European Vacation 1 - Amsterdam

We were blessed to be able to spend nearly a month abroad in the European Union and want to share some highlights!! IF ONLY we could do this every year!

First and foremost, and as usual, we put a considerable amount of time into our preparation prior to departure, and recommend everyone traveling with a wheelchair do the same. Most of the summer was spent reading, researching, and reaching out to hotels and activity providers via email to make sure our vacation was as accessible as possible!  Finding hotels wasn't easy, and required persistence, and it helps to know exactly where you want to be and when. For the first 12 days of this 19 day excursion, we had my parents with us, so I had a buddy in planning - always a plus, thanks Mom! And to boot, Craig had a partner in access needs - my father is a "slow walker" due to MS. So as a foursome, we made a great travel team!  Can't wait to do it again!

Our itinerary was set last year, in late 2012, when United Airlines freed up its mileage plus block for September 3 to Amsterdam. From there we knew we were going to visit Belgium - where exactly and for how long was yet to be decided - and that we would end our vacation on September 19th and fly home from Paris.  SO all we had to do was fill in the blanks!

First stop: AMSTERDAM! Exciting....
In Amsterdam, it behooves one to stay near Dam Square, so that daily excursions could embark in any direction, on wheels or on tram, and not have far to go - or return.  So that's what we did. We found the Hotel Krasnapolsky to have one accessible room (which many hotels seem to have adapted - one and only one, so early booking is a must!). Despite some issues with air conditioning (who thought that would be an issue in September!), the room was awesome: roll-in shower, lots of room, comfortable bed, tiny but working elevator to the 2nd floor. In many other regards as well, this hotel was truly awesome. From the Winter Garden breakfast dining are complete with ramped entry to the free wi-fi and centralized location, Krasnapolsky is a great choice. On the high end of price, but well worth the bucks.

Our highlights in Amsterdam were many - too many to explain in at length, so we'll be brief:

• Dine with the pleasant locals at a pub in Dam Square, an Indian Restaurant off Spui (shpoh) Street, or a red light district coffee shop and you'll find that the people are easily the nicest on the continent. Chat them up, they'll open up their world to you. Dining highlights: Cafe Ouest, Kantji and Tijger, Cafe van Kerkwijk, and De Bolhoed. 
• Sit at any intersection in a busy part of the city and watch the bikes go by. It's truly wondrous!
• Ask for disability discounts at museums, most of them have them. We loved the Hortus Botanic Gardens and Rijksmuseum, and skipped Anne Frank (most inaccessible). The Royal Palace was passable (rooms started looking the same after a while, but the architecture is amazing). 
• Take a canal tour with City Canal Cruises - great lift down into the boat from the dock!
• Worry not about the taxis! All are eager to please, and if needed, ask for a van. 
• Worry even less about the trams! What a great way to get around, wheelchair seating is in the second half of the tram, make sure you find one with a wheelchair symbol (every, or every other one, every 10-20 minutes). 

All in all, this was Craig's favorite stop on our Euro-whirl-wind-tour. His reasons: the people- always his favorite is a friendly city!, the bikes - truly an entertaining passtime, and the Krasnapolsky! Nice work travel team!

Stay tuned for Belgium and France! 

Our highlights in photographs, as expected!

United takes a big step forward for Customer Service

This past week we had the honor to attend United Airlines annual Operations and Cargo Leadership Conference in Chicago, where over 600 airport Station Managers gathered for three days of varying sessions encompassing the topic of service.  Service Managers came from all around the world and country, from Oahu to Amsterdam, and everywhere in between. Their adopting mission this year is to improve the customer experience around the world. 

The company has settled into the recent merge well, staff from both United and Continental Airlines reporting that the collaborating efforts were going way better than expected.  Still overcoming some curves and glitches, as to be expected, but as a whole the company genuinely wants to come out on top and the great strides its top tier has been making don't go unnoticed.

Our presence at this conference was with the Accessible Travel Advisory Board (ATAB).  The 15 members have had great input since our board's inception in 2008 (then with Continental), and we love being a part of this "family." Assisting with accessibility in all aspects of the company from check-in to in-flight, from "below-the-wing" (baggage, maintenance, and beyond) to website and mobile apps, our board has learned more about the airline industry than we ever dreamed we could.

Taking a big step forward from our smaller meetings, United asked our group to join this conference and speak as a panel to the attendees - yes all 600 of them!  On stage, under bright lights, each of us were to answer their one burning question: "How can United best serve you?" We each had 3 minutes to describe the best travel day possible, and when it was all said and done, the feedback we received was that our 40 minute segment was the best of the conference.
We were impressed immediately by the obvious dedication to their improvement; on the notepad and notebook that was in all packets for the conference was written the following mission, as one of four service missions: "Serving customers with disabilities - understand accessibility.  Our mission is to treat every customer with empathy, dignity, and respect. The diverse range of disabilities drives diverse needs. As a leader, you will increase the awareness of these needs in your co-workers, vendors, and airport community."  We trust that with 600 worldwide station managers receiving this mission, the results will trickle out quickly.

