Wheelchair vacations

Vacation Dreams 

Airline Planning for your Florida Vacation

  Special Needs create special consideration when planning the airline portion of your Florida vacation.

The average air traveler has no limitations with seating, medical conditions, special assistance, or dietary requirements for their time in the air. Introduce a wheelchair, ventilator, special needs and/or nursing staff into this equation, and it becomes appropriate to use the special services available to the restricted abilities travelers in the air.

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 Wheelchairs & Walking Disabilities....

Almost every airline will make special seating and boarding arrangements for wheelchair bound travelers and those with special walking disabilities. Most will make these arrangements well in advance, and it is very important that the airline representatives be made aware of any special considerations at the time you order your tickets.

Walking disability fliers will be issued special boarding passes allowing early entry to the airplane, and eliminating the need to stand in long boarding lines, file into the plane with the main body of ticket holders, and preferential seating for easier access to and from the boarding gangway.

Wheelchair bound fliers also have special considerations when loading and disembarking. Most airports have standard wheelchairs available for use in the terminals, allowing the fliers to check their chairs as baggage and retrieve the chairs in the baggage claim. For these fliers flight attendants and airport personnel will meet them at the airplane doorway with the complementary wheelchair, and escort them to the baggage area for retrieval of their checked chair.

For fliers with special adaptive chairs, such as ventilator chairs or postural chairs, airport personnel will allow the flier to load at the airplane door from their chair. Ambulatory assistance is usually supplied by the client for plane access and disembarking. Most airline personnel will not accept the liability of the special care and seating of non ambulatory fliers.

After you load, your special chair will be hand loaded into the cargo bay of the airplane. As soon as the plane lands and is at the gate, airport personnel will retrieve your special wheelchair from the cargo bay and deliver it directly to the airplane doors. Again, it is your responsibility to get on and off the airplane to your chair, but most airlines will go very far out of their way to help the non-ambulatory flier negotiate the airports.

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 Oxygen & Ventilator planning for Air travel....

No airlines will allow your gaseous or liquid O2 on their aircraft. When you place your ticket order (preferably 4-6 weeks in advance) be sure to tell them you have special medical circumstances, and they will either #1/ tell you they can not handle your air travel, or #2/ refer you directly into their Special Medical Needs Desk.

These folks entire job is to make your air travel simple. They are experienced in handling special travel restrictions, and will flag your party for special boarding and care provisions for the flight crew. Usually arrangements for oxygen in-flight will be made through these same people.

In flight oxygen is provided via special arrangements through their Oxygen Desk. A letter will be required from your doctors office to supply O2 in flight. This letter will specify the liter flow required to maintain, and will be the means by which the airlines calculates how much O2 will be required for your flight. Their calculations will not take into account delays on the ground, or any of the thousand things can delay a flight... if you figure too closely, you can run out with little or no recourse.

In flight oxygen requires private payment to the airlines prior to take off. Costs vary according to airlines, and you should get a written accounting of your costs both to and from your destination, and directly contingent on your flight plans including connections and layovers.

If you are using a ventilator, be sure to completely charge your batteries, internal and external. You will not have 110V power in the air, and your entire system must be able to handle the complete trip including travel to and from airports, actual time in the air, and any layover time you may have with connecting flights. Be sure to set your system up for easy removal from the chair, including any external battery you may have to transport.

On that subject, batteries must be "gel-cell" types, and not acid core. A label will be on your power supply noting this, and also noting "non-spill" and explosion proof. Airlines will not allow accessory batteries on airplanes that do not meet these requirements.

You will be allowed, in most airports, to take your personal O2 supply with you to the loading platform and gates. Your tank will not be allowed beyond that point onto the plane, and you should plan on your driver returning the tank from the airport for you. At the door of the airplane, you will be required to disconnect and proceed quickly to your seats where your company supplied O2 canister will await.

Once you load, situating quickly is imperative. Often airline pilots are nervous about medically involved patients on their craft, and showing an ability to situate quickly, stabilize easily, and allow the continued loading of the airplane will put the pilots at ease much more quickly. Pilots are the ultimate authority on their airplane, and can have you removed should you not show the ability to stabilize in your seats quickly.

Once seated and connected, enjoy your flight! Your flight attendants will stop by often to check on you, and to monitor your O2 tanks pressure. Normally there will be no other considerations until you are on the ground.

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  Transfers and Layovers....

Disabled travelers have some forethought when it comes to transfers and layovers while traveling by air. Whether dealing with walking disabilities, Oxygen arrangements, or party travel, advanced planning will put your mind at ease and facilitate easy changes in transit.

Should your flight plans require a transfer to another plane, be sure to notify the Airlines Medical desk when placing your ticket orders. In cases where the entire plane disembarks for a connecting flight, the connection will be held for you since walking disabilities are unloaded from the aircraft last. With proper planning, an airport representative will meet you at your gate with motorized transport from your plane to the transfer gate. This can be especially important when your next flight departs from a location significantly remote from the arrival gate, as is common in many of the more modern airports.

One other consideration for layovers is in relation to the oxygen dependent traveler. It is common to make advance arrangements for layover oxygen from an O2 supply company local to the airport location. Their representative should meet you at your airplane gangway with your temporary oxygen supply, since the O2 supplied on your flight is not allowed off the airplane. Whether an extended layover or quick transfer, good planning for this contingency is very important. In cases of delays or missed connections, an O2 supply can be life saving. Reaffirm your arrangements for a therapist to meet you at your layover location 1 week, 3 days, and the day before your departure. Keep the companies telephone number on your list just in case...

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