Thai VietJet cites safety reasons for refusing disabled passengers

[superal]

On 3/1/2024 at 3:49 PM, RobU said:

This is a scam to force disabled passengers to pay for another person to fly with them giving double the profit for the airline. I'm disabled and regularly fly with other airlines. I use crutches and have wheelchair assistance through all airports. I have never been refused access and I always travel alone. I call the airline before I fly to inform them that I need a wheelchair. The airline was informed of the persons disability before he attended so the airline should be made responsible and pay punitive damages to the disabled person , not just a refund.

I sometimes have to use a wheelchair because of a spinal problem . I have noticed recently that there are a lot of physically able people using wheelchairs because they are overweight and lazy . After arrival I watch them walking away with their luggage at speed . Genuine wheel chair users sometimes have to wait for the service because all chairs are in use .

In this case the airline are at fault having received plenty of notice and that should be the time to advise the customer that they cannot let him fly , not at the gate . Amateurish business , poorly organized .  

[Burma Bill]

2 hours ago, superal said:

I sometimes have to use a wheelchair because of a spinal problem . I have noticed recently that there are a lot of physically able people using wheelchairs because they are overweight and lazy . After arrival I watch them walking away with their luggage at speed . Genuine wheel chair users sometimes have to wait for the service because all chairs are in use .

In this case the airline are at fault having received plenty of notice and that should be the time to advise the customer that they cannot let him fly , not at the gate . Amateurish business , poorly organized .  

 

Thanks, and an interesting observation. My encounter with physically fit people was recently experienced at Bangkok DMK. Having been pushed in a wheelchair to the departure gate for my flight (full) to Chiang Mai, my chair operator could not find one of the seats in front of the check-in desk "reserved for monks, disabled people and pregnant ladies" because they were all occupied by physically fit passengers with their hand baggage and shopping. Despite the blue and white wheelchair sign painted on the ground alongside these special rows, no one would move. However, no problem as the chair operator found me a seat elsewhere and informed Air Asia's check-in staff who came and assisted me, letting me board the plane first. So many ignorant people around these days!

Edited March 3 by Burma Bill
additional information

[superal]

21 hours ago, Burma Bill said:

 

Thanks, and an interesting observation. My encounter with physically fit people was recently experienced at Bangkok DMK. Having been pushed in a wheelchair to the departure gate for my flight (full) to Chiang Mai, my chair operator could not find one of the seats in front of the check-in desk "reserved for monks, disabled people and pregnant ladies" because they were all occupied by physically fit passengers with their hand baggage and shopping. Despite the blue and white wheelchair sign painted on the ground alongside these special rows, no one would move. However, no problem as the chair operator found me a seat elsewhere and informed Air Asia's check-in staff who came and assisted me, letting me board the plane first. So many ignorant people around these days!

Thanks Bill and you have my sympathy . Not only ignorant people but ignorant airport staff who should be marshalling / supervising the day to day airport facilities . Good to hear you were taken care of by the check-in staff . I am only partially disabled and can manage to walk 50 yards but then have to stop when the pain kicks in .  I think that wheelchairs should be issued to passengers who can show a valid medical letter , explaining their illness .

[RobU]

2 hours ago, superal said:

Thanks Bill and you have my sympathy . Not only ignorant people but ignorant airport staff who should be marshalling / supervising the day to day airport facilities . Good to hear you were taken care of by the check-in staff . I am only partially disabled and can manage to walk 50 yards but then have to stop when the pain kicks in .  I think that wheelchairs should be issued to passengers who can show a valid medical letter , explaining their illness .

Whilst I agree with your sentiments I don't believe a valid medical certificate is a viable proposition. I have been disabled for 30 years. It is a steadily deteriorating chronic condition. I don't see a specialist my GP and I do not discuss it and I have no current paperwork or medical certificate stating my condition, it just is there. Many others are in the same boat. A letter from a medical practice can be easily forged

[superal]

2 hours ago, RobU said:

Whilst I agree with your sentiments I don't believe a valid medical certificate is a viable proposition. I have been disabled for 30 years. It is a steadily deteriorating chronic condition. I don't see a specialist my GP and I do not discuss it and I have no current paperwork or medical certificate stating my condition, it just is there. Many others are in the same boat. A letter from a medical practice can be easily forged

Thanks Rob . For someone to go to the extent of making a false medical cert , well I agree it would be difficult to stop . However many able body people make the decision , to ask for a wheelchair , at the last minute . As told to me by 2 middle age women who said they  " blagged it "and got wheel chairs because too far to walk . There is no doubt that the wheelchair system is abused , as I have seen on many occasions .

