AirAsia capitalizes on its slogan "Now every one can fly"

Dear Friends,

Its encouraging to know that equitable and dignified flying for the elderly and those experiencing disability is now a major plank for not only CSR activities but also a way to giving boost to the airline business. AirAsia takes lead by representing at a Regional Conference of APCD. Read more on this news item in Travel Monitor section of Bangkok Post

Now everyone can really fly

(To read from the source click here)

Known more for its marketing genius than the quality of its low-cost seats, AirAsia again outpaced its rivals earlier this month by becoming the only travel-industry company to be represented at a regional conference on facilitating accessibility for people with disabilities (PwDs).

Although all airlines facilitate travel by PwDs, AirAsia has been faster at capitalising on the marketing and corporate social responsibility benefits of this service as an intrinsic part of its "now everyone can fly" marketing slogan.

With an estimated 400 million people suffering from disabilities in Asia Pacific, half of whom women, and 58 million in the Asean countries, the market opportunity is clear. As most PwDs also travel along with a care-giver, the prospective revenue stream doubles.

Although CEO Tony Fernandes himself did not make the presentation at an Aug 19-20 meeting on South-to-South Cooperation on Disability, he was robustly featured in its various slides, addressing and mingling with several beaming PwDs in wheelchairs.

The meeting was organised by UN Escap in cooperation with the Asia-Pacific Development Centre on Disability (APCD), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security.
The objective was to assess progress made by countries in implementing the projects and programmes under the second Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003-2012 and to look into the prospects of initiating a Third Decade.

Tanin Kraivixien, the APCD president, said that for the first time, the focus of this year's meeting was the Asean sub-region in order to help create a sub-regional mechanism to cooperate in developing legislation and policies related to equal opportunities and inclusive development for PwDs.

He added: "The Asean sub-region can be a model sub-region to promote disability and development policies and legislation."

Noting that the APCD has more than 1,000 ex-trainees and approximately 200 associate organisations in Asia Pacific, Mr Tanin said that this year's meeting was "epoch-making since the social business sector has been invited to join."
AirAsia was represented by Kenneth Chan, chief for guest services, along with representatives from the Mall of Asia in Manila, Standard Chartered Bank, amongst others.
Mr Chan acknowledged that AirAsia's policies when it first began operations were not all inclusive. Guests with reduced mobility were not appropriately catered for. However, after representatives from organisations of people with reduced mobility met with AirAsia to challenge its "everyone can fly" slogan, the airline admitted it had been wrong and decided to fix it.

The result was an "inclusive" policy that seeks to boost the human capital development of staff as well as enhance the services and facilities offered to passengers. The airline also decided to "champion the cause of guests with reduced mobility with government authorities, airport management, ministries, etc."
Stressing that a lot more can be done by the region's airports to install better facilities and services for PwDs,

Mr Chan said AirAsia "engages in constant dialogues with organisations representing people with reduced mobility to gauge travel needs and requirements - these may change with the course of time, and we have to be very up to date to render the best services."

Nanda Krairiksh, director for social development of Escap, hailed the contribution of key innovators from the private sector who had been invited to offer their expertise and share their experiences.

"Viewing persons with disabilities as contributors to our region's economic dynamism as entrepreneurs, employees or an emerging market segment not only helps to change outmoded stereotypes that we are all fighting against but also enhances everyone's prospects for prosperity," she said.
There are many challenges still to be addressed: "How can we work together to develop inclusive societies that deliver the best services and products and increase accessibility overall for persons with disabilities? How can we serve as mentors and models of change for others?," she asked.

Tackling complex problems requires innovation, "which is best achieved when many minds are strategically working together in an atmosphere of mutual trust, where yesterday's strangers are transformed into tomorrow's allies.

"While many existing laws, policies, plans and schemes might adopt ideal and inspirational language, significant implementation gaps, in terms of statements on what should be done and what is actually done, exist. Hence addressing this shortcoming, whether in the context of discrimination or the provision of accessible environments, remains a crucial area for action if measures are to effectively cater for the needs of persons with disabilities."

