New federal rules assist handicapped travelers : Airlines: Amendments to act improve aisle seating and lavatory access for wheelchair-bound passengers. All planes delivered after April, 1992, must comply.

Disabled air travelers were given a boost recently when several new rules were added to the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986.

The rules cover accessibility on new planes delivered after April, 1992. All other aircraft are exempt from the rules, unless wide-body planes such as 747s and DC-10s undergo major interior renovation. Were that to happen, the airline would be required to comply with the new accessibility rules. Here are some of the requirements:

* At least half of the armrests on aisle seats on planes with 30 or more seats must be movable to facilitate transferring passengers from wheelchairs to the aisle seats. If the plane has less than 30 seats, the airline is supposed to replace half the seats with movable aisle armrests, too, but it has more latitude due to structural or interior configuration limitations. Carriers must establish procedures that allow disabled passengers to readily obtain this kind of seating.

“This is a key rule. Right now, if travel agents or airline reservations personnel pull up a seating chart on their computers, it doesn’t show which row has movable armrests,” said Yvonne Nau, a travel agent with Carlson Travel Network in Northridge and spokeswoman for TIDE--Travel Industry and Disabled Exchange, a Los Angeles-based newsletter for disabled travelers.

The Department of Transportation said that each carrier can set up its own policy on making this information available to disabled passengers. “The computers aren’t the only way by which disabled travelers can obtain this information, and we expect the airlines to figure out a way,” said Jeffrey Shane, assistant secretary for policy and international affairs at the DOT.

* Planes with 100 or more seats and more than one aisle must have at least one accessible lavatory (with door locks, call buttons, grab bars and lever faucets) and enough room inside to allow a passenger using a wheelchair to enter, maneuver and use the facilities with the same degree of privacy as other passengers.

* Planes with more than 60 seats must have a wheelchair on board for use by passengers if there is a wheelchair-accessible lavatory available.

* Wide-body jets that have their cabin interiors or lavatories refurbished or replaced are required to install at least one wheelchair-accessible bathroom. However, at least one airline has petitioned the DOT to amend the rule so that an accessible lavatory doesn’t have to be put in if it means giving up seats.

* By next March, under the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, all airline terminals must include one wheelchair-accessible route from the airport entrance to ticket counters and boarding and baggage-handling areas. Terminals must be designed so the routes minimize any extra distance that wheelchair users must travel compared to other passengers. Carriers can’t require disabled passengers to remain in a holding area or any special location while awaiting transportation and other assistance.

“These new rules represent an improvement,” said Nau, “but disabled travelers still need to do some homework to learn what type of plane they might fly on and the accessibility features of the relevant airports. All of the rules that have come--or will come--into effect are fine if enforced, but it will probably take quite a few years in today’s economy before most planes have movable aisle armrests and accessible lavatories.”

Meanwhile, the DOT acknowledges that more must be done. One of the most controversial issues is accessible lavatories on narrow-body aircraft. A task force has been formed “to find a way to solve the problem while still minimizing the economic harm to airlines by loss of revenue-producing seats,” said Shane.

Other issues still being studied are more accessibility at airports, standards for boarding chairs, mechanical lifts for persons unable to board small aircraft, open captioning for in-flight movies and non-safety videos, and telecommunications service on aircraft.

While airlines are obliged to provide training for their personnel to help them understand the special needs of disabled travelers, Nau believes that this training is often inadequate. “We would like to see more disabled personnel, such as people in wheelchairs, handle part of the training,” she said. “They could really impart some insights to airline personnel who aren’t always very understanding.”

The DOT’s Shane admitted as much.

“Many of the problems experienced by disabled travelers are still attributable to the occasional insensitivity of airline personnel,” Shane conceded. “We’ve called this insensitivity to the attention of senior airline management, and the airlines are now required to provide more extensive training to eliminate these kind of problems.”

Another provision of the Air Carrier Access Act states that any passenger having a complaint regarding airline access rules is entitled to communicate with a so-called “complaints resolution official,” who has authority to resolve such complaints. Thus, any traveler who disagrees with an airline’s actions can pursue the subject with the carrier’s CRO on the spot. Moreover, if an airline refuses transportation on the basis of a disability, it has to provide a written explanation within 10 calendar days. Passengers dissatisfied with the carrier’s explanation can contact the DOT, Office of Consumer Affairs, 400 7th St. S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590, (202) 366-2220.

Nau pointed out that the new rule has already worked for her.

“In March, I was on a 757 out of Miami on Delta and I wanted my wheelchair put in a cabin closet, but I was initially turned down,” Nau said. “I asked to speak to the CRO, who overruled the counter agent. The CRO was very apologetic, and even gave me a drink coupon for my inconvenience.”

Among the basic rules in effect governing disabled air travel is one stating that an airline can’t refuse to fly anyone solely on the basis of a disability. Nor can carriers limit the number of handicapped individuals on a particular flight. Moreover, airlines have to fly anyone with a disability that might affect his or her appearance or involuntary behavior, even if this disability could offend, annoy or even be an inconvenience either to other passengers or in-flight personnel.

In addition, airlines must make available the same flight information to disabled passengers that other passengers receive.

There are some exceptions to these rules, however, that provide airlines with some latitude. For example, carriers can refuse to fly someone if the disability in question could conceivably endanger the health or safety of other passengers. This interpretation, of course, is up to the carrier’s personnel.

Airlines can also deny flying a disabled passenger if it can’t seat that person except in an exit row, where rules require a passenger to be capable of opening the door or window exit. Disabled passengers are generally not put in those seats.

Disabled travelers must be provided, upon request, with specific information on aircraft for a particular flight, including the ability of the plane to accommodate disabled passengers, location of any seats with movable aisle armrests, limitations on storage facilities in the cabin or cargo area for equipment used by the handicapped traveler, and whether the plane has an accessible lavatory.

Carriers also must provide comparable telecommunications devices for the hearing-impaired during the same hours that the general public has access to regular phone service, and for the same price.

Up to 48 hours of advance notice, as well as one-hour advance check-in, is generally required for passengers who want to receive special services such as transportation on an electric wheelchair on a plane with less than 60 seats.

Complimentary copies of “New Horizons for the Air Traveler With a Disability,” a new publication detailing the rules now in place because of the Americans With Disabilities Act, are available from the Consumer Information Center, Department 608-Y, Pueblo, Colo. 81009. For audiocassette versions, contact the DOT’s Office of Regulatory Affairs, P-10, Room 9222, 400 7th St. S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590, (202) 366-4220.