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!

NFTA Meeting In March

I was really very impressed by the progress being made in the NFTA meeting. There was so much new information at the last one in March. I was glad that the staff has been listening to my ideas and using some of them. They do record everything I say, and then it is written into an agenda for everyone to read. So I just received the meeting agenda for March 28th, 2013 and it was well done.

One of the things the agenda states is that travelers who are deaf can email TSA-ContactCenter@dhs.gov regarding questions when traveling at airports. People with disabilities or who need extra assistance in the Buffalo airport can can call TSA at 1-855-787-2227, 72 hours in advance. At the airport, TSA now has Passenger Support Specialists(PSS).

Towards the end of the meeting we discussed problems for the deaf on the train. I was telling them about how I can't hear the announcements and they are not closed captioned. I was very impressed with Todd describing to the NFTA staff with what the deaf riders goes through not knowing what is going on. He was excellent at explaining to everyone about some of the problems I experienced on the train not being able to hear. It made me feel happy that someone in the meeting understood how I felt when I could not hear or understand the announcements being made. So I'd like to thank Todd, the guy in the wheelchair for helping me at this point. He made it clearer to the people in the meeting what the deaf riders need when traveling on trains. I will be attending the next meeting in April and will keep you updated.

Third NFTA Meeting

Thursday, March 28th, I made my third attendance at the NFTA meeting.   I had no clue what was going to happen when I was there that time.    When I got to the meeting room, it was packed.   Thank god there was an empty chair for me to sit in.    There was another girl in a wheelchair that was partly deaf there.    It was nice to see her again too.  She was just starting to learn to speak sign language.   This time I decided not to be a chatterbox and to try to listen to what every one else was saying.

 

While I was there I noticed these people didn’t bring up stuff regarding deaf people.  The only time they seemed to mention the deaf society was whenever I was talking about it.   Other than that they would be discussing everything else.   The meeting wasn’t about me anyway.   Who am I to think that, so it’s okay.   I was just there to listen, and I tried to keep my mouth closed.    Last time I felt I took over the meeting by talking non- stop.  So I did my best to stay silent.

This time I managed to stay quiet for about 15 minutes.   By then I couldn’t wait any longer to say what I had to say.    Come on I wasn’t trying to be a show off.  There was just some things I had to get off my chest.   They weren’t talking about deaf people, so I interrupted and started a whole new topic.   I had no clue what they were talking about before.  It doesn’t matter, they all knew I was deaf.  What I was saying must have been off the point, of what they were discussing.    Since I was deaf, I can get away with it.

I made my announcement finally.   I told the NFTA staff, the directors of NFTA and whoever else was there to go and learn some sign language.   The top people who worked for NFTA that I never seen before looked at me.  So I told them you can go look on YouTube and learn it for free.  They just nodded, like okay.   Did you know that everything everyone says at the meeting gets recorded?   Well I knew I was being recorded word by word.  So I had to watch what I was saying.  It seems like I was telling some jokes at the meeting also.    Well that’s a good thing.    The girl in the wheelchair that was partly deaf looked at me in surprise.   I just think It would help the deaf customers if more people would make an effort to learn how to sign a few words.   So that was my speech at the NFTA meeting.  It probably had nothing to do with what they were discussing, but so what.  I said what I had to say.