Jetstar forced Kurt Fearnley off wheelchair, says Paralympian

[codash1099]

While I don't agree completely with the way Jetstar handled the situation, Fearnley has not endeared himself with the hyperbolic claptrap he used to get his point across.

From what I read, hear and see in the media, he has achieved whatever his objective was.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Sorry but i don't get why you are all turning on Fearnley?

Jetstar told the man he had to spend an HOUR AND A HALF waiting at the boarding gate in a chair designed that he couldn't move it by himself.

Seriously, i've seen people in threads around here complain about a 3 minute wait to get into the QP!

What's wrong with letting him keep his own chair til boarding OR letting him use a chair designed so he can move around the terminal?

Who here thinks 1.5 hours stuck in one spot is acceptable?

why did he checkin early and why didnt precious :evil:get his brother to push him around the place???

 

[777]

Its hilarious that a forum full of people who complain about the sub standard food in the qantas club, the poor availability of upgrades, etc are criticising Kurt Fearnley for this.

Jetstar have admitted that they broke their own policy. No one here would think it was reasonable if a member of airline staff dumped them in one spot for an hour or more before boarding and said they couldn't move?

Good on him. And congrats to Jetstar for admitting they got it wrong.

Can everyone criticising him honestly put their hand up and say they've never whinged publicly about anything more trivial than this? My money says most of us can't.

 

[ejb_nz]

Its hilarious that a forum full of people who complain about the sub standard food in the qantas club, the poor availability of upgrades, etc are criticising Kurt Fearnley for this.

Jetstar have admitted that they broke their own policy. No one here would think it was reasonable if a member of airline staff dumped them in one spot for an hour or more before boarding and said they couldn't move?

Good on him. And congrats to Jetstar for admitting they got it wrong.

Can everyone criticising him honestly put their hand up and say they've never whinged publicly about anything more trivial than this? My money says most of us can't.

We may have whinged on this forum but I doubt any of us have taken it to the national media or the fed govt.

He did not need to check in that early and his brother could have pushed him around.

ejb

 

[777]

We may have whinged on this forum but I doubt any of us have taken it to the national media or the fed govt.

He did not need to check in that early and his brother could have pushed him around.

It was clearly a connecting flight from PNG. Probably with a long gap. Do you know BNE airport? There's nothing much outside security and i'd hardly want to go up through it in a wheelchair and come back through to check in later. A total pain in the cough.

As for taking it to the media, the bloke gave a speech to the national disability awardsand mentioned it. The press ran with it. He hardly sent out a bloody media release about it. He gave a speech, press were there, they got some grabs from him for the news at the event and the rest is history.

 

[drron]

It was clearly a connecting flight from PNG. Probably with a long gap. Do you know BNE airport? There's nothing much outside security and i'd hardly want to go up through it in a wheelchair and come back through to check in later. A total pain in the cough.

As for taking it to the media, the bloke gave a speech to the national disability awardsand mentioned it. The press ran with it. He hardly sent out a bloody media release about it. He gave a speech, press were there, they got some grabs from him for the news at the event and the rest is history.

Not quite-some knew about it and were asked not to say anything until after his speech in some of the reports.

 

[ejb_nz]

I think the point I (and some others) are trying to make is, he has stage managed this complaint from the start and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

If he had quietly complained to J* and not made a big deal I think more people would have sympathy for him but this stinks of DYKWIA.

ejb

 

[777]

Not quite-some knew about it and were asked not to say anything until after his speech in some of the reports.

That's pretty standard fare for a public speech. You give the text to the media on the condition that they don't report it til the speech is finished. Assuming he wrote it down that's basically normal.

 

[medhead]

Jetstar have admitted that they broke their own policy. No one here would think it was reasonable if a member of airline staff dumped them in one spot for an hour or more before boarding and said they couldn't move?

Good on him. And congrats to Jetstar for admitting they got it wrong.

Can everyone criticising him honestly put their hand up and say they've never whinged publicly about anything more trivial than this? My money says most of us can't.

Trouble is it is not clear that the airline did dump him there without options for him to move. He didn't have to crawl across the terminal. Basically, the whole premise of your question is false. That is the point, whinging about QP food or not.

Yep, Congrats to him for making life hard for himself. Sure, no doubt he faces rubbish situations everyday, I'm just not sure this was one of them.

When you say more trival what do you mean? Are you asking if I've never whinged about something that has less meaning that this situation. If so, my hand is up big time. I can honestly say that I have never whinged publicly about a situation of my own creation. I can also say that I've never been asked to speak on a national stage either. But my lack of opportunity to whinge publicly about a trival situation is not the reason that I haven't done so.

 

[drron]

That's pretty standard fare for a public speech. You give the text to the media on the condition that they don't report it til the speech is finished. Assuming he wrote it down that's basically normal.

But that doesnt fit with your previous post-
"As for taking it to the media, the bloke gave a speech to the national disability awardsand mentioned it. The press ran with it. He hardly sent out a bloody media release about it. He gave a speech, press were there, they got some grabs from him for the news at the event and the rest is history."

 

[777]

But that doesnt fit with your previous post-
"As for taking it to the media, the bloke gave a speech to the national disability awardsand mentioned it. The press ran with it. He hardly sent out a bloody media release about it. He gave a speech, press were there, they got some grabs from him for the news at the event and the rest is history."

I work in the media and give speches from time to time and that fits perfectly.

You give a speech, you write it down, you give it to your hosts and if the media is interested in it the hosts (in this case the fed govt or the national disability awards) give it to them before the speech happens.

