Southwest Airlines had to take a delay on a flight from Las Vegas to San Jose on Thursday because of the sheer number of passengers in wheelchairs. At Southwest, customers asking for wheelchair assistance get better seats for free – and then usually walk off the plane and all the way out the terminal themselves on the other end of the journey. They don’t all need a wheelchair. They’ve just cracked the code.
This was flight 2783 at 3:05 p.m. and a reader shares that the 10 minute delay “was annoying for the staff and customers.”
Southwest lets passengers pick their seats on a first-come, first-served basis. You board earlier if you buy the most expensive tickets, if you’re a frequent traveler, or if you pay for early boarding. Or if you fake the need for a wheelchair.
- That’s why Southwest Airlines has more wheelchair passengers than any other airline.
- It drives up the airline’s costs (they pay for the wheelchair service!) and cheats other customers out of better seats. Those higher costs also mean higher average airfares.
- And it makes a tremendous spectacle: the “Jetbridge Jesus” flight where passengers come on with a wheelchair to get the best seats, and miraculously walk without any assistance when the flight is over.
- This is terrible passengers who really need wheelchairs, with people who don’t need them taking up the scarce service. Those with a real need are forced to wait longer.
- Plus, a 10 minute delay can affect passengers with connections and delay downline flights operated by the same aircraft or with the same crew – the effect cascades.
Typical @SouthwestAir flight to Florida! I counted 30 pre-boards needing wheelchair assistance. When we get off the plane 28 of them walk off! @FAANews @FlyTPA @FoxNews @cnnbrk @MarkWilsonTV pic.twitter.com/YHprcho55Z
— Brian Hudson (@BocaHudson) December 29, 2024
Of course, this will all change in the first half of 2026, because Southwest is moving to assigned seating. Wheelchair passengers may board earlier but it won’t get them better seats any longer. Magically solved!
This is also going to mean the end of seat saving. No more claiming 13 seats for your group or using a bag of donuts to claim a whole row of seats, and the ensuing conflict that comes from taking more space than your ticket allows.
With one simple change – assigned seating – Southwest will solve many of the problems that turn boarding a Southwest Airlines flight into an exercise in game theory. While I’m one of the few that actually likes part of how Southwest does seating today (but not lining up at the start of boarding), I don’t see the change as all good.
A friend shares a not-uncommon sight from Puerto Rico:
55 "handicapped" during pre-boarding, including 25 wheel chairs
On his return flight, 15 used wheelchairs to board, only 1 to deboard pic.twitter.com/gHgIsnzsq7
— Bachman (@ElonBachman) February 19, 2023
Another flight on @SouthwestAir, and I’m happy to report being witness to more miracles. These poor souls came seeking a flight, and instead were healed. 🙌🏻🙌🏻
Always grateful for witnessing the miraculous healing power of flight. pic.twitter.com/7TCYn2T6BB
— Dave Ruminates (@dave_ruminates) April 5, 2023
It’ll help Southwest’s bottom line, and not just on the revenue side selling premium and assigned seats. Wheelchair services are costly. This is going to save Southwest at least $30 per wheelchair passenger. Multiply that out across every flight and it’s the unexpected reason that Elliott Capital turns out to be right in pushing Southwest Airlines to assign seats.
‘Jetway Jesus’ has returned!
Jetway Jesus! The healing miracle at 30,000 ft. Assigned seats will curb policy abuse.
I had actually curtailed my Southwest flying because of the pre-boarding phenomenon. I got sick and tired of paying extra money to get better seats only to find the first 10 rows occupied by “early borders”
I was excited when they announced the move towards assigned seating. However, all the other changes, free bags, compressed, legroom, expiring, credit, etc. coupled with a subpar in-flight product translates into even less Southwest Airlines flying for me.
There goes my secret….
I have flown Southwest for over 35 years and can confirm that the overwhelming majority of the wheelchair abusers are of one race. At the end of the flight(s) it is noticeable that the majority of these abusers are miraculously “healed” and show no remorse for abusing the system. This majority deplane brandishing a smug smile…..
Assigned seating is the only change Southwest should have made
As far as baggage fees that’s a big mistake
I will likely never fly them as I hold lifetime status with united and American so why would I pay for baggage unless they were dirt cheap compared to the others?
