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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have seen many able bodied older adults requesting and using wheelchairs to get gates from check-in.  Mostly they seem to use this as a way to get through security and also not having to read or follow directions.  I think the airports and airlines should start charging a fee to use this unless they are really in need due to actual physical need.  What do you guys think?[/quote]

Regardless of whether it’s a genuine physical need or abusing the system, I don’t really understand why there isn’t an automatic cost for requiring these additional services. How is it any different from having to pay extra for a minor traveling solo or a larger person having to pay more for an extra seat?[/quote]

Because it is illegal under the ADA. You can't pass on the costs of accessibility to disabled people. Come on now. [/quote]

The accessibility clause requires that the airplanes/airports be able reasonably accommodate people requiring access via wheelchairs, etc but [b]not that they pay for the services required for someone to push said wheelchair.[/b][/quote]

+1
And the same way general populations are tired of subsidizing unhealthy lifestyles in insurance pools and hospital costs, it's going to catch up with us. Everything is always extremes until something snaps. This is why we can't have nice things.

There are people who suck down sodas, eat garbage, don't excercise and end up wheelchair bound and everyone else pays for them. 
(I know that's not the story, but that's how simplified it is to some)[/quote]

I think we can't have nice things because people lack compassion.[/quote]

No. It’s too much compassion.[/quote]

The nice thing would be a society where people actually care enough about access for people with disabilities to where some minor financial or logistical inefficiency isn't being whined about, a society where everyone has value and people aren't simply "me, me, me" all the time.[/quote]

In such a society, people wouldn’t fake a disability to get expedited access. 
I do think it’s likely a real minority because the current system is really crappy and you often have to wait very long times for a chair…..so I really don’t think many people are using it just for convenience.   My mom has interstitial lung disease and can walk short distances but would not be able to walk through an airport.  [/quote]
People were doing this with Southwest to board early and pick a set. You’d get to the gate and there would be a line of 35 people in wheelchairs and maybe two of them would use one to get off.[/quote]

I've never seen this and I fly SW all the time. [/quote]

DP. Very common on routes from northern states to FLL, especially in the winter. All the patients are age 70+. “Miracle flights” they are called. [/quote]

I'm not going to go there, speculating about the physical abilities of 70+ year old senior citizens to navigate a large airport. I would expect this group to have higher than average accessibility needs. [/quote]

Did you miss the part where they walk off the plane in FLL (a HUGE airport BTW) needing no assistance whatsoever?

Anyway, it doesn’t matter because Southwest is ending this loophole very soon. For families too. So now disabled people and families will need to pay for seat assignments like everyone else, or accept what they are given. [/quote]

So, what happened AFTER they walked off the plane?  Were they racing sprints? Or waiting for their wheelchair to show up?  You don’t really know, do you?   Again, walking off the plane and maybe even walking to the nearest rest room doesn’t also mean being able to navigate a large airport.  [/quote]

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