Thai Makes A Disabled Australian Woman Choose- Wheelchair Or Cloths

[Chao Lao Beach]

Airline shocker: Clothes for her poor children or her wheelchair?

Ms Paywee, who can barely walk without her wheelchair, was left in tears at Perth International Airport earlier this month after she was allegedly forced to discard her gifts at a Thai Airways check-in. The clerk allegedly told her the wheelchair exceeded her baggage allowance.

Ms Paywee was flying to Bangkok with Thai Airways, and then from Bangkok to Liberia with Kenya Airways. The Thai Airways check-in clerk told Ms Paywee that under Kenya Airways rules, passengers were only permitted a baggage allowance of 40kg and if a passenger did not appear confined to their wheelchair it counted as part of their baggage allowance.

Ms Paywee had to make the choice - to leave the goods for her family behind and take her wheelchair because she could not afford the $700 excess baggage fee.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/sarahs-choice-presents-or-her-wheelchair/story-e6frfq80-1226607933747#ixzz2OoGVNxCS

[cardholder]

An excellent example of the need to read airline regulations before you travel.

[samran]

Look forward to the Thai bashers to join the thread, despite this happening in Perth.

[David48]

Have to say that, after reading the original article quoted, I left wondering about the 'facts' behind the st

Edited March 28, 2013 by David48

[Chao Lao Beach]

One point, in oz it is very easy to get a bit of paper from a Doctor to say you are disabled, so you can get a disabled parking sticker etc, and this also covers situations like this. If she really was disabled, absolutely no check-in in oz would refuse a wheel chair.

Come to think of it, I think it is very likely their is more to this story. Combine that with "nazi" attitudes of many check in staff in oz who get a commission's for any excess baggage. Very different to BKK where you can take a kitchen sink if you desire it seems. Maybe the ScabStar (JetStar) syndrome is spreading

[harrry]

It may prove a very expensive lesson for Thai. While there may questionably have been a problem on the out of BKK leg the leg from Australia would be fully covered by the DDA,. They have no excuse whatever. I might add that I was having a problem with the elderly THai superviser at PER regarding my electric wheelchair until he was taken aside by someone of the australian check in staff and aparently advised on the facts.

Edited March 28, 2013 by harrry

[eeeya]

Its mostly an agent company owned by TOLL logistics who operates the check in counter in Perth.

[harrry]

Its mostly an agent company owned by TOLL logistics who operates the check in counter in Perth.

Yes but with Thai they have a thai person there as supervisor. When Toll were processing the chair she started throwing her weight round that it was too heavy. toll had to put her straight.

Edited March 28, 2013 by harrry

[Lefty]

Info in this reply doesn't help this lady but anyone traveling to the U.S. on any airline, the airline is required by U.S. government regulations to carry free of charge wheelchairs/mobility scooters and does NOT reduce your baggage allowance.

Lefty

[harrry]

Info in this reply doesn't help this lady but anyone traveling to the U.S. on any airline, the airline is required by U.S. government regulations to carry free of charge wheelchairs/mobility scooters and does NOT reduce your baggage allowance.

Lefty

same australia.

[jamhar]

"Thai Makes A Disabled Australian Woman Choose- Wheelchair Or Cloths"

Note to self

Get your mind out of the gutter.

For some reason, i pictured a naked woman in a wheelchair, or a fully cloth one crawling.

[surangw]

$700 ? just how much excess did she have? usually $150 usd covers up to 70 lbs

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

It seems from reading the news acount that the Thai Air staff there were saying that the Kenya Air connecting flight the woman had would not accept the wheelchair under their luggage rules. They didn't appear to be saying that Thai wouldn't have accepted the chair at least for their segment of the flight.

But then it gets to be an interesting legal question... Thai might be bound by Australian rules as its operating the flight out of Australia... But what about Kenya Air, which presumably was only running the BKK to Liberia segment?

Perhaps Thailand, where the connecting flight would have originated, doesn't have the same kind of sensible policy toward the disabled as those mentioned above re U.S. and Australian regulations.

Either way, somebody should have exercised some common sense and humanity, and found a way to work things out for this woman.

[HarryMilton]

One point, in oz it is very easy to get a bit of paper from a Doctor to say you are disabled, so you can get a disabled parking sticker etc, and this also covers situations like this. If she really was disabled, absolutely no check-in in oz would refuse a wheel chair.

Come to think of it, I think it is very likely their is more to this story. Combine that with "nazi" attitudes of many check in staff in oz who get a commission's for any excess baggage. Very different to BKK where you can take a kitchen sink if you desire it seems. Maybe the ScabStar (JetStar) syndrome is spreading

Just clarify something, are Australian check-in staff so sympathetic and compassionate that they would never refuse a wheelchair or are they commission-grabbing "nazis"?

[JLCrab]

Without commenting on the incident above, when I used to fly out of Orlando Florida (home of Disney World), at the boarding gate the gate agent would say: "We would like to board now those traveling with small children, our elderly passengers, and those needing some extra assistance..."

And after that announcement, there were 3 of us left.

[GrantSmith]

So if this whole saga is about a choice between a wheelchair and clothing, why is there no mention of the weight of the clothes?

Could it possibly be that the excess weight stems from the actual weight of the clothing, after all it appears that the lady in question hasn't seen her kids for over 20 years so it stands to reason she's going to be carrying a fair amount of stuff...

I also wonder if the passenger filled in the medical form before flying...

