I fully appreciate all the posters here saying that you can’t tell people’s additional needs just from looking. However, I know that there are abusers because my MIL is one of them. She can and does walk miles, but today she told us she booked the wheelchair service at the airport because she can’t be bothered with the hassle of walking with her bag.

Anonymous wrote: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?

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?

Anonymous wrote:Are you absolutely certain they have no physical need? You can't always see it. I used to be able to walk through the airport OR stand in line. I couldn't do both.

You can't always see what is going on.

+1 Christina Applegate talks about this in her podcast about MS; some disabilities are not outwardly apparent. OP is ignorant.

Anonymous wrote:This is OP - I am saying this because I have seen this at IAD. A person who can walk from the parking lot to check-in counter, stand in line to get checked in and for their boarding pass, then turn around and request a wheelchair to get to the gate? When another person who might be really in need of one have to wait? I am not saying stop the service, but if you really aren't in need of a wheelchair then pay a fee to use it. I believe the people who push the wheelchairs are volunteers? I might be wrong.

They are not volunteers at IAD it's a company that pays poorly. You arrange in advance with airline.

Most people don’t have any desire to use a wheelchair. It’s inconvenient. You’re probably judging fit looking older people who had hip surgery or similar.

Delta usually put my deaf aunt in a wheelchair. She could not hear anything. The airline did it because she could not hear audio announcements. She was able-bodied other than being deaf.

Note well - she did not ask for a wheel chair. The airline insisted on it when they learned she was deaf.

Anonymous wrote:This is OP - I am saying this because I have seen this at IAD. A person who can walk from the parking lot to check-in counter, stand in line to get checked in and for their boarding pass, then turn around and request a wheelchair to get to the gate? When another person who might be really in need of one have to wait? I am not saying stop the service, but if you really aren't in need of a wheelchair then pay a fee to use it. I believe the people who push the wheelchairs are volunteers? I might be wrong.

How do you know they aren't in need? How can you tell from looking at someone? I look very healthy on the outside, but I'm not (of course, I'd never get on a plane now but that's a different issue).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I googled quickly and “jetway Jesus” is a term that flight attendants and airport staff use. As soon as the travelers get off, they hop right of the wheelchairs and are healed of their ailments. Hallelujah!

Sure they do.

If so, however, they should be ashamed too just like OP.

Nurses and doctors talk smack about patients during surgery. That's ok in your book too?

Yes, it's fine. Gallows humor is what gets medical staff through their very stressful days.

Nope, it's deplorable behavior. I hope they talk shit about you next time you're having a procedure.

My mom (now deceased) would have looked like an abuser to you. She could walk when she started requesting a wheelchair for airports, but she could not HEAR the overhead announcements. She missed a flight once when the gate was changed and she did not hear the announcement. She asked for a wheelchair after that because it was the only way to get a person to accompany her and that person could hear what gate to go to, any changes, delays, etc. She didn't need help when she was flying back home because a family member met her at the gate as she disembarked.

So, don't assume that it's always illegitimate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I googled quickly and “jetway Jesus” is a term that flight attendants and airport staff use. As soon as the travelers get off, they hop right of the wheelchairs and are healed of their ailments. Hallelujah!

Sure they do.

If so, however, they should be ashamed too just like OP.

Nurses and doctors talk smack about patients during surgery. That's ok in your book too?

Yes, it's fine. Gallows humor is what gets medical staff through their very stressful days.

I had to use one of these when I was about 35 and I looked so healthy, and had zero issues that you would know about. visibly even if you saw me walk. You have no idea

Sometimes people who seem able-bodied to a passing stranger have issues walking longer distances. That was the case with my mom, who toward the end of her life had neuropathy as a chemo side effect. It often made walking painful, although she could technically walk.

Mind your own damn business. I had to use this sometimes in my thirties. I would have looked fine to you. And yes I could walk some. Just not the long haul distances in airports. And I could not stand in long lines.

I will say, my then boyfriend, once I was better, sort of half jokingly suggested I keep using it when we flew internationally once. I refused, but it made me question his morals.

If people are truly faking, they are bad people and will get what's coming to them eventually, through karma or whatnot. But those people are few and far between.

Also FYI using the wheelchair can be annoying - it can take a while to come, sometimes the person jerks you around a lot, etc.

I used to feel this way, before travelling with my parents and ILs. They all “look” able bodied, but one person has a serious disease that affects his cartilage and walking long distances feels like his bones grating together. Another had a knee replacement that didn’t heal correctly. One is recovering from leukemia. There are so so so many different issues that you can’t see but that make walking through ginormous airports very difficult. This is a service provided, they are allowed to utilize it, and they SHOULD.

Unfortunately posts like this trying to shame people for using available services can mean people skip out on using them and end up in unnecessary pain. It’s actually kind of dangerous to be so rude about these services.

Anonymous wrote:I would be happy if they just cut down on the number of people boarding with people in wheelchairs. There is no reason for more than one person and that should only be if the person needs help. I hate seeing huge families getting on just cause Grandma is in a wheelchair. This used to drive me crazy especially on Southwest where you would pay for a good boarding number but the plane would already be half full due to all the preboarders.

You buy budget airline tickets. This is what you have to deal with.