The Why Behind Accessibility
By Kerianne Wilson, Director, Customer Accessibility at Air Canada.
When people ask me why we built Air Canada’s Accessibility Plan, I don’t start with regulations, timelines or targets. I start with the conversations.
I remember sitting with customers who generously shared stories that were honest, unfiltered and, at times, difficult to hear. Some spoke about unpredictability when travelling with a mobility aid. Others described digital barriers that made the very first step of the journey harder than it needed to be. Many told us what it felt like depending on processes that lacked consistency or what it felt like when an employee took the time to listen and changed the entire experience. Those stories were the heartbeat behind this work. They grounded us in the reality that accessibility isn’t an enhancement but an essential service quality.
We co‑designed the plan with customers and employees with disabilities. That shaped what we prioritized and how we approached each decision. The feedback we heard in those early sessions formed the foundation of the plan, and the guidance of our Accessibility Advisory Committee ensured it evolved with the needs and lived experience of the people it was designed to support.
What moved me most were the individual moments that stayed with me long after the workshops ended. I think back to Isabelle Ducharme, Chair of the Board of Directors at Kéroul, who told me what it feels like to hand over a mobility aid and hope for its safe arrival, “The handling of my mobility aid is one of the most stressful events of any travel. My motorized wheelchair is molded to my specific needs and to the shape of my body. If it does not arrive in one piece or arrives with broken parts, I cannot function until a solution is found to fix it, and I lose all my autonomy.” Or Donna Jodhan, President of Sterling Creations, explained how fixing digital barriers early in the process can ripple through an entire journey: “The building of confidence does not depend on fixing one barrier, but it is a step in the right direction. The building of confidence should be viewed as carrying out a series of dedicated steps.”
These and other stories, underscored by their courage, their candour and their generosity, pushed us to redesign systems, re‑examine assumptions and embed accessibility into every part of the travel journey. From making improvements in key areas including mobility aid handling and creating greater digital access to making communication clearer and support more predictable, every change was shaped by real people who trusted us with their experience.
This series is an invitation to step behind the scenes of that work: to see why we built the plan, what we learned, what we changed, where we still have more to do and how customer insight continues to guide every step. More than anything, it’s a reflection of the belief that travel should be safe, predictable and dignified for everyone.
I’m grateful to everyone who shared their story. You are the reason this work matters and the reason it continues.
Join me as we dive in.