To Whom It May Concern
Disability Assistance, West Jet
disabilityassistance@westjet.com

My name is Peg Mercer and I often travel with West Jet. I am a blind person and use screen-reading software to access information on the computer screen.

I often purchase airline tickets online. For several years, I appreciated the efforts that West Jet took to implement measures of accessibility to their site. The booking page for visually-impaired people was easy to access as the link for it appeared on the home page.

More recently, this booking page for visually impaired people has been moved inside an area under “Accessibility” which makes it harder to locate straightaway. The current issue that is most problematic with this booking page, however, is that now the date fields for choosing departure and return dates are no longer accessible to navigate by those using screen-reading software. The consequence of this current problem is that users of screen-reading software can no longer carry out online bookings on West Jet’s site.

I understand that web site content and design may need updating from time to time. It is very important, however, that the standard of accessibility for all users remain constant and not be compromised as a result of updating. I will add that ideally, accessibility standards need to be built in to the site globally so that accessible design is present in all areas of the site and not restricted to segregated sections of the site. In this way, the site would be easy for anyone to utilize from any page of it.

I trust that West Jet may consult with experts in web design that conform to accessible standards in order that all your site is fully and equally usable by all customers and that the standard does not change when updates are made.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of this important matter

Regards,

Peg Mercer
Pmercer51@shaw.ca

Cc: Access for Sight Impaired Consumers
Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians
Canadian Council of the Blind