Crappy wheelchair assistance at airport

[Booboostwo]

Today I was traveling with 5yo DD from Toulouse to Manchester. I have a herniated disc (waiting for op) and have trouble standing but I can walk slowly with a cane and I am OK sitting so I thought it sensible to book wheelchair assistance at the airport.

We turned up 1.5 hours before the flight, as advised, and checked in immediately at which point we were asked to sit and wait for the assistance. We were advised it would be a while which I assumed would be 10 minutes but turned out to be a 45 minute wait. Another passenger was also waiting one hour for the same flight.

When the assistant turned up he was very rude and in a huge hurry. He was very rude to another passenger who wanted to ask how long his wheelchair was going to be and then pushed me so fast DD could not keep up. When I asked him to slow down he said he was walking normally and she should just keep up! It might sound a bit OTT but I was genuinely stressed with DD behind me, so that I couldn't see her in a busy airport.

When we got to security he was, miraculously, less in a hurry and greeted all his mates with kisses and told them about the 'rude' passenger who had tried to delay him. (Spending longer telling the story than he would have spent replying to the man).

Now this was a rude guy but the delay meant we never got to stop for food (flight was at 14:30 so DD didn't get any lunch until on the plane at 15h), we didn't stop at the play area and god help us if we needed the toilet!

Is this standard and to be expected? We spent ages waiting at check in, when I complained I was told I could walk to the restaurant at the other end of the airport which kind of defeated the wheelchair purpose and that I might miss the assistance person then! So we were stuck waiting and then rushed on board.

"OP, your hysteria over your 'rights' to buy a bottle of cheap perfume is frankly insulting to people who suffer actual disabalism"

^THIS. If you would like to start complaining about how shit the world is for disabled people, complaining about your experience about how your daughter couldn't play at the airport the first time you used a wheelchair ever for a temporary problem, isn't the way to go about it.

If you would like to start a thread asking what you could do to help ensure equality for people with disabilities, knock yourself out. I'm sure lots of us would rather engage with that than sympathise with a self centred thread like this that displays such a lack of insight into our actual lives.

If you think you genuinely have experienced horrendous disablism you don't have a clue. Not least as you're not actually disabled are you? It's like me starting a thread about all the terrible racism I have experienced, then saying I am white, but one time I had a suntan so I know what it's like and I was treated so badly (I'm sorry if that is offensive to anyone but it's comparable to how offensive I find this!)

But please, do continue being outraged on our behalf

Clearly I have lost my ability to format posts correctly in my own outrage...

My aunt had a brilliant wheelchair pusher at Heathrow recently who brought her all the way to the car park.

I really don't understand your complaint about not being able to eat. The pusher couldn't stop and wait for that. You could have eaten beforehand.

There should be (and usually is ime) two sets of assistance - one to get you through check in/security, they then leave you to your free time and arrange for a second set of assistance to get you to/through the gate and on to the plane.

If this was not what happened, complain. And if the person was rude, complain about that too.

I had a bad experience a few years back travelling with a child when disabled, at Gatwick. I complained, and the experience has not been repeated. :)

Thanks for explaining zebra
I wonder if self locking wheelchairs like self locking trollies would work?

I didn't really think about all the various practicalities wheelchair users have to deal with. You would think in this day and age with all the technology and the awareness that we could at least give disabled people a pleasant experience of airports and flying.

Its just wrong. That's all I have to say really.

Zebra I was asking myself that last week actually . It might make such a big difference if people who could push their own wheelchair could have those manual wheelchairs on loan . Just curious but are you allowed to bring your own wheelchair onto the plane if it isn't an electric wheelchair or do you have to check it in ? A friend in Vietnam asked me to buy a wheelchair for him since wheelchairs are better outside of Vietnam but I was wondering how I would get it to him without it being broken . I was almost about to say it was for me and you sit at the airport but I don't know how these things work .