In our debriefing session that followed, we heard from several departments as usual, all of which continue to make great strides in accessibility improvements across the board.

For starters, their internal ATAB meets monthly, and has made changes to many internal formats, resources, manuals, and trainings.

The changes have already started to take hold. All of our board members had received the on board briefing for example, of which we historically get 0-10% of the time.

Among one of the more exciting developments was that United's top tech team followed and filmed the online experience from start to finish of our board members who is blind in order to best improve the web and mobile app accessibility of the entire experience - which is among the hardest customer experiences to perfect.  Pat reported that most had never seen a blind person operate an iPhone, and that they'd be doing additional filming in Chicago and overseas as well. 

With the board's approval, Pat recommended that United adopt a full Web Accessibility Policy such that Alaska Airlines, IBM, and even the State of Texas have already adopted.  Putting their mobile strategy first shows that this company is looking forward to the future.

Many other changes are trickling down as we type, from Real Time Technology for better vendor (wheelchair pushers) and airline communication, to a new required form for emotional support animals - bringing United up to speed with other airlines who have been confirming these animals' validity by calling the doctor's who "prescribe" them, thus cutting down on the viral abuse of this privilege. 

One last thing that the board has been hitting the airlines hard on since our inception is to have SSR (Special Service Request) codes improved with more detail so the gate agents know exactly what disability to expect - and thus plan for - when a request comes through. 

Hopefully with all these changes, and future changes to come, you will all come to find that United is a better airline to fly - if not the best - for people with disabilities and special needs.

We are still waiting on videos and photos from this conferences, but as soon as we get them, we'll post them here.

Happy traveling -

Have you noticed any changes in United Airlines? We did...

We hadn't traveled on United since mid 2012, and were surprised to find several new changes since the UA-CO merger when we traveled to Florida this last week.  The combined companies' united front seems to be shifting their image nicely, well, for the most part. But change is inevitable, and for the most part, usually good. Here are some of the changes we noticed...

First, although we didn't have it on any of our flights, the inflight magazine states that Wifi is being added to 300 planes this year, with goals to have it on 500 planes by 2014 - for more on that, see united.com/wifi. This is no small feat, since many airports don't even have it, including the hub we transferred through: IAH/Houston Int'l, as well as the two smaller regional airports of HDN/Hayden-Steamboat and RSW/Ft Myers Beach. Personally, we're not quite sure why Wifi isn't a standard free service yet for all companies' customers like it is at many hotels (including the one we stayed at in FMB). Heck, if Starbucks can do it across the country so should you. Hats off to United for working towards that.

Next, United's mobile app has greatly improved.  In addition to online check in, mobile boarding passes and general information regarding your reservation, the app has been linked up with the favorite Points Inside app to show interior maps of airports, searchable by name. It also shows live up-to-date information on flight delays, arrivals, and even time updates on where your plane is coming from. This proves handy for the seasoned traveler, keeping them more informed than the gate agents even (a notable downside actually). Our flight from IAH to RSW was delayed due to the incoming equipment (plane), and the gate agent couldn't tell us why. With a few clicks, we knew that the equipment was coming in from San Diego and had left 20 minutes late. We deduced that due to the tailwind we'd caught on the way to IAH, the SAN flight would do the same, and sure enough, we left IAH on time.

Also updated is the inflight magazine map which now includes a paw print to mark the location of SARAs (Service Animal Relief Areas), now it just needs to be added to the mobile app - those using SARAs are usually blind, and can't read the inflight magazines, nor (we're assuming) do the gate agents.  Hopefully voice-activated mapping for the blind is coming soon.

Early boarding announcements and protocol keeps changing for the better as well - and United has adopted the "We will now be boarding people with special needs and disabilities" along with the honored men and women in uniform.

We'll be in Chicago in May for our annual disability advisory board meeting, and we'll update you more on that then!

For now, way to go United.

United Airlines, taking baby steps

Thanks to United and Continental Airlines' ongoing merger, the latter has been dedicated to influencing the former to take baby steps in bringing access for all to the forefront of their customer service.

The latest update in this process is United's choice to add Continental's wheelchair information card to their website for customers who use wheelchairs and scooters to download, fill out, and attach to their mobility device to help protect its fragile areas.

http://www.united.com/ual/asset/Wheelchair_form_v3.pdf

Good job team!

