The Jetstar, Kurt Fearnley incident has implications for many companies and their boards of directors.
There has been a lot of talk in the press over this incident with Kurt Fearnley and Jetstars response of looking at their procedures. Looking at or changing the procedures is only part of the issue. It is clear from Jetstars attitude it is still all about the"chair" and how to handle it and what is convenient. There is still a gap between the person and the piece of equipment as opposite to viewing the chair as an integral part of the person. It is not viewed as something that is critical to a persons mobility and independence. This has nothing to do with procedures but everything to do with how the organisation's culture views people with disabilities and until the Qantas board take a social inclusive stance then no manner of procedures will change the fundamental attitude of the front line staff. Remember also that being a cheap airline does not absolve any organisation of its obligations under the law, nor does its terms and conditions afford it protection under those same laws. Globally social inclusion is gaining momentum and if this was the United States Jetstar would have been forced to accommodate the wheelchair within cabin storage and have the chair available at the aerobridge on deplaning.
The following has been extracted from public responses in this mornings press and it is telling.
"As airline crew I assist people using wheelchairs all the time. Some airlines allow gate checking, some do not. It's not stated at what time Mr Fearnley checked in, this could have been a factor if he was checking in close to the flight closure time, the chair might have been taken at check-in so it could go right to the hold. Policies like this are clearly laid out and it's a reality in this day and age that low-cost airlines often provide a very simple service- if having your own chair is important to you up until the last minute then it might be a good idea to book with an airline that allows this (Such as Qantas) 99% of the passengers I assist have no problem with using the airport chair. Jetstar were only offering what they offer everyone else & if Mr Fearnley wanted to decline it then that is his choice. If using the bathroom is an issue, communicating this to the staff is a good idea. Many times we take the person to the bathroom, park the chair securely and they transfer to the toilet and back then let us know when to come back in to push them to the gate. I do think there has been a bit of a fuss over this, Jetstar can't change the rules for one person and not others."
I dont blame the staff for the above but it is an example of a culture that simply regards PWD"s as a problem. As such it is fine to take away their dignity and treat them as "an item" for the sake of operational efficiency. It is just not acceptable to treat human beings in such a fashion and is a total indictment of the Board and senior management team at Qantas.
The disability issue that has touched Jetstar is one of many outside factors that affect an organisation and its brand value and reputation over time. Just taking the above example, the often quoted percentage of the population with a disability is 1%. What people often forget though when family and friends are taken into account that awareness percentage of the population jumps to 5%. The 1% only refers to the sector of the population with a permanent disability and the number jumps to 10% when people with temporary disabilities are taken into account. Further the "baby boomer" sector are now in their late fifties and early sixties. This powerful market sector will not let age related disabilities stop them from doing the things they have always done. I will hark back to the definitive text on Customer Service "Moments of Truth". There are a lot of moments in those statistics. Taking travel alone that translates to 17 million trips per annum taken by people with disabilities with a total world wide spend of $80 Billion.
The key here is just how well does any organisation understand the social diversity issues of our society. Every market is made up of people from all groups. and staff are dealing with people of all abilities every day. It is the obligation of every responsible organisation to ensure that it is operating in a sustainable manner: financially, environmentally, and socially
The Video of the Incident
The Kokoda Track
The following two videos are of Kurt's feat of crawling the Kokoda Track. For those not familiar with its significance the Kokoda Track crosses the Owen Stanley Ranges, the backbone of New Guinea and was the final stand against the Japanese during the Second World War to prevent an invasion of Australia. It was the turning point of the Pacific War and like many parts of military history was achieved by a horribly out numbered heroic few in appalling conditions. The track is 60 miles and is an arduous undertaking for any fit and well trained person.