Even if they charged 20 dollars a bag to start they would have come out ahead.
But the greedy stupid SW fools copied all their slightly more premium competition
And the last thing Southwest will ever be is a premium airline.
Being a tall and large passenger I find southwest to have the least width and comfort of any major airline and without wifi.
So now they become the last resort when choosing American Alaska United or Delta
It will be interesting to see if their loyal flyers stick around
Last but not least it will be fun to see if the wheelchair brigade stick around or disappear completely with their boarding chaos
My guess is it will reduce but not eliminate it as there are a lot of folks in poor physical shape with canes limping etc and to southwests credit they are simply more handicap friendly to the real folks in need of assistance and the imposters
Is there any federal law that requires that wheelchair passengers be board first? Why not last when everyone is seated and all attention can be given to the “disabled” passengers?
With the huge caveat that this likely does not apply to the SWA brigade, there are many reasons why somebody would need a wheelchair at boarding and not at deboarding, such as leaving from a major airport and landing at a small regional where there are shorter distances, inability to stand for extended periods which are required given how early you have to arrive for flights nowadays and security queues, etc. so don’t always be so quick to judge. You never know someone’s circumstances.
A jet way Jesus MIRACLE
@derek
I don’t know if you have ever dealt with disabled people, but transferring in and out of an aisle chair or walking down an aisle as a disabled person is often not a pretty sight and sometimes needs several support people, which require space. People deserve dignity and don’t need to have the entire cabin watching them as they try to maneuver, the best they can. That needs to be done in relative privacy at the very beginning and at the very end.
I’m a full-time wheelchair user and understand that I am going to be first to board but last to leave. That’s just the way it is and I time connections accordingly.
Also, imagine the inconvenience of the middle and aisle seat passengers when the disabled passenger Is in the window seat.
WN: Creates stupid boarding system.
People: Find stupid loophole in the stupid system.
Other People: How could they!!
All around stupidity.
Southwest needs a rule that any wheelchair assistance comes with the requirement SW holds the customer’s carry on bag until deplaning to ensure “customer and bags can exit at the same time.” That will force the issue.
The Venn diagram of people requiring wheelchairs and traveling without carry ons is likely very small.
Charging for wheelchair service would cut the numbers significantly. I am disabled and need wheelchair service. I would not be adverse to paying. I also tip the pusher for helping me.
Implementing Assigned seating is the only change SW should have made. I can unstandstand making bags cost, though. The other changes are the reason why SW may be disappointed in the outcome and less passengers. Make sure to keep the assigned seating no matter what. All in all, I’m moving to a hybrid of SW and United because now flight credits expire.
Last WN flight I was on, 11 wheelchair pre-boarders, more than half with companion(s). We get to our destinations and there are 2 people rolling off the flight.
I pass one arguably healthy Mile High Miracle beneficiary and mumble “It’s a miracle.” He turned and said there’s nothing wrong with it if they allow it.
This has been a terrible dilemma! I have a husband with cancer, on oxygen 24/7, that really wants to walk, but can’t. I have a daughter with fibro myalgia and lymphoma, in treatment. Looks like the epitome of health, until she attempts the walk to the gate. We require two wheelchairs, and because I am with them, they always tell me to go with my family. I used to feel guilty and get in line, but realized I must be with my husband and the oxygen. So so many people are in chairs for boarding, and run off the plane as we wait for assistance. It really isn’t fair all the people that cheat the system of good will. It does make it difficult for those really in need. I will add that on one occasion, my daughter chose to try and walk phx. That was worse, because about one third of the walk, we had to try and find a wheelchair! I know sometimes people look at someone and think they look healthy and are fakes, like my daughter, but sick people are not always on machines/oxygen, etc, but are still sick/weak/cannot walk/need assistance. Shame on the cheats!
@Sharon — That’s a lot to handle, and you seem to do it with grace. As for the cheaters, I wouldn’t even ‘joke’ with wheelchairs… it’s bad karma. Anyway, thank you for what you do and for sharing here. Hoping we can all be as supportive as you, more empathetic and less judgmental, too.
All these leeches get those chairs for free. Airlines should start to charge passengers for these “special assistance” things.
