Business

In-flight movies prompt lawsuit

02-17-2003

HOUSTON A hearing-impaired teenager from Houston has taken on the airline business because the carriers don’t offer in-flight movies with captions. A federal lawsuit was filed earlier this week on behalf of Sam Bynum, an 18-year-old high school senior who is severely hearing-impaired and relies upon captioning to watch TV and movies. It contends Continental, American, United and several other carriers are violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by not accommodating him and more than 25 million others who have a severe hearing loss. He hopes to have the lawsuit certified as a class action. A spokeswoman at American Airlines said company policy prohibits officials from commenting on pending litigation.