Incident at Peoria More of the Airline Madness

Incident at Peoria More of the Airline Madness

Braille MonitorMarch 1986
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Incident at Peoria More of the Airline Madness
by Steven Hastalis

What I anticipated would be an uneventful
flight became yet another confrontation
between the blind and the
airlines. It was the unexpected culmination
of a weekend of Federation
activity.

On Saturday morning, December 28,
1985, Peter Knezevich, NFB of Illinois
Student Chapter President, and I flew to
Springfield, Illinois. We had a most
productive meeting of the Student
Chapter. That evening, I traveled to
Pekin, Illinois, to visit with Betty
Schlosser, one of our most recent members.

On
Sunday afternoon Betty's neighbor,
La Vern Owens, drove me to Peoria Airport
to board Britt Airways flight 770
for Chicago. Betty accompanied me to
the airport.

The arrogance and recalcitrance of
Britt ground personnel became all too
familiar. This incident fit the overall
pattern of so many others in recent
years in which blind persons have been
physically and verbally abused, barred
from boarding, or hauled off planes by
misguided airline personnel and law
enforcement officials.

They subject us to all this humiliation
and degradation in the name of "safety." When we insist on our dignity
and demand our rights, they react with
hostility. They are shocked and amazed
that we are not eternally grateful for
their so-called "help."
I stood up for my principles and our
principles. Betty Schlosser stood with
me, giving me moral support and reassurance
throughout the ordeal. She told me
she learned from the experience, and now
she would know what to do if this happened
to her.

The following correspondence details
this incident and demonstrates why we
have the National Federation of the
Blind:
Chicago, Illinois

January 10, 1986
Mr. William C. Britt, President

Britt Airways, Inc.
Hulman Regional Airport

Terre Haute, Indiana
Dear Mr. Britt:

On December 29, 1985, shortly after
4:00 p.m., I arrived at Peoria Airport
to board flight 770. It was scheduled
to depart at 4:40 p.m. and arrive in
Chicago at 5:25 p.m.

Accompanying me to the airport were
Betty Schlosser and La Verne Owens, who
drove us there. We passed through
security without incident and arrived at
gate 4 at approximately 4:20 p.m.
I walked up to the counter and handed
the agent the envelope containing my
ticket. He asked if we stopped at the
front counter. I said we had not. He
returned the envelope, having inserted
the boarding pass. I asked him to point
out the boarding pass. He showed me,
and I removed it from the envelope.
Then the agent asked if someone was
meeting me in Chicago. I said no. I
explained that I live in Chicago, work
for the Chicago Transit Authority, am
extremely familiar with O'Hare Airport,
and would ride the subway into town.
The agent said he must fill out a form
and requested my name. I refused to
give it and said it was unnecessary to
fill out special forms. I added that I
had flown Britt several times and on
those occasions no such form was ever
mentioned. He replied, "It's the law."
I replied that I had flown extensively,
and there is no such regulation mandating
that a special form be filled
out. He replied, "This is Peoria, and
we do things differently here." I
pointed out that the city of Peoria does
not make FAA regulations. He turned to
the customer standing immediately to my
left and began processing his ticket.

"Sir, municipalities do not make airline
regulations pertaining to the
blind," I reiterated.

The agent snapped, "Excuse me all to
hell!" Then the agent gave me an ultimatum.
Either I consent to his filling
out the form, or he would not let me
board the plane. Without further discussion,
I sat down and waited for the
boarding announcement for flight 770.
It never came.

A woman approached and asked my name. I refused to give it and told her everything
I had already explained to the man
at the counter. I asked why they insisted
on filling out this form. She
said she only wanted to know my name,
address, phone number, and whether someone
would be meeting me. "Why do you
need to fill out a form?" I asked. "I
already told you I was not being met." "You're not being reasonable," she
replied.

"You're not being reasonable," I
countered."I've flown on Britt several
times and on many other carriers. I've
never been forced to have such forms
filled out."
"It's for your own safety," she replied.

"I'm
not going to fly the plane; I'm
only going to ride on it," I pointed
out.

"It's our policy," she insisted.

"Read me the" form, and show me your
regulations," I requested.

"I'm not going to read you my customer
service manual," she said.

"Your policy is humiliating, demeaning,
and discriminatory," I protested.
"Are you going to make black people sit
in the back of the plane?"
"No, you're not being reasonable," she
answered.
"Then are you going to ask these questions
of all the other passengers?" I
inquired.
"No, of course not," she chuckled. "I
don't have time for that."

