Wheelchair Scam

[hk blues]

16 hours ago, JJReyes said:

 I saw one woman with six carryons last year.

Why would the airline allow this unless she paid the additional costs which is fair enough if she's paid for it?

[MotorSarge]

On 6/28/2023 at 7:21 AM, JJReyes said:

A Southwest Airlines passenger observed and later complained about an apparent scam.  20 passengers were using wheelchairs for boarding the aircraft, but only 3 required wheelchairs when disembarking.  Most of the economy seats on Southwest Airlines are first come, first served.  Priority boarding allows you to select.  A family of 5 gets grandma to seat in a wheelchair and the entire group gets priority boarding.  It also happens in Las Vegas.  People rent motorized wheelchairs to avoid long waiting lines at the buffet restaurant.  They can use the separate entry reserved for the casino's VIPs.

Something similar takes place on Philippine Airlines flights to and from the United States.  There are usually more than 25 passengers in wheelchairs, many don't have visible disabilities.  At local airports, the wheelchair attendants are forbidden to accept tips, so the exchange has to be palm to palm, but many don't tip.  My question is, "Are Filipinos ahead of Americans in starting a new scam?"

I actually seen this in the news yesterday and this morning....

[JJReyes]

9 hours ago, hk blues said:

Why would the airline allow this unless she paid the additional costs which is fair enough if she's paid for it?

Filipinos hate direct confrontation.  Why would someone who is merely an employee of a large corporation be the person to accost a passenger regarding a rule violation?  It is best to ignore it.    

[hk blues]

On 6/30/2023 at 11:47 PM, JJReyes said:

Filipinos hate direct confrontation.  Why would someone who is merely an employee of a large corporation be the person to accost a passenger regarding a rule violation?  It is best to ignore it.    

Accosting passengers?  My goodness, it's hardly accosting someone to point out the rules - the same as happens in airports all over the world every minute of every day. 

It's most certainly not best to ignore it - easier yes, best no. The constant turning a blind eye attitude is not conducive.

 

[Jack Peterson]

21 minutes ago, hk blues said:

The constant turning a blind eye attitude is not conducive.

 

 I totally agree hk, if anything it Compounds the issue

[Possum]

2 hours ago, hk blues said:

My goodness, it's hardly accosting someone to point out the rules - the same as happens in airports all over the world every minute of every day. 

It's most certainly not best to ignore it - easier yes, best no. The constant turning a blind eye attitude is not conducive.

Perhaps that's one of the reasons traffic rules aren't obeyed.

[JJReyes]

6 hours ago, Possum said:

Perhaps that's one of the reasons traffic rules aren't obeyed.

Our son had an interesting observation while visiting the Philippines.  He was stressed out as a car passenger the first two days watching the competitive driving and obvious traffic rules violations.  He calmed down after realizing that there is a hidden code among drivers that even permits near accidents, but it seldom happens, so long as everyone observes the non-transparent rules.  Of course, he wouldn't dare drive in Manila because in Hawaii, nearly everyone is courteous.  He would cause a traffic jam allowing other vehicles to pass first even if he already had a green light.  Philippine drivers don't obey traffic rules, but there are rules.

[Possum]

2 hours ago, JJReyes said:

He calmed down after realizing that there is a hidden code among drivers that even permits near accidents, but it seldom happens, so long as everyone observes the non-transparent rules.  Of course, he wouldn't dare drive in Manila because in Hawaii, nearly everyone is courteous. 

Therein lies the problem. Where can one access the 'hidden code'? There is the LTO law which is largely not enforced and then the 'hidden code' which has no basis in law. In Hawaii people obey the law because they never know when some traffic officer will stop them for disobeying the law, otherwise things would revert to mayhem. In the Philippines there is no proactive traffic enforcement outside of the NCR. They are reactive, they show up after an accident but do nothing to prevent accidents. I live in the capitol city of one of the largest provinces on Luzon. While my wife was shopping I parked in front of the police headquarters and laughed as I saw many people on motorcycles drive by with no tags or helmets in addition to many cars with no license plates.

A Filipino friend of mine said you could abolish the police and no one would notice the difference, however shabu might be harder to find.

Edited July 2, 2023 by Possum

[JJReyes]

36 minutes ago, Possum said:

Therein lies the problem. Where can one access the 'hidden code'? There is the LTO law which is largely not enforced and then the 'hidden code' which has no basis in law. In Hawaii people obey the law because they never know when some traffic officer will stop them for disobeying the law, otherwise things would revert to mayhem. In the Philippines there is no proactive traffic enforcement outside of the NCR. They are reactive, they show up after an accident but do nothing to prevent accidents. I live in the capitol city of one of the largest provinces on Luzon. While my wife was shopping I parked in front of the police headquarters and laughed as I saw many people on motorcycles drive by with no tags or helmets in addition to many cars with no license plates.

I have been away too long and like my son, prefer to have someone else drive.  The "hidden code" is now a mystery to me.  But one example is crossing the street where you are not allowed to.  The pedestrian first tries to make eye contact with the approaching driver(s).  Or he might make a hand gesture to get their attention.  The vehicles will continue moving forward but adjust their speed to avoid (barely) the pedestrian.  

[hk blues]

14 hours ago, JJReyes said:

...so long as everyone observes the non-transparent rules.