By now I’m sure you’ve heard the story about the turkey that traveled on Delta Airlines in the passenger compartment as an emotional support animal (ESA). Not only did the privileged bird travel in comfort class, but he also got wheelchair assistance through the airport. And although the internet is all abuzz with photos and hash-tags about the incident, I think the more important issue here is — how did the turkey get on the airplane? Continue reading
Tag Archives: Delta
Always Remember the CRO!!
Anytime I hear a story about accessible air travel gone horribly wrong, I just can’t stop myself from doing a little Monday morning quarterbacking. It’s just the way my mind works. I try to put myself in the passenger’s position and attempt to figure out if there is way that the situation could have been prevented. It’s not that I get delight in second guessing a total stranger — it’s just that I feel that if I discover a solution, it may be helpful to others who find themselves in the same situation in the future. Continue reading
A Denied Boarding with a Tragic Twist
There’s certainly no shortage of denied airline boardings involving wheelchair-users who travel unaccompanied. And for the most part these incidents usually involve passengers who are unable to evacuate the airplane on their own, in the event of an emergency.
But here’s a new twist on it all. What if the airlines are unable to physically accommodate a disabled passenger? And what if this happens, not once, not twice, but three times? And what if the passenger dies as a result of that denied boarding? Well, that’s exactly what happened to Vilma Soltesz last month; and now attorney Holly Ostrov Ronai is seeking $6 million in damages from the airlines, claiming that they violated the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). Continue reading