Air Travel

Well, not according to their CEO, Tassapon Bijleveld. In fact he staunchly defends the budget carrier’s policy of prohibiting disabled passengers from traveling unaccompanied; because, as he claims, the low-cost airline just doesn’t have enough employees to provide assistance to disabled passengers.

Granted, this has probably been Air Asia’s policy for quite some time, but it was just recently brought to light (and to the public eye) when a blind solo passenger was denied boarding. Not just any blind passenger, but a American who previously served as the commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration during the Clinton administration. Let’s just say the poverbial excrement hit the rotary cooling device.

Being the naturally curious person that I am, I decided to take a peak at Air Asia’s website and look what I stumbled across in their FAQ section:

“Upon reservation we will make every effort to ensure that any special services you may require such as wheelchairs from the airport check-in to the aircraft are available for your use. In the event that wheelchairs are not available we will advise guests to bring their own wheelchairs. Please note that a minimal charge of RM12.00 will be levied for this service at KLIA, however charges may varies for different airports. We will not, however, be liable for loss, expense, breach of contract or other damage should we, for any reason, be unable to extend such a service.”

Hmmm...charging for wheelchair assistance now are we? Sounds a lot like Ryanair to me.

And we all remember how that one turned out, don’t we?

Was It Really Worth It Michael

Maybe Tassapon Bijleveld and Michael O’Leary should do lunch. They sound like two peas in a pod to me!!

With the height of the summer travel season upon us, I’d like to say a few words about shoes. That’s right, shoes. More specifically, shoes at the dreaded airport security checkpoint.

I get a lot of questions about the TSA and security issues, but the one that comes up the most is, “Do I have to take off my shoes?” The short answer is no. If you physically cannot remove your shoes, then you do not have to do so. If however you do not remove your shoes, you will be subject to secondary screening (wanding and a pat down) which extends your time at the security checkpoint.

These are not Candy’s rules, they are the TSA’s own guidelines for screening disabled passengers.

So if you have problems bending over or you have balance issues, just tell the TSA agent that you cannot physically remove your shoes. Don’t even try, because you may hurt yourself trying.

Remember, when it comes to the security checkpoint, just say no if you can’t physically (and comfortably) remove your shoes. It’s the safe thing to do.