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We don't need to accommodate disabled clients on every flight so we outsourced the service to the lowest bidder. What could possibly go wrong?

It means we don’t want to pay for our own wheelchairs so we let someone else handle that.

Someone who hangs out in a hidden corner somewhere, vaping and watching Netflix, until they get paged to go to work. Who doesn't get paid overtime and doesn't stick around after their shift ends, so any flights that arrive late are SoL.

I use a wheelchair sometimes and know the answer to this - airlines pay the airport to handle the special assistance. AFAIK they’re not specialists as such, more like hospital porters. Getting onto the plane is just a small part of it. Once you arrive at the airport you’re met by someone with a wheelchair (if you don’t have your own) who fast tracks you through check in and security and pushes you to the gate. Then they come back when the plane is boarding and push you onto the ambilift - a kind of cherry picker platform thingy that lifts people in wheelchairs up to the plane door on the other side. Once you’re on board the cabin crew take care of you.

Just recently Ryanair left a disabled passenger on the tarmac and the plane had to be turned around to pick them up. Ryanair blamed Toulouse(?) airport as it was technically up to their assistance staff to get the passenger on board, and Ryanair pay the airport to do that.

Last month the assistance I booked didn’t turn up so my partner had to push me while I guided the suitcases from the chair. It was a pain in the arse but thankfully we were met at the gate and assisted onto the plane properly.

chair pusher

No pun intended?

The airlines don't own the airports. The rent out terminals and gates. Most of the time people need a wheelchair is throughout the airport, so the airport handles that. The times they are needed on the plane, the airline contracts out to the airport (or whatever service it uses) to extend service to the planes.

Does Canada have anything like the ADA in the US? Because if it does, the airline fucked up a lot more than just getting bad press. If Canada doesn't, this is a good reason why it should.

My general understanding is that transport wheelchairs for airplanes are narrower, to fit down the aisles.

Yup, the airport provides the wheelchairs (and someone to push you) if you don’t travel with you own wheelchair. Even if you do travel with your own wheelchair, it’s always put in the hold, not the cabin. I’ve never needed to use a wheelchair ON the plane, just to get to it, but when you book special assistance in advance you’re asked if you can walk up the steps to the plane and whether you can walk through the cabin to your seat so arrangements can be made in advance.

If I had to guess I’d say the airport staff didn’t have the narrower “on board” wheelchair to hand and the pilot didn’t want to miss their take off slot.

The aisle is too narrow (usually) for a regular wheelchair.

In that case they need a special one that is much narrower (usually by removing hand-grips from the outside of the wheels etc).

It's not much use for anything but this purpose, so if they didn't have one, I expect they weren't able to magic one up.

However, they absolutely should have had one.

Unfortunately I get the feeling that they are accustomed to being treated like this to an extent.

I once saw an Air Canada charge on my credit card. I called them right away and they asked me if I was sure that I didn't buy a ticket for a flight. I said I was sure I wasn't flying anywhere and I was doubly sure that I would never give money to Air Canada for any reason other than a death in the family.

That held true until last year when I had to buy an Air Canada ticket because of my dying sister.

Fuck Air Canada for their shitty service and dog killing.