Should WestJet have accommodated these people?

[nextimeround]

If this person was not in a wheel chair would it have even made the news? Boarding time for flights is 20 - 30 minutes before the departure time. You can't arrive at the airport 25 minutes before the departure time, when everyone else has already boarded the plane and expect to get on. That is disrespectful to the passengers that actually put in the effort to arrive on time (or early) and to the flight crew who has already buttoned up the aircraft's luggage compartments, parked the equipment and are preparing to depart the aircraft.

I may seem callous but it truly bugs me when people use disabilities as an excuse for why common sense and respectful attitude don't apply to them.

[underscore]

It sounds like a lot of people here have never flown before. Even an able-bodied person with no luggage couldn't clear security and get on the plane in under 15 minutes (it says they arrived 26 minutes before the flight took off, but part of that time gets eaten up by passenger checks, taxi-ing, etc) on a Monday morning. For a person in a wheelchair that requires extra screening, I'd say you'd want to be there 2 hours prior to a Monday morning flight like that.

I think some folks just like to complain and think for some reason or other they are special.

I got the same vibe from the person who was griping about the plane that got stuck, in this story http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-st ... .htm#85582

She's all bent out of shape because she was held on the plane for an hour or so, big deal, my flight from Toronto on Saturday was a few hundred feet off the runway when the pilot aborted and went into a steep climb, opting instead for Vancouver due to heavy snowfall. We sat on the tarmac in Vancouver for 4 hours while the plane refueled, new flight crew were assembled, as they were at the end of their shift, and waited for the weather to improve at Kelowna before another attempt to land was made. We survived.

This reminds me of a flight I was on from Calgary to Kelowna. We were delayed about 30 minutes as they had to de-ice the plane and such, and the woman beside me asks the flight attendant (before we've even taken off) if they'll be bringing out beverages and drinks before we take off to compensate for the "long wait"

[mexi cali]

this is really sick how many ppl r blaming the victim

They weren't victims. Stop trying to make them out to be.

[mexi cali]

I feel for the family (I have had to take family members to long awaited specialists' appointments) but also feel that WestJet wasn't at fault. Even they didn't have normal luggage a wheelchair is still treated like a checked bag that has to go through a security check before placed in cargo. I have travelled with wheelchairs in the past and it is never an easy or quick process.

which is why you make allowances. Nothing special about it. I have a daughter who has had to be flown to Vancouver for 19 years and we have always made allowances to make sure that we wouldn't be delayed.

[mexi cali]

pretty sick guys .. i woulda done what i could to get this guy on the plane and still got there on time . they had 19 minutes or so to do it if they were 19 minutes early to vancouver . does not seem that unrealistic .

You're not a flyer.

[mexi cali]

[quote="Grandan" and in this day in age of being able to check-in 24 hours before your flight via phone or internet, there's really no reason one shouldn't be checked-in before cut-off time.[/quote]
We attempted to log in from home to get our boarding passes 24 hours, then 8 hours ahead of time on a recent trip but were instead directed to go to the airport where we waited 2 hours in a lineup that was going nowhere.
We arrived well ahead of time but flight was delayed 4 hours( no body could print boarding passes and someone failed to fill out some necessary paperwork for the flight to depart and a backup crew needed to be brought in to replace the crew that had not had enough sleep). Same airline on the return flight we were also not able to print out boarding passes and at the airport a supervisor needed to be called to log us in. That, granted, is the exception but it has happened before.
At some airports it is not possible to get a boarding pass except at the Kiosk and I expect it will go this direction as move forward. Also the baggage tags are printed from the same kiosk. Helpful attendants will help you through the process. The counter staff simply make sure everything is done right including the weight of the bag which incidently is an extra $25 to put on board and $100 if overweight flying from the USA with our recent airline.
BTW the 4 hour delay resulted in a missed connecting flight and lost baggage which we were able to track down and reunite with 18 hours later. Moral of the story, even arriving well ahead of time is no guarantee that your flight will be sucessfull. To flirt with disaster by arriving after the official boading time is exposing yourself to no end of grief. We once missed a flight to New Zealand by 1 minute due to bad weather in Kelowna several years ago (4 hour delay). The clerk was just closing her computer to proceed to the gate when we arrived but she would not budge and we needed to spend the night in Vancouver and were lucky to find a empty seats on a flight the next day. Stressfull.[/quote]

Wow. If I were you I wouldn't fly. You took a long, graceful arc of a shot at admitting that these two passengers were in the wrong by condemning the air travel industry.

Nice job.

[dreamon]

*please repost in the correct thread/Jo*

[theyeti]

ya i have not been flying much for a few yrs now . i absolutely hate taking my shoes off or being frisked . and what for ? until the security overload is relaxed a bit i wont be flying . get treated like a prisoner and pay for the chance to do it

[delSol97]

ya i have not been flying much for a few yrs now . i absolutely hate taking my shoes off or being frisked . and what for ? until the security overload is relaxed a bit i wont be flying . get treated like a prisoner and pay for the chance to do it

I'm sure those on American Airlines Flight 11 N334AA, United Airlines Flight 175 N612UA, American Airlines Flight 77 N644AA, and United Airlines Flight 93 N591UA wished they had.

[theyeti]

thats an interesting statement to say the least ..

