The Department of Transportation (DOT) has fined American Airlines $50 million, saying in an October announcement that the carrier “failed to provide safe, dignified, and prompt wheelchair assistance and mishandled passengers’ wheelchairs.” This is hardly the first time airlines’ poor treatment of wheelchair riders and their equipment has made the news. But this particular DOT…
Commentary: 3 Takeaways from the DOT’s $50 Million American Airlines Fine
American Airlines Fined $50 Million for Mistreating Wheelchair Riders, Mobility Devices
Department of Transportation fine is the largest penalty assessed against an airline for violating disability regulations.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has fined American Airlines $50 million for mistreating passengers using wheelchairs, and for mishandling those passengers’ wheelchairs and other mobility equipment. The DOT made the announcement in late October and noted that the fine “is 25 times larger than any previous DOT penalty against an airline for violating disability…
Motion Composites’ Vision Package Improves Component Visibility, Rider Independence
Vibrant orange-colored highlights can help wheelchair riders with low vision or cognitive differences.
Motion Composites’ latest launch shows how small adjustments can lead to big improvements in mobility and wheelchair riders’ independence. The inspiration for the new Vision Package, introduced in mid October, was a hack used by seating clinicians, according to Jean-Philippe Villeneuve, Motion Composites’ marketing director. “Wheelchair users with low vision or cognitive differences, such as…
Briefly: Fall Management, Fire Preparedness Studies Announced; American Airlines Debuts Mobility Device Tagging System
Featuring the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and American Airlines.
Participants Sought for Fire Preparedness, Fall Management Studies of Wheelchair Riders The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is seeking wheelchair riders, age 18 or older, to participate in a pair of research studies. The first study — funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research —involves the university’s development of “a wearable…
Airbnb Partners with United Spinal for Entrepreneurship Academy Webinar
Webinar will focus on hosting wheelchair-accessible homes.
Airbnb has partnered with United Spinal Association on an Entrepreneurship Academy webinar on hosting accessible homes. “Turn your space into a source of income and help make travel more accessible to travelers who use wheelchairs or other assistive devices,” Airbnb said in describing the webinar. “Join our free Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy, in partnership with United…