Edited March 29, 2013 by GrantSmith

[scorecard]

One point, in oz it is very easy to get a bit of paper from a Doctor to say you are disabled, so you can get a disabled parking sticker etc, and this also covers situations like this. If she really was disabled, absolutely no check-in in oz would refuse a wheel chair.

Come to think of it, I think it is very likely their is more to this story. Combine that with "nazi" attitudes of many check in staff in oz who get a commission's for any excess baggage. Very different to BKK where you can take a kitchen sink if you desire it seems. Maybe the ScabStar (JetStar) syndrome is spreading

Agree, you can find 'nazi' check-in staff in every country.

I encountered one a couple of years back at the AA check-in desk in Houston, rudest most obnoxious check-in lady i've ever encountered.

I had all my documents well prepared, nothing out of the ordinary, suitcase well under max. weight, one small cabin bag. I asked for nothing except normal check-in, but the lady was simply determined to turn the situation into a nightmare and be as rude as she possibly could.

I did notice her giving the person in front me a hard time, and loudly, but I guessed there were some problems with the passengers documents or weight or something.

At the gate I mentioned the rude check-in lady, the response: "Well what do you expect, she had to deal with hundreds of morons every day".

Edited March 29, 2013 by scorecard

[joy16]

Ms Paywee was flying to Bangkok with Thai Airways, and then from Bangkok to Liberia with Kenya Airways. The Thai Airways check-in clerk told Ms Paywee that under Kenya Airways rules, passengers were only permitted a baggage allowance of 40kg and if a passenger did not appear confined to their wheelchair it counted as part of their baggage allowance.

I wondered how much she bring the belonging, if it excessed the limit of 40 kg including wheelchair (or may be around 30 kg without wheelchair).

[joy16]

From Kenya Airways, the excess baggage fee for flight from Bangkok to Liberia is 12 USD/kg.

700 USD / 12 USD/kg = 58.33 kg

If the amount of excess baggage fee from this news is correct, it is the very overweight checked baggage.

[technologybytes]

Of course this is another story where we certainly have only half a story at best.

[GrantSmith]

Of course this is another story where we certainly have only half a story at best.

SOP for News Limited...

[tolsti]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textile Cloth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing Cloths

Muppets who look at cartoons rather than read books.

Nice angle that she is a refugee...... sob stories all round cobbers!!!

[Chao Lao Beach]

From Kenya Airways, the excess baggage fee for flight from Bangkok to Liberia is 12 USD/kg.

700 USD / 12 USD/kg = 58.33 kg

If the amount of excess baggage fee from this news is correct, it is the very overweight checked baggage.

From Australia on Thai Airways it is $47 AUD a kg.

[lemoncake]

One point, in oz it is very easy to get a bit of paper from a Doctor to say you are disabled, so you can get a disabled parking sticker etc, and this also covers situations like this. If she really was disabled, absolutely no check-in in oz would refuse a wheel chair.

Come to think of it, I think it is very likely their is more to this story. Combine that with "nazi" attitudes of many check in staff in oz who get a commission's for any excess baggage. Very different to BKK where you can take a kitchen sink if you desire it seems. Maybe the ScabStar (JetStar) syndrome is spreading

Me thinks you talking little rubbish.

It is NOT easy to get disabled paper and even harder to get disabled sticker.

One must suffer from approved sickness to be classified as disabled and also must have a number of doctor certificates to prove one is suffering from the said illness

Then one must see a specialist in said sickness "second opinion" and full doctors report before one would be officially disabled and issued a sticker.

Many knuckleheads believe that if person can walk, they are not disabled, while overlooking a huge number of other diseases which may allow person to walk only a short distance.

[lemoncake]

From Kenya Airways, the excess baggage fee for flight from Bangkok to Liberia is 12 USD/kg.

700 USD / 12 USD/kg = 58.33 kg

If the amount of excess baggage fee from this news is correct, it is the very overweight checked baggage.

From Australia on Thai Airways it is $47 AUD a kg.

Read the OP again.

"The Thai Airways check-in clerk told Ms Paywee that under Kenya Airways rules, passengers were only permitted a baggage allowance of 40kg"

[lemoncake]

To be honest, i never even realized that wheel chairs were baggage, i always thought it would be rather part of human weight, if the person is perm in wheel chair.

[Potosi]

Look forward to the Thai bashers to join the thread, despite this happening in Perth.

Is there anyone out there who would book with Thai airlines? It's expensive. It's worse than other carriers on the same route. It's out of question.

Edited March 30, 2013 by Potosi

[samran]

Look forward to the Thai bashers to join the thread, despite this happening in Perth.

Is there anyone out there who would book with Thai airlines? It's expensive. It's worse than other carriers on the same route. It's out of question.

I fly them all the time where I can. Best leg room for someone my height, direct to bkk, excellent FF rewards tied with credit cards in LOS, can't complain about the service.

[Judo Chop]

Nothing wrong with Thai. Only a moron would assume this is Thai Airways fault when it's clear the issue was not with the PER-BKK leg.

[lemoncake]

Look forward to the Thai bashers to join the thread, despite this happening in Perth.

Is there anyone out there who would book with Thai airlines? It's expensive. It's worse than other carriers on the same route. It's out of question.

I fly them all the time where I can. Best leg room for someone my height, direct to bkk, excellent FF rewards tied with credit cards in LOS, can't complain about the service.

Totally agree and fly only with Thai, as they also have best arrival times. But then, there are always people who would do 10 stop overs just to save $100 or so