Welcome to Discussions

Posted on: Mon, Aug 27 2007 4:50 PM

Posted by: Santa Cruz Soul Surfer Posts: 65

I know that this can be a daunting task for many, especially if you don't have the chance to travel often. For some, the simple fear of the unknown is the primary reason they don't travel.... These fears can be addressed and overcome with ease, if you take some simple steps (no pun intended) ahead of time. I recently found a video short that tackles many of the issues that concern most paraplegic/tetraplegic travelers.  I figure this would be a good jumping off point for this discussion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3Q-59pJW2s

Posted on: Mon, Aug 27 2007 9:42 PM

Posted by: Cameronballensky Posts: 23

wow great find there. that will help a lot.

:) 

Posted on: Sat, Sep 1 2007 1:58 PM

Posted by: BurnThisCube Posts: 253

Thanks Christian,

This video truely captures the experience. As the first ones on and the last ones off the plane, we like to watch the baggage handlers ( called throwers in the trade) struggle to get the motorized chair onto and off of the converor belt. They've come a long way through the years (at most major airports) and now know; not to lay the chair on it's side, and how to disengage the motors.

In the future you might want to post this topic under travel as it relates to many others besides SCI.

Bruce

Click the link below to check out my Disaboom blog posts:

http://community.disaboom.com/tags/DISALIFE

Disaboom Community Moderator


My dog is usually pleased with what I do, because she is not infected with the concept of what I "should" be doing. ~Lonzo Idolswine

Posted on: Thu, Dec 6 2007 12:45 PM

Posted by: PaulieWalnuts Posts: 69

Great post, but how did they get the video camera past the airlines, let alone the TSA? (Transportation Security Authority) I can't even get my tube of Colgate® by them, seriously, I'm sure they all were very cooperative. Recently, this past fall, I had to fly twice to Florida from Chicago. I bring my manual wheelchair with my "Batman" logo stickers, stuck to either side. Also it's important to print your name and phone number in white paint magic marker on the side panel of the chair. And a luggage tag looped around  the wheelchair tubular structure is also good when your wheelchair is stowed in the luggage compartment. 

My two trips to Florida in a month were memorable in terms of the TSA. It was on the very last leg, the return excursion that the red flags went off. The TSA singled me out this time for a rather extensive inspection. They go through all the routine stuff with that "magic wand" thingy. They pass it over and around the wheelchair and your body like a conductor at a symphony. Then they swipe a Clearasil® like pad  all over your shoes.... I didn't know my sneakers had acne!? Then everything is fed into the computer for the results. The TSA guy comes back, frisks me again, but this time with a more in-depth, PERSONAL fingerly expression, one that can surely make any paralyzed man rise out of their chair! Then the wheelchair nylon backing and seat cushions are examined and felt thoroughly. Another TSA person says "the x-ray showed books in your bag, we have to examine them!"  Oh Boy! What a crime! Ya see, going to Florida, twice in a month for a disabled person is a RED FLAG for the TSA, whether they're checking for drugs, weapons or explosives. I was going for real estate reasons, so I will be going again a few more times, very frequently. I'm sure I'm in the TSA's data base, no question!

So disabled people in wheelchairs who fly, take notice! The TSA will probably remember you! 

Posted on: Fri, Feb 22 2008 12:39 PM

Posted by: aeris311 Posts: 9

This video was helpful on some important parts, but mostly on what the ariport can give you information on.  When I went to arizona from baltimore i had a HORRIBLE experience.  So, for those of you who don't get a seat right by the door, or cant walk the short distance to your seat, here's some bits from my experience flying:

1) security.  I could still kinda stand at the time, barely, and was unfortunate enough to reveal this to airport security.  The security guard made me stand a good 2 feet away from my chair, and took about 5 minutes to both run the hand held detector over me AND give me a pat down.  I was quite distressed and hardly managing to keep my balance.  Another security guard working with her was actually chuckling at my situation.  This was at the baltimore airport

2) if you don't have someone travelling with you to help with transfers, take a good look at that little cart thing that the guy in the video pauses by just before he boards, You'll be strapped to that thing to get you to your seat.  At the baltimore airport the guy transferring me was probably about 50+ year old and treated me like luggage.  he didn't ask what was best for me in transferring, and in pushing me down the aisle started jabbing my thigh into an armrest, when i reached out to move my leg he told me to 'keep my arms in' and chose not to hear my complaint about him.  Pheonix airport was more pleasent though; the guy there was curteous, asked the best way to transfer me and complied to that, and tried his best to relate himself and be aware of my situation.

