Alaska Airlines’ Perspective on Serving Passengers Flying with Disabilities

Living in the Pacific Northwest, I‘m very familiar with Alaska Airlines and their reputation for good customer service. After an interview with Ray Prentice, Alaska Airlines’ Director of Customer Advocacy, I have a new appreciation for the intention behind the reputation, especially in regard to accessibility and traveling with special needs. Here are a few things that I learned.

Alaska Airlines’ commitment to dignity and respect of their passengers starts with feedback – both from customers and employees. Their Disability Advisory Board meets monthly and is comprised of leaders from every area of the company, and is synced up with compliance to drive policy out to the organization. They discuss issues that arise and may need policy or procedural updates, ideas from employees to raise additional awareness of accessibility or special needs issues, as well as community inclusion events. Employees throughout the company are encouraged to look for ways to better serve their customers; the best initiatives have been employee-driven.

This interest and dedication to serve the customer, especially those with disabilities, has created a culture within the organization, sparking events and initiatives like

• Airport Rehearsals – Collaboration with Sea-Tac Airport and The Arc of King County “Wings for Autism” which provides airport rehearsals to help parents and children on the autism spectrum become more comfortable with flying. It also helps train the air travel industry in techniques and approaches for successful experiences at every point of travel.

• Accessibility Training – Requiring a day in a wheelchair as part of flight attendant training. This helps flight attendants better understand the challenges faced by passengers with disabilities and in doing so, better anticipate those passengers’ needs. The powerful piece is a debrief with Seattle Maintenance Supervisor and Disability Board member Gary Peterson who uses a power wheelchair.

• Sensory Experiences – A Guide Dogs for the Blind/Alaska Airlines partnership that allows individuals who are blind/low vision time to explore an airplane at the Alaska Airlines’ hangar facility – inside and out, so that they can “see” the plane and understand air travel on their terms.

• Ben’s Wish – When Alaska Airlines’ Capt. Chris Cice heard about a boy from Texas who was losing his vision and his wish to see the Northern Lights, he arranged the opportunity to make Ben’s wish happen.

• Accessible Travel Resources – Employee Gary Peterson, who uses a power wheelchair, suggested and narrated a video showing the process of air travel with a motorized scooter or wheelchair – from check in to boarding. This video is part of the resources provided on the Alaska Airlines website.

A comment made by Ray in this interview really summed things up for me; he mentioned how much he learned from these events. That’s the perspective that I appreciated. These were not gratuitous initiatives used for promotion, but opportunities to serve the community with a focus on better understanding the needs of the customer. And that better understanding leads to more training and further supports the foundation of commitment of Alaska Airlines to the dignity and respect of their passengers.