One year ago, Air Canada became the first airline in North America to adopt the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program. The globally recognized initiative employs the use of a discreet sunflower symbol that a person can voluntarily use to signal they have a non-visible disability which may not be immediately apparent, such as autism or chronic pain.
This program is strictly voluntary and is one tool among many to provide comfort and reassurance to customers who choose it. In the year since Air Canada introduced the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, an additional 11 Canadian Airports have joined the initiative to ensure more customers benefit from using the symbol to smooth their travel experience.
Last month, as part of initiatives surrounding the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Air Canada made sunflower support pins available to employees to reinforce to customers with non-visible disabilities they are available to help.
At Air Canada, we are committed to being a leader in accessibility by improving travel and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. We are focused on developing a simpler, more comfortable and more consistent experience for customers with disabilities. To achieve this, Air Canada developed its Accessibility Plan and Feedback Process to identify, remove and prevent barriers both to travel and to employment at our airline for persons with disabilities.
“Everyone deserves to travel and work with dignity, respect and confidence. The Customer and Employee Accessibility teams, in consultation with the community and our employees, re-imagine how we deliver accessibility services at every step of the customer’s journey, with safety at the heart of everything we do,” said Kerianne Wilson, Director, Customer Accessibility at Air Canada.
To gather input for Air Canada’s accessibility strategy, a Customer Accessibility Advisory Committee was formed. It consists of people with disabilities from Canadian organizations that represent a range of disability communities. Air Canada is also engaging with customers with disabilities who travel with the airline to obtain direct feedback from their experiences to identify improvements and affirm priorities.
This week, Air Canada supported a visit to Vancouver International Airport from Spinal Cord Injury BC, in partnership with Vancouver Airport Authority, where we welcomed a group of customers who are adapting to life post spinal cord injury. The purpose of the visit was to provide reassurance and information to these customers, as well as improved awareness and understanding of the needs of customers with disabilities for our employees.
“One of the most important things we are doing as a team is listening. We are bringing lived experiences to the table, learning what is important, where we didn’t get it quite right so we can move towards getting it right,” stated Kerianne.
Joanne Smith, nutritionist specializing in neurological conditions, television producer/reporter and disability advocate said: “As a member of the spinal cord injury community, I was pleasantly surprised when Air Canada reached out to learn more about what our challenges are, what our requirements are when travelling. They are listening and I’ve experienced the improvements they’ve made so far. Keep up the progress.”
Brianna Hennessy, Paris Paralympian and co-flag bearer said: “It is important that airlines are working closely with the community – we feel like we have a voice, we can communicate what our needs are, so there can be changes that can be adapted for some of the challenges we face during travel. Feeling like there’s that human touch, that the staff will take care of me when I get to the airport and they are educated about disabilities.”
Air Canada’s accessibility journey started many years ago and continues today. Air Canada was one of the first airlines to ensure that its modern IFE touch screen systems are accessible to blind or low vision customers through the use of audio functions enabled through the touchscreen. Since then, Air Canada has been expanding and improving accessibility as technology allows, well ahead of Canadian regulations.
As technology and equipment evolve, Air Canada is further refining its customer experience for those with disabilities. Using iPads for transcription, eagle lifts and other specialized equipment to safely transfer customers to and from the aircraft seat, Braille safety feature cards, and closed captioning are a few examples of ways in which Air Canada is listening to the disability community.
Samuel Eichenwald, Manager, Employee Accessibility & Workplace Accommodation at Air Canada said, “When people with disabilities fully participate in society, including workplaces, it benefits everyone as it helps our communities thrive.”
“A friendly and respectful work environment is one of the things that I love most at work. Having a wonderful team that helps support me at work when I have some challenges due to my hearing limitations such as during radio calls which can be very hard for those that are hearing impaired. The people I work with are great and supportive from co-workers to leads and managers support and make me feel valued,” said Marcello Alves Machado, Customer Experience Specialist.
“Training that is human-focused, educational about disabilities, and practical is essential to give our frontline employees the skills to assist customers properly. This includes training on how to use specialized equipment to safely assist customers with mobility disabilities, and how to support all customers with disabilities to travel with dignity,” continued Kerianne.
Air Canada developed a mobility aid tracking feature on the Air Canada app, giving customers peace of mind knowing that their mobility aid has been loaded on their flight. Operational procedures in handling mobility aids from those stowed onboard to those required to be transported in the aircraft belly have been reviewed through a new lens to streamline the processes while ensuring all safety requirements are met.
Investments in specialized lift equipment have been made, resulting in Eagle lifts at most airports across the country, with additional transfer options being reviewed. Training on using the equipment is ongoing.
Also in support of non-visible disabilities, families of children with autism have been introduced to elements of air travel by learning and practicing airport processes through Autism Aviation Days in BC. These collaborations between Air Canada, the Air Canada Foundation, Air Canada’s regional airline partner Jazz, and airport authorities are planned to be expanded to other communities in future.
Air Canada’s most recent accessibility improvement is sustainable straws which are now onboard aircraft for customers who use straws to support independent eating or drinking.
“We are on a journey of continuous improvement to offer consistent, respectful and dignified accessibility services to both our customers and employees. Our team is proudly committed to advancing our accessibility commitments forward. We’re passionate about what we do, and we can’t wait to keep driving positive changes,” concluded Kerianne.
Sam adds, “We see this as an ongoing journey involving all of our employees working together to support one another and our customers. When it comes to ensuring an accessible operation, we are giving our employees the training and tools to be able to support each customer, so that everyone feels confident and comfortable when they travel and work.”
“We need to continue building an all-inclusive community together with airlines, one that fosters a culture of equality and fairness,” concluded Brianna.
