Comments on: Flying sick? 4 tips for surviving your trip http://www.elliott.org/the-travel-critic/flying-sick-4-tips-for-surviving-your-trip/ Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott's site. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Anna http://www.elliott.org/the-travel-critic/flying-sick-4-tips-for-surviving-your-trip/comment-page-1/#comment-12311 Anna Tue, 27 May 2008 23:27:00 +0000 http://www.elliott.org/?p=5003#comment-12311 If I can just play devil's advocate for a moment let me approach this from the airlines point of view. I can understand why the airlines would be leery of lying customers that use the "sick excuse" to change a flight to avoid paying the ticket change fee. It is unfortunate that the actions of those people have made the airlines suspicious of everyone claiming to be sick. My experience with NWA/KLM and Delta has been positive when it comes to legimate illness while under the care of a physician. I was once hospitalized during a regular trip to the Former Soviet Republic of Georgia with viral pneumonia. My ticket had to be changed twice with Delta and local airline Georgian Airways. Delta went out of their way to assist me even though my ticket would expire during my hospitalization and GA Airways gladly honored Delta's policies. All either airline asked for was once I was medically cleared to travel that I present a letter from my attending physician when I rebooked my flight. It didn't even seem to matter that the letter was not in english but Georgian. Also, I have asthma and an auto-immune disorder and some of my symptoms are "flu-like" but of course not contagious. During times when I am in a relapse I always ask the airlines I fly with frequently (KLM/NWA, Emirates, Delta, Qatar) to separate me from other passengers if possible so others don't freak out thinking I could make them sick or in the event I have a medical emergency. Everytime I have made this request it has been honored if space is available. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I am happy with the way the airlines I use have treated me in this regard. But don't get me started on horrible children/oblivious parents, smelly people or TSA... If I can just play devil’s advocate for a moment let me approach this from the airlines point of view. I can understand why the airlines would be leery of lying customers that use the “sick excuse” to change a flight to avoid paying the ticket change fee. It is unfortunate that the actions of those people have made the airlines suspicious of everyone claiming to be sick. My experience with NWA/KLM and Delta has been positive when it comes to legimate illness while under the care of a physician.

I was once hospitalized during a regular trip to the Former Soviet Republic of Georgia with viral pneumonia. My ticket had to be changed twice with Delta and local airline Georgian Airways. Delta went out of their way to assist me even though my ticket would expire during my hospitalization and GA Airways gladly honored Delta’s policies. All either airline asked for was once I was medically cleared to travel that I present a letter from my attending physician when I rebooked my flight. It didn’t even seem to matter that the letter was not in english but Georgian.

Also, I have asthma and an auto-immune disorder and some of my symptoms are “flu-like” but of course not contagious. During times when I am in a relapse I always ask the airlines I fly with frequently (KLM/NWA, Emirates, Delta, Qatar) to separate me from other passengers if possible so others don’t freak out thinking I could make them sick or in the event I have a medical emergency. Everytime I have made this request it has been honored if space is available.

Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but I am happy with the way the airlines I use have treated me in this regard. But don’t get me started on horrible children/oblivious parents, smelly people or TSA…

]]> By: Aimee http://www.elliott.org/the-travel-critic/flying-sick-4-tips-for-surviving-your-trip/comment-page-1/#comment-11977 Aimee Mon, 12 May 2008 13:54:52 +0000 http://www.elliott.org/?p=5003#comment-11977 Yeah, I just ran though something like this about a year ago. A week before I was supposed to fly to Florida for my sister's wedding, the doctors thought I was coming down with chicken pox. I was REALLY excited about that, let me assure you. I immediately called Northwest to ask about changing my ticket or getting a voucher for later travel. After all, it's common knowledge that chicken pox is very contagious, and it's not something I'd be able to hide well. :-) The jerk on the phone told me "Wow, that's bad timing. Good luck." They wouldn't offer any resolution, even with a doctor's note. I even directed them to the CDC website where it offers suggestions on what to do with the chicken pox (basically not run around in public) and they told me it wasn't their problem. So I told them I'd be on the plane and get ready for the lawsuits. He got really quiet. It turned out that I didn't have chicken pox at all. However, that put me in a terrible situation. I'd saved for those tickets for 8 months. Throwing that money away was not an option that I could afford. Needless to say, I don't fly Northworst anymore. And I bring lots of hand sanitizer with me because I assume everyone is germy. Yeah, I just ran though something like this about a year ago. A week before I was supposed to fly to Florida for my sister’s wedding, the doctors thought I was coming down with chicken pox. I was REALLY excited about that, let me assure you. I immediately called Northwest to ask about changing my ticket or getting a voucher for later travel. After all, it’s common knowledge that chicken pox is very contagious, and it’s not something I’d be able to hide well. :-) The jerk on the phone told me “Wow, that’s bad timing. Good luck.” They wouldn’t offer any resolution, even with a doctor’s note. I even directed them to the CDC website where it offers suggestions on what to do with the chicken pox (basically not run around in public) and they told me it wasn’t their problem. So I told them I’d be on the plane and get ready for the lawsuits. He got really quiet.
It turned out that I didn’t have chicken pox at all. However, that put me in a terrible situation. I’d saved for those tickets for 8 months. Throwing that money away was not an option that I could afford. Needless to say, I don’t fly Northworst anymore. And I bring lots of hand sanitizer with me because I assume everyone is germy.

]]> By: Joe Farrell http://www.elliott.org/the-travel-critic/flying-sick-4-tips-for-surviving-your-trip/comment-page-1/#comment-11958 Joe Farrell Sun, 11 May 2008 20:12:02 +0000 http://www.elliott.org/?p=5003#comment-11958 arriving in the middle of emergency surgery with your intestines hanging out might work too, but your doctor will not be able to come with you because of the knives they have with them. Yeah, I'd get them to deny you boarding. Unless you are not mobile. When at the airport, ask to see the station manager, and cough and sneeze alot - look as infectious as possible. arriving in the middle of emergency surgery with your intestines hanging out might work too, but your doctor will not be able to come with you because of the knives they have with them.

Yeah, I’d get them to deny you boarding. Unless you are not mobile. When at the airport, ask to see the station manager, and cough and sneeze alot – look as infectious as possible.

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