(31/01/24)
Air Canada has become the first
airline in North America to adopt the Hidden Disabilities
Sunflower program to better serve customers with non-visible
disabilities.
The flag carrier has also
confirmed the first appointments to its new Customer Accessibility
Advisory Committee, which will guide the airline as it accelerates
its three-year accessibility plan.
“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.
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.
Air Canada Boeing 787-8 reg: C-FRTU. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com
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.
“It gives you
great confidence, in that you know that you can be seen,” said
Paul Rogers, a director on the board of Brain Injury Canada and a
member of the Air Canada Customer Accessibility Advisory
Committee. “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.”
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 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, K roul; and Joanne Smith, Spinal
Cord Injury Canada.
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 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.
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.
“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,” said Tom Stevens, VP Customer Experience and
Operations Strategy, Air Canada. “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.”