I suspect this is in line with the sort of cough that he complains about in public speeches to disability groups all the time. I'd bet that half the audience had experienced something similar. How many speeches do you reckon he give to disability groups in a year that no media ever turn up to? Probably 20 or more?

In this case, it likely didn't even occur to him that he is suddently newsworthy because of all the promos that have been running in Australia while he's been OS for the last couple of months. At 90% of the speeches he gives no one would even notice.

 

[Moody]

I think the point I (and some others) are trying to make is, he has stage managed this complaint from the start and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

If he had quietly complained to J* and not made a big deal I think more people would have sympathy for him but this stinks of DYKWIA.

ejb

Yep - he cut off his own legs, spent years training as an athlete, performed a feat of endurance that most able-bodied people would baulk at, and then rudely went public when a multinational airline wanted to treat him like a useless cripple.

And why did he do all this???? Not to raise an issue of discrimination for all people who may find themselves in a similar position, but as part of a 10-year plan to shamelessly promote his new book.

But if there's one thing worse than an egotist who goes around with an attitude of DYKWIA, its the losers who aspire to be such a person. I wouldn't mind so much if they didn't hang around AFF waiting for someone to crucify.

 

[ejb_nz]

Yep - he cut off his own legs, spent years training as an athlete, performed a feat of endurance that most able-bodied people would baulk at, and then rudely went public when a multinational airline wanted to treat him like a useless cripple.

And why did he do all this???? Not to raise an issue of discrimination for all people who may find themselves in a similar position, but as part of a 10-year plan to shamelessly promote his new book.

But if there's one thing worse than an egotist who goes around with an attitude of DYKWIA, its the losers who aspire to be such a person. I wouldn't mind so much if they didn't hang around AFF waiting for someone to crucify.

At NO time have I attempted to negate this guys acheivements and I take offence at this post.

My point is that we all need to follow rules and one of the rules is that he can not use his own wheelchair to board a plane.

eg. I would like to take my dogs on board with me as I treat them like children and could never suffer the pain of them flying as luggage but I don't yell and scream when airlines don't allow it, I deal with the rules as they stand.

My whole point in this thread has been that it appears to be very staged, and I think it has back fired on him.

ejb

 

[drron]

I now remember it was one of the TV presentations of the story-the reporter knew about this on the weekend and was asked not to say anything-presumably he was being interviewed then as he had just returned from Kokoda which was a media story and he certainly was very aware of that-surely he noticed the cameras on the track?
So sorry you have not convinced me that this was a deliberate campaign.Sure he has a point but IMHO he certainly was a DYKWIA.
And I used to write speeches for myself and others at events where press were present and aware.
Doing a search he was speaking to the Newcastle herald on Thursday telling them he was flying home to newcastle on friday.His parents had been flown up to kokoda for his last day on the track-the media obviously were involved.
In his statement after the speech he says he has flown JQ before but this was the first time he had the courage to crawl through the airport.
KURT FEARNLEY’S ANGER AT JETSTAR : NBN

 

[drron]

Just doing a little more sleuthing-the earliest flight into BNE from POM on 20/11 was PB arriving at 1650.The only JQ flight to NTL after that was leaving at 1905.Seeing there is a transfer from international to domestic terminal so unlikely he would have been stuck at the JQ gate for 1.5 hours.
In his interview with the Newcastle Herald on 19/11 he said he was flying to NTL on the 20th.

 

[NYCguy]

Yep - he cut off his own legs, spent years training as an athlete, performed a feat of endurance that most able-bodied people would baulk at, and then rudely went public when a multinational airline wanted to treat him like a useless cripple.

And why did he do all this???? Not to raise an issue of discrimination for all people who may find themselves in a similar position, but as part of a 10-year plan to shamelessly promote his new book.

But if there's one thing worse than an egotist who goes around with an attitude of DYKWIA, its the losers who aspire to be such a person. I wouldn't mind so much if they didn't hang around AFF waiting for someone to crucify.

No-one is taking anything away from Fearnley's achievements, but this entire incident stinks of opportunism and arrogant egotism - a classic DYKWIA, who thinks that he is entitled to different treatment to any other disabled passenger because of his over-blown ego. Fearnley's is not the only overblown ego in evidence here, and neither is he the only one who seems incapable of comprehending the conditions of carriage to which he, and every other passenger on the flight, agreed when they purchased tickets.

 

[Sprucegoose]

At NO time have I attempted to negate this guys acheivements and I take offence at this post.

My point is that we all need to follow rules and one of the rules is that he can not use his own wheelchair to board a plane.

eg. I would like to take my dogs on board with me as I treat them like children and could never suffer the pain of them flying as luggage but I don't yell and scream when airlines don't allow it, I deal with the rules as they stand.

My whole point in this thread has been that it appears to be very staged, and I think it has back fired on him.

ejb

I agree with ejb - next time he can get the bloody train.

SPRUCE :evil:

 

[UP4014]

I agree with ejb - next time he can get the bloody train.

SPRUCE :evil:

Yep. achieving a goal doesn't make you a nice person. (just look at thugby players)

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Hi all,

IMHO J* have done a service to all disabled pax by following their rules without favour for high profile pax, consistency is what we all want in travel rules.

If everyone else can follow the rules why not Kurt, should he be subject to special rules because of his profile, NO!

Now with Kevin07 and his band of merry idiots on this case it will surely be blown out of all proportion. On the news this morning it was reported that Bill Shorten will be approaching J* over this issue.

J* has rules, like the rest of us he should have followed them or made alternative transport arrangements.

ejb

+4
Agreed, bruised ego.

 

[Moody]

Must be a full moon tonight - AFF is crawling with euphemisms.