Aug 7, 2012

Alaska/Horizon apologize on Facebook

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air have apologized in a Facebook posting to an Oregon customer after the man's trip was interrupted and another traveler recounted the incident on Facebook. 

According to a USA Today report, Alaska apologized for an incident in which a passenger with late-stage Parkinson's disease missed his flight because the crew, smelling alcohol and thinking he might be intoxicated, didn't offer more assistance.

Tons of comments on Alaska's Facebook page

Here's the full press release:

SEATTLE ˜ Horizon Air President Glenn Johnson apologized to a customer on Facebook today after the man's trip to visit his daughter was interrupted and a fellow traveler recounted the experience on the social media site. After the man missed his flight on Friday, he flew to see his daughter on Saturday.
"First and foremost, we've determined that we could and should have handled this better and I apologize to our passenger on behalf of all of us at Horizon Air and Alaska Airlines," Johnson wrote in his Facebook post. "This experience has reminded us of the importance of assisting passengers with disabilities and making sure every one of them receives the special care they may need. The information we've gathered during our review will certainly improve our efforts going forward."

As part of its review of the incident, Alaska Airlines refunded the passenger's initial ticket, provided a complimentary roundtrip flight for his trip and offered a second roundtrip ticket for him to visit his daughter again at a later date. Horizon Air operates regional flights on behalf of Alaska Airlines.

"We've worked with a variety of disability organizations for years, which has helped us improve our service for travelers with disabilities," said Ray Prentice, Alaska Airlines' director of customer advocacy. "This incident provides another learning opportunity for our employees as well as for travelers with disabilities."
 Alaska and Horizon have partnered with Open Doors Organization, an independent disability advocacy group, to review employees' handling of the situation and suggest improvements in the airlines' disability, awareness and sensitivity training. "

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