think that asking for something means that one shall receive. The actual GBP figure I have no idea if is reasonable (but see above - is it just about having access to a bottle of oxygen in the cabin...?).
The child is ill, respect for saving up to arrange some care to enhance the quality of the child's life - but given the severity of the illness couldn't the parents have discussed this with KLM (or any preferred carrier) in advance - they aren't going to turn up at check in with a severely disabled child are they?
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O2 for use on board aircraft is not the same as O2 that patients can purchase at medical supply centres. The bottle itself is designed to for use on board aircraft and is VERY expensive. Use of a passengers own O2 is not permitted. True, they can be (and are) reused but even the transport of 'empty' bottles is strictly regulated. I don't think they can be carried in the hold of passenger aircraft. (Do you remember ValueJet's crash into the everglades?) The bottle must be secured properly for take-off & landing, be of the proper pressure for the patient (everyone, apparently, is different). I'm only touching the basics, there are a lot of significant costs in this process.
In the case of KLM O2 would be required on four flights.
It is 'nice' that this seriously ill passenger could travel to swim with the dolphins I would be more sympathetic if the passenger was required to travel for medical care and had no alternative.