Airport Concierge for Disabled Travellers-$300

[fann1sh]

I apologize if this thread duplicates any recent ones. "Search" is being difficult, still.

 

I posted a thread two days ago about middle aged me (with rheumatoid arthritis) accompanying my disabled Mom and sight impaired Dad through Fort Lauderdale airport in November. I'm flying Northwest (Delta).

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1063165

 

I've completed the online Special Services and Request Information. Thge Northwest Airlines form doesn't seem to have options which conform to our circumstances. For my mother and I, I've noted "Wheelchair/assistance on ramp to Plane Request"; additionally for my Mom, "Passenger with cognitive disability needs escort to/from and between gates", and for my father "Passenger with Vision Loss".

 

Perhaps I'm missing a correct option, but the rest seem to pertain to aboard plane assistance, which I can handle for myself and my family. Anyway.....

 

I've discovered an airport concierge service, which would meet me at the curb with wheelchairs, check us in, get us through security, secure entry to the airline's lounge, etc.

 

Fee for this is $300.

 

In my home airport, Detroit DTW, this would be wasted money. There's ample staff to assist disabled travellers, and a tip of $50 would be sufficient.

 

However, I've heard horror stories about disable passengers in various Florida airports, including the woman with muscular dystrophy who had to crawl off the Delta plane in West Palm Beach last year. :eek:

 

Any opinions on whether this kind of paid assistance is cost effective for FLL? Or, just a waste of money?

 

Thanks in advance to anyone taking the time to reply.

[klauer]

I don't have any experience with this service, but it seems like a very good idea. If it works as advertised, I can't imagine that it would be "wasted money".

[Quampapetet]

You don't have to pay for a wheelchair at the airport or somebody to push it! Who is telling you that it will cost $300?! When you are dropped at the curb at the airport, ask the curbside baggage handlers for a wheelchair and they will get you one (or however many your party needs) and take you to your gate.

 

If you call your airline's reservations number, they can make sure your reservations are marked correctly. When you get to the airport, you can also double-check with the agents that your reservations are correctly marked. You do NOT have to tell them what the disabilities are! You only need to tell them what reasonable accommodations you/your travelling companions need.

 

If you're not familiar with the security process, you should also check out the TSA pages on screenings for ppl with disabilities. It will prepare you for what will happen, explain the rules, etc. http://www.tsa.gov is the site.

[GRBlizz]

I agree with Quampapetet - Someone is trying to rip you off! You can get a wheelchair and pusher who will handle the whole process, and a tip of $20 would be plenty, unless you need a lot of time (like having them wait while you eat or something.)

[fann1sh]

Quampapetet and GRBlizz...thank you for the quick response. However, no one is scamming me. The company provides extra assistance to anyone - not just disabled travellers - for a fee.

 

http://airportconciergeservices.com/Personal-Concierge-Services.html

 

I know disabled travel services are supposed to be freely available (gratuities welcome). My concerns are having 3 disabled travellers together, with no fully able bodied companion.

 

I can foreee several ways of things going seriously awry.....

 

- If there isn't enough help available for all 3 of us, we may be separated, or we may be delayed.

 

- If we're put through TSA screening in separate lines, and my mother can't see either/both my father and I, I'm concerned her confusion will turn to resistance.

 

- I'm concerned that as the least visibly disabled, I'll be forced to help/walk/tote beyond my real ability to do so, with adverse health consquences.

 

I can't "call my airline", because NWA/Delta doesn't provide telephone services to anyone who makes online reservations. All queries have to be handled online. I've marked my reservations as best I can with the extra services I need.

 

I suppose what I'm looking for here is feedback from people who are experienced with FLL airport, or feedback from multiple travellers with disabilities travelling together. Am I likely to get the help I need without paying extra for it?

[PennyAgain]

Florida airports deal with a lot of disabled passengers and also those who wish to be treated as disabled to speed up the process. The later group are the ones who are willing to pay for the $300 service. My late MIL played this game for all she was worth. I long since gave up being embarrassed about her behavior.

 

You don't need to pay all that $ for your family!

 

You will see mobs of people wheeled to the gates in Florida who walk off at their destinations. Those aren't the truly disabled unless flying out of Florida is a miracle cure.

[katisdale]

I've flown through both FLL and MIA. Although both are large I found FLL to be easy once you reach the start of the process - either desk or kiosk - where you can ask for assistance. In FLL there also seem to be lots of sky caps outside and that eases the transport somewhat as I have been helped from there twice. MIA however I think is very difficult especially when coming back into the US. I found the domestic area to be average and the international well below par.

[Quampapetet]

My concerns are having 3 disabled travellers together, with no fully able bodied companion.

 

While I don't need a wheelchair, I travel solo a lot and have had a friend of mine who used airport wheelchair services travel solo. Not having an abled companion is common.

 

- If we're put through TSA screening in separate lines, and my mother can't see either/both my father and I, I'm concerned her confusion will turn to resistance.

 

They're not going to do that. You'll likely go through the same line together, but if not, just explain somebody needs to be with your mother - nobody is going to risk a medical episode for putting somebody in a different line.

 

- I'm concerned that as the least visibly disabled, I'll be forced to help/walk/tote beyond my real ability to do so, with adverse health consquences.

 

If you don't advise them of your needs or you give into suggestions, sure. But if you tell them what you need and stick with it, you'll not have to do anything you cannot or should not do.

 

I can't "call my airline", because NWA/Delta doesn't provide telephone services to anyone who makes online reservations. All queries have to be handled online. I've marked my reservations as best I can with the extra services I need.

