Is Wheelchair Service Free With Delta Airlines

I was recently invited to attend the annual meeting of the Delta Air Lines Advisory Board on Disability. The coming together took identify in Orlando, Florida from August five-vii, 2015. I practise non sit on this board, simply was extended the invitation due to my status as one of Delta's nearly frequent travelers with a concrete inability. Since Jan 2014, I have flown 236,070 miles beyond 204 flight segments on Delta and its partner carriers – all with my ability wheelchair.

Through those travels, I have been afforded a unique, global perspective on Delta'south services for the wheelchair traveler. I have flown Delta-operated flights to and/or from 32 airports in the Usa, Asia and Europe. I have continued on to other destinations using partner airlines, including Air France, China Eastern, China Southern, Kenya Airways, KLM and Virgin Atlantic.

In this commodity, I look to share my thoughts on the services offered to travelers with disabilities at Delta, takeaways from the board coming together, and a brief history of my experiences with the airline. I will also share a few tips that I hope will make air travel more pleasant for wheelchair users.

Set realistic expectations for traveling with a disability.

Things happen. Mistakes are made. All travelers tin be inconvenienced by many types of service failures throughout the journey. There are a lot of moving parts in air travel. Information technology's best to shrug off the minor inconveniences.

On the way to the Informational Board meeting, my wheelchair was damaged while being removed from the cargo hold in Atlanta. The damage was small-scale, and Delta has arranged for information technology to be fixed at my convenience. It was an accident, a fault. Baggage handlers on the ramp did not intentionally decide to damage my wheelchair. I shrugged it off. This also happened on a trip to Indianapolis concluding month. Delta representatives at the Indy airdrome addressed information technology promptly and the repairs were fabricated upon my render abode.

At the lath meeting in Orlando, Delta reported that in 2014, iii.34 of every 100 wheelchairs they carried were damaged. This is an comeback from the 2010 figure of 3.71 per 100.

For the wheelchair traveler, the most frustrating failures occur inside the airport. Passengers might wish to overlook the first occasion of their needs not being met promptly or efficiently, merely subsequent shortcomings should be reported to the airline.

Wheelchair travel with Delta: My story (in brief)

On Jan five, 2014, I took my offset flight on Delta as a triple amputee and power wheelchair user. On at least one-third of the flights that have followed, I experienced a violation (or violations) of my civil and air travel rights, as defined past the Air Carrier Access Act.

I speedily realized that repeated violations were a big deal, as they demonstrated a pattern that afflicted non simply me, only other travelers with disabilities. In 2014, one.2 million of us flew on Delta. Eastward-mails sent to the airline concerning my experiences were answered with a canned response and some compensatory frequent flyer miles. From my perspective, zip was being done to address the underlying bug. My travel plans were often disrupted past pregnant delays in the return of my wheelchair, staff not present to assist with boarding/deplaning or damage to my wheelchair.

The quality of my travel experience on Delta has depended a great deal on the airports I fly to, from or connect through. Atlanta and Seattle-Tacoma, major hubs for Delta, are 2 of the best airports with regard to ACAA compliance. Baltimore, Boston, Los Angeles and St. Louis are among the worst. I stopped flying Delta to New York-JFK because of repeated ACAA violations that would generate national headlines if I spoke out. Vice President Biden is correct in saying that an airport of the 3rd-world exists in New York, just for the wheelchair user, it is Delta'southward Terminal 4 at JFK.

Last yr, I was asked to give a presentation to the Delta team at John F. Kennedy International Airport. I agreed and offered to do so without compensation. I planned to address the ACAA and issues concerning gate amanuensis responsibilities, pre-boarding, wheelchair aid and communication. Delta canceled this meeting on iii separate occasions, frequently at the last infinitesimal. I concluded that significant problems existed in not simply the provision of services for the disabled at that aerodrome, just in the management team also.

At the end of 2014, I made the decision to carelessness my top-tier Delta Diamond Medallion loyalty in search of greener pastures elsewhere. The results have been a mixed bag that I will address in future weblog posts. Use of my frequent flyer miles has yet led me to have 50 flights on Delta and its partners and then far this twelvemonth.