[RobU]

26 minutes ago, superal said:

Thanks Rob . For someone to go to the extent of making a false medical cert , well I agree it would be difficult to stop . However many able body people make the decision , to ask for a wheelchair , at the last minute . As told to me by 2 middle age women who said they  " blagged it "and got wheel chairs because too far to walk . There is no doubt that the wheelchair system is abused , as I have seen on many occasions .

I agree with you mate, but my GP won't give a medical certificate for a chronic condition, there's no such thing. The only medical certificate you can get is for being sick off work i.e. an acute condition which probably wouldn't allow you to travel anyway. 

[superal]

18 hours ago, RobU said:

I agree with you mate, but my GP won't give a medical certificate for a chronic condition, there's no such thing. The only medical certificate you can get is for being sick off work i.e. an acute condition which probably wouldn't allow you to travel anyway. 

I once sat next to 2 guys from London on an Eva Air flight , London to Bangkok . They were drinking the whole flight and walking up and down the aircraft . When we were about to land I asked them if they were capable of walking to immigration and they said no problem because we have a buggy booked and we have a false doctors note saying that I have sciatica  . They passed me in their buggy with a " See you later mate " yell and chuckle .

So as you say a note could be forged and fool the Thai authorities but if the medical note was shown in the UK with a formal letter showing the N.I. number and hospital number , then a check could be made prior to travel and stamped for other foreign airports to allow assistance . IMO wheelchairs should be booked at the time of booking a flight , a medical cert shown as previously mentioned , and not a free for all at airports. 

[Burma Bill]

1 hour ago, superal said:

IMO wheelchairs should be booked at the time of booking a flight , a medical cert shown as previously mentioned , and not a free for all at airports. 

 

For reference, I always request a wheelchair when booking flights with Air Asia. When completing the on-line booking form, I tick the box for "unable to walk long distances" - it does not specifically say "wheelchair". When I present the booking confirmation at the check-in desk, I am asked if a wheelchair is required. I say "yes" and the letters "WCH" are printed on my boarding passes for "Fly-Thru" flights. Wherever I have to board or alight a plane, a wheelchair is always waiting - great service!

As for medical certificates, IMO these would be pointless as they can so easily be forged for around 100 baht in this part of the world, as I found out many years ago when applying for a Thai Driving Licence. I no longer drive.

Edited March 5 by Burma Bill
additional information

[RobU]

1 hour ago, superal said:

I once sat next to 2 guys from London on an Eva Air flight , London to Bangkok . They were drinking the whole flight and walking up and down the aircraft . When we were about to land I asked them if they were capable of walking to immigration and they said no problem because we have a buggy booked and we have a false doctors note saying that I have sciatica  . They passed me in their buggy with a " See you later mate " yell and chuckle .

So as you say a note could be forged and fool the Thai authorities but if the medical note was shown in the UK with a formal letter showing the N.I. number and hospital number , then a check could be made prior to travel and stamped for other foreign airports to allow assistance . IMO wheelchairs should be booked at the time of booking a flight , a medical cert shown as previously mentioned , and not a free for all at airports. 

I agree with you wheelchairs should only be booked in advance

[impulse]

On 3/1/2024 at 8:33 PM, RobU said:

I am disabled and have flown on other airlines the principle is disabled people are first on, last off and last off in an emergency. It is a risk we are willing to take. Staff do not have to mollycoddle us. Able bodied passengers take priority in an emergency

 

A risk they're willing to take until the lawsuit, when their attorneys will excoriate the airline.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the VietJet limitations come from their liability insurance carriers.  Or even the airline regulators who can calculate how long it takes to evacuate someone with a given disability.  Or rather, how much time it adds to evacuating the whole plane.

