British Airways has launched a new independent panel aimed at “engaging with community members to improve the end-to-end experience for its customers with accessibility requirements”.
The Customer Access Advisory Panel is made up of people with visible and non-visible disabilities, and will meet regularly to discuss and review new initiatives in a variety of areas, from IT solutions to airports and in-flight experiences.
The panel is chaired by Mary Doyle, a wheelchair user and accessible aviation consultant, and also includes:
- Simon Houghton, behavior change consultant and founder of UnseenAware, who was born deaf
- Paul Hayman, international financial director and frequent traveler. Paul is autistic and finds air travel challenging, and he is eager to help members of the neurodiverse community by educating others.
- Dom Hyams, Global Client Director at Purple Goat, the world's first and only social-first inclusive marketing agency
- Neil Barnfather, blind entrepreneur and accessibility advocate, MBE
- Jenny Berry, content producer, wheelchair user and community manager for Sociability, an app that helps people with disabilities find accessible places.
BA said the panel would play an important role in shaping improvements within the airline and would “provide practical recommendations on best practice for inclusion, informed by evidence and underpinned by lived experience”.
The carrier recently partnered with Signcode, an organization dedicated to ensuring equal access to information, products and services for the deaf and hard of hearing community.
The partnership allows customers to access key travel information in signed video format, including BA's onboard safety report.
BA partners with Signcode to improve accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing customers
Xavier Mascarell, director of customer accessibility strategy at British Airways and founder of the Customer Access Advisory Panel, commented on the news:
“British Airways carries hundreds of thousands of customers requiring additional support each year. We work hard to remove barriers and help customers with accessibility requirements throughout their journey, but we know there is still work to be done.
“The insights and recommendations we receive from our advisory panel members will be vital to improving our accessibility offering. “We want to ensure a positive flying experience for everyone and hope that the learnings we gain through these meetings will drive further change.”
To read our recent article on what is being done to improve accessibility for business travelers, see:
Accessible rights take flight
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