Passengers refused to sit by and accept US Airway's bad-mannered actions. Instead, they rallied behind Rizzi and Doxy; some even tweeted what was happening in real-time.
Passengers were so upset that the flight crew made the decision to return to the gate and cancel the flight. Since the incident, US Airways has received a great deal of social media backlash criticizing their treatment of Albert Rizzi and his guide dog.
In response to the public disapproval, US Airways issued the following statement:
"US Airways transports more than 80 million customers each year and ensures that all customers, including those with disabilities, are treated with dignity and respect. We're particularly sensitive to those customers who travel with service animals since we partner with Assistance Dogs International (ADI), an organization that trains and places assistance dogs around the world. US Airways employees volunteer to travel with and work with assistance dogs in training to help them prepare for travel with disabled partners. Over the past 10 years, US Airways employees have participated in transports everywhere from California to Croatia.
In this instance, Mr. Rizzi became disruptive and refused to comply with crew member instructions when the flight attendant asked him to secure his service dog at his feet. As a result of his disruptive behavior, the crew returned to the gate and removed Mr. Rizzi and his service dog from the flight. The flight eventually cancelled and we transported Mr. Rizzi, his service dog, and the rest of our passengers on the flight to ISP by bus.
We apologize to the customers of the flight for the inconvenience. We are continuing to investigate the incident."
Is it just me or was this statement completely insensitive to the issue? Instead of sincerely apologizing for their actions, US Airways bragged on their partnership work with the Assistance Dogs International program and slated Mr. Rizzi.
I hate to break it to you, US Airways, but at this point the public couldn't care less about your charity work. Your mistreatment of a disabled man and his guide dog offended many people and tarnished your company's image. Placing the blame on Mr. Rizzi in your apology has not changed public perception of the issue, but has more than likely worsened people's opinions of your organization.
This incident was poorly handled. If US Airways wants to make things right and restore some sincerity with publics, they should issue a genuine apology to Mr. Rizzi and the rest of the flight's passengers, with no boastful remarks or excuses. US Airways - say you're sorry, and say it like you mean it!
In my experience with people who have to use assistance animals of any sort, these animals are large. Really, the only small dogs I have ever seen in use are therapy dogs in hospitals. Asking a man to place his large guide dog under this seat was simply a request that I believe is hard to comply with. Instead of making a scene out of the ordeal and an example out of the man and his dog, US Airways could have simply worked with Mr. Rizzi to secure his dog and safely begin the flight.
ReplyDeleteYou summed up US Airways' apology PERFECTLY. When I see someone that has a disability of any form or severity being treated inappropriately, I don't care about the charity work that has been done in the past. Being insensitive to other people completely take the place of whatever charity or good deeds your company has done in the past. This was a huge blunder on US Airways part, they should have taken advantage of the opportunity they had to make a sincere apology on behalf of the company to Mr. Rizzi.