Airline Abused Service Dog Flier 40 Ways

 

Blocks Getting Wheelchair 

Drops Disabled's Bag With Open Lid

Tries To Block Ticketing, Boarding Pass & Boarding

Airline Blocks Putting More Abuses On YouTube(Airline Kicks Out Videographers Despite US Legal Protection) 

Abusing Disabled Passenger - Initial Examples

• Passenger’s Bag Dropped Before Closing Cover

• No Wheelchair: Told to stand in line to get wheelchair despite passenger’s disability. 

No wheelchair readily available at departure and arrival gates.

• Blocks Ticketing & Boarding: Tried: Blocking Ticketing, Printing Boarding Pass, Then Boarding. Pure discrimination.

• Forcing Passenger Not To Call It A Medical Service Dog: Airline Forcing Passenger To Say It’s Not A Medical Service Dog

• Fellow Passengers Dumbstruck

• Airline Ignores TSA PreCheck Wouldn’t Put TSA Precheck number on boarding pass

• Made Passenger’s Medical Conditions Worse: The tussling and harassment made passenger’s medical and disability conditions worse. But passenger survived.

• Airline Blocks YouTube Videotaping: Forbid videotaping their harassment. Denying evidence. Federal law allows filing in airports, but this airline says they’ll kick you off if you tape because they don’t want bad publicity from horrible service. 40

• Only Compensation: $30 after agent drops bag with open lid.
• Much More...!

Reads Like A Horror Action Movie

Non Stop Harassment

The chain of harassments were relentless. Passenger was even told he couldn’t get the needed wheelchair until he stood in line. His bag was dropped with the lid open.  In essence he was told he couldn’t board, but the airline relented since he insisted on this rights dozens of times. He had to go through five agents, and kept waiting. Discrimination then led to no wheelchair on arrival. He almost missed his December 2019 flight within the USA.

Pre Airport Arrival Begging For Help Ignored: 1

Passenger’s Pleading Calls & Letters Weeks Before Arriving At Airport Ignored At Airport. Passenger’s complaints about previous trauma from airline abuse still ignored. Passenger reminded airline agents to check his complaint record but harassment continued.

Harassment – H Minute By Minute

Airline Forbid Videoing Or Audio Recording Their Harassment

In The Passenger’s Words

Airline Website Blocked Issuing Ticket: 2

Passenger’s airline flight number may have alerted the airlines that there was a service dog owner they might try blocking. Airline’s site’s shutting down ticket processing might have been a coincidence. Though passenger says they have website transaction snapshots.

Did Airline Try To Disallow Service Dog Status? 

Airline Website Indirectly Directed Passenger To Change Medical Service Dog Status To Non Medical Service Dog: 

• How Airline Tricked Passenger: Their website gave the passenger in the ticket issuing process the option of calling about their medical service dog with an unknown hold time and who knows what else, or the option of clicking an option. Who wants to go through phone tree hell asked the passenger who never experienced that form of harassment before. 3

• Slippery Slope & Can’t Climb Back: 

The clicked option however surprisingly turned out to be slippery slope.  It forced the passenger in essence to re-label the medical service dog into another category, then obtain a huge number of certified documents (a portion of which expires and needs frequent renewals) before boarding is allowed. 4

• Blocked From Correcting Airline Induced Error: Passenger was not allowed to back click and call the number.  Even the number was then hidden. Even relogging in blocked the service dog owner option.  Several calls to the airlines handicap / service dog owner section couldn’t work – passenger was also disconnected twice. 5

• Still Not Fixed: Issue still not fixed at the time of this writing nearly a month afterwards. Nor any real apologies. 6

No Wheelchair Provided Until Repeated Requests:

Had difficulty getting a wheelchair for bad back. Airline refused though passenger couldn’t stand long.  Passenger didn’t want further harassment, so asked the airline not be named fearing further reprisals. Passenger arrived earlier than usual expecting more harassment. 7

1st Airline Agent’s Harassment: Fight to get wheelchair

Made difficult for passenger to get a wheel chair and boarding pass.

