Traveling by Wheelchair
Traveling by air has become a nightmare. Aircraft delays, staff shortages, inexperienced flight personnel, baggage and medical equipment damage, canceled flights, missed connections, the list goes on. Traveling, which used to be one of my favorite pastimes even as a wheelchair user, is now an activity that I dread.
I recently returned from a trip to South Carolina for my annual family beach vacation. The flight out was surprisingly easy, the communication was top notch with the airline personnel, my power wheelchair undamaged, no delays or cancellations. The only damage was my medical Hoyer lift was dropped off the conveyor belt damaging a $500 hard case. This was small beans compared to the magnanimous list of items in previous trips I've witnessed every component of my medical equipment damaged or destroyed. So, all in all, this first leg of the trip was what I would call a success.
The return trip was the exact opposite. A six-hour delay back to Denver had me arriving at the airport after midnight. Being the last person off the plane, there was plenty of time for the baggage personnel to safely remove my chair from under the plane and place it by the airplane door. To my dismay after waiting over 30 minutes, I am notified the chair is lost. In addition, there were no personnel to help do a physical lift to get me into the aisle seat to get me off the actual airplane and into my wheelchair, a service the airline and the airport is legally required to provide. The only person willing to help in the situation was the captain. It was his responsibility not to leave the aircraft with one of his flyers still stuck on the plane. We communicated our needs, and he was willing to assist, never batting an eyelash due to his inexperience. I doubt he has ever transferred a quad in his life and maybe will never do again. But he did that night, and I will forever be grateful. Thank you, Captain Dan.
To further the excitement of the 24-hour travel day that never ended, my wheelchair arrived to the jetway damaged and broken, thousands of dollars of damage upon first view with pieces hanging off everywhere. The chair looked like it had been dropped off the conveyor belt and dragged all over the grounds of the airport; it was a very sad sight for me so late at night and so very exhausted. The baggage personnel shrugged his shoulders reporting he didn't know what happened. Even Captain Dan was embarrassed by this sad production of his staff; there was silence on the jetway, and you could hear a pin drop as clearly all parties surrounding me realized that they had really screwed up. Nonetheless, we bent pieces back into place, pulled out our zip ties and duct tape and made it work to get out of the airport and home by 3 o'clock in the morning.
I pulled a 24-hour day that day. The airline damaged almost every part of my power wheelchair including my wheels, armrests, urine bag drainer, headrest, and even my seat cushion cover had somehow been rug burned. There were thousands of dollars’ worth of damage of which incurred multiple phone calls over countless hours to the insurance company and airline to have reported and repaired. I am still awaiting the repairs.
I read an article in June regarding a major US airline that has debuted a prototype with a removable airplane seat to accommodate a power or manual wheelchair. In this scenario, a wheelchair user would simply wheel themselves down the jetway and onto the airplane into the space provided. Using a simple system of hooks to lock into the airplane floor just as you would on a train, on a bus or in a car taking a mere few minutes to complete. Eradicating the need for any kind of transfer and eliminating any potential damage to a wheelchair by inexperienced handlers would prove it to be a huge improvement in the overall experience of traveling by air as a wheelchair user. I can only hope this prototype is accepted, approved, and put into practice as soon as possible so that those with additional needs as myself can continue to enjoy favorite pastimes such as seeing the world, going abroad, and challenging myself to get out of the home and experience my life as I have always dreamed.
Join Our Movement
What started as an idea has become a national movement. With your support, we can influence policy and inspire lasting change.
Become an Advocate
To further the excitement of the 24-hour travel day that never ended, my wheelchair arrived to the jetway damaged and broken, thousands of dollars of damage upon first view with pieces hanging off everywhere. The chair looked like it had been dropped off the conveyor belt and dragged all over the grounds of the airport; it was a very sad sight for me so late at night and so very exhausted. The baggage personnel shrugged his shoulders reporting he didn't know what happened. Even Captain Dan was embarrassed by this sad production of his staff; there was silence on the jetway, and you could hear a pin drop as clearly all parties surrounding me realized that they had really screwed up. Nonetheless, we bent pieces back into place, pulled out our zip ties and duct tape and made it work to get out of the airport and home by 3 o'clock in the morning.
I pulled a 24-hour day that day. The airline damaged almost every part of my power wheelchair including my wheels, armrests, urine bag drainer, headrest, and even my seat cushion cover had somehow been rug burned. There were thousands of dollars’ worth of damage of which incurred multiple phone calls over countless hours to the insurance company and airline to have reported and repaired. I am still awaiting the repairs.
I read an article in June regarding a major US airline that has debuted a prototype with a removable airplane seat to accommodate a power or manual wheelchair. In this scenario, a wheelchair user would simply wheel themselves down the jetway and onto the airplane into the space provided. Using a simple system of hooks to lock into the airplane floor just as you would on a train, on a bus or in a car taking a mere few minutes to complete. Eradicating the need for any kind of transfer and eliminating any potential damage to a wheelchair by inexperienced handlers would prove it to be a huge improvement in the overall experience of traveling by air as a wheelchair user. I can only hope this prototype is accepted, approved, and put into practice as soon as possible so that those with additional needs as myself can continue to enjoy favorite pastimes such as seeing the world, going abroad, and challenging myself to get out of the home and experience my life as I have always dreamed.