June 8 - Flying Home

Because we have family living on both sides of the Pacific, Lyle and I have experienced our fair share of air travel. This has given us an opportunity to make certain comparisons between airlines and the attention given by flight attendants to blind and partially sighted passengers. Over the years, I have experienced the full range of attention. At one end of the continuum I have been totally ignored and on the other end I have been overwhelmed by overly solicitous attention given to someone who is viewed as being completely helpless. I am unhappy with both situations but the Air Canada flight back home from Sydney to Vancouver struck a perfect middle ground for me

Lyle and I preboarded before the crush of the rest of the passengers headed down the jetway and into the aisle of the aircraft.  Most airlines offer this preboarding service and I recommend it to anyone who might need that little bit of extra time to get settled. Preboarding also gave the waiting flight attendants a chance to address any special needs I might have. On Monday’s flight, I was offered a Braille safety card, the exits and oxygen masks were identified for me and I was shown the location of the toilets – an important feature on a long flight!  Of course, all this should be standard, but it doesn’t always happen.

During the trans-Pacific flight, members of the cabin crew often make their way back and forth along the aisles, handing out headphones, customs cards, duty free service, drink service and meals. My eyes can’t focus quickly enough to identify which of the shapes passing by my seat are crew and which are passengers. On Monday’s flight I was impressed by the fact that I knew when any of the flight attendants was addressing me personally. The crew member would either touch my arm before speaking or bend her head so that her voice was right in front of me. This was all done in a very unobtrusive. way and there was nothing to signal to any of the other passengers that I was different.  When the meals were served, the flight attendant who handed me my tray told me exactly what was in front of me describing it on the clock face. I really appreciated the courtesy that was extended to me during the flight.  

I only wish that I would encounter the same treatment on all flights. On the next short leg between Vancouver and Edmonton, there was no safety briefing and although I walked on board using my white cane, I was ignored until our arrival in Edmonton. As I went to leave the plane, the flight attendant uttered a surprised “Whoops! Watch your step.”

Now for one more comment about the long flight and this has nothing to do with sight or white canes. When we left Sydney, the captain announced that the flight would be thirteen hours and thirty-six minutes flying time. When we arrived in Vancouver, the clocked time was thirteen hours, thirty-six minutes and eleven seconds. That’s pretty amazing flying and absolutely amazing computerized aircraft technology. You can’t get more precise than that!