Passenger Told To Stand In Long Line For Wheelchair:

The first agent said the passenger visibly with a service dog needed boarding pass before getting wheel chair. Repeatedly passenger asked if they could at least sit down instead of standing to get boarding pass. After multiple attempts, using up passengers limited reserves for staying healthy, the agent relented. 8

2nd Airline Agent’s Harassment: Denies passenger's claims

Airline Claimed Passenger Didn’t Notify Airline About The “Dog”. But Passenger Did Notify By Phone & Was Refused Written Confirmation
At The Time. An Accident Induced By Airline Policy?:

• Calling a medical service dog, just a “dog” is abusive, considering airlines don’t allow pet dogs on leash in cabins however well trained. 9

• Agent’s Might Not Fully Identify Themselves: Would not give their employee number. So to be on the friendlier side, passenger stopped asking the other agents. Makes passenger feel less secure against the random abuses flying minute by minute 10

• Airline Refused To Give Complaint Number: Though passenger asked for a record number for how he was treated, such was denied. Passenger told to use the airline travel boarding ticket number – similar to what passenger was told when calling to reserve space for their service dog. Note, the institute was told one can’t deny service dog access and that such a quota or pre-permission system was not allowed. But airline might have had their legal harassment loophole ready? The loophole was not disclosed. 11

• Prior Harassment Complaint Ignored Again:

Passenger reminding airline that the service dog harassment issue was emailed to the airline earlier.  Agent demanded evidence of the email in order to board. This also might not be allowed.  Though passenger wasn’t given the time. 12

• Dog’s government issued service dog tag: Airline didn’t even want to see it. Why? Would make passenger more confident in taking on airline harassment? 13

3rd Airline Agent’s Harassment: 
Passenger told they can't board. But airline refuses sustainable reason.

Boarding Denied If The “Dog” Came With Passenger:

Agent would not:  1. Give written confirmation that boarding was denied, nor 2., Allow recording of the harassment.  It’s not a “dog” but a “service dog”. Most people would have given up long ago. 14

Passenger again told to wait. Left wondering and nervous, thinking of all the difficulties if boarding was denied. Also it was maybe past boarding time. 15

Airline Bombards Disabled Man With 3 Airline Thugs 

Thugs In Civilized Clothing Or Caring People? 

But Passenger Still Wont Budge.

• If the harassers aren't "thugs" who else could conduct themselves this way, with or without airline uniforms?
• Continue Verbal Harassment: They generally were repeating their attempts to deny boarding. 16

• Agent #4 hid her name badge. Clothing didn’t clearly identify her as an airline or airport employee. 17

• It Took The Passenger’s Refusal To Budge In Front Of The Multipe Intimidating Airline Security Types: 

Since passenger refused to leave in his wheelchair, airline reluctantly relented. Airline waited until it was almost too late to catch the plane with the long security check lines, distances to be traveled, and wheelchair difficulties. The well trained service dog (unaware of the airlines dislike happily wagged it’s tail helping the passenger feel better. And it didn’t get in the way of the wheelchair handler. However the passenger’s medical condition was worsening from the harassment and being forced to walk or stand earlier and later. 18

• Airline Compliance Caution: Passenger remained polite. But readers with their support animals should be extra polite and careful so airlines don’t find a minor excuse to refuse boarding. Believe me they will if they can. Passenger repeatedly followed airlines “polite” demands. Passenger clearly confirmed they were in compliance so airline couldn’t come back and refuse flights on this or future trips.

Past Boarding Time Now!  19

3rd Airline Manager Carries Passenger’s Open Bag, Then Drops It

How Can A Trained Airline Manager Drop An Open Bag?

First why was the bag being moved over 8 meters (24 feet) with the lid open?  Next why was it dropped?  The manager’s facial countenance suggested it was not an accident. Here the barred videotaping would have proved priceless. It’s the chain of harassments that’s at issue. 20

Passenger Took iPad In Dropped Bag To Repair Next Day:

Luckily almost nothing fell out.  But it was a very close call. It however sensitive electronics and other valuable. Can’t prove the drop was connected with taking one of the devices to Apple repair the next day – the item had to be replaced. Provable or not, it’s indirect harassment. He will gladly provide friendly Apple computer’s replacement reference number – as passenger was protected under Apple warranty. 21

Next The Physical Hurdles Just Between TSA & Gate

Like Going Through A Preplanned Video Game

Hurdle #1:

Door To Walk Way Closed.  Nobody At Agent Desk.  

Almost looked like plane left.  Airlines merry go round tactics causing further stress for the passenger who not only had medical conditions, but also PTSD and other disabilities (as pointed out to the airline earlier). 22

Hurdle #2:

Walkway To Plane Blocked Against Wheelchairs. Sitting There In Shock. Not Knowing What To Do Now. Exhausted By The Past Hurdles. Not Seeing If Plane Already Took Off.

