Delta Air Lines First Class Passenger Screams At Wheelchair Attendant For Making Him Wait
One of the world’s most underpaid, overworked jobs is that of an airport wheelchair attendant. A viral meltdown of a Delta Air Lines First Class passenger unloading on a wheelchair attendant is a perfect example of why.
Delta First Class Passenger Berates Wheelchair Attendant For Making Him Wait
At least in the United States, wheelchair assistants are usually understaffed, underpaid, and under a lot of pressure to get people where they need to go…
Here we have a video from a Delta Air Lines flight that is absolutely profanity-filled (it’s disgusting, really). In Atlanta (ATL), a man is very angry that he had to wait for a wheelchair, even though he flew first class (“I was seated in 2A!”) and some words were exchanged between him and the wheelchair attendant who finally showed up.
While it is not clear what was said to him, he clearly experienced some attitude and just went off on the attendant…and a shouting match ensued.
A Delta pilot and gate agent tried to calm him down, but ended up just escorting the wheelchair attendant away (while another filmed everything).
His contention is that he sat in the front of the plane and should not have had to wait until everyone else exited in order to sit in a wheelchair and be on his way.
An entitled passenger berates an employee
byu/Rave4life79 inPublicFreakout
A Broken System
I do understand his point, to an extent, but the whole system is broken…
Federal law requires that airlines provide wheelchair assistance to any passenger who asks. But airlines must pay for this and of course, this is a thankless and low-skill job in which the turnover rate is high, absenteeism is high, and recruiting workers is difficult.
I truly feel bad for wheelchair attendants…I cannot think of a job I’d prefer less than pushing these folks around. I’ve seen it over and over: self-entitled people. People like Mr. and Mrs. Patel on my flight from Chicago to LA last night, who ordered a wheelchair even though they had no need for one…they got up just fine and walked down the aisle like spring chickens. No tips either. And frankly, many in wheelchairs are more likely to be socio-economically disadvantaged, so tipping is often not happening or miserly.
I don’t know what the solution is. In a perfect world, no one should have to wait 20-30 minutes for a wheelchair. But there is a cost to this service and I wonder if a modest fee would stop more people from abusing this system?
And in this case, the guy clearly needs a wheelchair, but his sense of entitlement (no matter how rude the attendant was) really needs to be checked…
image: Delta