$75. That is the apparent cost of roughly 7 hours of pain and struggle caused by a US air carrier. That amounts to just a little over $10 an hour.
A disabled Army veteran was recently traveling from Houston to Baltimore on a business trip. And while he travels frequently as part of his job, this particular trip was different than most.
His medical condition had recently deteriorated. He began suffering severe nerve damage and muscular weakness in the lower portion of his left leg. These worsening conditions have caused him to need a cane to assist with walking and balancing.
He also has issues with being in a single position for extended periods of time.
The trip to Baltimore was his first after the nerve and muscle issues he was facing.
When he booked the trip to Baltimore, he was assigned a seat in row 15, in front of the exit rows. This section typically comes with extra legroom compared to the rest of the economy section located further back.
When he viewed his boarding pass for the return trip, he discovered that both legs of the flight home had him seated directly behind the exit rows, where the legroom became very restrictive.
He reached out to United Airlines, explained the situation with his disability, and attempted to secure seat assignments similar to his departing flight in the expanded section.
His request to the airline went like this:
"Due to my disability and recent developments of nerve damage, I have to be able to sit with my leg extended. Sitting with my leg flexed for too long creates numbness and the inability to walk. Is it possible to have my seats adjusted to something with extended legroom?"
The day before his flight, he received the following message.
"Thank you for choosing United. We have made an exception and assigned aisle seats for you in the Preferred Economy section of each aircraft."
While the aisle seat may not have been the best option, he was grateful that they were willing to work with him to accommodate his request.
He went to the airport and got his boarding pass, only to find that he was no longer seated in 15A, but had been moved all the way back to row 25. Instead of having a seat in the "extended" seating area, he was back near the rear of the aircraft.
He checked the rest of his seating assignments for the duration of his itinerary. They too revealed he was sitting in row 25 or 26 on the return flights.
After the first flight, he responded to the email United sent explaining the "exception" they were making.
"I am a little confused. You made an 'exception' by moving me back 10 rows to a seat with far less legroom. I am not certain what the exception was that was made."
Weeks went by with no response.
So, he reached back out to customer service. The agent asked for a confirmation number, which was provided. No record matched that number. He provided the case number included in the original email, but that too resulted in no information being found.
After explaining the situation, the agent apologized for the inconvenience, but there was nothing further they could do to address the issue.
"So, I requested reasonable accommodations for my flights, and while United agreed that they could help, they actually moved me further back in the plane to a seat with less space and legroom, and the best you can do is to apologize for the inconvenience.
Is this how you treat all of your disabled veterans? I assumed better from United."
The agent told him that he understood his frustration and would escalate it to a supervisor to see what could be done.
One hour later, he received an email from United's customer service system.
"We apologize for the inconvenience you experienced on a recent United flight. We have issued a $75 electronic travel certificate to you, valid for one year."
Apparently, United considers the problem solved.
A disabled individual reached out in advance of his trip to see what could be done. He didn't ask to be bumped up to first class. He didn't even seek special treatment. He just explained the situation to see what options might be available.
He was rewarded with being crammed into an even smaller space than he was originally slated to have. When he reached out to the airline to discuss the situation, they determined that the face value of the pain incurred from their decision-making process was $75.
Is that really all our disabled veterans are worth?
A disabled Army veteran was recently traveling from Houston to Baltimore on a business trip. And while he travels frequently as part of his job, this particular trip was different than most.
His medical condition had recently deteriorated. He began suffering severe nerve damage and muscular weakness in the lower portion of his left leg. These worsening conditions have caused him to need a cane to assist with walking and balancing.
He also has issues with being in a single position for extended periods of time.
The trip to Baltimore was his first after the nerve and muscle issues he was facing.
When he booked the trip to Baltimore, he was assigned a seat in row 15, in front of the exit rows. This section typically comes with extra legroom compared to the rest of the economy section located further back.
When he viewed his boarding pass for the return trip, he discovered that both legs of the flight home had him seated directly behind the exit rows, where the legroom became very restrictive.
He reached out to United Airlines, explained the situation with his disability, and attempted to secure seat assignments similar to his departing flight in the expanded section.
His request to the airline went like this:
"Due to my disability and recent developments of nerve damage, I have to be able to sit with my leg extended. Sitting with my leg flexed for too long creates numbness and the inability to walk. Is it possible to have my seats adjusted to something with extended legroom?"
The day before his flight, he received the following message.
"Thank you for choosing United. We have made an exception and assigned aisle seats for you in the Preferred Economy section of each aircraft."
While the aisle seat may not have been the best option, he was grateful that they were willing to work with him to accommodate his request.
He went to the airport and got his boarding pass, only to find that he was no longer seated in 15A, but had been moved all the way back to row 25. Instead of having a seat in the "extended" seating area, he was back near the rear of the aircraft.
He checked the rest of his seating assignments for the duration of his itinerary. They too revealed he was sitting in row 25 or 26 on the return flights.
After the first flight, he responded to the email United sent explaining the "exception" they were making.
"I am a little confused. You made an 'exception' by moving me back 10 rows to a seat with far less legroom. I am not certain what the exception was that was made."
Weeks went by with no response.
So, he reached back out to customer service. The agent asked for a confirmation number, which was provided. No record matched that number. He provided the case number included in the original email, but that too resulted in no information being found.
After explaining the situation, the agent apologized for the inconvenience, but there was nothing further they could do to address the issue.
"So, I requested reasonable accommodations for my flights, and while United agreed that they could help, they actually moved me further back in the plane to a seat with less space and legroom, and the best you can do is to apologize for the inconvenience.
Is this how you treat all of your disabled veterans? I assumed better from United."
The agent told him that he understood his frustration and would escalate it to a supervisor to see what could be done.
One hour later, he received an email from United's customer service system.
"We apologize for the inconvenience you experienced on a recent United flight. We have issued a $75 electronic travel certificate to you, valid for one year."
Apparently, United considers the problem solved.
A disabled individual reached out in advance of his trip to see what could be done. He didn't ask to be bumped up to first class. He didn't even seek special treatment. He just explained the situation to see what options might be available.
He was rewarded with being crammed into an even smaller space than he was originally slated to have. When he reached out to the airline to discuss the situation, they determined that the face value of the pain incurred from their decision-making process was $75.
Is that really all our disabled veterans are worth?
For corrections or revisions, click here.
The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
Comments