Long Overdue

[NALs]

At SDQ there is has never been a problem with wheelchair availability when I have been there assisting a passenger with limited mobility who was traveling.
But having to contact an airline employee before receiving assistance is going to make things much more difficult because this assistance is needed at the curb and airline employees are not at the curb.
Those who have or who are actually assisting passengers with limited mobility at SDQ know this from experience like I do.
I cannot speak to what goes on at other airports in the 🇩🇴 .

The airline asks on their website if assistance is required. They have that info before you arrive.

 

[playacaribe2]

Perhaps you just add it to your booking.... like seat selection or ordering a meal

Hopefully, it will be easy

Exactly.

And it is.........easy.

With JetBlue it currently comes under the heading "Special Service Requests" when making your reservation. See above.

This will better help control the number of chairs and the location needed.

The issue, which has always been an issue, is curbside.

That they will now request documentation for need is also mentioned in the article. This is akin to the abuse and new rules that went into effect regarding the use of emotional support animals.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

 

[NALs]

In the example I cited..... I saw the man walk for coffees and return carrying 2 cups...... he was NOT impaired from what I saw

I have full sympathy for those in need...... may need it myself one day
Clearly, the airlines sense a problem or we wouldn't be hearing/reading about it

He needed to trip and spill both coffees and break a leg for you to be "convinced" he had some potential mobility issue (most likely age from what it appears)?

Airlines are full of fully capable normal people that never went through a health issue or age that left them with a permanent mobility issue, whether mild or severe. When severe it's obvious simply by looking at them and seeing they aren't able walk, but when mild you may or may not notice it. A doctor will notice that and create the note if asked.

 

[keepcoming]

I have a family member who is elderly...she could walk the lengthy distance to the gate, but it would be a difficult/tiring walk for her. To be safe we always request wheelchair assistance to the gate. Once at the gate she roams around a bit, news stand, gift shop, etc... Maybe some may look at her and think she is abusing the wheelchair assistance, but they do not realize or know her health issues or issues with long/lengthy walks. At SDQ we also have never had a problem with getting assistance for her. They are actually very kind/helpful about it. Many times, the agent at the ticket counter suggests the assistance before we have a chance to say anything.

 

[william webster]

No NALS.... I saw this man... you didn't...... ... he was NOT old no unstable..... it was a loooong walk... 2 ways
Her, the wife, on the other hand clearly need help

 

[Yourmaninvegas]

@NALs
Respectfully, I am smart enough to know that the individual I routinely assists places this information in their reservation (and I don't know why everyone is riding on JetBlue's tip. I personally think they are a very marginal airline and I am from the west coast so I avoid them if possible).

What Vegas does in Vegas stays in Vegas but Vegas does not always stay in Vegas 🤪

That is exactly how I obtain wheelchair assistance. As a matter of fact, that preference is saved in the passenger profiles of the airlines I use regularly.

The real issue is assistance curbside, especially when traveling for longer times and needing baggage. I travel alone 99% of the time, so when I'm at the curb with bags and struggle to walk normally the trip to check in or drop bags is daunting. My home airport in the US usually doesn't have porters available in the middle of the night for passengers on 6 AM flights, so it is a conundrum, to say the least.

The issue, which has always been an issue, is curbside.

I give you the above quotes as references...not in an effort to be right or control the discussion...but to increase understanding of the issue for everyone.

I can always learn something even if I took my first plane flight at 10 years old and spent years traveling 3 out of 4 weeks every single day by aircraft (both private and commercial) literally every day.

When I need a wheel chair...I will have the information you provided to request assistance with JetBlue.
Thank you‼️
Hopefully that time will never arrive for me, but if it does I hope they have solved the assistance at the curbside issue by then.

 

[william webster]

Nicely said Vegas man.....

 

[NALs]

No NALS.... I saw this man... you didn't...... ... he was NOT old no unstable..... it was a loooong walk... 2 ways
Her, the wife, on the other hand clearly need help

Got it. You're the doctor afterall, a specialist in all of this.

 

[william webster]

That crystal ball of yours tell you that ?

 

[SantiagoDR]

 

[johne]

Yesterday I saw BIG change in the wheelchair count. JFK to SDQ. Full flight.SIX wheelchairs. I generally see about 20 every month. Jet blue.

 

[aarhus]

My theory is that Dominicans if they can go to the United States for health care.

 

[aarhus]

My theory is that Dominicans if they can go to the United States for health care.

I meant to say that Dominicans if they have the opportunity they will go to the US for health care. Maybe they are also US citizens or have family in the US. I wasn’t really trying to make a joke about it.

 

[JD Jones]

The issue isn't Dominicans the ones that need a wheelchair, it's the folks who use a wheelchair when they don't need one to get to the front of the line at the gate.

 

[RDKNIGHT]

Like anything else if its free its for them...