For wheelchair travelers who can not walk,
the aisle chair is a familiar friend. The aisle chair is a
skinny, narrow, seat on wheels used to usher passengers down
the aircraft aisle to their seat.
Most airline seating configurations include
seats with "knock down" or "fold down"
arm rests throughout the inside of the aircraft. . Most airlines
have twenty or more requests for each "bulk head seat."
Part of the long list of travelers bidding for these seats
and unaccompanied children, premier fliers, seven-foot tall
basketball players, older passengers with small bladders,
and wheelchair travelers.
"Knock down" armrests help ease
the requests for bulkhead seating. The amount and distribution
of these seats have made it possible for airlines to accommodate
the noticeable increase of wheelchair travelers taking to
the skies and to increase the options for wheelchair travelers.
You can not always expect your airlines
to store your wheelchair in the aircraft cabin. Every airline
is required by law to store your wheelchair in the aircraft
cabin (providing space is available). But, what happens when
two, three, four, or even five wheelchair travelers are flying
the same flight?
When we travel with five or six wheelchair
travelers in our groups, onboard the same flights, we can't
make a choice between whose wheelchair remains in the cabin
and whose wheelchair travels in the belly of the plane. The
answer is simple - everyone gate checks their wheelchair and
everyone's wheelchair rides in the belly of the plane.
Traveling with your wheelchair on an aircraft
is a cooperative event. You can not expect any airline to
handle your wheelchair with extreme care, or to perform every
task correctly. The job of the airline is the safe transport
of passengers. The job of the wheelchair passenger is to properly
prepare their wheelchair for flight. Hopefully, by following
our simple suggestions your wheelchair will arrive safely
too.
