Delta Airlines: Use Some Common Sense For The Deaf Passengers

                               Last summer I had to do a lot of flying to see my father.  He was close to dying.   Everytime I go to the airport I always sign up for Special Services.  So I expect to get the kind of help I need with my hearing loss.   Luckily my dad is ok now.

                               When I was at the gate I asked the attendant to wave to me when it was time to board.   And then after I was on the plane they did the safety demonstations like usual.  But it was not done in sign language and it was not captioned.   It's always done the same old way year after year.

                                I'm a very good lipreader but the demonstrations are usually done over the speakers.  So I can't hear or understand a word being said.  This has been nothing new.  When we landed I walked off with my hearing dog.   There was a young man waiting with a wheelchair with my name on a sign.

                                At first I didn't get why that was for me, I thought maybe it was for my dog. But yet both me and Douglas have no trouble walking though the airport.  I actually found it quite insulting that the airline would send me a wheelchair when I didn't need one.   Did they actually think if you were deaf you needed to use a wheelchair?

                                No really, someone needs to educate the staff on this airline on what the needs of the deaf passengers are. And by the way I felt very sorry for the young boy wasting his time waiting for me with the wheelchair. I had to decline it.



                                                                       

Delta Airlines Failed To Satisfy Deaf Passenger Again

                                   When I printed my boarding pass for a flight on Christmas I checked the box for special services.   It said I was hard of hearing on the screen by my pass.   Also I had a hearing dog going with me, but there was no option in there for service animals.   All I saw on it were pets.  After I got done filling it out, I figured I was all set for my flight with no problems.

                                   After I arrived at the gate in the Buffalo airport , I sat down and waited.   A lady was constantly making announcements over a microphone in the boarding area.   Of course I didn't understand a word she said.  Even though I was sitting right in the front, the microphone covered her mouth.  Then all of a sudden everyone lined up by the door but it was closed.  I didn't know what to do.   

                                    So I got up and told her I was deaf and to tell me what was going on.  All she said was we were going to be boarding in seven minutes.  But after I sat back down, I thought I was supposed to be standing in line with the others.   It looked like she was checking in everyone's baggage or something.   Like a fool I stood in the end and waited about 15 minutes.  When it was finally my turn, she told me I already got my seat number.

                                   Feeling like an idiot I sat back down, knowing I never had to stand in line the first place.   Finally it was time to board and she saw my dog, so I was one of the people that went on the plane first.  As I dragged my suitcase onto the plane the flight attendant told me it was too small to put in the cabinet.   Then again I felt like a fool, little did I know the lady had announced over the microphone for people to leave their bags outside the door of the plane. 

                                   The flight attendant took my suitcase from me and  pushed it off the plane. Seriously I felt stupid.   If the lady at the gate would of told me, I would of left it where it was supposed to be outside the plane.  It's not my fault I can't hear.  But they should of notified me when I was boarding the plane.   After all I requested for Special Services.  Didn't anyone know how to sign?

                                   I got in my seat and buckled up.   Then the plane started to take off.   I was wondering if they even gave a Safety Demonstration because I was sitting way in the back.   If they did, well I couldn't hear it or see it.   The flight attendant came over to my seat several times to check on me.   Of course I let her know I was deaf.   She smiled a lot and was very friendly, but I didn't ever understand a word she said.  She spoke very fast and had an accent.

                                  My experience flying with Delta for the hundredth time was very disappointing.  They made me feel humilated and embarrassed as a deaf passenger.  The worst times were when they had a wheelchair waiting for me the last few times I flew from North Carolina.   I don't know why they think I would need one if I am just deaf.  That makes no sense to me.   Though I felt sorry for the kid that came all the way to the gate with a wheelchair that wasn't needed.

                                 Come on Delta Airlines!  Please start showing more respect for your deaf customers!

Deaf Lady Gets No Assistance On Plane For 40 Years

Just recently I flew home on Delta Airlines from Detroit on Christmas. Before I left I had notified the airlines that I was deaf. But once I boarded the plane it was all forgotten. Again I didn't understand a word being said on the microphone. This time I called the flight attendant over and we had a talk. I told her that I didn't understand a word she said during the safety demonstration. She said just follow the book.

Well I told her that is not the only issue. There were a lot of announcements being made over the microphone. And not all of them was about the safety demonstration. And I explained to her that deaf people have a rights to know every word that was said on the plane. We shouldn't be left out and ignored when announcements are being made.

She apologized about what I was going through. Though she didn't have to do that. I explained to her if they would close caption every announcement for the deaf passengers it would be more fair. Or they could have an interpreter on the plane when there's a deaf passenger. I have never been offered either option in forty years.

ASL Buffalo Social Hour At Spot Coffee

It's been over 26 years since I've had a chance to socialized with other deaf people. When I went to college at N.T.I.D. many years ago, I was around deaf students every single day for nearly 8 years. Therefore my signing skills had gotten pretty good and I used to sign pretty fast. When I was in college, I became one of the leaders on the Workshops On Deafness: You can read about it here at: I Was A Leader At The Workshop ON Deafness. There I even taught some sign language to others.

But all this was happened a long time ago. Back then I felt like I was a part of the deaf community. I was involved in a lot of activities with them. Ever since I graduated from college in 1988, I was thrown back into the hearing world. It's been over 25 years since I've had a chance to socialize with other deaf people. Occasionally I'd get a chance to talk to some deaf individuals once in a great while. But it wasn't very often. Then a few months ago, I joined a page on facebook called ASL Buffalo. It's a page for hearing and deaf signers that are interested in joining public deaf events in Buffalo,N.Y.

Later on facebook I got invited to: ASL Buffalo Social Hour@ Spot Coffee. I had no idea what the event was about or the purpose of it. So I forgot about it for some time. Later on, I went back to the page to read more about it. How could I put it off? Seriously, I am deaf and I really did need to socialize with others that knew sign language. It's been missing in my life for 26 years. Since I was raising my daughter as a single parent for 17 years, I didn't have a lot of time on my hands. But now she is in college and I have more free time. So finally I got in my car last night and headed to the Spot Coffee place at 765 Elmwood Ave in Buffalo, and parked in my car. Feeling shy and not knowing a single person in there, I went inside.

After meeting some hearing and deaf signers in there, I had the best time ever. Of course my sign language was weak because I have not signed much in over 25 years. But they were very understanding and very patient with me. There will be another event on February 8th at 7pm at the same place. You can learn more about it here by clicking on the link: ASL Buffalo Social Hour. It doesn't matter if you are deaf or hearing as long as you want to communicate in sign language. Then it's all good.

Learn more about my night out at Spot Coffee on Bubblews: ASL Buffalo Social Hour

If you want to join this event, then make sure to check out the dates and time on ASL Buffalo on facebook.

Or you can contact me on facebook on Deaf Talks
and I'll guide you to the right place.

In the picture, I am the girl in the back standing between the two deaf guys.