On Immigration

With photos taken from my travels. I guess we really do photograph what we love.

I am flying on a plane today.

It will take me to my country of birth, Great Britain and, when I land, someone will tell me to go through the automated passport gates that let British people with their British passports slide smoothly and seamlessly back in to their country. I will tell the person that this won’t work and they will insist I do it anyway.

I will try the gates and they won’t let me in. They never have. This is a long collection of stories about that, as well as about so many other stupid things that happen and have happened to me, a white, English male, at borders. But first, I am going to tell you about a bank note.

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I’ve been asked too 

Planning for a flight now consists of planning out how to document the legal violations the airline is inevitably going to commit.

Since I started using a wheelchair, I have had exactly one (1) flight where an airline didn’t break the law.

The question isn’t “Are airlines breaking the law?” They absolutely are, on almost every flight. The questions are “Does the wheelchair user know their rights?” (most don’t), and “Are they physically and mentally able to document the violations and report them to the DOT?” (most can’t).

[ID: @diffusedmuse “One question if you have a moment: do you confront airlines themselves or go straight to the DOT? For example, they often push me into signing a release of liability in case they wreck my wheelchair, which I’m fairly sure is illegal but I’m afraid to say anything and be denied my flight.”]

Under US law, it is definitely illegal for an airline to make you sign a release of liability for transporting your wheelchair. I would definitely advise you not sign any release of liability. The newest statistics show that airlines damage or lose 25 wheelchairs per day. (Source) You can’t afford for them to not fix or replace your wheelchair if they damage it.

“§382.35   May carriers require passengers with a disability to sign waivers or releases?

“(b) You must not require passengers with a disability to sign waivers of liability for damage to or loss of wheelchairs or other assistive devices.”

(Source)

I always insist on having my wheelchair in the cabin, but if the flight has less than 100 seats they’re not required to have space in-cabin, and if you have a power chair it’s not going to fit in the in-cabin wheelchair closet. So I realize some people have to put their chairs in cargo.

Personally I’d pocket whatever release form they gave me, scan it in when I got home and include it in my DOT complaint. I bet the DOT would be very interested to see what release they’re trying to get you to sign.

I have on several occasions had airline employees threaten to not let me fly, try to maneuver me into agreeing to take a different flight, or insinuate that if I continue to insist they follow the law they won’t let me fly. This is illegal, and I let them know that I know that it is illegal.

“§382.11   What is the general nondiscrimination requirement of this part?

“(4) You must not take any adverse action against an individual (e.g., refusing to provide transportation) because the individual asserts, on his or her own behalf or through or on behalf of others, rights protected by this part or the Air Carrier Access Act.” 

(Source)

So yes, I confront the airline employees myself, although I realize not everyone is able to do so. I always have a copy of the law with me - I have a document where I put together the clauses that I know they’re going to violate, and I print out a couple copies before I fly. I also have the full ACAA on my phone. Only once has an airline employee ever looked at the law - they generally just flat out refuse to read it - but I have it with me so I can prove I know what the law says. That means that can’t say “that’s not in the law,” they can only say “I don’t care what the law says,” and that is not going to show in their favor when they have to justify their actions to the DOT.

I definitely also report the airline to the DOT after I get back from my trip. The DOT’s formal investigation process is to have the airline investigate themselves and report their findings back to the DOT. IME the airline always, every time, lies and claims they didn’t break any laws. They generally accidentally admit to breaking a couple laws, but for the majority it ends up being a he says/she says situation. 

Personally, I want the airline to get fined for every clause of the ACAA they break when I fly, not just the ones they accidentally admit to because they are that ridiculously unfamiliar with the law they’re required by law to know. (The record so far is fourteen clauses broken on one flight.) So as of my last flight I now record every interaction I have with an airline employee. On that flight, the minute I realized they had found a new and ridiculous way to violate the ACAA, I set my phone to video and put it in a shallow outside pocket in my personal bag with the camera facing out. When I got home, I extracted the audio file from the video, made a transcript, and forwarded both the audio file and the transcript to the DOT along with my complaint. When the airline investigated themselves and lied about what they did, I then forwarded the audio file and transcript to them as well and proved that their employees lied. It was interesting watching them scramble to explain themselves. 

