Entries by Candy Harrington

In a no-so-surprising decision last month, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) ruled that severe allergies are in fact a disability.  What does that mean to the average traveler?  Well, it's a tough call at this point, but down the road, Canadian airlines may have to accommodate passengers who have severe allergies -- and those accommodations may include prohibiting pets in aircraft cabins.

 After reports of an alleged denied boarding incident on Alaska Airlines last month, I've been doing a lot of research on the rules and regulations for flying with mobility scooters powered by lithium ion batteries. Frankly it's new territory for me, basically because it's a new technology.

But we must evolve with the times.

After a few weeks of consulting the experts at the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and Alaska Airlines, the bottom line is revealed in this blog's headline -- airlines are not required to carry mobility scooters powered by lithium ion batteries. So Alaska Airlines was perfectly within the limits of the law for the denied passage.

So here are the basics of what the law has to say, and how it's interpreted by the DOT, the PHMSA and Alaska Airlines' Dangerous Goods Manager.

Chris Elliott recently penned an interesting column about discrimination in travel. First off, I have to disclose that Chris is a friend, and a colleague who I have the utmost respect for. He's also been a great champion of the rights of disabled travelers, and has interviewed me many times on the subject over the years. In short, he's helped get the word out there about the needs of travelers with disabilities.

That said, I'm kind of on the fence about a few issues brought to light in his most recent column.

OK, this whole Kevin Smith incident is really starting to get to me. For those of you living in a cave, Kevin was forced to buy two seats on a recent Southwest flight because the airline considered him a "customer of size". He claims that even though he is large, he can still fit into one seat, so under the airlines own regulations he should not have had to purchase a second seat. To be honest, I have no opinion on that, as I wasn't there.

But what really irritates me is the media's lumping of "obese" and "disabled" people together as far as this issue is concerned.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced another delay in the release of the revised ADAAG regulations. OK, to be fair they didn't call it a delay, but instead referred to it as a revised timeline.

So here's the story so far.

I've received a lot of e-mail regarding my blog post back in December, about Princess Cruise Lines new tendering policy for wheelchair- and scooter-users. Some folks shared their experiences about their denied boardings to tenders, while others couldn't believe Princess was allowed to do this. (Unfortunately they are, as they consider it a safety issue for both the crew and passengers.)

But the most interesting message I received came along with an copy of the new policy; something that's been hard to obtain from the cruise line before. The person who shared it with me is not a writer, and I have no doubt that's why she finally got it. And I also have to add that although she was very persistent, it wasn't easy for her at all.  In any case, I felt a follow-up post was in order; one that includes the official Princess policy word-for-word, along with my translation -- based on reader feedback -- of what actually happens on the ship.

As most of your know, Hotels.com now lists access information on their website. Even though this is the result of a settlement agreement, I'm still happy that they're reporting access information about the properties they book. The access details reported seem extensive, including the availability of roll-in showers; so I'm also happy with that. In short, they don't just say they have accessible rooms, but list the features of the accessible rooms. So on the surface it looks like things are moving in a positive direction. But, that's just on the surface.

My publisher passed along this information about an interesting presentation coming up in New York City. Sounds like it will be of interest to anyone who uses, works with or is interested in assistive technology.

Hats off to Paul Quartz, a UK-based travel agent who not only battled Eurostar on behalf of his disabled client, but also won the skirmish. Still it could signal a potential trouble spot for other disabled travelers.