TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Airlines

Plus-Size Travel Advocates Speak Out

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Jeff Jenkins, an African American male with cropped beard and glasses and JerVae Anthony, an African American female with hoop earings

Whatever size we are, we know the look. The one a large airline passenger receives from a seatmate when they arrive at their row. Sometimes the look is accompanied by an audible gasp. 

“Society has an anti-fat bias, and you can encounter it anywhere,” writes Cheyenne Davis in the essay “The Uneasy Truth About Traveling While Fat” in the online magazine thrillist. “Living in a world fueled by fatphobia creates unnecessary barriers, from limited clothing options to discrimination in medical care, employment, and relationships. According to the NIH, more than two in five adults live in a large body. And yet despite this fact, we continue to face daily challenges—including in travel, where inequities like the ones outlined below so often deny us access to the same life-changing experiences available to others.”

Jeff Jenkins, a National Geographic travel host and award-winning content creator, says that airlines can definitely do more to make flights accessible for everyone. “We are still waiting on the FAA to give dimensions for standard seat sizes for each aircraft,” he says. “We hope that they listen to us and make the seats wider.”

Throw in additional ableist and racial biases, and these roadblocks can escalate substantially. “Whenever I’ve visited Chicago, I’ve observed a recurring issue where Black disabled individuals, myself included, are left waiting for assistance for extended periods,” explains Jervae Dionne Anthony, artist and founder of Fat Black Liberation. “The available wheelchairs don’t cater to those with infinifat bodies, typically above size 32. It’s a struggle to survive a form of violence that often goes unnoticed and unaddressed.” Read more. 

Our Takeaway: The failure—and in some cases the refusal—to meet the needs of plus-size travelers is a serious accessibility issue for the entire industry. Beyond airline seats and wheelchairs, there are size problems with amusement park rides, hotel bed dimensions, zipline harnesses, and on and on. . . 

How Autism-Certified Hotel and Airline Brands Made a Huge Difference for One Family

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Felicia Callafange smiling on the airplane alongside her mother Flavia. They are holding a doll and a stuffed teddy bear. (Photo credit: Autism Double-Checked.)

Fourteen-year-old Felicia Callafange, who has autism, is an extremely friendly and high-energy person. Her mother Flavia said she loves talking to people, which can sometimes come across as “aggressive,” and she has trouble sitting still during long plane rides. Callafange has learned that there isn’t much she can do to calm Felicia during a meltdown.

“For someone who doesn’t know what autism is and just looks at her, she’s a pretty girl with bad behavior, and I’m a bad mother,” Callafange said. “I heard these insults all the time.”

But a recent trip from their home in Chile to New York City provided a radically different experience, thanks to certifications provided by Alan Day’s Autism Double-Checked. After flying LATAM airlines and staying at Virgin Hotels of New York City, Flavia said the family will only travel with autism-friendly companies from now on. Read more.

Our Takeaway: Partnerships between travel companies and autism experts/advocates can make a dramatic difference to families with autistic children. Autism Double-Checked is providing an excellent model of what can be done through education and staff training. For example, Karisma Hotels & Resorts launched an Autism Concierge service that uses autism-trained “e-mail concierges” to deal with real time issues. The email concierge concept is an important (and affordable) innovation, as far as we’re concerned. The fact that it’s actually working can open new possibilities for hotels to become more accessible for families dealing with cognitive disabilities.

United Leads the Way with its Embrace of Braille and Other Navigational Aids

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Braille directions on the seat and row of a United Airlines plane.

For eight years running, United Airlines has been recognized as a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion. No surprise then that they also play a leadership role in integrating accessibility into their product design. United is the first U.S. airline to incorporate Braille into its aircraft interiors. United has already equipped a dozen aircraft with Braille markings for individual rows and seat numbers, as well as lavatory interiors and exteriors. The airline anticipates outfitting its entire mainline fleet with Braille by the end of 2026.

The Braille initiative is just a first step. United is also collaborating with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the American Council of the Blind (ACB), and other disability advocacy groups to investigate the application of other tactile navigational aids, such as raised letters, numbers, and arrows, throughout the cabin. Read more.

Our Takeaway: United’s incorporation of Braille and other navigational aids will relieve some of the stress of flying for millions of blind and low vision travelers. These features should become the industry standard.

When an Airline Can’t Accommodate a Superfan’s Wheelchair, Beyoncé’s BeyHive Springs Into Action

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Jon Hetherington,smiles as he holds up a photo of Beyonce on a horse in a western costume.. (Photo credit: Jon Hetherington.)

“So after 25 years. I’m not seeing Beyoncé tonight… ableism strikes again.” That was the statement Jon Hetherington posted to Tik Tok after His electric wheelchair was deemed too tall to fit through the door of the plane that was to fly him from Eugene, Oregon to Seattle for the Beyoncé show. 

The Alaska Airline crew tried to find Hetherington another flight on a plane that could accommodate his wheelchair; an Airbus, but the only one available would get him there 12 hours too late.

Fellow superfans in the BeyHive saw Jon’s post on Tik Tok and worked with Beyoncé’s team to fly him down to Arlington, Texas for the next show. The show was a once-in-a-lifetime event, but the travel obstacles were all too familiar. 

“We have not built our society or this country in a way that is fully inclusive,” he said. “Day to day, we’re kind of ignored and invisible,” he said, referring to people with disabilities. The airline issued a statement saying they “felt terrible about our guest’s experience.” Read more. 

Our Takeaway: Jon Hetherington’s comments and the experiences he has endured traveling to concerts are a reminder of how much work we still have to do to make travel fully accessible.

Savannah Airport Introduces Power Wheelchair for Passengers

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Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport has teamed up with WHILL, an innovative personal transportation solutions company, to provide improved mobility for passengers at the airport. The new service allows passengers to use a WHILL Model C2 power chair to navigate the terminal themselves, including visiting restaurants, shops, and restrooms before heading to their gate. Traditionally, passengers with mobility limitations would be pushed in a wheelchair by airport staff, which does not provide the same level of independence. Read More.

Our Takeaway: With the influx of baby boomers requiring mobility assistance to navigate airports combined with the expense and difficulty recruiting wheelchair assistants, cool products like Whill electric wheelchair can help fill the gap.