[grizz]

If this person was not in a wheel chair would it have even made the news? Boarding time for flights is 20 - 30 minutes before the departure time. You can't arrive at the airport 25 minutes before the departure time, when everyone else has already boarded the plane and expect to get on. That is disrespectful to the passengers that actually put in the effort to arrive on time (or early) and to the flight crew who has already buttoned up the aircraft's luggage compartments, parked the equipment and are preparing to depart the aircraft.

I may seem callous but it truly bugs me when people use disabilities as an excuse for why common sense and respectful attitude don't apply to them.

FACT IS: IF he was not in a wheelchair he would have been let on, as the doors were still open. Second FACT; This is not a wheelchair person saying Im special let me on, and not used as a EXCUSE. Third FACT; It was the ignorant WestJet employees one with her ignorant smirk on her face, and the looking at this man like he was a freak or something, that made these people angry . Fourth FACT: It was the WestJet employees whom bragged about being early and leaving early. FIFTH FACT: Wheelchairs ALWAYS go on last and Come off first. SIXTH FACT: People in wheelchairs have the option of loaded first or last their choice, again was not a issue. This guys transfers in less than a minute. Many MORE FACTS that none of you people know about. THese people to date still have not got their refund.

[cv23]

FACT IS: IF he was not in a wheelchair he would have been let on, as the doors were still open. Second FACT; This is not a wheelchair person saying Im special let me on, and not used as a EXCUSE. Third FACT; It was the ignorant WestJet employees one with her ignorant smirk on her face, and the looking at this man like he was a freak or something, that made these people angry . Fourth FACT: It was the WestJet employees whom bragged about being early and leaving early. FIFTH FACT: Wheelchairs ALWAYS go on last and Come off first. SIXTH FACT: People in wheelchairs have the option of loaded first or last their choice, again was not a issue. This guys transfers in less than a minute. Many MORE FACTS that none of you people know about. THese people to date still have not got their refund.

Here's a couple you seem to have overlooked
FACT , Westjet is a private company and run their business based on their rules, the most important of which says be at least an hour early. If you don't like the companies rules or policies then don't patronize the company.
FACT, These people are not entitled to a refund under the terms they accepted when they bought their tickets and most certainly wouldn't get one if they flew AC, our "National" Airline.

[underscore]

FACT IS: IF he was not in a wheelchair he would have been let on, as the doors were still open. Second FACT; This is not a wheelchair person saying Im special let me on, and not used as a EXCUSE. Third FACT; It was the ignorant WestJet employees one with her ignorant smirk on her face, and the looking at this man like he was a freak or something, that made these people angry . Fourth FACT: It was the WestJet employees whom bragged about being early and leaving early. FIFTH FACT: Wheelchairs ALWAYS go on last and Come off first. SIXTH FACT: People in wheelchairs have the option of loaded first or last their choice, again was not a issue. This guys transfers in less than a minute. Many MORE FACTS that none of you people know about. THese people to date still have not got their refund.

Where the hell are you getting these "facts" from? If he wasn't in a wheelchair he could clear security faster, but it still would've been extremely unlikely that he'd get through in time. What "transfer" are you talking about that takes less than a minute? There isn't a single thing in an airport that takes less than a minute.

[Dizzy1]

FACT IS: IF he was not in a wheelchair he would have been let on, as the doors were still open. Second FACT; This is not a wheelchair person saying Im special let me on, and not used as a EXCUSE. Third FACT; It was the ignorant WestJet employees one with her ignorant smirk on her face, and the looking at this man like he was a freak or something, that made these people angry . Fourth FACT: It was the WestJet employees whom bragged about being early and leaving early. FIFTH FACT: Wheelchairs ALWAYS go on last and Come off first. SIXTH FACT: People in wheelchairs have the option of loaded first or last their choice, again was not a issue. This guys transfers in less than a minute. Many MORE FACTS that none of you people know about. THese people to date still have not got their refund.

Care to back up your "facts"?

Only "fact" that matters is that they checked in not only past the stated check-in cut-off time but the boarding cut-off time as well ... the airline had no requirement to board them ... fact!

[Always Sunny]

FACT IS: IF he was not in a wheelchair he would have been let on, as the doors were still open. Second FACT; This is not a wheelchair person saying Im special let me on, and not used as a EXCUSE. Third FACT; It was the ignorant WestJet employees one with her ignorant smirk on her face, and the looking at this man like he was a freak or something, that made these people angry . Fourth FACT: It was the WestJet employees whom bragged about being early and leaving early. FIFTH FACT: Wheelchairs ALWAYS go on last and Come off first. SIXTH FACT: People in wheelchairs have the option of loaded first or last their choice, again was not a issue. This guys transfers in less than a minute. Many MORE FACTS that none of you people know about. THese people to date still have not got their refund.

Really? Where does it state that the doors were still open? Remember, they got there 26 minutes before the plane was scheduled to leave, and that same plane arrive 19 minutes ahead of schedule. All things being equal that plane lifted off 7 minutes after they arrive. If you've ever flown before, give your head a shake because there is no way a plane goes from boarding to lift off in 7 minutes.

This man had an appointment in Vancouver because he was wheelchair bound and used that as an excuse for why they needed to be let on, despite showing up frightfully late.

Transfers in less than a minute? What processes are you possibly referring to that take less than a minute?