Escap's priority is to promote the adoption and ratification by all countries of the landmark UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which entered into force on May 3, 2008. So far, 88 countries have ratified the Convention worldwide.

Meanwhile, the first New Zealand Conference on accessible tourism, travel, and hospitality for people with disabilities and seniors will be held in Auckland on Oct 4 this year.

Further details: http://nztri.aut.ac.nz/accesstourismconference/index.html

Access violations at your own peril

Dear Friends,

Exemplary penalty of $500,000 has been imposed on AirTran  by the Department of Transportation’s Aviation Enforcement Office for continued violations of the rights of the passengers with disabilities in terms of The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986. The Act requires airlines to provide assistance to passengers with disabilities in boarding and deplaning aircraft, including the use of wheelchairs, ramps, mechanical lifts or service personnel where needed.

U.S. Department of Transportation rules also require carriers to respond within 30 days to written complaints about their treatment of disabled passengers, and to specifically address the issues raised in the complaint. In addition, airlines must submit annual reports to the Department on disability-related complaints from passengers, noting the type of disability and nature of the complaint.  However, it was revealed that the airliner not only failed to provide boarding assistance but also did not give proper response to the complaints of the passengers nor filed proper annual reports required by the rules.

Here is the coverage:  (Click here to read from source)


AirTran Fined for Violating Rules Protecting Air Travelers with Disabilities

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today assessed a civil penalty against AirTran Airways for violating rules protecting air travelers with disabilities.  The carrier was assessed a civil penalty of $500,000, of which up to $200,000 may be used to improve its service to disabled passengers beyond what is required by law.

“People with disabilities have the right to expect fair treatment when they fly, and we will continue to take enforcement action when their rights are violated,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 requires airlines to provide assistance to passengers with disabilities in boarding and deplaning aircraft, including the use of wheelchairs, ramps, mechanical lifts or service personnel where needed.  U.S. Department of Transportation rules also require carriers to respond within 30 days to written complaints about their treatment of disabled passengers, and to specifically address the issues raised in the complaint.  In addition, airlines must submit annual reports to the Department on disability-related complaints from passengers, noting the type of disability and nature of the complaint.

An investigation by the Department of Transportation’s Aviation Enforcement Office of disability complaints filed with AirTran and DOT revealed a number of violations of the requirement for boarding assistance.  In addition, the carrier’s complaint files showed that it frequently did not provide an adequate written response to complaints from passengers.  AirTran also failed to properly categorize disability complaints in reports filed with the Department, the Aviation Enforcement Office found.

Of the $500,000 penalty, up to $60,000 may be used to establish a council to help the carrier comply with federal disability rules and hire a manager for disability accommodations.  Up to $140,000 may be used to develop and employ an automated wheelchair tracking system at AirTran’s major hub airports within one year that will generate real-time reports of the carrier’s wheelchair assistance performance.

http://www.tinyurl.com/2fjpdnl

Flying fair every step of the way

05 Apr 2009

The Hindu Business Line

New guidelines issued by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) this week state that when a passenger with disability or reduced mobility has bought a ticket it is “obligatory” on the part of the airline to ensure he/she reaches not only the aircraft but also the arrival lounge exit without incurring any further expenditure. Currently such passengers incur expenditure of Rs 200 for the wheelchair and Rs 2,500 for use of the ambulift for each journey on private airlines.

Immediate effect

Most of the guidelines come into effect immediately and will apply on both domestic and international airlines.

Persons with disabilities not holding any certificate shall also be provided necessary assistance as well as aids such as wheelchairs and ambulifts among others. “In such cases during ticketing or check-in the individual’s degree of disability and his needs for assistance may be confirmed. Airlines shall not refuse carriage in such cases,” the DGCA has said.

The airlines have been given July 31 as the cut off before when they shall have narrow aisle chairs which can move around in the aircraft cabin and be used for boarding and disembarking of passengers not travelling on stretchers. Currently most flights do not carry such chairs, thereby confining the passenger to the seat.