Continental Airlines Customers with Disabilities Advisory Board says goodbye to an era

Houston, TX
October 6-7, 2010
Continental Airlines officially merged with United Airlines on October 1, 2010

It has been our highest honor to sit on the Continental Airlines Customers with Disabilities Advisory Board (CACDAB) since 2008. When approached three years ago by Customer First and Regulatory Programs Manager Bill Burnell and his team, we leapt at the opportunity to help make a difference for one of our favorite travel providers. This company has always had the contagious postitive attitude towards PWD and act as family taking care of you on the road. The company's long-term dedication to going above and beyond the regulations for handling customers with disabilities is applaudable. Therefore to be one of their advisors on the topic is the hugest honor one could have.

We were invited to visit Northwest's board in early 2008 in Detroit just before their merger with Delta, and subsequent dissolvement, and as Burnell always says, we learned what not to do. From there Continental gathered an all-star team of representatives from the travelers with disabilities community, representing as many disabilities as possible including many levels of physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities. Each meeting the Continental crowd would grow larger and larger, with multiple employees from dozens of departments coming to listen, give input, and learn at these extremely productive and educational meetings.


This Wednesday, during the board's fifth and final pow-wow under the Continental name, the crowd grew to about 80 eager bodies including the board, Burnell's super team, a first-time appearance from the Pilot's Department and smaller regional airports, and three United Managers. The morning opened with a surprisingly heart-warming speech about marriage from Vice President of Airport Operations and Planning, Cindy Szadokierski, of "the New United," former French teacher who got the "jet fuel in [her] blood" used phrases like "team effort," "leaving the past stigma behind," and closed with Craig's favorite line of the two days, "at the next meeting."

As board members, we applaud the United team for sitting in open minded during this final and therefore sometimes emotional meeting, as the new step sisters and brothers to this family who has laughed and cried together for two years now. Their input was invaluable, and their note taking did not go by unnoticed. Hopefully this board can only continue to grow in the most beneficial ways as possible during this merger.


What the next year will look like:

You will start to see the airplanes and uniforms merging, with Continental's logo remaining on the tail and the United name down the body of the aircrafts (above). Pins combining both were handed out to employees.
Mileage points rewards programs will merge.
In the spring of 2011 on "Customer Day One" the policies will merge and customers will "feel a more streamlined experience."
Next, the FAA certificate as one formal airline will be awarded.
United is still "committed to Continental's slogan of "Offering the highest standard of clean, safe, reliable (and accessible) transportation."
The New United will become the largest, most powerful, and hopefully the most accessible airline in the world.


What has happened since March 2010:
Continental Update

• Stopped offering medical oxygen for rent and have approved 13 kinds of Personal Oxygen Containers (POC) for passengers to bring onboard. Also hosted POC Awareness Day.
• Ventilators now approved above 10,000 feet and when applicable can use onboard power to charge.
• The "Disability Quarterly" with articles from board members and passengers with personal stories receives hundreds of emails in response per issue.
• Continuing to educate and and merge policies with International Partners.
• Animal Relief Areas (guide dog potties) now listed on airport maps.
• Many airport ground crews received mobility equipment handling workshops to reduce annual damage expense.
• CACDAB's partners TSA, STAXI, and wheelchair providers have also made several changes to how they operate based on the CDAB's suggestions and experience.

It will take some time for this merger to shake out into a product that we all love and company we all patronize, but we are optimistic, and we hope you will be too.

Thanks to Continental for introducing us to an amazing team of dedicated employees and board members.


More on CACDAB and airline travel
CACDAB4
May 2009, TWD's updated rights
CACDAB2

Universal Access In Airports Conference 2010

From October 19-20, 2010 the Open Doors Organization, IATA, and The Houston Downtown Crowne Plaza are sponsoring the 2010 Universal Access in Airports Conference, an annual event that provides "a unique opportunity for dialogue among the various stakeholders in the aviation industry." This 2-day conference will offer industry leaders a highly informative and educational forum to exchange ideas that address issues relating to accessibility to, in and around airports.

This conference is designed to address issues relating to accessibility in, around and to airports. We have created a forum for you to share and learn about best practices, ADA guidelines, and application of new technology.

Access Anything is proud to be a part of this event in leading a discussion panel on Service Animals in the Airport, assisting both airport managers and airline personnel in making a smooth travel experience for those that travel with working dogs and others.

Other Highlights of this Conference:

• Explore effective training methods and tools available for airport and airline personnel and service providers as it relates to customer service and assistance for travelers with disabilities.
• Discover new advancement in technology, accessible facility and website design and guidelines.
• Learn effective ways to minimize gaps in service from baggage claim to ground transportation.
• Hear testimonies and experiences of travel from people with disabilities.
• Examine ways to incorporate process and policy for Emergency Preparedness. Working with all stakeholders of accessible air travel to achieve a plan that puts everyone on the same page.

