A furious passenger has called on airlines to be more polite after two of her wheelchairs were damaged and destroyed on two different flights during the same year.
Deanna Vaillancourt-Thompson of Illinois criticized American Airlines and Delta after her manual and electric wheelchairs broke down during two different trips.
His problems began in April 2023 when he flew from San Francisco to Charlotte with American Airlines, traveling to the Psychiatric Service Dog Members Convention.
When she got off the plane she was frustrated to discover that her manual wheelchair had a broken brake handle and completely flat tires, meaning she couldn’t use it.
“The guy who loaded my wheelchair said, ‘Oops, sorry,'” Ms. Vaillancourt-Thompson said. USA Today.
The incident left her “scared to death” about future trips, and to her dismay, history repeated itself just eight months later in December, when a second new wheelchair was completely destroyed on a Delta flight.
Deanna Vaillancort-Thompson of Illinois criticized American Airlines and Delta after her manual and electric wheelchairs broke down during two different trips.
After the experience with American Airlines in April, she was forced to use the chair as a walker to get to her hotel, where she managed to re-inflate the tires; However, there was no quick fix for the broken brake handle.
Then, surprisingly, on the return trip to San Francisco, the mobility device suffered more damage and the airline “lost the other brake handle,” he claims.
Mrs Vaillancourt-Thompson, who uses a wheelchair due to ongoing complications from a car accident, revealed: “Every time I fly, no matter what airline it is, I always get flat tires and my brake handles are missing. “.
She adds that Global Repair Group, which has a contract with American Airlines to repair mobility devices, took six weeks to send her replacement parts and that she had to make the repairs herself.
In a statement to USA TodayAmerican Airlines said: ‘American is committed to supporting the independence of our customers who travel with wheelchairs and assistive devices.
“A member of our team has contacted the customer to apologize and fully repair the device.”
Despite feeling anxious after this experience, she took another new electric wheelchair on a different flight eight months later.
This time I was flying from San Francisco to Orlando, Florida and back with Delta Airlines.
Mrs Vaillancourt-Thompson, who uses a wheelchair due to ongoing complications from a car accident, revealed: “Every time I fly, no matter what airline it is, I always get flat tires and my brake handles are missing. “.
His nightmare continued when his “new” electric chair was destroyed during the trip.
She admits she drove perfectly from San Francisco to Atlanta, from Atlanta to Orlando, and then from Orlando to Saly Like City on the way home.
But, on the fourth leg of the trip, from Salt Lake City to San Francisco, his chair was completely inoperable when he landed on December 7.
Ms Vaillancourt-Thompson claims the frame was bent so badly that the chair was unusable and the joystick was broken and dangling from its harness.
This time, it took Delta’s device repair contractor Scootaround until January 24, more than a month, to replace his chair, as well as his Apple Airtag that was lost in transit.
She added that the airline gave her and her husband $500 credit each toward future travel, and a customer service agent made sure she would talk to baggage handlers in San Francisco to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
In a statement, Delta told USA Today: “While most scooters and wheelchairs transported by Delta are handled with care, we understand the frustration that arises when we fall short.”
“We apologize for this customer’s experience and have since provided a replacement wheelchair and offered additional compensation in an effort to make things right.”
However, the two incidents that occurred so close together have left the traveler extremely worried about future trips.
She’s headed to another dog convention this spring and is already looking forward to what’s to come, adding, “I wish airlines would educate themselves a little more and have a little more compassion when dealing with medical equipment like this.”
“If I didn’t have to use my chair in South Carolina, I probably wouldn’t use it.”