It gets worse when you see how much they leech off the government in entitlements.
Wheelchairs are a big problem for all airlines & they need to get stricter now..
On Jet Blue two weeks ago to Santo Domingo there were 19 wheelchairs.
If you need help & wheel chair carry on luggage should be stricter. Supposedly they are handicapped, employees have to put luggage above?
Airlines have to stop this abuse!
When arrived, only one passenger needed chair!
Unfortunately, assigned seating only slightly helps. This same phenomenon occurs with AA and UA (and I presume DL), too. On a flight from Dominican Republic to Miami, I saw 26 wheel chairs. And Tokyo Narita had 59 pre-boards (WCs plus relatives). It really diminishes the value of paying a lot extra for seats and then finding no place to even stow a bag. This reminds me of the “therapy animal” mess of a couple of years ago.
It’s not just about the delay or the unfair seat advantage—it’s about how it undermines trust in a system that’s meant to help people who truly need assistance. When travelers game the system like this, it increases costs for everyone and makes life harder for passengers with genuine mobility needs. Southwest really needs to rethink how they handle preboarding if they want to keep things fair for all.
@ Sharon. No one is complaining about those who actually need wheelchair assistance. Same goes for those who require and travel with REAL Service Dogs. It’s as you stated in your last remark, “Shame on the cheats!” Unfortunately many have forgotten that just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Also, looking at the photo it doesn’t appear to be SJC. I’d say its more likely OAK . . . since SJC doesn’t have a Gate C9
Not to mention the benefit of skating through security if you are a wheelchair traveler.
Some people just suck.
@Walter Barry — Bad idea; besides, the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), enacted in 1986, prohibits airlines from discriminating against passengers with disabilities.
@1990
Making them pay for an extra service is not discrimination.
This is not just a Southwest problem. I see it on other airlines as well.
My take is that airlines either require an upload of a doctor’s certificate ahead of time and if not charge $35 for each flight. The fakers by in large won’t pay the $35. This is an issue at all airlines and is worst at some airports.
@Walter Barry — Oof, wrong again, sir. Forcing a disabled person to pay extra for services related to their disability within the context of air travel would explicitly and implicitly violate the ACAA.
Feel free to purchase/start your own airline, charge the disabled extra, get sued, and find out for yourself. Alternatively, you can advocate for a change of the law. I’d personally still disagree with your premise, because I think it’s a decent law, as-is, though we can always improve it further.
This really is your deal, isn’t it? You just hate people who use wheelchairs, whether they need to or not. I’ve commented nicely several times on why people who can walk use them, visually impaired people like me, for example, who are perfectly capable of walking miles, but cannot navigate the out-of-control crowds and the hustle and bustle as I try to rely on my white stick for navigation. You don’t even have the grace (nor the good writing) to say, “SOME are scamming.” Nope. It’s all of us. We are the nastiest people on earth, we who have the audacity to use the wheelchair to get to and from the plane and then get off by ourselves, as we walk to our assistant with our new wheelchair to take us to baggage or customs. You remind me of a snot nosed little boy stomping his foot and whining, “But mommy! It isn’t FAIR!!! wahhhhhh” Remember, Gary, one day YOU could be the one in the wheelchair. Then you can tell yourself your own bitter words.
First on, Last off. Force them to fill up the back rows first.
Flew two days ago on Southwest and purchased a ticket that would get me a low A number so I could get a favored seat. A few folks who boarded while “helping the handicapped” grabbed them before me — should have saved my money. With the assigned seats, I can spend the same bucks and get the seat I want. But … the charging for the luggage stored in the “luggage hold” will now lengthen the onboarding and deplaning even more than the “miracle passengers”.
I worked as a Flight Attendant for 17 years and the most frustrating part of my job was pre-boarding. These people in wheelchairs think they are high flyers and treat us as such when they are boarding. As one person commented above it is mainly one race. Usually the whole family is morbidly obese. So we start with the parents and then bring down the grown children. They can walk fine, they are just lazy free loading overweight nasty people whos’ children have taken right after their parents. So the cycle begins.
it’s a shame that any business has to change its business model because there are enough people in America that will not only take advantage of the company and fellow passengers but flaunt it on arrival.
and there is no reason why any airline can’t board wheelchairs at the end other than you pretty well cannot have regular passenger boarding at the same time.
