Stand Your Ground

(I’m waiting to board my flight when my name is paged, so I walk over to the gate. Note that I am able-bodied.)

Flight Attendant: “Miss [My Name]?”

Me: “Yes?”

Flight Attendant:  “Another passenger has requested wheelchair assistance, too, but we only have one chair. We’ll board you first, so just wait here by the gate.”

Me: “I don’t use a wheelchair.”

Flight Attendant:  “Are you sure?”

Me: *looking down at myself, standing* “Pretty sure, yes.”

Flight Attendant:  “Well your booking came through first, so you will go first in the wheelchair.”

Me: “Seriously, I don’t use a wheelchair. There must just be an error on my booking.”

Flight Attendant:  “Are you giving me permission to board them ahead of you? It’s your call. Like I said, you get first dibs; your booking came through first.”

Me: “I do not need a wheelchair. By all means, board them first.”

Flight Attendant:  “Because your booking says you require assistance, I HAVE to follow what it says. Just wait here, I’ll get you in the chair as soon as I can.”

(I decided to just join the line of people standing, and boarded on my own two feet without any intervention from the other FAs. Not surprisingly, she tried to wheel me off when we landed, too!)