3) seating.  if it's your first time flying, and you don't have the extra hundreds for first class, you're giong to need to be told just how small airplane seating is in coach. the seat infront of you is going to be angled so that the headrest is directly above your knees.  With the way I adust my weight, that left no room for any meaningful adjustments.  Add to this the extra hour due to preboarding, and the extra half hour at your destination you'll be waiting for everyone else to leave the plane, you can expect to be sore.

4) baggage claim.  They didn't lose my chair, and i didn't end up with flat tires considering my chair has solid tires, luckily air tires seem to be a dying trend.  However, it takes SO long to get the other passengers off the plane, and then to wait for my chair (which was put in cargo FIRST, therefore taken out last) to get back to me.  The phoenix airport doesn't account for all of that time in thier labels for baggage claim and my flight number was gone by the time I got down there, took an extra 45 minutes after getting there to find someone who knew where my luggage would be.  Although that's really my only complaint about pheonix airport.

I know that flying with a disability doesn't HAVE to be a bad experience, but those are some things I didn't know to watch out for to keep it from being so. 

Posted on: Mon, Jun 16 2008 4:55 PM

Posted by: Finetooner Posts: 339

The stories I have heard and the replies throughout Disaboom make me wince.  I've been working around major airports for 40 years helping you and your assistive devices get from here to there with a minimum of hassle, loss, or damage.

Let's face it; wheelchairs and air travel don't get along too well......especially if yours is a powered one! That's my job here at ASA: To make your travel experience a better one by proper training and enlightment of the workforce. 

Having worked Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International Airport for the past 20 years, one of the more distressing issues I've dealt with is contract workers extorting "fees" for transferring passengers using wheelchairs from one gate to the next.  I don't know who might be reading this but that service is supposed to be absolutely FREE.  A reasonable tip for a contract worker getting you from one gate to the next as quickly and efficiently as possible might be in order but never-never pay for the wheelchair service.  It is free by law.

 And TSA? They can, by the very nature of their job, antagonize practically anyone.

Ask me anything;  If I don't have an answer, I'll do some research and get you one. 

Jeffrey Ward
Facilitator/Designer - Below Wing & Contract Partners
Airport Customer Service Training & Standards
Atlantic Southeast Airlines
P. 404-856-1494 C. 678-697-0183
A-Tech Center
990 Toffie Terrace
Atlanta GA 30354-1363
jeffrey.ward@flyasa.com
"Attitude determines Altitude"

Posted on: Wed, Jul 2 2008 3:00 PM

Posted by: lorylin Posts: 4

Mr. Ward,

  Do the same rules on public busses apply to airplanes?  For example, can a passenger deny a vacant seat next to a restroom to a handicapped person?  (This happened to me on Ryan Air in 2007.)

 When flight attendants will not assist a handicapped person, what is our recourse?

Thanks,

LL

Posted on: Thu, Jul 3 2008 12:33 PM

Posted by: Finetooner Posts: 339

Hi Lorylin:

According to 14 CFR, 382:

If you book a reservation 24 hours or more in advance and notify the airline that you have a qualifying disability and require special seating arrangements, they are required to block a seat for you somewhere on the aircraft, but not necessarily next to the restrooms. (We try to accommodate as close as possible)

Flight attendants are required to assist passengers with disabilities with routine assistance, for instance, assisting with movement from/to seats, (including the restroom) identifying food, opening food containers, retrieving carry-one items.  By law they are not allowed to assist a passenger with eating, assisting passengers with actual toileting, or providing medical services.

So, the answer to your question is no, if there is a vacant seat near a restroom that is not occupied, you may sit there.  As a matter of fact, if there is dispute over seating involving a passenger with a qualifiying disability,  the non-disabled passenger in the dispute will be reaccommodated. You do NOT have to be forced to sit in a particular seat on a plane as result of your disability!

Remember, you have the LAW on your side in the form of the "Air Carrier Access Act" and if you have ANY complaint about the way your are being treated by uniformed airline personnel, ask for a Complaint Resolution Official.  Let me if you have any further questions.  I'm out here trying to make a small difference.