Online form

“It is most upsetting when an airline does not have an aisle chair to transfer a wheelchair passenger to his or her seat. I have experienced it in a private airline and complained about it,” says Ms Sminu Jindal, Managing Director, Jindal SAW, who is also founder of disability NGO Svayam which advocates access for people with disabilities.

The DGCA has also asked airlines to incorporate appropriate provisions in the online form for booking tickets so that all the facilities required by these passengers are made available to them at the time of check-in. Right now such passengers have to request for the wheelchair after reaching the airport.

To ensure that these passengers do not face any problems at airports, the DGCA has asked airlines to make advance arrangement with other agencies such as airport management to ensure that their movement within the airports is not restricted.

More clarity required

“We are happy that these issues are being addressed by fresh guidelines. But we want to warn that even after the guidelines were issued for the first time by DGCA in May 2008, many airlines did not implement them, causing passengers like us grave inconvenience. Even now the issue of ‘Fit to Fly’ certificates is hanging fire. Several international airlines and booking agents are insisting on this certificate before issuing the ticket,” said Mr Rajiv Rajan, Co-ordinator of the Disability Legislation Unit (South), a project of Vidya Sagar, Chennai. DLU had initiated the campaign to bring about these changes in June 2007.

Ms Meenakshi Balasubramanian, assistant co-ordinator of DLU, points out that certain sections of the new provisions lack clarity. “Who will decide on the individual’s degree of disability? Will you take the passenger’s word or will the airline insist on a panel assessing it at the airport,” she asks

Govt more sensitive

Ms Jindal, however, admits that she finds that the Government has been more sensitive to change than the private airlines. But implementation of the guidelines has been an issue. “When the DGCA first passed these rules in 2008, there was hardly any implementation by private airlines and we continued to have embarrassing incidents vis-À-vis access facilities at airports.”

Source: http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/3177378

Tips to make Travel by Place Accessible & Easier!

Dear Friends,

This one is from by Kim Donahue written for Disaboom which I thought would provide good reading for travellers experiencing disabiliites and those advocating the same.

Travel by Plane: Tips to Make it Easier (Click here to read from source: Disaboom)

Air travel is becoming more accessible as the airline industry is becoming more aware of the viable market people with disabilities represent. We as consumers with disabilities can make the most of every opportunity to educate the businesses that provide us with the goods and services when we tell them what we need.

Travelers with disabilities are encouraged to identify themselves to airline personnel and specify their needs. The more we let our needs be known, the more likely it is that our needs will be met. And that is good for everyone. We have listed below some tips we have discovered in our travels and a few we obtained from friends and colleagues who are independent travelers as well.

The greatest challenges for people with visual impairments when traveling by air are finding their seats, locating the washroom and identifying their luggage once they arrive at their destination. To make this process a bit easier, consider these pointers from travel experts:

- Before you start to travel be sure your itinerary is written out in large print.
- At the time you are making flight reservations let the airlines know about your visual impairment. Talk to an agent or review the airline’s website for information about traveling with a cane or service animal.
- When you check in at the airport identify yourself to an agent while pre-boarding. Staff will be there to help and will escort you directly to your seat.
- Once on board, count the number of seats there are to reach the washroom and the nearest emergency exit.
- Visually impaired travelers should know the exact size and color of their luggage to identify it in case it gets lost. A large colorful decal or logo on the outside of your bag can help to easily identify it at the baggage carousel.
- For wheelchair and scooter users planning is the key to have a safe and comfortable trip when traveling by air.

Plan Ahead

1. Reservations should be made as far in advance as possible, but be sure to confirm your reservation and any special request 48 hours prior to departure.

2. Identify yourself as a person with a disability and inform the reservation person that you will be traveling with a wheelchair or scooter.

3. Also request, if you will need them: a seat with movable armrests; an aisle chair for boarding; an accessible restroom; a bulkhead seat; or an aisle seat.