The DOT takes a year to process complaints, so I haven’t heard back from the DOT on that one yet, but I’m particularly interested to see how this complaint turns out as it’s going to be impossible for them to squirrel out of any of their violations. I have proof.

After that last flight I bought myself an audio recorder (like the kind you use to record lectures in school) which I now have hanging from my personal bag. Some airlines prohibit photography and video in their contract of carriage, but I have yet to find one that prohibits audio recordings. Part of my prep for this trip has been testing that audio recorder to see what the range is and how well it records, so I know where on my bag to hang it to be sure it records everything that happens.

If you’re recording audio, keep that in mind when you’re dealing with airline employees. Ask for names or read out their name badge (”Jane Smith, right?”) and describe what’s happening if it’s not apparent from what they say. (”Wait, so you’re telling me I need to sign this release of liability form before you’ll transport my wheelchair? You do realize that’s illegal, right?”)

I have an audio recording of an airline employee on my last flight saying “I don’t care what the law says!” and my response which was “I don’t think the DOT is going to be very impressed with that.” I’m pretty sure they’re not. I can’t wait to see the DOT’s response to the airline.

douglas adams - the long dark tea time of the soul (via ultralaser)

me after getting kicked off an overbooked delta flight 

I am so weakkkk

No you don’t understand tho my dad literally used to do this. Before 9/11, when airport security was way more lax, my dad’s friend ran an airport scam ring with like 30 of his friends. They would literally do this - waltz on in to the airport, find a gate that looked overbooked, and buy a ticket. Because of the slower computer systems, they could get away with buying tickets seconds before a plane was announced to be overbooked, then offer to give up their seats for the cash.

They also all used to fly under my dad’s friend’s name and racked up like millions of frequent flyer miles. They’re pretty sure that at one point, there were five different guys flying under the same name in the air at the exact same time and the airlines just contacted the guy saying “oh there’s been a glitch.”

They never got caught until my dad’s friend got a passive aggressive letter from Delta in his mail THIS YEAR (15+ years after they stopped) basically saying “we know what you did.”

douglas adams - the long dark tea time of the soul (via ultralaser)

It sucks that these people don’t feel like they can enforce the rules, but maybe if airline companies didn’t treat passengers like shit for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, there would be less of a need to enforce the rules. 

Not to be that guy, but devoting more and more development to cramped, claustrophobic, amenities lacking tin skycans, rather than evolving a fleet that resembles the heyday (and I’m not idealistic, I don’t think that will EVER fully return for anyone who can’t afford business class or better as their regular flight level) of the Jetset, or even just the 90s, it’s going to get worse.

Like, the best thing that ever happened to greyhound buses was the emergence of competitors like boltbus and megabus who provide a somewhat more reasonable ride compared to how greyhound/Peter pan (same company, iirc) was getting. Because flight is so expensive to invest in, it’s unlikely any of the smaller, regional, companies could pull the same move. And while I *used* to hear great things about JetBlue, afaik, they’re falling into the same traps as the big guys

^^^ The bus is such a viable option now, and it first became one when Greyhound/Peter Pan was becoming too horrible to consider and various competitors stepped in with efficient quality. But there were also not that many bus options before, whereas there are still tons of air options – it’s just that they’re all basically the same, and sucks.

Yep!