I was incorrect about the Advisory Board.

When I beginning received an invitation to the board meeting, I suspected that it would be a public relations stunt and a way to shield the airline from criticism. I could not have been more than off base in my assumption.

The individuals who comprise the board are champions for equal access. They work for and take created organizations that offer opportunity to a large minority that is often overlooked by society. xiv of the xv lath members take a inability. They come from 12 U.S. states and fix a mission to brand Delta Air Lines the "carrier of choice" for travelers with disabilities. They volunteer their fourth dimension and pursue this goal with a determined spirit. Their piece of work should exist celebrated, and I am happy to have met them.

Delta is information-driven.

I of the means the Advisory Lath is able to empathize and pinpoint problems affecting travelers with disabilities is through data collected from passenger surveys and reports from agents. After each trip, travelers who requested wheelchair assistance or another special service are e-mailed a survey. This survey allows passengers to grade their travel feel and point out issues with the services they requested.

Data from these surveys is collected, quantified, reviewed at corporate board meetings and passed on to the Advisory Lath on Disability.

In the surface-level data that was presented at the closing session, I noticed a correlation between my own experiences and the ratings assigned to airports in the Delta network. I accept long championed Seattle-Tacoma International Airdrome as a model for efficiency, care and reliability in services for wheelchair travelers. Results from Delta's surveys supported that, equally it was the top rated of the loftier-traffic stations that were displayed. Likewise, Boston, Los Angeles and New York-JFK were at the bottom.

Data tin exist misunderstood.

As the maxim goes, "The Devil is in the details." Quantified data is useful in spotting trends and determining where greater attention should exist directed. Disabilities are unique to the individual. Every bit such, individual needs vary greatly from person to person. The sorting and segmenting of complaints into broad categories leaves out the critical details that identify specific problems.

I of the data points celebrated at the board meeting was a twelvemonth-over-year decrease in the number Inability Service complaints filed with the U.S. Section of Transportation. Through July, 35 complaints had been filed in 2015, compared to 87 for the full yr 2014. SVP John Laughter pointed out that Delta's own internal complaint reporting and performance data makes it clear that in that location is a great deal of work to be done.

A point of contention with Delta has been my recommendation to hold airlines answerable for ACAA violations by filing a report with the Section of Transportation. Should the DOT decide to pursue enforcement activeness against an airline, private violations tin each carry a maximum $27,500 fine.

Complaints sent to Delta or whatsoever other airline's Customer Care segmentation are non bailiwick to directly DOT review or investigation. If the passenger does non frontward a complaint to the DOT'south Air Consumer Protection partition, it cannot exist used to enforce his/her civil rights under the Air Carrier Access Deed. An exception is made if the DOT opens a larger investigation and subpoenas the information from the airline.

In 2014, I did not file a single complaint with the DOT. I communicated only egregious violations, directly with Delta Customer Intendance. Had I forwarded every ACAA violation I encountered to the DOT, Delta's tally of 87 complaints would have more than doubled. This is proof enough that the number of DOT complaints is not a statistically significant representation of the land of disability services at Delta or any other airline.

Talk to the airline first.

I have always recommended that passengers allow airlines an opportunity to accost issues they experience while traveling. The ACAA requires airlines to railroad train one or moreComplaint Resolution Officials (CROs) at every airport in which they operate. This CRO tin can be requested at whatsoever time to address problems straight with the rider. They are trained to bargain with matters specifically relating to travelers with disabilities.

CROs are focused on customer service and will do their all-time to offer reasonable accommodations and solutions in response to a particular service failure.

If y'all have encountered a blueprint of repeated violations of your rights nether the ACAA, I encourage you to submit a report to the DOT. In 2011, Delta was fined $ii million as a result of complaints from passengers whose disability service needs were non met. The bulk of the fine was credited back to Delta for expenditures designed to amend service for travelers with disabilities.