Registration
Register at the Houston Crowne Plaza
Sponsorship Opportunities
For additional information contact Eric Lipp (773)388-8839 or email ericlipp@opendoorsnfp.org

Presented by

Another reason not to fly United

This letter came in to us from a friend who blew out both his MCL and ACL (knee) and had to fly United on crutches. It was so harrowing, that I had to share it. We've had Craig's wheelchair broked twice, his shower chair broken three times, and almost denied access because the new flight attendant mistook the word "pet" in her FAA guidebook for "service dog." But we stopped flying United a long time ago when we heard they were the only airline that did NOT go through disability training. We found out who got the highest marks on customer satisfaction -disabled or not- and fly with them: Continental.



So here's Damien's story.... (injured on a kayaking trip deep in the backcountry) It's long, but then, most of these stories are...


"I had to fly 2 days after my accident so I called ahead to get a wheelchair to my gate on all my stops. I'm on a free ticket so I stop about 14 times, which I don't understand instead of taking up room on one flight I'm taking up room on almost every flight United has that day, plus I'm traveling 10,000 miles to get to a destination that's only 1500 away. When I got to the airport in Raleigh they told me it was going to be a 30 minute wait for the wheel chair. I might have missed my flight if I waited so I crutched it down to the gate. Of course the gate I was going to was the farthest possible from the ticket counter. I must have been run into 5 times by gapers looking at the gate numbers and not where they were going or people just in a hurry to make their flights and didn't care who they knocked out of the way. I was also sore from paddling out the day before so I had to stop about every 10 yards or so and rest my arms.

I get to my gate and ask if I can pre-board with First Class. The First Class passengers look pissed that I get in line with them. It's a class issue, like I was scamming them with my fake crutches to try to be better than I really am. (On United they have First Class walk over a Red Carpet and then they rope it off and make everyone else walk around it. Is this the 19th century?? I almost expected not to have a window or life preserver when I got to my seat!!) When I get on board I ask them to make sure they call a wheelchair to the gate.
"No problem," the flight attendant says.

When I get to Dulles, no wheelchair. I try to ask someone but there is a line and the gate agent, not too politely, asks me to go to the end of the line as she thinks I'm trying to get on the outbound of the flight I was just on and am cut because of my crutches. I can't wait and hobble again to the next gate. With no hands to carry anything, I tied a plastic bag with all my personal belonging, tickets, wallet, cell phone, magazine and water bottle, to the handle of one of my crutches. As I'm about to get on the terminal shuttle, the bag breaks and my stuff goes everywhere. The look on everyone's face was priceless. "Do I help or not?" No one helps but I got a lot of looks of pity and end up missing the shuttle because I'm picking up all my stuff. I get to the gate and there's no open seat; no one offers to get up. I find a seat on the floor and wait for my next leg to Chicago.

I get to Chicago, again no wheelchair again but this time I feel like I'm in luck because I'm only about 4 gates from my next departure to Denver. In between was a bar and I was ready for a drink, but again, no seats. I wait for a seat near the entrance in a pretty obvious place. Apparently cell phones make people oblivious because as soon as a seat opens up a suit on his cell brushes past me and takes the seat. I was about to say something but another seat opened up right after and I took that one and let it go. Again I board and again I get dirty looks when I board with the First Class passengers. This time I didn't get permission to board with them and she points out that I'm not in the right class to be boarding first but lets me on.

I get to Denver and, hooray, there's a wheelchair waiting for me. I'm almost in tears I'm so happy. I have to go all the way down to the end terminal to pick up the little prop plane to Steamboat but I had to stop at the bathroom on the way. The guy stops at the bathroom and when I come out he's gone!! The *&%$er ditched me!! I can't get on the moving walkway in crutches, so I have to hobble my way down again. I get down to the gate and they tell me I won't be able to make it down the stairs to the tarmac so they call another wheelchair for me. Guess who shows back up??? The Ditcher!!! He wheels me around when he gets to the bottom he stands there and waits for a tip. I was so pissed so I gave him a fake novelty $3 bill my Dad gave me with a picture of Bill Clinton on it. This guy was from India so didn't know the difference and pocketed it.



I sit down at the gate for a while until we get word that they don't have a pilot to fly the plane. He's in Phoenix and and will be here in 2 hours. All of the passengers go back up to the concourse but the lady tells me I have to stay because they can't get a wheelchair to bring me back up. I guess that Indian guy was at the bar spending his $3 bill. Everyone leaves and I had to sit down there by myself for 2 hours with no water or access to the bathroom.

We had some testy weather and they told us we might have to go back to Denver but luckily we landed and I was asleep in my bed about an hour later. It hindsight everything else seems pretty easy to get around crutches on."

-Damien