And I keep thinking about how, basically, the more options (or at least semblance of options) you remove from travelers, the worse they seem to behave. A somewhat reasonable parallel can be drawn between the shift in metropolitan public transportation from comfort to pure function [unless you’re in the right part of the city] tends to result in worse commuter behavior AND less trust in the transportation method overall. Likewise with flying, the more is taken out of riders’ hands, the more people who are already testy are going to act out. Mind you, all of this is the result of corporate directives that aim for more people on fewer planes, without recognizing how much more strain this puts on attendants and sometimes pilots.

i am going to be That Guy and say, if the airline industry has been slowly contracting since the heyday of air travel in the 70s and the economic boom of the 90s, and if wages have stagnated since the 70s, and if airlines have spent the last twenty years trying to make money on an ever dwindling supply of ppl who can even afford economy class, and if we're seeing a resurgence of investment in cross country bus travel at below economy air travel pricing, then i wonder if all those things might be related.

like, we can keep going as we are, where the airlines keep squeezing blood from a stone, hoping that the ever dwindling number of ppl who can afford to fly at all always opt for business or first class as those sections take over more and more of the plane, or maybe we could, idk, raise the minimum wage to $20/hr and see what that does for the majority of ppl who can now only afford the bus

also the article feels like it was written by my dad. flight attendants have lost the respect / fear / obedience of rhe passengers, apparently, but the precipitating incidents were that guy who was beaten up and dragged off a plane bc they gsve his seat to someone else? like, this article feels like a united press release all, 'i guess that was unfortunate but now passengers don't know their place!' and i know this is (ostensibly) a genuine safety concern but also what the fuck did you think was going to happen.

Hey atlanta airport do you take constructive criticism

Atlanta pilots make do.

Just for once I’d like to tell the gate agents and flight attendants that my folding wheelchair is going into the onboard closet and not have them tell me there’s “no room”. Bitch that’s a wheelchair closet, not a “your bags” closet. Move your damn bags where they belong.

Ok, so according to my friendly aviation expert, this is a Big Fucking Deal. In fact, if an airline argues with you about putting your wheelchair in the wheelchair closet or even suggests there may not be room, unless there is already another passenger’s wheelchair in that closet, they have violated federal law.

CFR Title 14, Chapter II, Subchapter D, Part 382, Subpart E, Section 382.67, Subsection (e)

“As a carrier, you must never request or suggest that a passenger not stow his or her wheelchair in the cabin to accommodate other passengers (e.g., informing a passenger that stowing his or her wheelchair in the cabin will require other passengers to be removed from the flight), or for any other non-safety related reason (e.g., that it is easier for the carrier if the wheelchair is stowed in the cargo compartment).”

Source

This is hugely important because it means that if this happens to you, you should report their asses to the DOT. Why? Because these statistics are published every year for every airline, and the airline gets a huge ass fine for every violation. If we want to see change, we need to make airlines literally pay every time they treat us this way.

So Delta flight 302 flew in to San Juan, picked up passengers, and threaded one arm of Irma on the way out. The pilot basically said “hold my beer” and took on a hurricane.

I am not entirely convinced that Poe Dameron was not flying this plane, to be honest.

You can read the Twitter thread here.

Everything about that story was amazing. Delta probably set a record for the turnaround too.

“And if the passengers would look out of the starboard window, they will see A MOTHERFUCKING HURRICANE. ALSO A HURRICANE TO PORT AS WELL.”

My dude landed and took off in less than an hour and squeezed between the arm of the hurricane and the core:

not to mention that the northwest quarter of a hurricane has the highest wind speed and most dangerous weather and they still did it

Give that dude and his air traffic control crew 5 years salary off top. They’re a credit to the team

douglas adams - the long dark tea time of the soul (via ultralaser)

Come Fly With Me: TWA Terninal by Eero Saarinen-

Saarinen designed the Trans World Airlines terminal at New York’s JFK airport in 1956. The huge vaulted structure was built on site by pouring concrete into elaboarte wooden moulds forming the wing like structure. The terminal took six years to complete. The groundbreaking terminal made a name for TWA setting them apart from other airlines. Unfortunately the terminal became obsolete as more people started to travel by air, it was not able to accomodate them. The terminal recently underwent a $20 million rennovation to bring it back to its former glory. These photos were taken by Ezra Stoller, Balthazar Korab and Charles Eames.

www.theimportanceofbeingmodernist.com

i love this dude’s architecture.

but yeah re brutalism, there's a lot of interesting shapes and a kind of utilitarian minimalism there, but also, got nothing on this for using concrete as a sculptural medium