Pave: Air France, à votre service III

Le jour 440 de Sarko

Faire du ciel le plus bel endroit de la terre

[Making the sky the best place on Earth]

Current Air France company theme

And if you are a person with special needs, not to worry. Air France is ready to catapult you into the blue with attentive care. Below is Air France policy found on the the Air France Web site:

PASSENGERS WITH REDUCED MOBILITY
Saphir:* For A Smooth And Comfortable Trip!

[* Air France special needs customer service program.]

Is your mobility reduced as a result of a disability (whether motor-based, visual, hearing or mental), your age or an illness? With Saphir, Air France offers you a wide range of services tailored to your needs.

These services are available across the whole Air France network when you travel on flights operated by Air France.

From the moment you set off to the moment you arrive,
Air France makes your journey smoother!

All cabin crew have received disability awareness training.

They will be notified about your special needs and know exactly what your assistance requirements are.

They will go out of their way to ensure that your flight is as comfortable and pleasant as possible.

And here is how all that awareness training and attentive care policy translates into customer service.

AIR FRANCE AVOIDS DISABLED PASSENGERS

July 27, 2008 (asap.co.uk) - A well-known magazine, Emerging Horizons, has accused Air France for not making arrangements to suit disabled passengers. In its summer issue the magazine called Air France Germ of the Year in its research on travel industry. It was based on personal experience of one of its editors who is paraplegic. The magazine found that Air France was not doing enough to care for people with disabilities to have a seamless travel experience. The carrier was simply ignoring the requirements of people with less mobility and at times, even refused to allow such passengers on its flights.

In one incident, a senior captain of Air France refused to accommodate a disabled passenger on the flight. The passenger Michelle Daly, who is a French government adviser, had booked an Air France flight from Paris to London. She was travelling to London to attend a conference on disabilities. However, when the captain came to know that the lady could not walk by herself, he asked her to leave the plane. According to him, she posed a risk to safety and health of other passengers.

Fortunately, British Airways were willing to accommodate her on its flight to London later in the afternoon that day.

Air France argued that the captain’s decision was correct, as their aircraft was not equipped to handle disabled passengers.

More posts on the seamless Air France travel experience here, here, here, here and here. And if you are a passenger "with a high body mass", see here and here.

PFFT (What is this?): Walk before you fly 4 | Rayonnement français 0