Most Americans will yield to truly disabled people but that won’t happen for anyone taking advantage of someone else.
Similarly, why does the US have so much higher of a percentage of handicapped parking spots than any other country. I work out w/ people at the gym that have handicapped license plates and manage to do just fine with weights and machines – and then there are the occasional stroke victims who still come to the gym and remind me of why we give preference to the needy, as we should.
The people that are cheating the system probably don’t have the wherewithal to read your column.
It’s just like the people that bring their neighbors kids with them to the food stamp office so they can get a greater benefit. Not likely to be reading this or anything else.
It’s a sad reflection on society today that scammers with no conscience hi-jack a well intentioned assistence for handicapped to game the system. I fly Southwest a lot. I’m wondering if these gamers will stay with SWA when this loophole is closed or, hopefully, find a loophole elsewhere to exploit .
To Derek … As an elderly woman that is an above the knee amputee, can you imagine my dilemma if the only seats available to me are the past the 10. rows? I walk on crutches, going down the narrow isle would be next to impossible. So this is probably the reason the disabled pre board. I do empathize with Southwest that a lot of these patrons don’t really need wheelchairs. They’re simply to lazy to walk to their gate plus selfishly expect better better seating. Assigned seating will help resolve many of these issues if customers weren’t so lazy …
Southwest (and all other airlines) should create a plane JUST for wheelchair passengers,
Remove all the seats except for flight attendants, and just let everyone wheel in and lock their chair to the plane — like we see on public buses.
The airlines need another plane JUST for people with children.
And another JUST for people who can’t get through a flight without an alcoholic beverage.
Then the rest of us could board on time, not have to deal with screaming brats, not have to deal with drunks.
Sorry if the plane/flight doesn’t work for you. That’s the one available. Fly it or stay home.
I have flown Southwest for many years. I usually pay for early bird boarding. It started out as a good thing then deteriorated into paying extra for not much be benefit. I am elderly now and require wheel chair assistance because of knee replacements and bad arthritis. I know people game the system and cheat. I would like to see medical proof required. Only the individual person with the actual disability should be boarded early. When I get off the airplane it is straight into the wheelchair because I am unable to walk very far.
The bigger issue are the Twelve Disciples that accompany each Jesus Jetway on the plane.
However, I will give TSA credit. Have seen 12 Disciples attempt to follow a Jesus Jetway wheel chair thru the security quick line. The TSA agent in question waved off Eleven of the Disciples, telling them only one Disciple could accompany Jesus; the rest had to go thru the standard line.
Praise the Lord!!
I have significant lung issues and I am 74. NO, I never smoked but I did work around a lot of asbestoses when I was young. My lungs work at 32%. Long walking in airports, or crowded boarding and de-boarding can cause me breathing issues. Small airports like Sarasota or Burbank I can walk. Airports like LAX or Newark, I need a wheelchair. And I tip the pusher nicely. I pay for the early boarding with SW and am happy to do so.
It would be interesting to find out if the “miracle fight” phenomenon is more prevalent at certain origins, or on flights from many origins to certain destinations, such as Las Vegas. I take about 70 flights a year and have only seen the problem twice—but not on my flights. Once was departing Hong Kong and I didn’t notice where the flight was going. The other time was in San Juan, Puerto Rico airport for a flight heading to Miami. On that one, 75% of the capacity must have been taken up with wheel chairs and their families. I’ve never seen the problem in Europe.
This non-story keeps making the rounds. It’s been going on for decades. Southwest’s activist investors have taken note and things will change in 2026.
UNTIL THEN, repeating the same story doesn’t illuminate, educate, or correct a problem. It’s just yet another ranty whine.
And each time new readers think this is a new thing and tell us how proud they are they don’t fly Southwest. That’s great, newbies. I don’t beat panhandlers with a baseball bat either. Would you like an article once a month on how I don’t beat panhandlers with a basebal bat.
If you choose to fly Southwest, good for you. If you choose not to, good for you. Why not get some black spray paint and write it on the back of your car, because drivers everywhere care about your politics.
