The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
State woman’s complaint spurs JetBlue investigation
Woman who uses wheelchair felt ‘singled out’ by airline staff
NORTH BRANFORD — The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating a discrimination complaint against JetBlue Airlines by a local woman who claims she was not permitted to board a flight even though she arrived before the cut-off time and that baggage personnel drove her custom wheelchair against her instructions.
Alex Bode, 27, who uses a wheelchair and was traveling with a companion to San Diego, said that overall, she was treated poorly and in an unfriendly manner by airline personnel, including on the return trip when she said everyone on the flight was offered water except her.
“I feel like I was singled out,” said Bode. “It’s a problem in society — no one ever treats you the same.”
Bode received word this week from Norman A. Strickman, director for Aviation Consumer Protection, that her case would be investigated.
If it were determined there was discrimination, the department “generally will pursue further enforcement action on the basis of a number of complaints from which it may infer a pattern or practice of discrimination,” his letter to Bode states.
Bode said she filed the complaint with the federal DOT Aviation division after trying to resolve the matter internally with Jet Blue and being met with what she described as standard, dismissive responses. They refunded the money for her approximately $600 ticket and gave her a travel voucher for about $300, but the money doesn’t begin to make up for the disrespect and precious time taken from her short trip to visit friends in San Diego, she said.
For Bode, it isn’t about the money.
“We must open dialogue and discuss what happened to me,” Bode wrote in her complaint. “I truly believe that most power wheelchair passengers succumb to the treatment and opt to not fly. We must end this type of treatment and all do our best to treat all passengers with the dignity and respect they deserve. In kindergarten, we all learned to treat people in the manner that we would like to be treated!”
In response to Bode’s complaints, JetBlue offered this comment to the Register: “Our crew members work hard to deliver our award winning service to over 38 million customers every year and work closely with organizations like The Viscardi Center and various advocacy groups to learn and build a customer-focused culture that adapts to the unique needs of every individual customer.”
The JetBlue statement further says: “We regret that we were unable to meet the expectations of this customer and our Customer Service team has worked directly with the family to address any of their concerns.”
Bode has Friedreich’s Ataxia, a progressive, incurable neuromuscular disorder that robs individuals of their ability to walk, talk and use their hands.
But her intellect is intact — Bode last year earned a master’s degree in social work from Southern Con-
“We must open dialogue and discuss what happened to me. I truly believe that most power wheelchair passengers succumb to the treatment and opt to not fly.”
— Alex Bode
necticut State University.
Bode’s complaint states that on Dec. 7 she arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport at 8:13 a.m. for a 9 a.m. flight and the ticket agent told her the flight was closed and wouldn’t let her attempt to make the gate. But it would turn out they were wrong — she even had seven minutes to spare. Bode said they were later to arrive at the airport than planned because of traffic.
“Since I was within the 40-minute baggage checkin minimum time cutoff, my assistant requested a CRO, or complaint resolution official, be called,” Bode wrote.
Under the agency governing discrimination in air travel, carriers must make a CRO available to anyone who complains of alleged violations during all times the carrier is operating.
Bode says in her complaint that the ticket agent asked what a CRO was and, when it was explained, stated she did not believe one was on duty. Bode said that was a stall tactic.
After the exchange, the ticket agent’s supervisor was called, and so was a CRO and still Bode was denied the chance to make the flight, according to the complaint.
Bode and her companion were rebooked for a 4:30 p.m. flight, leaving more than seven hours for them to wait at the airport — which Bode and her mother, Mary Caruso, said is a major ordeal in Bode’s physical situation. She would also essentially lose a day of her short stay in San Diego, according to the complaint.
While getting breakfast, Bode received a text message that the original flight was delayed, only further fueling her unhappiness with not being let through to that flight.
She spoke at breakfast with a CRO who told Bode after reviewing video that she indeed was at the ticket counter within the timeframe to board the original
flight. After waiting in the airport for the day, Bode checked in for her flight and, when being transferred in an aisle chair to bring her to the airplane seat, the transfer team treated her indifferently, Bode’s complaint states.
“I was not greeted, engaged in any manner, asked if I had any special instructions or needs. I was approached and lifted onto the plane as if I was an ... object,” Bode wrote.
In another matter, Bode objects to personnel driving her wheelchair both for the flights out and back to San Diego. Her companion took video of them driving the chair in both cases. According to the regulations, it is the passenger’s choice as to whether their wheelchair can be driven.
Bode said they gave explicit instructions on how to disengage the chair for pushing and lifting, and at every juncture notified staff the chair shouldn’t be driven, as it is an expensive custom piece of equipment.
Bode’s initial complaints to JetBlue were made while she was heading to San Diego, but still, the return trip Dec. 11 was no better, she alleged.
In addition to the same scenario of the wheelchair being driven, Bode claims, “The airline steward on the San Diego to JFK flight completely ignored me, giving all passengers water and omitting me and also not asking me what I’d like for beverage.”
The letter from Strickman, the Aviation Consumer Protection director, further states that, “where one or a few complaints describe particularly egregious conduct on the part of a carrier and those complaints are supported by adequate evidence, we will pursue enforcement action as our resources permit.”
If it were found to be in violation, JetBlue could receive anything from a cease and desist order and civil penalties payable to the government, up to “revocation of a carrier’s economic authority to operate,” for “egregious records of repeated violations,” the DOT letter states.