 

I fly Delta all the time. I book online and then I call them to get my seat changed due to my having a service animal. You shouldn't have an issue if you inform the phone person that you need to make disability accommodation reservations/notes. (Of course, the phone ppl might not have any additional things to mark than the online site does, I'm not sure. One time I told them I have a mobility service dog - they asked what "mobility" meant [LOL!] and I explained she helps me walk - and they went and put on my reservation that I was blind! The poor flight attendant thought I was blind until when I was onboard she asked if I could see anything and I told her I wasn't blind, LOL.

 

I suppose what I'm looking for here is feedback from people who are experienced with FLL airport, or feedback from multiple travellers with disabilities travelling together. Am I likely to get the help I need without paying extra for it?

 

I've done FLL, but not in a wheelchair. You shouldn't have any issues, though, as airports do wheelchair transfers all the time, tons of times a day.

 

If you have any issues while at the airport, ask to speak to a CRO (Complaint Resolution Official [or Officer?]). They are required to let you speak to that person. The CRO's conclusion is the final say (kinda like a judge).

[kitty9]

When my mom, sister and I traveled together, both mom and I needed wheelchairs and my sister was left "holding the bags" for us. We were never separated and my sister was able to come with us through the expidated line for TSA screening. I would never, ever pay $300 for a concierge in an airport, although I've heard that Minneapolis has started something similar whereby you're met at the gate with a wheelchair and taken to the cart/shuttle. All this for $10 extra.

[usavvy2]

I can't imagine paying $300 for an entitlement. You are entitled to receive assistance. As others have posted, travelers fly without companion and need wheelchairs. If they can do it, the 3 of you can do it. Just tell the pushers what your needs are and they'll be sure to accommodate you. (After all they work for tips!)

 

I think the main thing you need to do is plan on getting to the airport with sufficient time that you don't feel under pressure. If you have time, you shouldn't have a problem.

 

Re PennyAgain's statement about folks needing one-way wheelchair assistance, there are many medical conditions that could necessitate that scenario so I wouldn't say they're using the system necessarily just like I wouldn't assume that if someone's parked in a handicap parking spot and walks into the store without a visible handicap that they're taking advantage of the system.

[klauer]

I don't have any disabilities, but I definitely would be interested in some of the services that are shown on the website. Airline travel has become so stressful that for me I would be willing to pay to have fewer "roadblocks".

[etoile]

I can't "call my airline", because NWA/Delta doesn't provide telephone services to anyone who makes online reservations. All queries have to be handled online. I've marked my reservations as best I can with the extra services I need.

I don't know about Northwest, but this is NOT true with Delta! I flew Delta a few weeks ago and had a number of questions before my trip. I called the regular 800 number and they were always able to help, even though I booked directly on their website.

[uppitycats]

If the service gives you a level of comfort, then book it. Otherwise, everything they're offering is available and free to people with disabilities.

 

Sure, there are horror stories. I could tell you about the time a Canadian airlline hauled out an industrial-scale lift to get me to the plane when they discovered (even though they'd been told repeatedly!) that I could not climb steps onto the plane (I use a wheelchair for mobility).

 

But generally I've been treated professionally, courteously, and helpfully on flights all over the US, Canada, even the Philippines, and never had to pay more than tips along the way.

 

Just stand your ground, don't let them start taking one of you off away from the others, and you'll be fine.

[Harleycat]

I don't know about Northwest, but this is NOT true with Delta! I flew Delta a few weeks ago and had a number of questions before my trip. I called the regular 800 number and they were always able to help, even though I booked directly on their website.

 

I've had mixed results with Northwest. I flew to Minneapolis and needed a wheelchair. I asked the flight attendant what the procedure was and she told me that there were carts at each gate and I could just take one. She seemed like she didn't want to help at all. So, thinking "carts" were like the carts at BJ's etc, I got off the plane and looked for one. I couldn't find one and we had a short connection time so hubby went ahead and I walked (on a collapsed femoral head) to the next gate. I was in tears by the time I arrived. The gate attendant saw me and she was so apologetic. She explained that all I had to do was sit in the blue chairs and someone would come get me with the electric cart. She was horrified that the FA did not explain this. She ran a got me a wheelchair and took me on board when it was time.

[Quampapetet]

That stinks, Harleycat. I bet the flight attendant, who is so used to everything, thought anybody would know what she meant. Like if you start talking the lingo of your job to somebody who is in a different job, they might not understand what you meant. The attendants need to remember that ppl need details and directions!

 

My non-disabled brother just had an issue with a flight attendant who told him his connecting flight was in one area of the airport, but that was a different flight to the same spot and so he ended up missing his flight (which was on the other side of the airport) by five minutes! The other flight was full and the next flight to his destination wasn't for another twenty-four hours, so he had to get a hotel to sleep at (this was a red-eye flight, so it was the middle of the night) and get back to the airport in the morning to find his checked luggage (since the luggage office was closed for the night) and then get back to the airport later that day to finally get on a flight! All because the attendant wasn't careful enough to ask which flight he was on!

[Arwenmark]

By No MEANS should you be paying anyone $300. all the services you require are free other than it is customary to tip. If your airport does not have curb side check in then you can call the airline and they will send someone to meet you at the curb. You need to get the desk number in advance and then call them as you are approaching the airport. If they DO have curb side check in then just tell them you need three wheelchairs or whatever.

[Arwenmark]

There is no reason to pay for what is a free service. Other than it is standard to tip. if your airport does not have curbside checkin service then your airline will come to the curb to meet you with a wheelchair. You just have to call ahead and request this, then call again when you are approaching the airport. If they DO have curb side check in then the skycaps will call you a wheelchair or three in your case and assistance when you arrive.

$300. is almost obscene.

[Arwenmark]

again, sorry for the extra post I have been having computer trouble the past few days, not sure if it is fixed or not.

[fann1sh]

Thank you, all.

 

You've all convinced me this is unnecessary.