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Rodeo star claims United Airlines staffer called her solo wheelchair entry to plane a ‘liability’

Utah rodeo star Amberley Snyder is calling out a United Airlines staffer for treating her with less than respect and calling her desire to board a plane in a wheelchair by herself a ‘liability.’ Snyder, who is a professional equestrian and is paralyzed from the waist down due to a car accident, files all the time and says she was shocked by the way the unnamed male staffer treated her as the situation unfolded.

A Utah rodeo star in a wheelchair has called out United Airlines, saying a gate agent treated her with less than respect for refusing to allow her to board a flight alone – via a jet bridge – on the grounds that such action would be a “liability.”

The alleged incident unfolded on Feb. 16, as Amberley Snyder prepared to board her flight from Kansas’ Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport en route to Denver, Fox 13 reported.

For context, the 28-year-old professional equestrian was paralyzed from the waist down in a 2010 car accident, and now uses a wheelchair. Bravely getting “back in the saddle” soon after, Snyder competes today as a barrel racer and breakaway roper in Western-style rodeo events, in addition to working as a motivational speaker and advocate for people with disabilities, as per her website.

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Telling Fox 13 that she flies “all the time” and traveled well over 150 times last year, Snyder detailed that she was shocked by the way the unnamed male United Airlines staffer treated her as the situation unfolded.

According to the outlet, the gate agent told Snyder that she was not allowed to move her wheelchair onto the jet bridge without being led by someone —  facing backwards.

“He said, ‘Well, we need to take you down backwards.’ I said, ‘I don’t want that, I’m not comfortable with that. I can take myself to the door of the plane,’” Snyder recalled.

The Utah woman says that the staffer continued to describe her wish to board alone via the jet bridge as a “liability,” and said that she would not be able to board the flight if she did not comply.

The two eventually reached an agreement, and Snyder transferred into an airport-approved wheelchair before being led through the jet bridge, onto the aircraft.

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In the days since, however, Snyder has continued to describe the experience as uncomfortable, sharing the story with her Facebook following of nearly 200,000.

“Honestly, that’s kind of insulting when someone says ‘No, you can’t handle yourself down to the door of the plane,’” she told Fox 13.

“I love help, I accept help, I really try to advocate for that,” she added.

Moving forward, the athlete said that she hopes the story will help raise awareness of the importance of inclusive travel accommodations for people with disabilities.

“I’m hoping a platform opens up that allows me to bring this concept to light, I think this is one of the starts really, making it more aware to people,” she said.

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Reps for the carrier returned Fox News’ request for comment on the story with the following statement:

“United proudly welcomes all customers and flies thousands of people with disabilities every day. We are concerned to learn about our customer’s experience and have reached out to her,” a spokesperson said. “We are also working with our team in Wichita to better understand what happened.”

Snyder’s incredible life story is set to hit Netflix in the biographical flick “Walk. Ride. Rodeo,” premiering March 8.

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In a statement, Delta said that its cameras “are not functional” and the airline “does not have any plans to install the necessary software to use them.”

Last week, American Airlines told BuzzFeed News that the cameras were included for potential future uses “such as hand gestures to control in-flight entertainment,” but “have never been activated, and American is not considering using them.”

While the airlines insist that the optical hardware isn’t spying on passengers, stickers or camera covers could quell customers’ privacy concerns.

The seat-back cameras, if hacked or used to surveil, would likely just capture you sleeping in an uncomfortable position or eating snacks while watching a movie. Still, some fliers said that in a world where their actions and whereabouts are already being constantly surveilled and sold to third parties, they’d rather eliminate the possibility of being watched on a flight. In October 2018, the Transportation Security Administration touted the agency’s plans to incorporate more biometric technology in airports, including facial recognition in partnership with US Customs and Border Protection.

“Do I expect to have the same level of privacy in an aircraft like I have at home, of course not. Still wish not to be monitored if possible,” said Twitter user @dacoolx.

Another user, @skyrme_katrin, said, “Or at least informed of the existence of such cameras.” Before passengers noticed the cameras, the airlines had not disclosed them.

United Airlines has threatened to block Expedia from selling tickets to United flights.

This is the latest United rebuttal in the long-standing feud between the two organizations, as their contracted agreement ends.

What are the details?

Essentially, whilst both Expedia and United have not publically admitted why they are at odds with each other, it’s rumored that United is not happy with the financial terms of their contracted agreement.

This agreement in question allows Expedia to sell United tickets to customers on their website and expires at the end of September 2019. United has informed Expedia that they will not be renewing the contract and that flights beyond this date should not be for sale on the Expedia website. That any business with the website should be ‘wound down’ and customers directed elsewhere.

Expedia, on the other hand, has said that they have every right to sell tickets up to and beyond 2020. United believes that this is an attempt to lock in enough customers that United will be forced to continue the ‘bad’ contract.