The meeting

Although I was not invited to the closed door meetings on August 5 and 6, I was able to hear the committee reports at the closing session. The Board is doing bang-up work identifying problems throughout the "travel ribbon," the course of travel from booking through baggage claim. The question, as with any advisory board, is whether Delta will implement the solutions they have recommended.

Several executive leaders from Delta's corporate office attended the effect. I was able to speak with Allison Ausband, SVP of In-Flight Service; John Laughter, SVP of Corporate Safety, Security and Compliance; and James Sarvis, VP of Airport Client Service. Each gave a presentation concerning their part in the provision of services for travelers with disabilities. They shared a vision for pushing Delta beyond the minimum requirements of the ACAA.

How will that vision be realized?

Strong leadership, advocacy and communication are the keys to ensuring that Delta reaches compliance with the Air Carrier Admission Act. As baby boomers retire at an ever increasing rate, information technology makes business organization sense for airlines to expand the scope of services bachelor to travelers with disabilities. While the senior executives I met in Orlando shared the Advisory Board's want to brand Delta the "carrier of choice" for persons with disabilities, the necessary changes will not exist fabricated overnight. Implementing the board'south recommendations will require significant capital investment and a delivery to turning reform into reality.

Many of the services offered to mobility impaired passengers are provided by third-party contractors. Delta must work to maintain a sufficient level of oversight to ensure that agents of the contractor are properly trained, organized efficiently and never overextended.

New training has been designed that will better fix flight attendants to help passengers with disabilities onboard. The flight itself cannot exist overlooked as it is perhaps the most critical part of the "travel ribbon." It is skilful to run across that Delta has recognized an surface area for improvement and is taking positive activity.

The difficulties in communication betwixt reservations, airport staff, ramp personnel and contractors are characteristics of an information silo. These barriers must exist broken down. Failure to do so will maintain the condition quo.

SVP John Laughter expressed his desire to incorporate elements of universal or inclusive blueprint into the construction of future airport and terminal facilities. Universal design is an architectural framework/concept that aims to make all elements of the congenital environment attainable to persons of all abilities. While this is a long term goal, the majority of the world'due south major airports already offer accommodations for travelers with disabilities and can exist accessed by wheelchair.

Delta's Program Manager for Disabilities, David Martin, is a leader who is dedicated to expanding access for travelers of all abilities. I have come up to appreciate his realistic approach to addressing the issues which travelers with disabilities face on a daily basis. It is my hope that his vision, coupled with that of the Informational Board and calls from travelers like me, will not fall on deaf ears.

What does the "Delta Difference" mean to travelers with disabilities?

Disability is even so new to me. I have been back up in the air for less than two years. In that first year, I chose to fly Delta. I have been a fan of the company for equally long every bit I can remember. A "Keep Climbing" magnet is (nevertheless) affixed to the back of my minivan. Their livery is beautiful. The people, from check-in to baggage claim, are oftentimes exceptional. Their operational functioning is near the top.

Services for travelers with disabilities, though, are non upward to par. Given my disability and associated needs, I take adult a new perspective that forces me to cheque that love and loyalty at the door.

I accept traveled with other airlines both domestically and internationally. The sad truth is this: substantial differences in service for the disabled do not frequently exist between carriers.

On Delta, I have been able to anticipate the level of service I volition receive based on my destination. Boston, Los Angeles or New York-JFK? Buckle upward and gear up for a nightmare. Atlanta, Gainesville or Seattle? No trouble. I no longer fly Delta because I travel frequently to airports and cities where Delta'due south competitors serve me better.

I am confident that the issues at Delta can be corrected. The airline must step up and invite more customers, like me, to the tabular array. What I experienced at the Advisory Board coming together in Orlando gave me hope that the global airline I love will "Continue Climbing" in an effort to amend serve passengers with disabilities. I look forward to that twenty-four hour period, but it still seems a long way off.

Have yous, a friend or family unit member traveled on Delta Air Lines with a disability? What was it like? Were your needs met? Share your experience in the comments below.