4. If you use a fold up manual wheelchair, you can request that it be stowed in the on-board coat closet. There is only room for one wheelchair and the service is available on a first come first service basis, so you should arrive early to make your request. Plus not all planes have a coat closet.

Wheelchair Damage Control

It would be a good idea to travel with your old, back-up wheelchair. Remove seat cushion and any other parts that could easily become separated from the chair. Take these items into the cabin with you. Or you can put the disassembled parts in the cardboard box and use bubble wrap to protect them from damage. Attach instructions on scooters or power chairs details how and where to disconnect the batteries, also instructions for any disassembly that may be required.

Airport Security

1. When going through security let the screener know your level of ability (e.g., whether you can stand or perform an arm lift).

2. Don’t hesitate to ask security personnel for assistance either to put your items on the X-ray belt, to monitor your items when you are in the X-ray inspection, or to reunite you with them once the screening process is completed.

3. Inform the screener about any special adaptive equipment or assistive devices that you are using and can’t be removed from your body so that alternative security procedures can be applied if needed.

Boarding and Deplaning

1. If you need assistance transferring to the plane seat, take responsibility for yourself and tell the staff how to help you or pick you up, etc. Yes, they should be trained, but you are always safer not assuming anything.

2. Before landing remind the flight attendant that you need your equipment brought to the gate so they can radio ahead to make the arrangements. This can help speed things up.

3. If you have any problems or damage ask to speak to the “Complaint Resolution Officer” (CRO). Each air carrier is required to have a CRO available by phone or in person at all times. This person is specially trained in dealing with problems that travelers with disabilities may encounter.

Dear Friends,

Some good news for the disability sector! Now DGCA CAR will have more teeth and every willful neglect or denial of customer facilties and services can lead to 2 years in prison and up to Rs. 10 lac as fine.

I hope these penalaty provisions would now make DGCA's CAR more effective and set accountability of the defaulters. The provisons should be used at every discrimination reported and needs to be circulated widely.

regards

SC Vashishth

To read the news from source click here: Airlines flouting safety rules will have to fork out up to Rs 10L fine

Saurabh Sinha, TNN

10 May 2009, 03:34am IST

New Delhi: Cost-cutting on aircraft maintenance, which endangers passenger safety, will soon cost airlines dear. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has hiked the penalty for violation of rules on safety and passenger comfort — from a measly range of Rs 250-1,000 earlier, it is now a whopping Rs 10 lakh, on the upper limit. And the maximum punishment of one month at present is being enhanced to two years. Working on a philosophy of "zero tolerance for wilful defaulters", DGCA chief Nasim Zaidi is getting the stiff graded-penalty system readied, which will be implemented very soon.

Shockingly, the existing puny punishment has hardly ever been used and old timers don't recall a single case being pursued in any court for enforcement of even the few days' jail term. "There are rules called civil aviation requirements (CAR) for all important aviation sectors like flight safety and passenger rights.

Their violation is now being made a costly affair for airlines and we are going to have a separate team for ensuring that action is taken against defaulters," said a senior official. While laying down strict punishment, DGCA is also simultaneously planning to incentivise self-regulation as Zaidi does not want an inspector raj.

The DGCA has spelt out five levels of violations. Level one has the most important aspect of aviation — air safety — and any violation of CARs here will invite the maximum fine and/or jail term. The other critical areas where violation in aspects of security and safety checks, permit violations, flying over prohibited areas, and air worthiness would also attract the higher-end penalty.

Booked himself on wheelchair, passenger denied flight : Hari Venkat | Go Air | March 2009

Booked himself on wheelchair, passenger denied flight

Express India,  Mar 17, 2009 

He says luggage ejected, officials said no aide to take him on board; airline says he was in washroom before takeoff

Mumbai : A wheelchair-bound passenger alleged that he was denied entry to a flight and his luggage ejected on Sunday evening, even though he had informed the airline while booking his ticket that he would be on a wheelchair.

Hari Venkat (38) had booked a Go Air flight from Mumbai to Kochi to undergo spinal treatment. He cannot walk.

