February 16, 2008 tommoossa said:

Thank you for this excellent article.  I would like to add a few comments from my perspective as a C4-5 quad.  I recently made my first airline flight in 30 years and was surprised at how cramped the seating was.  The aisle chair seemed excessively short and, having no trunk muscles, I almost fell out despite being belted in.  It was a bit frightening.

If I fly again I will try to scrape up the extra money to sit in first-class to allow more room for transfers.

On the other hand, all of the airline staff I encountered was very helpful, and the gentlemen lifting me into and out of my seat did an excellent job.

 

February 18, 2008 jennincincy said:

I have flown many times.  I have Spinal Muscular Atrophy and can't transfer myself.  My wheelchair is a Permobil.  While flying is the most convenient means of transportation as far as speed is concerned, it's certainly not the most convenient as far as transferring is concerned.  The staff does try very hard, and while I understand their difficulty with the situation, I have to say that I wish the FAA would let airlines figure out a better system.  They always want to do the "two-man lift" on me, and because I have very little arm strength, this doesn't work for me.  It's inevitible.  I always end up hurt one way or another.

All in all, excellent article.  I also appreciated that you spoke about manual as well as powered chairs.  Many articles on this issue forget about the powered chairs.

 

February 19, 2008 scmiller said:

This was a very good article.  I fly at 1-3 times a year.  I would like to add a couple of things

1.  Be prepared--When going through security have your ID and boarding pass out.  You can put them in a clear plastic holder around your neck.  They make them for international travellers.  

Take off your shoes, coat and detach all bags from your chair BEFORE getting in line, if possible

2.  Don't travel late in the day especially if returning home or making a connection.  A cancelled flight is always possible.  If you are not at home, finding a place to sleep and transportation could be impossible,  The airlines won't do that for you.

3.  Be firm but be POLITE.  Yes we have rights but we have responsibilities too.  If you receive poor service, by all means complain.  But for the most part the people who are helping you are doing their job.  Remember to tip when applicable and to commend above average service

 

March 28, 2008 Pengman said:

I don't know if this is the right place, but...

My wife and I will be flying overseas (Vancouver to Hong Kong to Sydney, Australia then home later.

I have been using a wheelchair since 1986 and because of recent damaging falls and the fact airline washrooms are meant for anorexic Twiggies, I will need to wear, for lack of better description, a diaper and pad for the long flights.

Does anyone have tips for putting those on in airports? My wife does it when needed at home but we are looking for help so we can last a long flight without embarrassment.

Thnx

Pengman

 

April 25, 2008 tommoossa said:

There's hope for the future!  Check out Mobility Air Transport at

http://www.iflymat.org/

 

May 18, 2008 modgo said:

My husband becomes very uncomfortable when sitting in one position for even an hour. (He has a power-tilt chair.) For this reason, we are very reluctant to fly.  Even if we got first class seats, I anticipate that there would be a problem. I am also worried about skin integrity. We are unable to participate in some important family events because we cannot fly.  Does anyone have suggestions or comments that might be helpful?

 

June 2, 2008 lonelywolf said:

i travel often between detroit and los angeles. i still hate the experience but it is a shorter less hectic journey once you get used to it(they airlines practices). i found that northwest has thier act together.at the curb you ask for wheelchair assistance. they will bring you a wheelchair with an attendent that will see you through to the gate. they wiz you through security.they will ask you if you can stand. if you can't they will supply a tsa agent to assist you. after that theyou are escoted to your gate. the flight attendant will make sure you have a chair upon your arrival. they will take you to baggage claim and even out to your ground transport. the are extremely helpful. i tip them a few bucks for the trouble.  onr trick is to try to get non stop flights. less chance of problems.    eventhough i still do not treasure air travel as i once did. it is adecent expierience. some airports are better than others but all are eager to assist.

have a great flight

 

July 15, 2008 FLGuyinWheels said:

I have a question... Why can't we just travel in our own wheelchairs?  I have had so many issues when I travel, like my last trip, I had gone from Miami to Santiago, Chile on Lan Chile Airlines.  I had no problems in boarding the plane in Miami, but when it was time to come back to Miami, I called the airline to make sure that the airline was aware of my needs at the gate. So, I got to the counter of Lan in Santiago, I gave my ticket to the ticket counter, she said, "you need to go to American Airlines since this ticket was a Codeshare flight!"  American Airlines in Santiago has the worst service ever.  If I knew it was a code sharing flight I would have not taken this flight. Anyways, I needed to be back in Miami for my job on the next day.

Let me explain what happened next.  I had to wait in line for over an hour to check in my luggage & my bath chair. After I waited to get thru the long line, at the counter, the person who assigned my seat had me in aisle #35 a.  Almost half way in the plane, but I had purchased seat #9 c in the other plane. I had to be transferred onto the aisle chair.  I weight 245 lbs, since I am 6 ft tall plus I get spasms  if I have something in front of me.  The crew of my flight was trying to find another seat for me.  Eventually I got on the plane with the Aisle chair struggling to get me on. The person who I asked to switch seats with understood & he moved so I could be more comfortable.  

My poor hips were so sore when I got off the plane because the aisle chair was so thin that I was hitting my hips every time we would pass an aisle to get on & off.  Why can't the FAA permit that we stay on our wheelchair to travel in Airplanes?

 

August 22, 2008 Anonymous said:

Modgo, we recently traveled to Europe with a friend in a power-tilt chair. He had just invested in an air cushion that was programmed to change pressure points at certain intervals.  He said the cushion enabled him to travel the transatlantic flight with no problems - even when there was a long delay in his transfer.   He literally said that it changed his life. I think the name was Air pulse or something like that. You may want to check it out.  

 

September 3, 2008 mauricec said:

As a lower leg amputee I  have a pair of trousers with a 20 inch zip on the inside seam, this enabled me to simply unzip my trousers for inspection at the security gate.