Advocates and Air Canada91裸聊视频檚 CEO served up opposing views of on-board accessibility for passengers on Tuesday, though both sides agree that consistency remains a problem.
Michael Rousseau, who heads Canada91裸聊视频檚 largest airline, told a House of Commons transport committee an overwhelming majority of the 1.3 million passengers who requested special assistance last year had a positive experience. About 19,500 91裸聊视频 or 0.15 per cent 91裸聊视频 filed complaints.
91裸聊视频淭his is not to minimize the number of incidents nor the serious impacts the disruptions have on the individuals involved. But it is important context that indicates, first, we do a good job and, second, more importantly, we need and we will continue to get better,91裸聊视频 Rousseau said.
91裸聊视频淲e have concluded the chief issue was inconsistency,91裸聊视频 he added, citing training as the remedy.
Complaint statistics fail to reflect the travel experience of many people living with disabilities, who sometimes wait unassisted for hours or have to instruct employees on how to guide them, said disability rights advocate David Lepofsky.
91裸聊视频淚 personally have spent four hours parked at a gate waiting for a flight,91裸聊视频 said Heather Walkus, who heads the Council of Canadians with Disabilities.
91裸聊视频淣o one91裸聊视频檚 come to see me. There91裸聊视频檚 no way to contact anyone. I91裸聊视频檓 having to go to the washroom. I can91裸聊视频檛 get something to eat,91裸聊视频 she said.
91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e moved like luggage from one end to the other.91裸聊视频
Rousseau acknowledged that the issues are 91裸聊视频減robably underreported.91裸聊视频
Lepofsky pushed back.
91裸聊视频淭o be able to say you91裸聊视频檙e doing a good job and these are the numbers is to be shockingly out of touch with our experience,91裸聊视频 he told the transport committee.
91裸聊视频淲e heard from Air Canada today that 91裸聊视频 the problems are few or infrequent and that really all they need is more education or training for their staff. Every single one of those statements is wrong,91裸聊视频 claimed Lepofsky, who heads the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance.
91裸聊视频淎s a blind person, I dread entering Canadian airspace.91裸聊视频
Lepofsky called for an easily reachable hotline for travellers with disabilities at each airline, regulator-deployed 91裸聊视频渟ecret shoppers91裸聊视频 who pose as passengers to assess customer service practices and curb-to-gate assistance by a single employee 91裸聊视频 rather than being 91裸聊视频減assed like a baton91裸聊视频 by up to five workers.
Canada needs stricter rules and tougher enforcement to ensure consistency and accountability, the advocates said.
Multiple incidents surfaced at Canadian airlines over the past year, prompting the committee hearings.
A B.C. man with spastic cerebral palsy was forced to drag himself off of an Air Canada plane in Las Vegas. Canada91裸聊视频檚 chief accessibility officer Stephanie Cadieux arrived in Toronto to find the airline had left her wheelchair behind in Vancouver. Former Paralympian Sarah Morris-Probert hauled herself up WestJet aircraft stairs rather than being able to board using her wheelchair.
Under a three-year plan, Air Canada has pledged to roll out measures that range from establishing a customer accessibility director 91裸聊视频 now in place 91裸聊视频 to requiring annual training for its 10,000 front-line staff.
Earlier this year, the carrier formed an advisory committee made up of customers with disabilities and launched the 91裸聊视频渟unflower program91裸聊视频 where a lanyard worn by travellers indicates to staff they may need assistance 91裸聊视频 the first airline in North America to do so.
It also now allows customers to track their checked mobility aids in real time with an app.
Rousseau said he was open to more transparent rules around reporting complaints, though he said that other aviation players should be included and any measures should be 91裸聊视频渘on-punitive.91裸聊视频
In the United States, all complaints submitted to airlines are handed over to the federal regulator. 91裸聊视频淚n Canada, we essentially have to take your word for it,91裸聊视频 said NDP transport critic Taylor Bachrach.
Rousseau also said Air Canada is speaking with plane-making giants Boeing Co. and Airbus SE about redesigns to ease accessibility to washrooms, particularly on narrow-body planes.
91裸聊视频淲ashrooms are not designed for use by anybody who is not in perfect physical condition, and they are certainly not wheelchair-accessible,91裸聊视频 said Liberal lawmaker Annie Koutrakis.
On Monday, the government announced a summit on air accessibility slated for May 9. But Lepofsky seemed to concur with Conservative committee member Dan Muys, who questioned the point of the gathering.
91裸聊视频淎 summit is a photo op,91裸聊视频 Lepofsky said.
Advocates also called for stronger deterrence actions by the Canadian Transportation Agency.
Penalties against large airlines over disabilities violations occasionally top $100,000. Earlier this year, the agency fined Air Transat to the tune of $11,000 after it failed to quickly provide a suitable replacement for a passenger91裸聊视频檚 mobility aid that had been lost on arrival in Venice.
Airline owner Transat A.T. Inc. took in $3 billion in revenue last year. Air Canada made $21.8 billion.
91裸聊视频淭he regulator has failed to achieve the result that we are entitled to,91裸聊视频 Lepofsky said.
The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The problems go beyond a single airline or regulator, as 91裸聊视频済aping holes91裸聊视频 in the Accessible Canada Act allow problems to persist in areas ranging from consultation to assistance protocols, said Walkus 91裸聊视频 despite a regulatory overhaul in 2020 brought on by that legislation.