Just a flesh wound

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » August 14, 2004, 1:26 pm

Those crazy French!

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A wheelchair-bound woman with no limbs sued Air France for discrimination on Friday, alleging she was kept off a flight by a gate agent who told her a "torso cannot possibly fly on its own."

Adele Price, 42, a British citizen, sued the airline in Manhattan federal court seeking unspecified damages.

Price, who was born without limbs because her mother took the drug thalidomide during pregnancy, said in the suit she is able to manipulate a wheelchair and has traveled by air many times.

The suit states that she had bought a ticket in 2000 for travel between Manchester, England and New York. After Price had checked her luggage, she alleged that she was stopped by an Air France agent who told her that "a head, one bottom and a torso cannot possibly fly on its own."

Price said in the suit that Air France let her take another flight to New York but only after she was able to get a companion to go with her. However, Price said she had to pay for the companion's airfare and lodging.

She said the airline also made it difficult for her to return from John F. Kennedy airport to Britain by requiring her to get opinions from four U.S. doctors certifying she was able to fly alone.

A spokeswoman for Air France had no immediate comment.

Akaran_D · Post by **Akaran_D** » August 14, 2004, 2:06 pm

...
I dont know what to say, really.

Niffoni · Post by **Niffoni** » August 14, 2004, 2:21 pm

Now I have the mental image of a uniformed frenchman telling her to go away, lest he taunt her a second time.

Cotto · Post by **Cotto** » August 14, 2004, 8:05 pm

How...how in the fuck can you actually SAY that to someone?

Rekaar. · Post by **Rekaar.** » August 14, 2004, 8:49 pm

Maybe she was seated in the exit row seat

You know you have to be at least 15 and able to perform emergency functions to sit there!

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » August 15, 2004, 1:16 pm

The way I understood it, she wasn't even on the plane at all.

I hope the courts give her an armload (=P) of money.

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » August 15, 2004, 2:16 pm

I don't think someone without any arms or legs should be able to fly alone. I certainly wouldn't put it like that to her when I wasn't going to allow her on the plane, but that guy is french and the last time a frenchman said something polite it was probably to Napoleon.

It's way beyond the scope of the job of a flight attendant to have to assist someone with no limbs into a seat and they can't stay in the chair. I'm really sorry you were born without any appendages honey, but that really isn't my problem and you should have a hired caregiver with you when you want to fly.

(that or we can store you in the overhead compartment

a_guide · Post by **a_guide** » August 15, 2004, 4:50 pm

I love the way you choose to phrase things. Brutally funny and accurate.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » August 16, 2004, 11:55 am

I have never been on a flight with a handicapped person before. Do they have special sections on the plane for wheelchairs?

Kelshara · Post by **Kelshara** » August 16, 2004, 12:04 pm

No. Well yes and no actually. If you need a wheel chair you get helped into a regular seat and then they stow away the wheel chair usually. However, if you need IV, oxygen etc they can set up a system for it to be hung up/secured etc. It is usually towards the back of the plane.

That said.. honestly.. I can understand why they would not let her travel alone. Can you imagine if let's say they had to do an emergency landing and nobody was there to help her? It's not that easy to help a person like that.

Drasta · Post by **Drasta** » August 16, 2004, 12:06 pm

kyoukan wrote:
(that or we can store you in the overhead compartment

is that considered a carry on?

Cartalas · Post by **Cartalas** » August 16, 2004, 12:09 pm

Kelshara wrote:No. Well yes and no actually. If you need a wheel chair you get helped into a regular seat and then they stow away the wheel chair usually. However, if you need IV, oxygen etc they can set up a system for it to be hung up/secured etc. It is usually towards the back of the plane.

That said.. honestly.. I can understand why they would not let her travel alone. Can you imagine if let's say they had to do an emergency landing and nobody was there to help her? It's not that easy to help a person like that.

Well its not easy to help her in a Bus or Van either so we should just refuse all transportation for her?

What attention is she going to need if the plane is going down? Just make sure she is buckled up just like the other 250 passengers.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » August 16, 2004, 12:18 pm

Well it isn't a short flight going across the ocean so I would think she would have to have something arranged for taking a shit or whatever.

Cartalas · Post by **Cartalas** » August 16, 2004, 12:21 pm

Bubba Grizz wrote:Well it isn't a short flight going across the ocean so I would think she would have to have something arranged for taking a shit or whatever.

Here ya go

Drasta · Post by **Drasta** » August 16, 2004, 12:57 pm

yea but the busses usually have attendants for people like that. i rode on a bus in middle school with a kid that had 1/3 of an arm and no arm on the other side and a foot no leg and 1 leg and was in a wheel chair and he had his own bus aid on the bus.

Kelshara · Post by **Kelshara** » August 16, 2004, 1:22 pm

On a bus/taxi they will either have a person specifically there to take care of them, or they will have specially made vehicles. I know back home they have special taxis they use for wheelchars etc and the drivers are trained in handling it.

Now compare that to a full plane with several hundred passengers and a handfull of stewardesses. They are not trained for it, they can't take care of her every need (toilet.. feeding.. etc) and IF something was to happen and they had to evacuate they would not be able to get her out. Now how would that look in the paper afterwards? "Handicapped lady left to drown on plane after emergency landing".

masteen · Post by **masteen** » August 16, 2004, 3:35 pm

Time to shell out for some GOGO Gadget Limbs.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » August 16, 2004, 3:46 pm

masteen wrote:Time to shell out for some GOGO Gadget Limbs.

That won't help. They always miss their flights due to metal detectors and Homeland Security measures to keep the parapaligic terrorist from hijacking planes.