Table of Contents
Alaska Airlines: Working to Make Travel More Accessible for All
Credit: Steve Nelson, Accessibility & Diversity Program Manager, Alaska Airlines
Accessibility in Air Travel – The Problem Statement
Airline travel can be challenging and cumbersome for individuals with disabilities, especially business travelers with tight and demanding schedules and little time to plan. Alaska Airlines is a major US airline that offers a premium product experience across several different travel points, making it an ideal option for business travel. Like many airlines, Alaska has several different lines of business that each play a part in accessibility. An airline's unique challenge is that the “travel experience” goes far beyond the aircraft itself. A Business traveler begins their journey with an airline the moment they book their flight, then they must travel through the airport, navigate potential gate changes, board and fly on the aircraft, and then gather any luggage or materials before heading to their destination.
Creating a Central Function and Asking the Experts
Alaska sought to make this experience more seamless by connecting all of the many divisions and stakeholders who each manage a segment of the travel experience through a central “Disability Office.” The Disability Office includes employees with many years of experience supporting accessibility work in several industries and is led by a manager with Autism. This is important because while many people advocate for accessibility and understand the lack of access is a problem, only those with the lived experience of navigating an inaccessible world will truly be able to help you uncover problems. For example, it may seem (to a sighted person) that adding Braille text to any situation will make that situation accessible for a blind individual, however, very few blind individuals read Braille. Additionally, Braille requires the use of two hands, so if you are putting Braille placards in an area where the user will likely not have free hands, it is likely not the best accessible option. A sighted person may not know this, but a blind person will. The blind community can help guide your thinking so that you always apply the best tools and options.
The office provides consultation services and guidance, connects stakeholders with disability nonprofits, and gathers focus groups of travelers with disabilities who can share their experiences and guide the development of new technologies and improvements to existing policies and procedures. The key is to always seek best practices and guidance from the communities we are looking to serve.
The Process of Creating a Disability Office
Forming the disability office began with a proposal highlighting the unique challenges travelers with disabilities experience. It looked at other organizations, both within and outside of the travel sector, and compared the advances those groups have made compared to the fairly stagnant accessibility evolution seen in the airline industry. There is an adage made popular during the COVID-19 Pandemic within the disability community that reads, “Nothing about us, without us.” This adage suggests that folks with disabilities should always be involved in strategy and decisions involving their access. We used this phrase and some supporting data found through online forums to advocate, not only for the office but to ensure people close to the disability community were involved. Leaders at Alaska were thrilled to approve the formation of the new office and placed it under the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion arm of the People Team.
Developing an Accessibility Handbook and Inclusive Design Methodologies
Since its inception, the Disability Office has worked with an accessibility nonprofit to develop guides that outline Alaska’s ambitious accessibility goals in the built environment. These guides include images, outlines, and measurements needed to exceed basic regulations and create a more efficient and comfortable travel experience. Part of this process included surveying travelers to learn more about their specific needs and to help us understand our opportunities. The images and notes in the guide make it easier for planners and designers to visualize what an ideally accessible space should look like.
Changes to the check-in and bag drop experience have already started to roll out, and travelers can be sure that each new element that is added to the travel experience has been tested by people with various disabilities because all travelers deserve to travel with dignity and freedom. Some of these tools include the electronic bag tag, which allows guests to quickly drop off their luggage after they arrive at the airport. The activation is done by simply touching the phone used for check-in to the electronic bag tag, which has an antenna that powers and reads the information transmitted from the phone. The e-paper bag tag’s screen will then display the guest’s flight information. For travelers who do not use electronic bag tags, self-tag kiosks are available that make the process of tagging luggage as easy as scanning their mobile boarding pass. More changes are coming which will further improve the traveler experience, and the Disability Office has formed a team of travelers with disabilities who are helping designers to better understand their needs.
Closing Summary
Our tip to anyone involved in the travel process is clear. Include people with disabilities in your decision-making. Create a “standard” for what the traveler should expect from your product, and then ask your audience of people with disabilities how to ensure they are included in that standard. Then - KEEP TALKING to your audience because needs can change over time, and you want to be ahead of those changes. Create a guide with images, measurements, and instructions so that expectations are clear and simple to understand. This will also help to ensure consistency and accuracy. Tell the “why” behind your accessibility efforts so your teams bringing them to life will believe in them – and your travelers will, too. A great way to do this is to update your resources with verbatim statements from your consumers. Share the success stories! .
Examples from the “Accessible Facilities Handbook”
The Accessible Facilities Handbook is designed to provide guidance when designing or redesigning spaces at Alaska Airlines corporate buildings, or in airports. The guidance is designed to provide solutions that are often more inclusive than what is required by law. The guidance is based on customer feedback and the expertise of the nonprofit organization that helped design the book. Additionally, there is a “quick reference” section that is more focused on legally required accessibility requirements.
