Decision No. 532-AT-A-2002

September 23, 2002

File No. U 3570/99-47

BACKGROUND

In its Decision No. 140-AT-A-2000 dated March 1, 2000, the Canadian Transportation Agency (hereinafter the Agency) made a determination with respect to an application filed by Lee Ann Dalling regarding the manner in which the personnel of Flugleidir H.F. (Icelandair) [hereinafter Icelandair] responded to her seating request when she booked flights between Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and Reykjavik, Iceland. The Agency found that the manner in which Icelandair's personnel responded to Ms. Dalling's seating request constituted an undue obstacle to her mobility.

Pursuant to Decision No. 140-AT-A-2000, Icelandair was required to take the following measures within thirty (30) days from the date of the Decision:

1. Amend its Customer Service Manual to set out its aircraft seating configurations, to indicate the seats that provide added accessibility for persons with disabilities, and to explain the bulkhead seating limitations in some of its aircraft. Icelandair was also required to clearly reflect in the Manual the importance of initiating discussions with persons with disabilities, or their representatives, to ensure that the seat requested by the passenger or suggested by the airline is compatible with the person's needs. Icelandair was required to provide a copy of the amended Manual to the Agency.
2. Issue a bulletin to its employees responsible for assigning seats, summarizing the incident experienced by Ms. Dalling, stressing the importance of trying to resolve such situations through discussions with the person with a disability, and reminding employees of Icelandair's aircraft seating configurations and the bulkhead seating limitations of some aircraft. Icelandair was also required to provide a copy of the bulletin to the Agency.
3. Amend its seating policy to ensure that all persons with disabilities who require specific seating to accommodate a disability will be assigned such a seat, provided that they have not already been assigned to other persons with disabilities. Icelandair was also required to submit to the Agency a copy of the communication sent to employees to advise them of the amended policy.

Following its consideration of the information submitted by Icelandair in response to Decision No. 140-AT-A-2000, the Agency, in its Decision No. 238-AT-A-2002 dated May 8, 2002, found that Icelandair had not met the requirements of Decision No.140-AT-A-2000.

The Agency found that Icelandair had not provided a copy of its Customer Service Manual, had not provided a copy of a bulletin to its staff stressing the importance of resolving situations through discussions with persons with disabilities and had not noted the limitation of bulkhead seating on its aircraft. The Agency directed Icelandair to comply with the requirements of Decision No. 140-AT-A-2000 within thirty (30) days from the date of Decision No. 238-AT-A-2002.

ISSUE

The issue to be addressed is whether the recent measures taken by Icelandair meet the requirements of Decision No. 140-AT-A-2000.

FACTS

On June 12, 2002, Icelandair advised that it would be making its Customer Service Manual available in electronic form as the carrier no longer has a paper copy of the Manual. Icelandair also indicated on that date that additional information would be provided to the Agency.

On July 11, 2002, Icelandair provided the Agency with access to the electronic version of its Customer Service Manual. Problems were encountered with accessing all parts of the Manual and Icelandair was so advised. On August 6, 2002, Icelandair advised that the problem of access to the Customer Service Manual had been rectified.

The Agency notes that Icelandair's Customer Service Manual sets out the seating configurations of all its aircraft and indicates which seats provide added accessibility for passengers with disabilities and which seats are the most suitable for persons with disabilities. Further, the Manual states that seat reservations are protected for passengers with disabilities and also identifies the placement of the cabin divider.

On August 20, 2002, Icelandair was contacted for clarifications on certain aspects of its Customer Service Manual, namely bulkhead seating, discussions with persons with disabilities and Icelandair's communication with its staff in this regard.

On August 28, 2002, Icelandair provided a copy of a bulletin dated the same day sent to all its sales agents, sales offices and airport staff in Europe, Iceland and the United States regarding passengers with a mobility impairment travelling on Icelandair. The bulletin emphasizes that passengers with reduced mobility are to be informed about the onboard seats assigned to such passengers and stresses the importance of discussing seating requirements with passengers with reduced mobility to ensure that the seat assigned is compatible with the person's need. The bulletin also reminds Icelandair staff that the economy class seats do not offer extra leg room and that there are no bulkhead seats in economy class. Further, on August 28, 2002, Icelandair reported that the information contained in the bulletin sent to its staff had been added to the Customer Service Manual.

ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

The Agency has considered all the information provided by Icelandair and is of the opinion that the information contained in the carrier's Customer Service Manual along with the reminder of the importance of communication with passengers with disabilities to ensure that their needs are met should result in Icelandair's customer service personnel being better prepared and in a better position to prevent the recurrence of incidents similar to that experienced by Ms. Dalling.

CONCLUSION

Based on the foregoing, the Agency is satisfied that Icelandair has met the requirements of Decision No. 140-AT-A-2000, dated March 1, 2000. Accordingly, the Agency does not contemplate any further action in this matter.