1) Not all disabilities are visible. 2) Being "able bodied" in the sense of being able to drag your back from the curb to check-in is not the same as being able to stand for the length of time that security takes, and then walk all the way to your gate. I am able bodied and some of the airports are crazy spread out. 3) Who is going to determine "actual physical need" - the judgy person behind them in line at security running to post online? You know that keeping a doctor on payroll to conduct assessments is going to be more expensive than paying the guys that push people to the gates, right? 4) What do you care about airports being "too nice" to elderly people? How is this a problem for you? |
Also many would be at their home airport at FLL so they can take all day getting home and stop for breaks getting through the airport as needed. Most wheelchair users wish they did need one, in my experience. |
The point is there will no longer be an advantage to getting on the plane first. You seem to have no understanding of the current situation on SW. |
My Dad does much less (hired car to outside check in to wheel chair) but, again, disable doesn't mean paralyzed. There are lots of kinds of lower mobility. |
My able bodied mom has dementia and can get lost. Wheelchair access works great for her so that she can be escorted from place to place without wandering off. |
You let someone with dementia fly alone? Seriously? |
I don’t get the annoyance. My mom needs a wheelchair. It’s a vulnerable and humbling thing needing a stranger to push you around. It’s not fun! I’m so grateful it’s an option for her or she could not travel at all. Could she get up and walk a little at the end of a trip? Yes, definitely. She can walk for 10 mins and then gets very tired. It’s really bizarre to judge people over this. |
Other than the claims of abuse for early boarding on Southwest under its soon to be defunct seating system, I don’t why anyone would care if someone else received wheelchair assistance. It’s just not anyone else’s business. |
The annoyance is mostly regarding Southwest, where it is a distinct boarding advantage and therefore ripe for abuse. I agree on other airlines it's no advantage which is why you would be confused if you don't use Southwest. But as many people have stated Southwest is converting to regular seat assignments/boarding so the advantage will end anyway. |
Actually, I am the PP and someone who flies with people with disabilities both as part of my job and with my family. When we fly SW, the process is easy, you identify your disability and needs at the gate, and they are quickly accommodated. When we fly other airlines we need to wait forever in a phone queue to explain the needs and then get reassigned to whatever we need. Often the airline messes up and there need to be changes at the gate. It’s a slow process that results in people having to change seats. It’s significantly worse for the people with disabilities, with no actual advantage for people without disabilities, but sometimes it makes them feel better because they see people with disabilities the same way OP does, with disdain. |
Southwest has cheap, trashy, rulebenders on it. I won't fly it. |
Not the pp, but who said anything about flying alone? Wheel chair is waiting for flight and the mom sits in it and it keeps her from wandering off. I’m the pp who has a wheelchair for my kid who fractured her ankle. It’s not like my kid was flying alone…but there’d still an attendant who pushes the chair. |
This is very common for older visitors from other countries, yes, mostly from India. Their adult children reserve these chairs as they do not speak the language and can't find a way to the gate.
The ones I see are generally older, and I am not sure they could actually find their way around at all. This is a known fact to most travelers op, I guess you do not travel much? |
People amaze me. I’d love to have my health back…. |
Just because some disabilities are invisible does not mean there is no abuse. |