DisabledTravelers.com Travel Blog

Chicago CityscapePhoto by: Nate Brelsford (Stock Exchange)

Hello, everybody! After taking a tour through the Disabled Travelers archives, I realized that one of our best-received recent articles was Disabled Access: Chicago. Now, I don’t usually do this, but since so many folks are queuing up to head to the Windy City and want more info about it, I thought I’d give the city a second look. Definitely read the original post for some great access guides, but in this post we’ll be going a bit deeper and searching out wheelchair accessible hotels, restaurants, and attractions. Let’s go!

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The Dead Sea on a clear day
Photo by: phunphoto (Stock Exchange)

Happy holidays all!

With Christmas and Hanukkah just behind us now, I was thinking about where to go next year – hey, I’m not here writing a travel blog for nothing! – and I thought “what better feature than a piece on Jerusalem?” Even in these difficult times, millions of people visit Jerusalem every year, including Christians, Jews, and Muslims who consider the ancient city’s many religious sites to be sacred. I was curious to see what kind of accessible travel options and accessible hotels could be found for handicapped travelers hoping to make that journey, so here we go! [more]

Photo by: jnystrom (Stock Exchange)

Beautiful Niagara Falls

Hello, everyone! My name is Simos and I’ll be contributing to the Disabled Travelers blog from now on. I’ve been writing for the web here and there for over six years and I’ve journeyed around Europe and the world. It’ll be my pleasure to help you find the latest information on disabled travel and accessibility. And remember, you can always contact me through the blog if you want to share your own disabled travel experiences!

I’m on my way to New York City for New Year’s Day, so I’ve been thinking a lot about the region lately. I’ll be back later with a disability access report on Times Square, but for now, let’s start a little bit further north. Earlier in this blog, we reported that attendants for disabled passengers would travel free on the airlines Air Canada and West Jet. This would apply to handicapped travelers needing medical or mobility assistance, and obese passengers whose mobility is impaired by their condition.

Unfortunately, it’s gotten a little more complicated since then. Sources are reporting that passengers on Canadian airlines are to be tested to qualify for the free seat. Canadian doctors are up in arms – and rightly so – about all the implications of this. Requiring extensive medical documentation is a huge inconvenience to handicapped travelers and requires time and effort from doctors who already have a full roster of patients to attend to. As someone who’s suffered from reduced mobility and obesity problems at different times (you can see how one could be related to the other!) I’m alarmed. [more]

The FINANCIAL — Over the past few years, Air France has been making every effort to make travel for disabled and reduced mobility

passengers as easy and simple as possible.

In 2001, a specific assistance service called SAPHIR* was launched, the only service of its kind in the world, which gave a new dimension to our relations with our customers and greatly contributed to alleviating stress linked to organizing air travel for these passengers. The progress made, in conjunction with associations, doctors and Air France staff has been considerable, and is constantly being improved.

“The past fourteen months have undoubtedly been the most intense in terms of development, both with regard to extending access to existing services internationally and implementing new services both on the ground and on board aircraft”, declared Patrick Roux, VP Marketing Air France.

Read More –>

This article is from the Canadian Press that you can view here

OTTAWA — An appeal of ruling in favour of severely disabled Canadian passengers requiring an additional seat on airlines because they need medical assistance or are obese will not be heard by the Federal Court of Appeal.

The court turned down a request by Air Canada and West Jet to hear an appeal of a Canadian Transportation Agency ruling in January that requires them to offer a free seat to obese passengers who need one, or an attendant accompanying a disabled passenger.

The ruling leaves the airlines 12 months to draft regulations on accommodating qualified disabled passengers.

“We’re thrilled,” said Laurie Beachell, national co-ordinator of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities. “I think this may be a first for air travel.” [more]