“Recognizing that United now intends to walk away from Expedia upon the Sept. 30, 2019 expiration of their contractual relationship, Expedia has resorted to litigation to maximize the number of Expedia customers holding United tickets for flights after the expiration of the parties’ contract” – United Statement

If United needs to change or cancel flights, this might do harm to customers who have bought through Expedia. According to the current contract, Expedia would not be able to refund the money or make other arrangements for United flights as it would be outside their contract at that time. Customers would then become frustrated and take their anger out on the airline.

“The reason is simple: Expedia hopes that the frustration, disruption, and expense that would otherwise result to these customers will force United to continue working with it after the contract expires”

United has said that they are willing to renegotiate more favorable terms, but that Expedia has since refused to come to the table.

“Expedia refused to negotiate, even as Expedia customers began in greater numbers to book flights set to depart after their contract expired—and even though Expedia, with ample opportunity to protect its customers, now claims it will be irreparably harmed by not being able to service these same customers.” – United Statement

Expedia has said that they have tried to negotiate a new contract with United.

What is United threatening to do?

United has said that they might cease accepting booking from Expedia as soon as the end of this month. Expedia has claimed that such an action would cause irreparable harm to themselves and their customers.

While United may ultimately choose to enter into a new commercial agreement with Expedia when the term of the current agreement ends, it has no right to breach the existing agreement and to unilaterally inflict harm on Expedia and its customers as a negotiating tactic. – Expedia statement

Both United and Expedia have taken the matter to litigation.

What do you think? Should United cut off Expedia?

In the airline world, nothing is certain until it is filed and done. Recently, we’ve heard some interesting news coming out of Abu Dhabi as Etihad is looking to cut ties with American Airlines in favor of United Airlines. Here’s why this could make sense for Etihad.

Etihad and American Airlines

Etihad and American Airlines partnered up some time ago, but the harmony has been far less than blissful.

As part of American Airlines’ push towards curbing the growth of the big 3 Middle Eastern carriers, they terminated codeshare agreements with Etihad and Qatar. As of now, Etihad is a great airline for AAdvantage redemptions.

American Airlines is Etihad’s largest partner in the United States. However, Etihad has terminated their fights to Miami, Dallas, and have reduced frequencies to New York-JFK. All three are major American Airlines hubs, yet Etihad couldn’t make the partnership with American Airlines work.

Etihad’s Current Service to the United States

This is the current route map for Etihad’s flights to the United States:

Etihad currently flies to New York-JFK, Washington Dulles, Chicago O’Hare, and Los Angeles International. In comparison to Qatar and Emirates, this is a sparse network for U.S. connections.

United Airlines and Etihad Airways

However, Washington Dulles, Chicago O’Hare, and Los Angeles are hubs for United Airlines. In addition, Etihad previously operated flights to San Francisco and Houston and a switch from JFK to Newark-Liberty (or an additional frequency) wouldn’t be terribly difficult.

While United has been a part of the campaign against the ME-3 carriers, they have most certainly not been as active as American or Delta.

Etihad and Star Alliance

Etihad has had some interesting experiences with Star Alliance. They’ve flirted with joining Star Alliance for some time and this would be an excellent step forward for them.

United Airlines is a major player in the American market and has a significant influence within the Star Alliance network. Etihad could benefit from their partnership with one of the most efficient airlines in the United States. In addition, United is a bit unique in their new quest for premium passengers, releasing a cookbook, and improved regional jets that could make for a great addition to Etihad’s network. As such, Etihad could be well on its way to joining Star Alliance.

Etihad also has other Star Alliance partners in Lufthansa and their associated carriers, Air Canada, ANA, Asiana, and Turkish among other airlines. As Etihad expands their codeshares to include another Star Alliance carrier, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them join Star Alliance.

While Star Alliance could live without Etihad, the addition of Etihad to their route network would be a welcome addition for many frequent fliers for mileage redemptions.

On the other hand, Etihad has been trying hard to cut costs and turn their ship around. Alliances are expensive. Already, we have seen some airlines consider dropping an alliance relationship simply due to the costs. They could, however, become a Star Alliance Connecting Partner.

Overall

Overall, this news would be welcome for MileagePlus members, but not so much for any AAdvantage members. Already, American has lost partners in Airberlin (although they recently failed), Jet Airways, Gulf Air, El Al, WestJet, with even reduced cooperation with Alaska Airlines.

American Airlines really needs to reconsider their partnership strategy. They’re losing ground as competitors United and Delta pick up partners. Delta now has Jet Airways and WestJet and if United picks up Etihad, that would be another major blow. Whatever the strategy is for management at American Airlines, they need to seriously rethink how to make their AAdvantage program useful.

Sometimes rumors can fizzle out, like Lufthansa’s A380 order, while others do materialize. This one could be credible since it would continue to the trends we’ve seen with Etihad and American Airlines. If you have a stash of AAdvantage miles you’d be looking to redeem on Etihad, look for some Etihad availability and use them sooner rather than later. Although, if you’re looking for other airlines, Fiji Airways is another great airline to redeem AAdvantage miles for in addition to transatlantic partner Iberia.