I reiterated my refusal to consent to
their filling out the form. She stated
that I would not be allowed to board the
plane.

By this time it was clear that neither
Britt agents nor I would give in. The
incident had become a serious confrontation.
From a nearby public phone, I
reached Marc Maurer, an attorney with
the National Federation of the Blind,
and reported developments up to that
point.

After the phone call I returned to the
counter. Again, the man asked for my
name, and I refused to tell him. One
more time the man and the woman agent
told me I would have to agree to their
filling out the form for me to fly, and
I refused. They told me that they were
holding the plane for me. I still refused
to let them fill out the form.

The man told the woman to lock the
inside door. He said, "We'll call the
plane and tell them to go." He picked
up the phone on the counter and called
the field. He said, "That's it, go
ahead." I heard engines rev up and the
plane pull away.

I requested a copy of the form, and he
refused to give it to me. I asked for a
refund of my ticket, and he told me that
it was nonrefundable. I was already
aware that it was a special "QHOLIDAY
Fare" and therefore not refundable. I
responded that they imposed conditions
of which I was not aware at the time I
purchased the ticket and to which
sighted passengers were not subjected.
He cited the provision on the ticket
that Britt reserves the right to set
conditions and refuse transportation to
anyone who does not abide by them. I
asked him to read me this language. He
said that he didn't have time. Again I
asked for a refund, and he asked for my
name. I asked him why he wanted it, and
he threatened to call security. He
said, "I'll give you your ticket and see
you on your way." Again he requested my
name. I asked what he would do if I
gave it. He told me to go to the front
ticket counter where he would return my
ticket. I gave my name and proceeded to
the front with my companions.

The agent met us and gave me the
ticket. I asked La Vern Owens to see if
the ticket coupon and receipt matched.
She said they did. I asked the agent
for his name and that of his co-worker.
He left and returned a few minutes later
with a brochure, which he handed me
without comment. I therefore asked him
what it was. He told me it was a Britt
time table on which he circled the corporate
address and wrote their names. I
asked La Vern Owens to look for their
names. She found the circled address
but no names. I brought this to the
agent's attention. He said, "Oh, well," and handed me a slip of paper. I asked
La Vern to read it. The names were Dan
Zerbonia and Kathy Alwan.

I called Marc Maurer a second time.
We made several phone calls regarding
alternate transportation to Chicago. We
left the airport at about 5:55 p.m. I
was driven to Bloomington, where I
boarded a Greyhound bus to Chicago.

I contend that Britt Airways, through
the actions of these agents, violated
the Illinois White Cane Law, Illinois
Human Rights Act, and Title XIV, Code of
Federal Regulations, Part 382, of the
U.S. Department of Transportation. I
requested the following: the form your
agents insisted on filling out; Britt's
customer service regulations pertaining
to the blind; refund of my ticket (as
already requested by Ask Mr. Foster
Travel); reimbursement for my Greyhound
ticket from Bloomington to Chicago; and
compensation for all monetary and other
damages.
Very truly yours,

Steven Hastalis
Second Vice President

National Federation of the Blind
of Illinois

Chicago, Illinois

December 30, 1985
Britt Airways, Inc.

Hulman Regional Field

Terre Haute, Indiana
To Whom It May Concern:

Recently a client by the name of
Steven Hastalis purchased a ticket from
our agency on your special promotional
fare "QHOLIDAY" from Chicago to Springfield
returning from Peoria. Mr.
Hastalis is blind and had no problem
boarding the Britt flight from Chicago
to Springfield on December 28. However,
his return flight was a different story.

Upon checking, he was advised by Dan
Zerbonia and Kathy Alwan that if he
chose to board the flight he had to sign
a release form stating Britt was not
held responsible in any way. My client
had explained that he did not have to do
this on the previous flight and thought
the whole matter was ridiculous. He did
not board and had to be driven to Bloomington
to board a bus to get him back to
Chicago. He is a very important client
and is employed by the CTA (Chicago
Rapid Transit Authority), one of our
biggest accounts. Enclosed is his return
portion of the original ticket
which we need credited to the Master
Charge Account number listed on the
ticket. Please send me copies of the
credit for our files. Looking forward
to your response.
Sincerely,

Laurie Jablonski

Supervisor
Ask Mr. Foster
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