Wasn’t enough room for the wheelchair and the service dog.  Okay, they didn’t expect a wheelchair with service dog (though it does happen to those willing to fight with the airline to get on board, ha ha). But there wasn’t even enough room for just the wheelchair! 23

Hurdle #3:

Passenger forced to leave the wheelchair and again asked to get on their feet.  Also told to rush. Rushing like this is what the doctor told the patient not to do. Aggravated medical condition. 24

Hurdles #4:

Another Bad Intention: Boarding Ticket As Inputted: Agent entering boarding ticket info chose to have disabled person wait to board longer than most other passengers.  Boarding pass was marked as group 5. It was the intent not the actuality that’s the harassment. Note passenger had flown probably many hundreds of miles in past years, but less since airline started harassing before this flight. 25

Hurdle #5: (12+ More Subtle Forms Of Further Harassment)

Making passenger afraid they didn’t have the service dog pass. Then making passenger feel they will never get it.

The intricate airline’s manipulation to scare passenger included:  First agent shouts a Service Dog Pass is needed. But one was not offered. Only after passenger pleaded multiple times was this precious so called pass given. The pass looked nothing like a service dog pass. Easier to show with a video, examples include: No mention of the gibberish paper saying it’s a pass, nor in English words “service dog” or its common abbreviation “S.D.”. It said “services” which implied this was a wheelchair pass. Passenger didn’t want to show the pass to avoid retaliation as the design would give away the airline name even if identifying marks were removed. 26 thru 38 harassments.

Required Service Dog Pass All Designed To Make Passenger Insecure In 

Ways: Was not given with the boarding pass. Then agent says passenger needs one, but doesn’t offer to give one. This makes passenger feel insecure.

Passenger was made to feel less secure because the extra “pass” the agent said was needed for the service dog, was not designed by corporate to really look like that service dog pass the passenger was expected to have. That is, the design was built to create further passenger insecurity. Faulty “service pass” design examples include: 

Yet Again Another Bad Avoidable Intention:

Pre-boarding for disabled was not made available due to airline’s delays. Packed plane.  Nobody to help passenger take their bags most of the way back. Airline had weeks to accommodate, not to mention at boarding pass issuance. 39 (#40 harassment above when airline punishes you when videotaping despite US laws allowing videotaping in US airports).

Landed At Airlines Terminal & Of Course No Wheelchair

Only one wheelchair apparently given for three disabled passengers.

Forcing passenger to walk and carry his luggage onto runway. Nobody to greet passenger.  Passenger had to go through three people to get a wheelchair. 27

Institute's Predictions By 2025:
The institute predicted gay marriage becoming legal. It also predicts governments may require stronger service dog certification requirements, making it easier for airlines to designate between service and emotional support animals.

Wrapping It Up:

• The airline employees seemed very well trained in how they might or might not abuse passengers. Guessing their actions were individually legally allowed. But this needs to change.
• Future Human Rights Legislation Predicted: Like past human rights battles for black suffrage, inter racial marriage, gay rights, and more. 
• There were over 8 other ways the abuse induced trauma effected the passenger physically and his emotionally. 
• Fighting against huge corporations with their rich lobbyists is a slippery slope. Since we can't win, the disabled can at least spread the word and convince airlines to change their ways.

Disclaimers - So Airline Can't Retaliate

• In fairness, those who abuse service dog status, make it harder for airlines to designate between fake and real service animals. But it’s a crime to claim an animal is a service animal when it’s not. See:
Service Animal Institute, and Service Dogs Institute blogs.

• As this is a huge powerful airline, every precaution is needed both in this blog and when traveling on their planes.  All statements are opinions, and may not be supported by fact – I.E. portions may be fictional.  Any mention or inference to an airline is coincidental. No legally approved statements or interpretations are given. Naturally the airline would have their differing view, though airline refuses to give a case number for this case and just the boarding ticket number. All details didn’t fit into blog.

• Formulized apologies from airline(s) feel empty hearted.

• Definitions for the following may not legally match airline carrier terms. They include: 

agent, harassment, experience, service dog, friendly, disabled, TSA policies, California disability act, DOT policies, ADA guidelines, harassment, abuse, retaliation, predictions, etc.
• Statements from employees might not represent the airline. Includes their refusal to be recorded, hence indirectly limiting airing on YouTube.Com. Could this be any airline such as: American Airlines, Continental, .  Note Alaska Airlines and Southwest are mentioned as “often” being relatively more service dog friendly.

• Simplification was needed herein. Airline will be presented with more details.

• No warranty for passenger’s opinions or the institute’s writings.  This brainstorming blog and blog site are taken. The institute is a division of the international Innovation Institute, Inc.

• What is not being disclaimed: Certain airlines have a history of making it difficult for those with service dogs to board.

Stop Airline Harassment • Tighter Legislation Needed To Protect Service Dog Passengers From Abuse