Go Air denied the allegation, saying Venkat was not flown because he had insisted on using the washroom minutes before takeoff. Venkat eventually left on a Spice Jet flight to Kochi the next morning

His sister Anju said the Go Air staff told him, “We’ll deplane your luggage as we don’t have an assistant to take you on a wheelchair.”

Only last week, Newsline reported that a woman passenger had been asked to remove her salwar as she was wearing metallic calipers. While the woman managed to fight her way through and refused to remove her salwar, Venkat was helpless as he could not board the aircraft without aid from the airline’s helpers.

Venkat reached the airport at 3:15 for a 4:40 flight. He got the boarding pass; it was after he had proceeded towards security check that the ordeal began.

“It was terrible the way they treated me. When I arrived at the terminal, they had some problems with their systems and that delayed the boarding pass. And the assistant they gave me was an inept 18-year-old,” Venkat said from Kochi.

“At the security check I needed my boarding card, so I had to wait while the assistant they provided me kept chatting with someone. Eventually I had to shout to get myself through security check. By the time I reached the gate, an executive told me I couldn’t get in.”

Anju said passengers behind her brother passed by him and got on the aircraft while Hari waited for the airline’s assistant to take him on board. “After he was refused entry, he called up and said that they (airline staff) did not even apologise or offer a reimbursement,” said Anju.

The flight was not delayed. When Venkat was told he could not fly, it was 3:30pm, with over an hour left for takeoff.

Hari said an airline executive told him, “Talk to the supervisor as I don’t work for you.”

A circular dated May 1, 2008, from the DGCA to all passenger airlines says, “No airline shall refuse to carry persons with disability or persons with reduced mobility and their assistive aids/devices, escorts and guide dogs including their presence in the cabin, provided such persons or their representatives, at the time of booking and /or check-in for travel, inform the airlines of their requirement.”

Go Air had an explanation: “The passenger had a GoAir porter for assistance all through check-in and then into the security hold. The passenger insisted on using the washroom even though they were repeatedly informed about the delay that they were causing to the flight. All mandatory on-air and personal requests were made. However, the passenger showed no inclination to hasten the boarding process and hence it resulted in a gate no-show, since the flight was ready for take off,” said a spokesperson for the airline.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/booked-himself-on-wheelchair-passenger-denied-flight/435357/

Does DGCA's CAR address training issues (Disability Sensitization) of CISF personnel employed at Air Ports: Travel Experience of Shruti Paul

Dear Friends, 

This incident faced by Shruti Paul, is after several reports, awareness raising and finally a Civil Aviation Requirement - a regulation that deals with What, Why and How aspects of flying a person with disability with dignity and independence! Its agreeable that in light of recent terror attacks, the security is of critical importance. However, I feel that while disability equity and handling training for the Airport Staff and Airlines Staff has been addressed by the CAR for all fresh entrants and a refresher course after every 3 years, the issue of training Security Guards from CISF has not been addressed. We have seen such reports in the past also and it calls for a policy decision at the highest level of the Government of India and in particular, Min. of Home Affairs, Min. of Civil Aviation and DG-CISF to look at this aspect in a more comprehensive way. The Security Staff employed at the Air Ports have no right to be rude to passengers with disabilities. They need to be trained and provisions should be accordingly made for them either in the current CAR for carriage of passengers with disabilities by air or through some additional rules/policy and be strictly enforced.

In February 2009, there was a case of a senior citizen wheelchair user trapped in the transfer bus when the bus engine caught fire. The untrained driver could not put off the fire and the passenger was engulfed in smoke for ten minutes with literally no help! Here is the link to the case, details of which are appended towards the end.

regards 

Subhash Chandra Vashishth 

Incident as reported in news is appended below.  To read from source click: Indian Express 

CISF guard at airport asks woman with leg braces to take off salwar 

Posted: Mar 09, 2009 at 0115 hrs IST Mumbai: 

Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel deployed at the Mumbai airport allegedly asked a disabled passenger to take off her salwar for security check because she had metallic braces on her legs. The Indian Express had reported how Mumbai airport has been receiving at least 10 to 15 complaints from passengers every month on the overbearing behaviour of the CISF personnel. 

