Hi accessindia friends, Even i agree to the gang that we should ask or lobby for better facilities, better sense of duty from the airport and airline people, better understanding of people with disability rather than asking concession from every service and utility provider. Having blindness or any physical disability does not make a person incapable to pay for their own personal or business expenses which are general in nature. As Harish mentioned that concession may be asked for when going for medical treatment of fatal or serious porblems, which applies to any person with or without disability. I think government or any body gives price concessions or subsidies on the basis of financial weakness. i know there are many loopholes in our system due to which the people most benefitted are not the one who are targetted at. Conventionally the thinking in the public domain was that disabled people cannot do anything and so they need financial support and rebates every where. but if som of us has managed to show the reverse, we should demand broader and deeper things like equal opportunity.
In this case, we should stress on educating the airline and airport authorities that people with disabilities are people first and disability is just their characteristic, so treat them as any other customer. Ofcourse disabled people would need some help where they are incapacitated. Lets pose ourselves as another good section of a potential customers. In this list i heard many people had bad experiences with sahara airlines. A month ago i went to Kolkata from delhi both sides by sahara. Ofcourse i was carrying my white cane all the time without which it is difficult to move without bumping here and there. After i took my seat on the delhi - kolkata, an air hostess came by herself and asked me if i have some vision problem to which i said yes. then she guided me that 14 seats behind us are the lavoratories, the exact location of the emergency exit and showed by making me touch the button to call them for any assistance. Even on the return journey there weren't any hassles. This may be not the usual attitude of sahara people vis a vis visually impaired people. Some days ago when i went to a metro rail station in delhi, and it being a new place for me, i was figuring out the way to the platform. A metro rail employee voluntarily came to me hold my hand and took me towards the platform. On enquiring he told that he helps anybody who comes there and needs help. This was a very good gesture from metro rail, if he was specially deputed for this purpose. I think we want such positive sensitisation for disabled people in all the public utility providers and good professional service in general. Lets not confirm the wrong notion of people that disabled people are only takers and a burden on society. We should have a logical rationale behind anything we demand. best regards, Pranay Gadodia, Content Research Officer, Score Foundation. 125B, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi - 110 049 INDIA. Mobile: +91 98917 91089 Phone: +91 - 11 - 2649 4582/81 Website: www.eyeway.org ----- Original Message ----- From: "Manish Agrawal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in> Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 9:05 AM Subject: Re: [AI] DGCA Guidelines for Blind passengers travelling by Air I have also been blind late in life, haven't yet had any mobility training and still need to travel frequently within india and internationally. With the kinds of facilities and assistance offered by airlines on almost all airlines and airports, I have traveled to, I have never felt the need for an escort to help me get to where I need to go. As a matter of fact, I have always been much more comfortable and have got things (like immigration/boarding ) much faster and without hastle with the airport staff (who are trained to do such things) than with someone escorting me. There are of course exceptional one-off bad experiences that I have heard from people on this and other lists; but I will attribute that more to human error than to the process/facilities offered by airlines. I will strongly urge for improvement and standardization of these facilities across airports and airlines rather than asking for discounts for escorts. Regards, Manish -----Original Message----- vFrom: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kaja, Kiran Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 8:14 AM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: Re: [AI] DGCA Guidelines for Blind passengers travelling by Air Oh well, I once travelled from Hyderabad to Bangalore for Rs 721 inclusive of taxes. Kiran. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Harish Sent: Tuesday, 08 August 2006 9:01 PM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: Re: [AI] DGCA Guidelines for Blind passengers travelling by Air Hi Rajiv Since the advent of the low cost airline concept, the airlines are running in shoe string budget. Asking for a furthur discount would not carry us anywhere. makes more sense asking for fascilities. Let me illustrate an incident, A full fare between Bangalore to Hyderabad last year was arround Rs. 5,000, the discount ticket using concession would come to arround Rs. 2,500. However the reduced fare without concession came to Rs. 1,200. Can you expect to get any furthur discount? Harish. ----- Original Message ----- From: "disability rights initiative" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in> Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2006 4:22 PM Subject: Re: [AI] DGCA Guidelines for Blind passengers travelling by Air > i have been following this topic with interest and frankly, i admire all > of > you guys who travel around so confidently without any escorts. but > personally, being late blind myself, i am mortally scared of travellling > alone. its not the fear of travelling but the fear of falling of steps, > escalators, railway platforms and the like and strongly feel that for air > travel also escorts should be allowed on discounted tickets like in the > railways. i am sure there are quite a few of us who have to travel and are > late blind and a little late in life to overcome the fear. it would be a > good idea to encourage views from across the list so as to enable us to > have > a clearer picture. prasana pinchas case and also rajiv rajans case > (locomotor disabled with cerebral palsy who was forcibly medicated at > chennai for being mistaken for a mentally ill person) filed by hrln has > resulted in these guidelines being framed by dgca and ccpd has sought our > interventions on these guidelines so i will really appreciate a more > vigorous expression of views on this topic. and if quite a few of us feel > that escorts should also be allowed on discounted tickets i feel there is > no > harm in expressing the same. if airlines are offering so many tickets on > discounted fares one more for an escort will hardly matter but this is my > personal opinion. > regards > rajive > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Kaja, Kiran" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in> > Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2006 2:12 PM > Subject: Re: [AI] DGCA Guidelines for Blind passengers travelling by Air > > >> I get a feeling that you want to argue for argument sake and do not >> want to look at the practical issues and repurcations of your arguments. >> If you cannot travel alone in a flight inspite of the fact that the >> airport authorities and airline staff take good care of you, I am sorry >> to say but you better not travel anywhere. Railways do not provide any >> sort of help and so they allow for an escort. This is totally >> impractical and unfair when it comes to airlines. If you do not want to >> travel alone, you are always free to take the train. >> >> Secondly, I really don't understand why do people make so much fuss >> about seating. There is no way and it is totally unsafe for any sort of >> disabled person to be seated near the emergency exits. And if the staff >> decides that they can help you better by seating you at a particular >> place, what is the big deal? They can ask anyone to change seats and not >> just blind persons. >> >> Regards, >> Kiran. >> -----Original Message----- >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Sent: Tuesday, 08 August 2006 2:02 PM >> To: ACCESSINDIA@accessindia.org.in >> Subject: [AI] DGCA Guidelines for Blind passengers travelling by Air >> >> Of dear, Let us leave somethings for the nodal agencies to take care. >> We >> require an escort to assist us during the travel. & we want a >> concessional >> ticket for an escort. We do not need an escort if Govt. could do that >> for >> us. Let the checking authority take care of verify the veracity of a >> true >> escort or a 'business associate'??? We are aware of this fraud is >> enough to >> know our responsibilities. But facilities could never be denied upon >> apprehensions. >> >> Seating a blind person at the rear or front-should it be an issue? Why >> should a blind person be discriminated to get allotted a particular >> seat?? >> Let the crew know where the person is requiring special attention. >> >> To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> with the subject unsubscribe. >> >> To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, >> please visit the list home page at >> >> http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.i >> n >> >> To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with the subject unsubscribe. >> >> To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at >> > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.i n >> >> >> -- >> No virus found in this incoming message. >> Checked by AVG Free Edition. >> Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.7/410 - Release Date: 8/5/2006 >> >> > > > > -- > No virus found in this outgoing message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.7/410 - Release Date: 8/5/2006 > > > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.i n > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. 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