Like any of us do. This is Gary’s hysteria channel, and he has the right to use it. Doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t roll our eyes and say “Oh not this again.”
https://www.google.com/search?q=southwest+jesus+flights&oq=southwest+jesus+flights
I have rheumatoid arthritis. I often use a wheelchair or my portable scooter to board, as getting through the airport can be exhausting. I sometimes wind up walking out because someone has taken the wheelchair assigned to me, or my walking is better when I leave than when I walked in.
My disability is variable. I have days when I don’t need any assistance, and days when I can barely get out of bed. And it can be different hour to hour. So it isn’t always “cracking the code.” Disability doesn’t always look like people thing it looks.
>but not lining up at the start of boarding
Never understood why people say this, as it is completely wrong. Suppose you are B25. Just stay seated until about B15 is boarding, stand up, and pretty much walk on. Before the numbered poles maybe you had to stand earlier, but that has been 20 years or something.
I have rheumatoid arthritis. I often use a wheelchair or my portable scooter to board, as getting through the airport can be exhausting. I sometimes wind up walking out because someone has taken the wheelchair assigned to me, or my walking is better when I leave than when I walked in.
My disability is variable. I have days when I don’t need any assistance, and days when I can barely get out of bed. And it can be different hour to hour. So it isn’t always “cracking the code.” Disability doesn’t always look like people think it looks.
Also, how will the seating work? Will Southwest switch to all aisle-friendly wheelchairs? Some people can’t walk down the aisle. I can’t always walk down the aisle.
So, with a variable disability, where I sometimes need a chair and sometimes I can walk on board, and where sometimes I can’t walk the aisle, will I need to stop using Southwest Air?
Is it time for the periodic rehash of this “story” already? Talking about beating a dead horse. I went right to the comments which are the best part.
Usual nice mixture of truth, “I’ll go elsewhere”, “cures” and sympathizers for the 10% that legitimately needs them but it can’t be enforced.
Suck it up, its not going away!
This kind of abuse is rampant, but not everyone who walks off without a wheelchair on the back end are gaming the system. I’ve had MS for almost 25 years. I can walk well enough that you wouldn’t think anything is wrong, but my legs don’t stay that way and CAN’T rush. Because of this I don’t need assistance at my initial boarding (I get there early so that I have the time I need), and I don’t need assistance on the back end because I don’t have a deadline to get anywhere so I can take my time, but I DO need assistance between connecting gates because of the limited time and sometimes great distance. So if you only saw me on the last leg of my travel you would think I had met “Mile High Jesus”, but it’s really about how much time I have to get to where I’m going.
Agree completely! But why wait until 2026! Implement now….please!
Puerto Rico is famous for “miracle flights”. Assigned seating does not solve the problem there. Boarding last sure would!
Nothing surprising here but just sharing additional objective facts. I have flown SWA 4 times in the last 6 days. The most egregious example was LAS – STL (13 needed wheelchairs to board, presumably mostly because obesity was the challenge, given most were youngish and fit that description, only one – a 92 year old man – needed assistance off) so even though I was A1 on that flight I was row 3. Least egregious example was this morning BNA to DEN, 6 needed wheelchairs to board, none required to deplane. Given that all the wheelchair folks are +1 it’s a pretty sad commentary on our shared human values and the abuse of this policy.
@Brad Whitford — Oh, come now, it’s only Gary’s fifth time, specifically:
Southwest Flight Delayed By Preboarding Miracle: ‘They Needed Wheelchairs To Board—But Walked Off Just Fine’ (published June 4, 2025)
Southwest’s First-Come, First-Served Boarding Was Perfect For Savvy Flyers—Now They’re About To Destroy It (published September 14, 2024)
Game-Changer At Southwest Airlines: One Simple Policy Shift Ends Seat Savers And Wheelchair Cheaters (published September 20, 2024)
‘Only in Florida’ 30 Wheelchair Passengers Preboard Southwest Airlines Flight, 28 Walk Off Freely After Landing (published December 30, 2024)
The Dark Side of Pre-Boarding: How Scammers Get the Best Seats on Southwest Airlines (published October 20, 2023)
This will continue as long as we continue to allow it. All airlines must take the necessary steps to stop this abuse of the system.
@ ege
always tip your pusher.