 

[RobU]

8 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

A risk they're willing to take until the lawsuit, when their attorneys will excoriate the airline.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the VietJet limitations come from their liability insurance carriers.  Or even the airline regulators who can calculate how long it takes to evacuate someone with a given disability.  Or rather, how much time it adds to evacuating the whole plane.

 

To me it as a disabled person is reasonable that able bodied passengers take priority. Multiple people can be evacuated in the time it takes for a slow moving cripple like me to get out. More people are saved in an emergency and staff are not endangered trying to help me.

[impulse]

3 minutes ago, RobU said:

To me it as a disabled person is reasonable that able bodied passengers take priority. Multiple people can be evacuated in the time it takes for a slow moving cripple like me to get out. More people are saved in an emergency and staff are not endangered trying to help me.

 

Kudos to you for that.  I mean that sincerely.  But your heirs (and the lawyers representing them in the after crash lawsuit) could make the case the airline was negligent in sticking you somewhere you couldn't reasonably be expected to evacuate in time.

 

[richard_smith237]

On 3/1/2024 at 8:07 PM, Cabradelmar said:

In conclusion, 8 unaccompanied visually impaired passengers where already on board. That's the airlines stated limit. 

 

On 3/1/2024 at 4:35 AM, Georgealbert said:

https://th.vietjetair.com/page/special-assistance

 

On 3/1/2024 at 9:44 PM, Liverpool Lou said:

What "discrimination"?  The disabled are not banned or charged extra. Very reasonably, they just have to be able to take care of themselves or be accompanied by someone who can.

 

Agreed - it appears the Airline followed their own protocol. 

 

BUT... the passenger who complained is reported to have provided information of his disability in advance. 

 

It seems the airline has been unprofessional in the manner with which it failed to log this information and only realised when too many 'disabled' passengers had already boarded.

 

In this case, the disabled passenger had every right to complain as he'd given fair warning of his disability and should have been logged as a priority. 

 

 

Additionally - I wonder how the news was passed on to him that he was unable to fly. 

"Terribly sorry Sir, there has been a mix up and we have reached our legally permitted maximum for blind passengers, this is our fault, we'll refund your ticket and place you on the next flight as a priority, business class free of charge"..... 

 

or...

 

"Sorry, you are disabled, you cannot fly".....  and that is that... 

 

----------

 

Much of these issues are borne of terrible customer service and appalling standards of communication. 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 13 by richard_smith237

[Georgealbert]

23 minutes ago, RobU said:

To me it as a disabled person is reasonable that able bodied passengers take priority. Multiple people can be evacuated in the time it takes for a slow moving cripple like me to get out. More people are saved in an emergency and staff are not endangered trying to help me.

The international guidance for airlines for passengers with disabilities is contained in the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) Manual on Access to Air Transport by Persons with Disabilities (Doc 9984).

 

CAAT (Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand) guidance is contained in the “Guidance Material for Ground Handling Operations” issued recently on 27 December 2023, full document linked below.

 

The relevant part of the document is section 7, a few parts highlighted below.

 

https://www.caat.or.th/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CAAT-GM-OPS-GOPS-Guidance-Material-Ground-Handling-Operations-GOPS-Issue.01-Revision-00-Effective-Date-27.12.2023.pdf

Edited March 13 by Georgealbert

[still kicking]

On 3/1/2024 at 9:45 PM, steven100 said:

 

crickey blue  !    you'll be walking soon ...  😂

Add Malaysian Airlines to that 

[Skipalongcassidy]

On 3/1/2024 at 11:14 AM, Cake Monster said:

In the World that most civilized people now live in, this kind of discrimination is nothing short of a disgrace.

Note to self

Never Fly Thai Viet Jet Airlines reason - they fail to meet modern ethical practices and standards

 

It is NOT discrimination to require those that require special care to provide it by traveling with a caregiver... this was a setup by a handicapped person who felt slighted because the airlines did not and would not provide him special treatment as he so thought he deserved.  I am handicapped and I follow the rules and have never been denied boarding and have always been treated well... you get back what you put forth... the victim mentality is sickening. 

[khwaibah]

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