Click here to return to the Articles and Opinion Pieces Index

The following opinion pieces have been published by the President and Commissioners. Reproduction of the opinion pieces must include reference to where the opinion piece was originally published.

Three's company for Jetstar

Author: Graeme Innes AM, Disability Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission

Published in ABC Ramp Up, Thursday 25 August 2011

Jetstar's disgraceful treatment of a group of people with multiple sclerosis last week - refusing to let them fly because of the "two wheelchairs" policy - caused me to consider how far this policy could go.

The "two wheelchairs" policy, applied by budget airlines such as Jetstar and Tiger, is justified by the argument that - because fewer staff are available, and turn-around times are shorter - airlines can only assist two people using wheelchairs on to the plane, and store two wheelchairs in the hold.

But really, for such an imaginative group as airline executives, this approach could be used to achieve much more. After all, isn't the main objective of airlines to have fewer people on their planes?

Let's start with babies. They have equipment - prams and strollers - which needs to be stored in the hold, and they need assistance onto the aircraft. So let's only have two of them. And think of the benefits - much less distraction from babies crying, and all that sooky baby talk from parents and other admirers in the seat next to you.

But why stop there? Take footballers. They usually carry a lot of equipment. And while most of them can get onto planes under their own steam, some need assistance off the plane after enjoying the alcoholic benefits of business class.

Now I know you'll say that an AFL team of twenty would have to fly to their games on ten separate planes. But this is really a small sacrifice to make in the cause of meeting the needs of airlines.

Perhaps we should go further. How about limiting each plane to two flight attendants? After all, they just block up the aisles with those annoying trollies, try to sell us junk food at inflated prices, and interrupt our enjoyment of movies or music with annoying safety announcements - made by ageing entertainers pretending to be airline captains. So, two of them, and a maximum of two announcements per flight.

But wait, there's more. How about two parliamentarians? They usually carry a lot of political baggage, and probably expect assistance on and off the plane, whether they need it or not.

And finally, let's only have two airline executives. They would need large bags to carry the large salaries they earn, as they busily retrench Australian workers, and I'm sure they need some kind of assistance, even if it is only in running an airline, instead of getting on and off it.

In fact, let's just re-name it the Noahs policy, as in "noassistance", and only have two of everything on each plane. After all, the way we Australians with disability are treated by airlines we might as well be travelling in the time of Noah's Ark.

Graeme Innes is Australia's Disability Discrimination Commissioner, and wannabe funny man.