For now, we can only wait and see. Unless American Airlines picks up any worthwhile partners, this would just be another negative aspect to their less than advantageous AAdvantage program.

Do you have AAdvantage miles you’ll use for Etihad? What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments below!

Now there is one more place where cameras could start watching you — from 30,000 feet.

Newer seat-back entertainment systems on some airplanes operated by American Airlines, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines have cameras, and it’s likely they are also on planes used by other carriers.

American, United and Singapore all said Friday that they have never activated the cameras and have no plans to use them.

However, companies that make the entertainment systems are installing cameras to offer future options such as seat-to-seat video conferencing, according to an American Airlines spokesman.

A passenger on a Singapore flight posted a photo of the seat-back display last week, and the tweet was shared several hundred times and drew media notice. Buzzfeed first reported that the cameras are also on some American planes.

A United spokeswoman repeatedly told a reporter Friday that none of its entertainment systems had cameras before apologizing and saying that some did. Delta did not respond to repeated questions about some of its entertainment systems, which appear to be identical to those on American and United.

The airlines stressed that they didn’t add the cameras — manufacturers embedded them in the entertainment systems. American’s systems are made by Panasonic, while Singapore uses Panasonic and Thales, according to airline representatives. Neither Panasonic nor Thales responded immediately for comment.

As they shrink, cameras are being built into more devices, including laptops and smartphones. The presence of cameras in aircraft entertainment systems was known in aviation circles at least two years ago, although not among the traveling public.

Seth Miller, a journalist who wrote about the issue in 2017, thinks that equipment makers didn’t consider the privacy implications. There were already cameras on planes — although not so intrusive — and the companies assumed that passengers would trade their images for convenience, as they do with facial-recognition technology at immigration checkpoints, he said.

“Now they’re facing blowback from a small but vocal group questioning the value of the system that isn’t even active,” Miller said.

American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein said cameras are in “premium economy” seats on 82 Boeing 777 and Airbus A330-200 jets. American has nearly 1,000 planes.

“Cameras are a standard feature on many in-flight entertainment systems used by multiple airlines,” he said.

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Singapore spokesman James Boyd said cameras are on 84 Airbus A350s, Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s and 787s. The carrier has 117 planes.

While the airlines say they have no plans to use the cameras, a Twitter user named Vitaly Kamluk, who snapped the photo of the camera on his Singapore flight, suggested that just to be sure the carriers should slap stickers over the lenses.

“The cameras are probably not used now,” he tweeted. “But if they are wired, operational, bundled with mic, it’s a matter of one smart hack to use them on 84+ aircrafts and spy on passengers.”

Yes, if she was sitting next to me, I’d likely ask to be moved, too.

Science students in the US are getting a daily dose of inspiration from a retired United Airlines Douglas DC-8 aircraft which has been lovingly restored with coatings supplied by AkzoNobel.

After flying more than 18 million miles in 14 years, the plane – named The City of Los Angeles – was donated by United Airlines to the California Science Center in 1984. It’s now on static display by the entrance to the Dr Theodore T. Alexander Jr. Science Center School.

“We are proud to be part of this project and had no hesitation in donating our Eclipse coatings for such an incredible aircraft,” explains Robert Mather, Strategic Account Manager of AkzoNobel’s Aerospace Coatings business. “The DC-8 has a remarkable history, which can’t fail to inspire the young people who see this one every day.”

The newly restored plane was retired in 1980 after carrying more than a million passengers. Four years later, its wings were removed and it was towed through city streets before being reassembled at the museum, eventually being mounted on a pedestal in 2002.

Due to the easy application and with the aircraft being located outdoors, the coating was rolled on, rather than sprayed. The low emission Eclipse system was applied by International Aerospace Coatings (IAC) to ensure that the DC-8 looks as good as the day it first rolled out of the hangar.

“United is thrilled that the DC-8 is being preserved to educate future generations on the history of air travel,” says Janet Lamkin, United’s California President. “We have been part of Los Angeles and California for more than 90 years, and I’m proud to see this important part of our heritage restored so beautifully.“

Adds Dr. Perry Roth-Johnson, Assistant Curator for Aerospace Science at the California Science Center: “We’re thrilled to see our DC-8 airliner restored. With its new paint job, the plane is starting to shine again for the enjoyment of our guests, as well as the students and staff at the Science Center school. We are grateful for the support of AkzoNobel, IAC, and United Airlines in this important project.“

Continues Dave Patterson, IAC’s Executive Vice-President of Sales and Marketing: “IAC has painted hundreds of aircraft for United Airlines over the past 20 years. When approached to lead the restoration and repaint efforts for their DC-8 static display, we jumped at the opportunity. To revisit this historic aircraft and have the chance to paint the retro United livery was an honour. We’re grateful to be part of this effort and to support both our premier customer and our Southern California community.“

Only a handful of DC-8 aeroplanes are still in use today as cargo carriers. The DC-8 also has a little-known claim to fame. It is one of only two aircraft – along with the Soviet Tu-144 – to have flown supersonic before Concorde. 

February 20, 2019