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TROUBLE IN THE AIR
STEVE WEINMAN, EDITOR
FRASER BATHGATE has done a huge amount for diving for the disabled. Having suffered a severe spinal injury in the 1980s, he later discovered the joys of being under water, and became the first person in the world to qualify as a diving instructor from a wheelchair.
Fraser has gone on to train countless disabled divers, particularly youngsters, and many instructors. A leading light of the International Association of Handicapped Divers, he travels the world not only diving but advising up to government level on access issues.
So I was shocked when he told me that no fewer than six of his costly custom-made wheelchairs have now been damaged or destroyed by careless airline baggage-handlers. What's more, he has received next to nothing by way of apology or compensation.
A tough man, he said he had finally been reduced to tears on arriving in Malta recently to find his chair bent out of shape. Its eventual replacement would be six weeks and much aggravation away.
Many of us have suffered at the hands of baggage-handlers, who seem to relish the challenge of testing to destruction their customers' property. But to include wheelchairs in this game does seem callous. Accidental damage? Once or twice, perhaps, but six times?
Diving passengers, especially, have to pay through the nose for this level of customer care. The same day I spoke to Fraser, I happened to see Pat Oates, Secretary of the Scuba Industries Trade Association. Last April I mentioned in this column that SITA had collected the names of 400,000 divers in a petition to improve airline baggage allowances and put us on a par with golfers and skiers. Naively, I had expected the sheer number of signatures to impress the airline execs.
Not a bit of it, Pat told me. The petition had been sent to 18 airlines, and only two had even bothered to reply. Air Jamaica had said no, and BA, to its mild credit, had told her that it was looking into the possibility of charging a flat rate for all sports equipment.
In our letters pages recently, one or two people have suggested that we bang on too much about poor airline service (stand up, Mystery Diver) and particularly baggage allowances. This is why we asked you in last month's Big Question online survey whether you were actually bothered about the subject.
Yes, you are, apparently - 86% of you, anyway. Airlines do divers a lot of favours - they get us to the places we need to reach, often for competitive fares, and some are excellent. But something still has to be done about baggage limits and customer service levels.
My views are in no way coloured by the fact that, 20 minutes into my last long-haul flight, a flight attendant managed to pour a whole cup of scalding coffee over my head. At any other time, the coffee would have been warm at best. Also, I had asked for tea.
Having said all this, our theme this month is Red Sea diving in all its glory. After reading the articles, you may well be in the mood to book your next flight. May you be one of the lucky ones!
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