[GAWOLF]

On Dec 10th I flew from Atlanta to San Antonio. I was pushed by an Airtran employee to the door of the plane. The chair was supposed to be stowed and returned at San Antonio. When I arrived the chair wasn't there. I filed a report with the baggage claim desk. They gave me a loaner and called me with updates for 5 days. The wheelchair never showed up. When I got home I filed a lost baggage claim with all the supporting information. The Airtran representative sent me a letter saying they were sorry about the mishandling of the wheelchair and if I wasn't happy with that response I should contact the Department of Transportation. I filed a complaint there today. I also read that as a disabled traveler they are required to transport my wheelchair and if they lose it they must pay me the original purchase price. I suppose Airtran doesn't comply with the law. At any rate, I guess the only way to get them to comply with the law is to sue them. It seems like a lot of trouble for $300. Maybe Southwest will fire CARLOS RESTREPOS for being a jerk when they finalize the takeover.

[azstar]

They are ABSOLUTELY required to replace your wheelchair. Don't let them bully you. They obviously aren't familiar with the law, which they should be. File a complaint with ADA and DOT and don't take no for an answer. Good luck.

[GAWOLF]

I filed a disabled person complaint with the Department of Transportation and got a reply back with a copy of the letter they sent to Airtran demanding action. I got a call that day from Airtran saying that I had misread the letter and they were sending me a check for the wheelchair. I didn't misread the letter, but the caller said the paragraph with the settlement must have been inadvertently deleted. At any rate I got the check for what I paid and was able replace the wheelchair with it.