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A Letter to United Airlines
Aug. 19th, 2011 09:49 pm[If this comes across as negative towards people who do need a wheelchair, that's not my intent at all. My point is that there are a lot of fairly negative things about not being treated as ably as you are.]
Hi. I'm totally blind. When I first started using the United website several years ago, the special assistance tab on the website had an option for visually impaired passengers who need assistance but not a wheelchair. I appreciated that: it's very frustrating to be forced to sit in a wheelchair and treated as less capable than you are. The sort of humiliating treatment that you get is typified by an experience in Paris on a non-United flight. The purser noticed that I was standing once the wheelchair arrived, came over and said that I seemed to be walking well for someone who required a wheelchair. On my last two reservations, this option has disappeared. I may select a wheelchair or no assistance at all. I'd like to understand why this has changed, and express strong disappointment at the decision.
Hi. I'm totally blind. When I first started using the United website several years ago, the special assistance tab on the website had an option for visually impaired passengers who need assistance but not a wheelchair. I appreciated that: it's very frustrating to be forced to sit in a wheelchair and treated as less capable than you are. The sort of humiliating treatment that you get is typified by an experience in Paris on a non-United flight. The purser noticed that I was standing once the wheelchair arrived, came over and said that I seemed to be walking well for someone who required a wheelchair. On my last two reservations, this option has disappeared. I may select a wheelchair or no assistance at all. I'd like to understand why this has changed, and express strong disappointment at the decision.