LOL Southwest. What kind of moron flies this abomination? You get what you pay for.
hesitated to mention this … but it seems to describe the sentiment: recalling the late 70’s, a bumper sticker from a joke making the rounds about wheelchairs: “WHY WALK … WHEN YOU CAN ROLL!”
Southwest has exacerbated the problem all by themselves. And it did not take very long for people to figure out that all you needed was the WCHR designation on the Boarding Pass. You do not need the actual wheelchair since they decided to board ambulatory people first. The people actually in the wheelchairs, those who do need them, are forced to wait until the those who can trot down the jet bridge get comfortably settled. This sometimes presents a real hardship to those in the wheelchairs who need to sit in the bulkhead seats due to a disability. The whole process is humiliating as they actually ask the Customers seated in wheelchairs if they would like to walk down.
I have COPD and it’s worsening as is usual for that disease. I walked the concourse to my gate leaving and it was really hard, but I want to try. I have portable oxygen but even with that my oxygen dropped to 79 and my heart rate was 100. I was “normal” when boarding came. I requested a wheel chair in Vegas. Southwest is the furthest airline out. Coming home I requested a wheel chair. I had my boarding pass early bird that I PAID for and had A58 and that’s where I was. I didn’t get the chair at my home airport and wish I had. I was exhausted.
People see me wheeled up and then get up and walk and may think I’m a fake and that’s their problem. Right now I can walk myself to board the plane and will do so as along as I can. As my condition worsens, I probably will stop flying. With all the crap I have to haul it’s a PITA. Just saying do NOT ALWAYS assume someone who gets up out of the chair is a cheat. My SIL for example has terrible arthritis in her knees and walking those distances is just NOT possible for her. She can get herself on board and never takes early boarding.
Sadly, any benefit ( on-time departure & wchr vendor fees ) will be more than elimantedc by the delay$ caused by the appearance of a plethora of gate checked bags & extra fussing about accommodating the increased carry-ons in overstuffed bins.
So much for any financial hope or any semblance of increased ’10 minute turn’ efficiency !
At least some satisfaction can be gained from eliminating a few scofflaws but I’m afraid there’s still a lot of Americans who are too self righteous & selfish. As @1990 rightly refrains; ‘the fish rots from the head’ as exemplified by our current political state… And ironically, the same goes for the corporate world including airlines as they’re just as pathetic !
Though I’m certain people take advantage of Southwest’s pre-board policy by claiming need of a wheelchair when they are actually ambulatory, my experience has mainly been the failure of Southwest to tend to arriving passengers at the other end of the journey. Once they’ve gotten you to your destination airport, they are done with you.
I have somewhat limited mobility, and need to request a wheelchair to get me to and from the Southwest boarding areas. It isn’t difficult–at any airport I’ve been to–to get a wheelchair to board. The problem is at the destination. Frequently, there are few or no wheelchairs at arrival. There have been times where I’ve had to wait quite awhile after landing for someone to come with a wheelchair, even once the pilot of the plane tried calling to get someone to pick me up. Sometimes I have to walk the long corridors because no one shows up, and it is painful for me. One time a guy brought a wheelchair for me, pushed me in it about halfway from the plane to baggage claim, then left me in the middle of the corridor to go chat with other wheelchair attendants who were all, ironically, sitting in wheelchairs lined against a wall at an empty gate. I finally got out of the chair and made my way to baggage claim myself. I paid for that the following day with painful knees. The thing is, technically I can walk, so it could seem that I was taking advantage, but it’s at a cost to my health and well-being. Just saying that there’s more to this story, and more than a little blame goes to Southwest itself.
simple answer anyone using a wheelchair has to pay $100, if at the destination airport they remained seated and used the wheelchair on that end also then their $100 is refunded, you will see real fast tons of pushers out of a job as no one is gonna pay $100 just to skirt the lines at the Outbound airport
the worst part is I cant you how many times when I drove my mother to the airport she had to sit and wait close to 30 mins for a wheelchair to arrive, reason they were all at the gates awaiting the Inbounding flights where most folks who ordered a wheelchair got cured on their Inbound flight and walked right past the wheelchairs on the jetway
@Sean…”What kind of moron flies this abomination?…” Thats a bit harsh but I still fly them because I get 2 for1 using the CP.