And as far as shoes go I always use Velcro or very easy sandals that don't have any buckles or straps that need Time to undo . I also found a really nice comfortable pair of slip on trainers . When I am on the plane I try and have straws and closed lids so drinks don't go flying during turbulence or when the meal arrives and it's a full plane . I get sick from other members of the visually impaired community sometimes because apparently I am not a good example of an independent blind person . I have some other needs though and I would much rather arrive in dry clothing then sit on a long haul flight covered in Coca-Cola or coffee . I do what's easiest for me and to hell with other peoples judging .

Your own wheelchair (manual or powerchair), usually like a buggy, can be used as far as the air bridge and is then put in the hold and waiting for you when you disembark. When it isn't waiting, there will be a manual and an assistant until it is unloaded

By the way a friend of mine used face time the other day in Hong Kong to find something when he was waiting at the gate . I thought it was a really creative idea . He is blind so he used the FaceTime video and had his nephew guide him to where he wanted to go !

Oh OK thank you beyond

You are not bring unreasonable but sadly you are being unrealistic.
The consensus is that they need to get you from check in to boarding and that you need constant help. They therefore assume you would also need help to get around the shops and play area too which they don't have time to do. They also don't have time to be running round the airport finding you from a non designated place they just don't have staff. The reason you waited so long is they were elsewhere with other members of the public likely.

They should have made allowances for your child though not rushed off.

I do hear you though. My Mum will no longer travel by plane after an awful experience at terminal three Manchester last year. It was really awful.

YABU, you would have let the other guy wait whilst presumably the guy pushing you, assisted in getting lunch for your DD & then gave her time to play in a play area.

His job is to get you from the entrance to the departure gate, then onto the plane.

If your DD needed a wee mid flight there'd be no one to take her. So the scenario I assume would be the same if she needed a wee at the departure gate. You would have self propelled or walked with your cane to the toilet.

If he was the only member of staff on that day, he was probably really busy, plus quite depressed with his job that pays minimum wage, with customers who assume he's their servant.

I'm a w/c user and have used this service many times. I've always been with my wheelchair, they put it in the hold after I'm on the plane.

You sound really quite self entitled. You got the assistance you requested. You could have put DD on your knee.

You are unreasonable to expect all them things, although I'm guessing your complaint letter will make their day. Maybe he could have given you a foot rub too.

YABU I'm afraid. Airports are not enjoyable places for anyone. The facts of your story are that you arrived at an airport, requested and received assistance to get you to your plane. There's nothing unreasonable about that. Keeping in mind that you had to wait a while for someone to push your wheelchair, perhaps they were busy and that's why he rushed! If you were abusive or unappreciative of his efforts to assist you then you can't blame him for telling the other staff how rude you were to him.

I once waited for four hours on a plane waiting for a wheelchair user to be loaded aboard. Apparently there was only one machine in the airport capable of lifting them aboard, so the whole planeload of passengers was sat on the plane, unable to use the toilet, for four hours. Needless to say there was some ironic slow-clapping of the passenger when he eventually made his way on board! I think in your case you don't have much to complain about, you made your flight.

"ironic slow-clapping of the passenger when he eventually made his way on board"

How embarrassing for the poor man. I hope you meant to type that there was slow-clapping of the airport staff for putting you in that situation, not the man who had no bloody choice. Because what you wrote made it look like you and the other people on the plane were annoyed at him for it

Disablist, Shots was by no means disablist, she told the truth, which apparently you don't like to hear. I've flown from many airports as a disabled person, I've flown before the service was introduced.

If they've said oh you'll be waiting a bit, I try and make my own way through, if I struggle, a fellow passenger usually saw and they assisted.

When I get to the desk my expectations are to get from the entrance to the departure gate. I've never expected anything else.

It's simply crazy you expected him to do that extra stuff. I fly a lot, I have had assistants who I've said I really need to grab some water for the flight, if they've said sorry run off our feet today, which they usually are, I've said no worries. I've always thanked them, as it seems a pretty thankless job, you've pretty much confirmed they get nightmare passengers.

