Steve Oldaker's message on Sun., Aug. 8, was right on!!!
My wife and I travel every year, often twice a year. I can also offer some suggestions.
Regarding your personal comfort:
There are some things to consider for comfort & whatever "personal
dignity" the handlers might leave you with after they transfer you... first
from wheelchair to aisle chair / straight back... (and then the reverse
process at the end or at each plane change.)
However things go, remember... YOU are the customer and YOU know about your chair and your body. They don't no matter how many times they say they've "done all this before." (Not with you they haven't!) And you are paying them. (And if they transfer really well or are extra helpful in getting me through a maze of terminals quickly, I tip them well and say Thanks.)
1) If you wear your shirts tucked in, be sure you wear LONG shirts tucked in as far as possible. (If we quads could, we'd want to pinch and hold it between the cheeks!) As you are lifted, your clothes will get pulled, twisted, etc. and don't even consider the chance the airline personnel will tuck them back or reposition them to help... uh... maintain your modesty and decency, let's say. Untucked shirts are usually best if they are long, too, for the same decency reasons. They are most likely going to be starting loading other passengers the very second your butt touches your plane seat whether you are sitting sideways, falling out of the seat, pants more than half off your butt or not.
(If they run late, or your flight is running late getting to your connection, you could be doing all this transferring in front of a plane-full of "audience" who really do try not to look... but we all know can't help it. It's like driving by an accident... you have to look. THIS has been rare for us... but it does happen.)
2) Be certain you can get yourself seated comfortably ASAP. Once others start loading onto the plane, the aisle is loaded with people and it will likely be 20 minutes or more before whoever is helping you can use that space to help reposition you.
3) There are two bulkhead 1st class and coach. Coach are usually 4-7 rows back. Airlines are required to ask non-disabled people to yield these to PWDs who need them (and a service animal and/or a traveling companion providing assistance.) Trouble is that most bulkhead seating has no space under seats in front to stow things. (People behind you will have their stuff under your seat.)
Regarding the safety of your chair:
1) Gel batteries are best. They don't typically remove or disconnect them from the chair. Any time airline personnel unfamiliar with your chair start disconnecting/reconnecting and/or removing things, you risk physical and electronic damage.
2) Take your joystick (or whatever) controller with you on the plane... NOT with the chair. One accidental bang on the joystick and it's history. And, while they are responsible for the costs of any damage they cause, it can take quite a while to get it replaced/repaired and can put a bit of a kink in your plans once you reach your destination.
3) As others have mentioned, take your footrests with you if they are removable. These usually stick out enough to get damaged easily. Or, the baggage handlers may try to lift the chair using them. If one comes loose, there's a dropped, broken chair and possibly and injured handler.
4) Make a sign with very short, clear instructions on how it should be handled. First, I use bright green paper and clear packing tape to cover the levers that engage/disengage the motors so it can be pushed manually. Then, I put instructions on two on 8.5" x 11", HOT PINK sheets of paper and put each one inside plastic protector sheets. I tape one to the front of the chair and one on the back. In the largest font possible to make it fit on one side of one sheet, it simply says:
HOW TO MOVE IT
Pull out on the green levers
above the front tires.
HOW TO LOCK IT
Push the same green levers
forward
and in. Check to make
sure it locks.
PLEASE DO NOT PICK
UP
THE CHAIR BY THE HANDLES!
USE THE BLACK FRAME.
The handles may break!
The batteries are GEL cells,
not lead-acid.
They do not need to be removed.
All power controls are removed.
And even then, many people don't slow down enough to even notice a hot pink sign on a solid black chair! But MANY have also thanked us for the instructions, "because these things are all so different."
5) Finally, if you do put your joystick, footrests, etc. in a bag to carry on... Don't put them in the overhead bins until everyone else in done. After all that, the last thing you want is to have someone jam their oversized carry-on on top of your joystick and break it... just when you thought it was safe.
It probably sounds like a pain, nightmare, not worth it... etc. But, traveling really is great. We wouldn't keep doing it if it wasn't!!
Best,
Tod
