|
Post by Ciao Bella on Nov 22, 2009 17:16:56 GMT -5
Last night, this guy was featured on a show called Sunday Night. He's a paralympian (track chair) and has just conquered the Kokoda Trail together with his brothers, cousins, friends - handwalking his way through. interceder.net/news/Kurt-FearnleyThese videos call out to the inner dev, I think...and I unashamedly watched with bated breathe and getting all giddy inside. And although I hate to use the word "inspirational" ... seeing him does inspire me to do something worthy of "wow! I did that??" Enjoy the videos, devvies xxx
|
|
|
Post by Inigo Montoya on Nov 22, 2009 20:20:51 GMT -5
Aussie men... yum!
|
|
|
Post by doe on Nov 23, 2009 16:20:49 GMT -5
|
|
Phil
Junior Member
Posts: 82
|
Post by Phil on Nov 23, 2009 19:30:09 GMT -5
This is confusing. He's sounding like they took the chair at the ticket area, but the airline spokesman's statement sounds like it was at the gate. If that's the case, you usually use their aisle seat because a conventional chair usually won't fit through the door on the plane or down the aisle.
|
|
|
Post by doe on Nov 23, 2009 19:42:21 GMT -5
|
|
Phil
Junior Member
Posts: 82
|
Post by Phil on Nov 23, 2009 20:01:13 GMT -5
Jetstar says it accommodates up to 450 wheelchair-bound passengers each week without incident I guess they untie them, then take their chairs away? ;D
|
|
|
Post by doe on Nov 23, 2009 20:24:03 GMT -5
This won't mean anything to anyone other than the other Aussies here (unless you have seen the recent Jetstar ads) , but.....
Onya Jeststar!!!!!!
|
|
|
Post by Ciao Bella on Nov 23, 2009 23:14:29 GMT -5
Heard that on the news this morning and couldn't believe it. On a side note (which we found funny), while waiting to board a Virgin flight, we heard one of the attendants speak into her walkie-talkie saying that all three "specials" for the flight were complete ... we immediately eyed 3 wheelchair users (inc. my partner) ... I'm sure if we were onion-skinned we would have demanded they come up with a less patronizing term ... but because we laugh at anything and everything, I just started teasing y partner as "special" LOL
|
|
|
Post by Ciao Bella on Nov 23, 2009 23:26:11 GMT -5
So I've just read all the links related to this incident and can't understand why he would be offered an airline chair at check-in. Normally, one could stay in his/her own chair until boarding then transfer to an aisle chair to get into the plane. Sounds like the check-in clerck was a newbie at dealing with disabled passengers. What a horrible way to end an otherwise awesome experience, conquering Kokoda!
|
|
Phil
Junior Member
Posts: 82
|
Post by Phil on Nov 24, 2009 14:39:08 GMT -5
It does sound like an overreaction by him. I've flown often enough to know the drill. You go to the gate, transfer onto the aisle chair. They take your chair at this point (and tag it to go to the wrong city, lol) and 2 people haul you through the door and to your seat. I'm sure that having traveled many more times than me, he knows this, too.
I don't understand why he's so pissed off.
|
|
§cαrL£t
Full Member
Posts: 143
Gender: Female
Dev Status: Devotee
|
Post by §cαrL£t on Nov 24, 2009 17:33:17 GMT -5
pretty cute. yum is right.
|
|
|
Post by BA on Nov 25, 2009 17:18:40 GMT -5
After reading several accounts of this story, I have to agree with Bbuf and Phil. Fearnley was being a bit dramatic about the whole thing and I do think it is extreme to compare being asked to transfer into an boarding/aisle chair to being told to pull your pants down to your ankles. Yeah, he might not like the fact that he can't push the aisle chair himself and that he does not have the same control over his movement as he would in his own chair. Being that he is a fairly young athlete, I would imagine that he is pretty gung ho on the super-crip idependence trip and what they were asking him to do required him to put himself in a dependent position. I am sure there was another way he could have expressed his distaste for the proceedure without resorting to crawling on the floor to make his point. Airline rules are rules, seemingly stupid though they may be and we all have to suck it up to follow them.
|
|
|
Post by roger888 on Nov 26, 2009 6:27:58 GMT -5
The man is a twat.They are not going to to suddenly widen the aisles on airplanes so you can get every high-tech wheelchair you can think of down them.It would cost too much & the best they can do is stick you in a chair thats narrow enough.Its been said in earlier posts,you only have to tell them that they can stick the chair into the hold once you get to the airplane doors.
If they dont lose or break your chair & you get to your destination in one piece,it doesnt matter.
|
|
|
Post by Ciao Bella on Nov 26, 2009 23:24:37 GMT -5
Fubb, Phil, Roger and AB ... I think you're right ... he may just have spat the dummy...but I think it's ridiculous how Jetstar may have different policies re: disabled passengers. Surely, airlines would have to follow some similar standard?
|
|
|
Post by ozT4para on Dec 13, 2009 8:33:41 GMT -5
I don't understand why he's so pissed off. Maybe he was just plain buggered. He did after all just crawl for 96km.
|
|