“I don’t want perks, I don’t want rewards, I just want to know that my wheelchair will get from point A to point B safely,” she said. Ladau said she hopes airlines will start to take these incidents more seriously. A member of our team has reached out to apologize and learn more about the customer’s experience,” the statement said. “We want all of our customers to have a positive travel experience when they fly with us and we recognize how important it is to support the independence of customers with disabilities as they travel. “I’m hoping that it’s not the kind of thing that it's a cumulative effect,” she said.Īmerican Airlines said in a statement that they reached out to Ladau to learn more about what happened. Ultimately, the chair dried out and her father was able to fix the joystick, but she said it’s still possible water damage could affect the chair’s performance down the road. “I was really furious at how wet the chair had gotten because that could easily mean the whole chair would be totaled,” she said. Ladau, who has Larsen syndrome, said when she eventually made it to New York, the joystick was bent and the chair was soaked through by rain. Tell us your story: Mobility device lost or damaged by an airline? USA TODAY wants to hear about it.Ĭruising Altitude: What to know about getting bumped from a flight when airlines overbook While in Boston, she said the airline refused to retrieve her power wheelchair from the cargo hold, meaning she had to get assistance from her boyfriend to use the bathroom while waiting at Logan to complete the trip. She told USA TODAY that she was flying from Indianapolis to New York on April 22, but her flight was diverted to Boston Logan International Airport because of weather. “If it’s a minor issue, I’d rather just deal with it personally.” “I know people will probably say why didn’t you file a report, why didn’t you follow proper channels? But it’s exhausting,” Ladau said. Ladau’s wheelchair was damaged in late April on an American Airlines flight, but she never filed a formal complaint with the airline. But Emily Ladau’s incident isn’t likely to show up in any official report. The Department of Transportation collects data on airlines mishandling mobility devices on a monthly basis. Watch Video: Influencer shows how she travels the world while legally blind
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