You know, digging a little further I think I might know why Southwest
Airlines didn't just "do the right thing."  The plaintiffs went straight to
court.  They never, as far as I can tell, made the request direct to
Southwest.

If that's the case, then what would the consequences have been potentially
for the airlines if they had basically said "no contest" and made their site
more accessible?  Might they have opened themselves up for punitive damages
or more suits?

I was right in the middle of writing Southwest a letter asking them why they
didn't just choose to fix the problem when the above hit me as a
possibility...

Frankly I'm plenty tee'd off at Southwest anyway because of their
potentially humiliating extra fare requirement for fat people. (Images of
the ticket counter person whipping out a tape measure...) Southwest used to
be my airline of choice - I'm always early and appreciated being "rewarded"
for that by getting on the plane and choosing my seat first.  And it
wouldn't surprise me if Southwest just didn't have a brain and realize their
lack of sufficient web access for blind people was, if you'll excuse me,
short-sufghted.

But what risk would they take 'fessing up in this instance?

Hmmmm...

Nan Hawthorne


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