Written by John Morris, WheelchairTravel.org, July 29, 2024
American Airlines recently announced a new way of tracking and tagging wheelchairs in its baggage system that eliminates the need for its manually-generated, handwritten mobility device tags. The carrier was so impressed with itself, it announced the change in a press release, one which was picked up by news outlets around the country.
In the press release titled “American Airlines becomes first US airline to launch automated tag for mobility devices,” Julie Rath, the carrier’s Senior Vice President of Airports, Reservations and Service Recovery, said, “Streamlining the check-in and tagging process is an industry-leading effort that will help us further improve how we handle wheelchairs for our customers who entrust us to transport their devices on their journey.” She added, “American is committed to improving the travel experience for our customers who use wheelchairs and mobility devices.”
So, what has the carrier actually introduced?
The carrier’s new wheelchair tag is the standard tag applied to all checked luggage, with a few extra pieces of information including the wheelchair’s weight, battery type (if applicable), and the location where it should be returned to the passenger. The mock-up that American provided in its release (pictured above) contains bold text that reads “ALL JETBRIDGES,” indicating to ramp personnel and baggage handlers that the wheelchair should be returned at all points of the journey.
While American suggests this new method of tagging wheelchairs will improve the disabled passenger experience, it’s important to point out that this tag contains no new information — it is precisely the same information that appeared on the brighter and bolder handwritten tags that the airline previously used.
Wheelchairs were damaged and mishandled then, and none of those issues will be cured by a computer-printed tag. I shared the same with journalist Andrea Sachs, who reached out to me last week for comment on her Washington Post story.
On Saturday, I tested the new tagging system for myself on an American Airlines itinerary from the United States to Nice, France. Sure enough, even with this new tag, my wheelchair was the last item removed from the cargo hold on my arrival to Philadelphia International Airport (my connecting airport), and I had to argue to have it returned at the door of the aircraft in Nice, France. It seems those big bold letters that read “ALL JETBRIDGES” are just as worthless as the previous checkbox that alerted staff to the same.
This new tag was designed primarily to benefit the airline (printed tags are more efficient and save valuable man hours at the check-in counter), not disabled passengers — and without a complete overhaul of its failed training programs and consequences for staff members who refusal to comply with their responsibility under the Air Carrier Access Act, the disabled passenger experience will not improve.
You’ll continue to end up stuck onboard a sweltering hot American Airlines flight waiting for your wheelchair while a flight attendant says, “we aren’t being paid to wait with you” and “we could have them remove you [from the airplane],” just as I was on Saturday.