- Air Canada becomes the
first North American carrier to adopt the Hidden Disabilities
Sunflower program for customers with non-visible
disabilities
- New Customer Accessibility Advisory Committee, consisting of
customers with disabilities, will assist in developing further
improvements
MONTREAL, Jan. 30,
2024 /CNW/ - Air Canada said today it has become the
first airline in North America to
adopt the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program to better serve
customers with non-visible disabilities. In announcing the measure,
the carrier also confirmed the first appointments to its new
Customer Accessibility Advisory Committee, which will guide the
carrier as it accelerates its three-year accessibility plan.
"Air Canada is the first
airline in North America to adopt
the Sunflower program, which will enable us to better assist and
serve our customers with non-visible disabilities such as autism.
Our customers make 1.3 million accessibility requests each year and
this initiative further demonstrates our commitment to improve
accessibility, which we are reinforcing through the creation of a
Customer Accessibility Advisory Committee. Consisting of customers
with disabilities from accessibility groups in Canada, the committee will contribute to
heightened awareness and help us identify barriers and develop
solutions," said Tom Stevens, Vice
President, Customer Experience and Operations Strategy, at Air
Canada.
The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is a globally recognized
program that employs the use of a discreet sunflower symbol to
identify customers with non-visible disabilities. By choosing to
wear the Sunflower lanyard, Air Canada customers can indicate to
airline staff that they may require additional assistance, have
specific needs, or simply require more time while travelling. In
support of the program, Air Canada is training and building
awareness amongst all customer-facing employees to recognize and
respond appropriately to participating customers. The lanyard is
available at check-in counters at Hidden Disability Sunflower
member airports in Canada and on
board all flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge and Air
Canada Express.
"We are delighted for Air Canada to become the first airline in
North America to officially launch
the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program. Air Canada and the Sunflower are aligned in our
commitment to ensure that Sunflower wearers are recognized and
receive the additional support, understanding and kindness they
need during their air travel journey," said Paul White, Chief Executive Officer of the
Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme Ltd., a private company based
in the UK that manages the global program.
Paul Rogers, a director on the
board of Brain Injury Canada and a member of the Air Canada
Customer Accessibility Advisory Committee, said: "It gives you
great confidence, in that you know that you can be seen. It's a
very visual tool without me having or anyone having to explain and
have that conversation. And it's reassuring knowing that
there's somebody who's got your back. Who's there and can see
what's going on and help you out."
Customer Accessibility Advisory
Committee
Air Canada committed in its
three-year Air Canada Accessibility Plan to establish an advisory
group of customers with disabilities. The committee will provide
input from the perspective of our customers with disabilities to
help guide Air Canada's path and vision in accessibility as part of
its Elevating the Customer Experience program. The advisory group
will initially have representatives from four Canadian
accessibility groups, including: Donna
Jodhan, Barrier Free Canada; Paul
Rogers, Brain Injury Canada; Isabelle Ducharme, Kéroul; and Joanne Smith, Spinal Cord Injury Canada.
Accelerated Accessibility
Plan
In November 2023, Air Canada
announced it was accelerating the Air Canada Accessibility Plan
through a series of measures to remove barriers and improve the
travel experience for its customers with disabilities. These
included:
Boarding: Customers at the gate who request lift assistance
will be consistently boarded first before all other customers and
proactively seated at the front of the cabin they booked.
Air Canada is investing significantly in new equipment at
Canadian airports, such as lifts, to ensure that we can meet the
expectations of our customers.
Storage of mobility aids: Mobility aids will be
stored in the aircraft cabin when possible. When mobility aids are
stored in the cargo hold, new systems are being put in place to
track them in transit, including a process to confirm mobility aids
are properly loaded before departure. Customers travelling
within Canada are now able to track the journey of their
mobility aid using the Air Canada app.
Training: Enhanced training will be supplied to improve all
aspects of employee interactions with customers with disabilities,
including understanding customer experiences in air travel.
Air Canada's approximately 10,000 airport employees will
receive this training as part of a new annual, recurrent training
program.
Responsibility: Air Canada has created the new senior
position of Director, Customer Accessibility. The director
will lead a team to manage implementation of the company's
accessibility plan as well as provide a resource and common
reference point for responsive management of disability issues.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest airline, the country's flag
carrier and a founding member of Star
Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation
network. Air Canada provides
scheduled service directly to more than 180 airports in
Canada, the United States and Internationally on six
continents. It holds a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax. Air
Canada's Aeroplan program is
Canada's premier travel loyalty
program, where members can earn or redeem points on the world's
largest airline partner network of 45 airlines, plus through an
extensive range of merchandise, hotel and car rental partners. Its
freight division, Air Canada Cargo, provides air freight lift and
connectivity to hundreds of destinations across six continents
using Air Canada's passenger and freighter aircraft. Air
Canada aims to achieve an ambitious net zero emissions goal from
all global operations by 2050. Air Canada shares are publicly
traded on the TSX in Canada and
the OCTQX in the US.
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