The elderly should be able to board early, in my opinion. We always told my Mom we’d find a wheelchair for her, as she was 80+. The airports are confusing and crowded, so it helped her. My sister is developmentally challenged, but insists on flying alone. Having a service that makes sure she gets where she’s going is priceless. With all that being said, if you’re using a wheelchair to get a better seat, shame on you. Sit down and wait your turn.
I once saw a young lady board first with a knee sleeve. wearing shorts, she removed the sleeve
sat down in no distress. remarkable that she had no issue using the toilette w/o the sleeve
perhaps these abusive customers should be placed on a six month no fly list since others pay for the privilege of early boarding
This is just like the people who will pass off their little yappers as service dogs. Too many fake people faking disabilities are overshadowing the ones who really do have disabilities, who do need the wheelchairs and who do need the service animals. These fakes have no shame at all.
Another in your face testamony to the condition of the depraved human heart.
My wife and I were boarding a flight to Florida. We were by a lady in a wheelchair and her daughter. I overheard hew daughter ask her how long she was going to stay in the wheelchair and her mother told her to shush and not to mention it again.
As a formal airline employee for a major carrier, I can tell you this is a huge problem.
We often joked about how many inflight miracles we had as wheelchair passengers ran off of the airplane. They are the first to board and are supposed to be the last to deplane. The wheelchairs staff waiting outside for the passengers are often left empty. Between this, bad passenger behavior and fake therapy dogs, it is a good time to be retired!
The continued slide in overall morality makes everyday life harder and harder because we just can’t have nice things because the abusers are exponentially increasing. In this “it’s all about me and screw everyone else” world, people are just out for themselves and how often they can get over on someone else. It’s gross. In my dad’s world, a man’s word was his bond. People did the right thing because it was the right thing to do. I don’t much like this current world.
@KBH, to me, it seems it’s not so much people think it is OK to do bad things. They all think this is just a life hack. It’s the “don’t hate the player, hate the game” logic. They’re beating the system and are blind to its cost to others. And, if they think there is a cost to others, that’s OK if the others are businesses.
@KBH @Dave W. — Fellas, it’s cyclical. We’re letting the bullies win these days. We should fight back. And I think we will, soon enough. There’ll be a renewed sense of ‘decency’ once there are enough consequences for the alternative. Until then, be kind to those you care about (and to yourselves).
More of the entitled, selfish antics of the 13 percent.
Assigned seats were the way to go. Boarding had become something of an Oklahoma Land Rush.
《Boarding had become something of an Oklahoma Land Rush.》Yet, Oklahomans celebrate the cheaters (at least name a college team after them).
you’re racist. This blog is racist. You’re anti-semitic too. I’m jewish. And you’re not inclusive. I self-identify as a BlackSouthwestWheelchairJew. How dare you!
This is a great reason why it should be a crime to lie about a disability. (Such a law would also have done a lot during Covid when many people falsely claimed disabilities to avoid wearing masks – to the detriment of the small but non-zero amount of people who actually couldn’t wear masks.)
As a wheelchair user who travels around the world, and lives in Canada – each country has their own challenges with this issue. In Canada we do not get assistance from curb to plane door and visa versa where in the USA you do along with all other places I have flown (over 60 countries now). Try going to India on ANY carrier, however Air India was the worst – when I arrived in Delhi on Air Canada there were 59 wheelchair requests for the 4am arrival of the flight, where they only had 30 available. Luckily the flight attendants know the challenge and how they will take ANY wheelchair including people’s personal ones so the flight attendant went and sat in mine until I could be brought off the plane. At that time there was this HUGE line of more people wanting wheelchairs than had been requested! So the reverse miracle in effect – 1st time I have seen that.
I do find travelling these days most air carriers are more respectful of people who truly have disabilities – such as those with their own medical equipment/wheelchairs and often they are boarded first and then along comes the chain of wheelchair want to be people who as the article indicates, have no issues on the plane and most get off without assistance.
I no longer fly Southwest due to their boarding policies when being transferred to an aisle chair which they often do in front of a line of people in wheelchairs instead of affording me the privacy for the transfer that I deserve.