“I’ve never felt so disgusted and humiliated in my life and it was not the first time I was travelling,” said Shruti Paul, who was on her way to Lucknow on a Kingfisher flight last Friday. Shruti, who suffers from polio, said she was wearing a caliper on her left leg and braces on her right knee; this would make the metal detector beep every time she passed through it. 

“I pulled up my salwar a little to show her my caliper, but she asked me to take it off in the open-ended women’s cubicle,” she alleged. She said her ordeal lasted about 20 minutes, during which she was made to get up thrice from her wheelchair and asked to remove her salwar. 

 “They said I was not cooperating with them. But I did all I could, considering the heightened security at airports these days. But I could not take off my salwar. I felt like a criminal,” she said, while stating that the woman CISF guard, P Poonam, kept talking on her mobile phone while she was checking her. 

Eventually, a senior CISF officer asked the guard to let her go. “He asked me to carry a disability certificate the next time I travel,” said Shruti. 

Sanjay Prakash, CISF’s Senior Commandant at Mumbai airport, was unavailable for comment. “While it is mandatory for every passenger to pass the metal detector to enter the terminal’s security hold area, this kind of behaviour is simply unheard of,” said an airport official.

Another news:

'Make airports friendlier for the disabled'

Civil aviation body re-issues old document on handling passengers with limited mobility after a wheelchair-bound senior citizen was trapped in a coach on fireIt took a wheelchair-bound senior citizen trapped in a smoke-filled airport coach to draw the attention of the higher-ups in Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) office in New Delhi to the disregard shown to air passengers with limited mobility in India. Aviation expert Vipul Saxena observed that Saturday's incident highlights a lapse in the procedure laid down by the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) for airlines with regard to handling of passengers with disability/limited mobility.

An airport coach carrying a wheelchair-bound senior citizen caught fire at the Mumbai airport on Saturday, leaving her trapped inside the smoke- filled coach for nearly 10 minutes. In a knee-jerk reaction, the DGCA re-issued a Civil Aviation Requirement document dated May 1, 2008, on Carriage By Air of persons with disability and/or persons with reduced mobility.

All stakeholders in the aviation industry, including those who are regulated by the DGCA, have been asked to respond with remedial feedback on the subject by March 7. Naseem Zaidi, director general, DGCA, expressed concern over Saturday's incident saying, "All aspects of the case will be looked into fully before a report is prepared. All improvement needed has to be brought about." According to officials, major questions that the DGCA could raise include, whether the driver of the airport coach has been trained in operating a fire extinguisher, since his attempts to douse the fire did not yield any results. Also, whether an attendant was accompanying the trapped passenger.

The lady, a passenger of the Hyderabad-Mumbai Kingfisher Red flight, was in an airport coach operated by Nova Aviation for Kingfisher. "The nine-odd minutes taken to rescue the passenger from suffocating smoke drew attention to the efficiency and ability of the ground handling staff," Saxena said. Quoting from the re-issued CAR, Saxena noted, "All airlines and airport managements shall run a programme in assisting passengers with disabilities. The training programme shall be conducted at the time of initial training and a refresher shall be conducted every three years, and only persons thus trained will assist disabled persons in all possible ways, including filling up of travel documents, while providing assistance in flight."

Lessons from Saturday's incident :

• Better ground handling including sensitisation of airport staff to the needs of persons of limited mobility is the need of the hour.
• More intense scrutiny of procedures for the yearly renewal of passenger vehicles like checking roadworthiness, proper insulation of wiring, lubrication of all rotating parts, engine oil temperature, safe radiator heating, condition of tyres and brakes, number and quality of fire extinguishers

An aviation expert observed that Saturday's incident highlights a lapse in the procedure laid down by the MIAL for airlines with regard to handling of passengers with disability/limited mobility.