About Us

This blog is about how the world is viewed by the visual and the visually impaired. The intent of this blog is to bring the two worlds together. It is administered by two fabulous sisters, Toni, who is sighted and Robin, who became visually impaired in 2002 at the age of 18 due to misdiagnosis.



Saturday, November 16, 2013

Turbulence On The Tarmac

If you have ever been on an airplane, then you know how limited space can be, well at least in the economy section where I sit. It seems as though many airliners try to cram as many seats as they can in that small aircraft, so that more profit will be made. However, for the consumer, the confined space can be a little uncomfortable. With this said, when the seat belt sign is turned off and the flight attendant announces that it is safe to move about the cabin, many people, especially tall ones, make a sigh of relief as they have the chance to get up and stretch their legs. Now that pets are allowed on airplanes, it is expected that they will have the same yearning as humans to stretch their legs, particularly since their space is even more restricted. Specifically, one story has been making news within these past days regarding Albert Rizzi and his guide dog. The plane was a small turbo, where Mr. Rizzi was seated in the last row and there was no underseat area to place his dog, Doxy. As a result, Doxy was then placed in front of another passenger’s seat. But after waiting for over an hour on a US Airways flight to depart from Philadelphia, guide dog Doxy became restless and wanted to be near his owner. Mr. Rizzi said that earlier he had requested an open seat where there was enough space for him and Doxy, but his request went unanswered, thus placing him in the current situation. The flight attendant aboard the plane told Mr. Rizzi to stow Doxy and after much debate, the flight attendant had them both removed from the flight along with thirty something other people who came to their defense. Since the airline failed to accommodate guide dog Doxy, Mr. Rizi believed that he was discriminated against. Mr. Rizzi is quoted as saying, “If I allow myself to be beaten down, then I allow people who come behind me to be beaten down.” Following the incident, many people have shown support to Mr. Rizzi and the other people who took a stance with him. When we tweeted this story on Thursday, there were several tweeters who were just as disappointed in US Airways as we are. One good valid point that was brought up more than once is, US Airways needs to train their employees more on ADA compliance. We at Beautifully Blind, are interested to see what comes out of this story. Please share your thoughts, we would like to know!