I honestly feel like you're looking for reasons to complain as you didn't get your own way.

I would love to be a disabled disablist. That would make my day. As I've been disabled most of my life, I was bought up to have a 'no one owes you anything' outlook, which I feel quite grateful for.

Your daughter had an appointment in Toulouse, the NHS pretty much cover all conditions. So I can't see why there was any need, if she has a suspected bone condition, surely you should have booked her in as disabled too or sat her on your knee.

Please don't bring her up so she can quote the DDA & UN equivalent, otherwise you're going to have one hell of a brat on your hands.

I really really appreciate my family bringing me up to believe that no one owes me anything because I'm disabled. At times I thought they were harsh, but I'm truly grateful I'm not that self entitled.

Maybe print it off for next time so they can read it and then ask, do you want assistance to the gate or not? Your choice. You could have been the poor soul waiting another 30/45 minutes whilst he made it back to the entrance to get you.

Yes people have horror stories, but I know for sure they can check your wheelchair into the hold after you've boarded. It's not every day you see people on their hands and knees with stairs. In all my years of air travel it's never happened to me. So that was a rather unfortunate one off.

Can somebody be my eyes for a second and explain something to me ? When you arrive at Gatwick or Heathrow for example and you have a lot of luggage are there porters available or is there a phone number to ring to have a porter meet you ? If so how much do you tip them ?

Because I run a charity and often need to bring supplies with me I carry a lot of luggage but when I arrive at the airport often they call assistance to help me get to check-in . When I flew last week I arrived extra early because I was carrying too much weight and I knew I would have to weigh the bags and most likely repack them and possibly send Send some luggage by dhl. The assistance said I had to check in immediately so I could be brought upstairs and when I said I needed to repack and I would be OK alone they said since they met me outside they had to bring me upstairs . What I really needed was a porter not assistance as I could have just held on to the trolley and tipped the Porter a little bit extra . There is a service you can bring to collect your luggage from your house but they were fully booked .

Last week at Gatwick north, I had to get to a check-in desk next to the regular ones, labelled "special assistance". I don't know if there is a way to arrange earlier assistance as I don't travel alone.

I don't tip in the UK, am I supposed to?! Oh bugger.

Tbh, your insistence that the long term disabled are approaching this wrongly, and that you, as a temporary wheel chair user have the right perspective has really got my back up. Until you deal with a lifetime of shit (and I'm purposely not saying "this shit", because i don't think it sounds overly shit) you don't get to tell people that they have given up. Get the fuck over yourself.

Oh and, also at LGW north - after we were through security, we were given a pager and told that we would be paged when it was time for them to assist with boarding.
Exactly as OP thinks should happen.
So it can't be that hard.

Mr Toulouse does sound rude! And not on to let your DD run behind.

My friend used the buggy system at Gatwick and was able to get food in the terminal and was paged when the buggy was ready for her - and her son got to travel in the buggy too.

On the way back though the buggy driver barked at me to carry her luggage as there wasn't room. I had to run behind with my case and her case as well as watching my own DS! We then had to go through the red channel for customs ( buggy doesn't fit down the green channel apparently). Where we had a long session with customs! DS is still asking me what 'hardcore pornography' is

I think some people tip and others for things like porters and things . I have a friend in the Philippines who tips a lot at airports and needless to say he gets great service ! I have traveled with him domestically and I soon as we get to Manila the wheelchair pushers come over and take him wherever he wants . I wonder if people in the USA tip the assistance ? Maybe this is the secret we are all missing ?

Wits, I have clearly missed something if that is your interpretation (and I am one who gets their hackles up a bit too easily )
what did I miss?!

it was in Toulouse ? ha. nuff said

How vile Lux and her fellow travellers were slow hand clapping.

I'm also appalled that expecting reasonable adjustment to allow me the same access to goods and services is considered 'self entitled' by a disabled person!