Fri Dec 22 21:54:33 PST 2006
United Airlines: Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?
Boy, am I angry. I had planned to
write a nice article about the excellent disability accommodations
I'd received from United Airlines on my outbound trip to Denver,
but at the moment all I can think about is how angry I am at their
casual disregard for the law when booking my return flight.
Outbound, I'd explained my need for accommodations to the reservations agent, and had no problems getting my accommodative seating. In fact, while it wasn't required, the agent went so far as to block off an entire row of seats for Glindy and I in bulkhead so that we wouldn't have any issues. That's what I call customer service!
However, I just got off the phone with a putative Complaints Resolution Officer for United—but he was, in fact, just a call-center supervisor who obviously didn't know the law. When I asked for bulkhead seats, he told me that they would only give them to me if I were blind or unable to walk. I asked if any blind or immobilized passengers were currently occupying those bulkhead seats, and he said no, but they made it a policy to hold them "in reserve."
I told him that if they needed to move me to accommodate someone who had greater need of those bulkhead seats than my service dog and I, then of course I would understand, but otherwise they were required to release one of those seats to me. He insisted that they didn't; that all they had to do was make a "reasonable accommodation" of some sort.
In the end, rather than not get my ticket changed at all, I agreed to be seated in Economy Plus seating, which boasts "five extra inches of leg room," although it's not entirely clear to me that this is five inches in front of the seat stanchions, which are the main reason I avoid non-bulkhead seats when traveling with Glindy. It doesn't do us any good if it's five extra inches in depth under the seats.
Alas, I didn't think to pull out my handy-dandy legal cheat sheet. By that point, the main issue was that I needed to have my non-refundable tickets changed before the flight left, so I was more interested in getting the flight changed than anything else. However, after hanging up the phone, I did a little double-checking.
14 CFR 382.38(3) specifically says:
Now that I have my ticket properly changed for my homeward flight, I plan to call tomorrow to insist that they change my seat from Economy Plus back to bulkhead seating. It's what I asked for. It's what I want. And even if I occasionally let myself be bullied when I shouldn't, there's nothing that says I can't regroup, gather my thoughts, and try again.
Outbound, I'd explained my need for accommodations to the reservations agent, and had no problems getting my accommodative seating. In fact, while it wasn't required, the agent went so far as to block off an entire row of seats for Glindy and I in bulkhead so that we wouldn't have any issues. That's what I call customer service!
However, I just got off the phone with a putative Complaints Resolution Officer for United—but he was, in fact, just a call-center supervisor who obviously didn't know the law. When I asked for bulkhead seats, he told me that they would only give them to me if I were blind or unable to walk. I asked if any blind or immobilized passengers were currently occupying those bulkhead seats, and he said no, but they made it a policy to hold them "in reserve."
I told him that if they needed to move me to accommodate someone who had greater need of those bulkhead seats than my service dog and I, then of course I would understand, but otherwise they were required to release one of those seats to me. He insisted that they didn't; that all they had to do was make a "reasonable accommodation" of some sort.
In the end, rather than not get my ticket changed at all, I agreed to be seated in Economy Plus seating, which boasts "five extra inches of leg room," although it's not entirely clear to me that this is five inches in front of the seat stanchions, which are the main reason I avoid non-bulkhead seats when traveling with Glindy. It doesn't do us any good if it's five extra inches in depth under the seats.
Alas, I didn't think to pull out my handy-dandy legal cheat sheet. By that point, the main issue was that I needed to have my non-refundable tickets changed before the flight left, so I was more interested in getting the flight changed than anything else. However, after hanging up the phone, I did a little double-checking.
14 CFR 382.38(3) specifically says:
For an individual traveling with a service animal, the carrier shall provide, as the individual requests, either a bulkhead seat or a seat other than a bulkhead seat.so clearly a disabled individual can insist on a bulkhead seat, whatever this guy said.
Now that I have my ticket properly changed for my homeward flight, I plan to call tomorrow to insist that they change my seat from Economy Plus back to bulkhead seating. It's what I asked for. It's what I want. And even if I occasionally let myself be bullied when I shouldn't, there's nothing that says I can't regroup, gather my thoughts, and try again.