Electric Wheelchair problem

[LisaBi]

I was talking with the mother of a classmate of my DS (who has Downs) yesterday. Her daughter has Spina Bifida and cannot walk AT ALL. She uses an electric wheelchair.

The mother despartely wants to go to WDW, but is concerned. Apparently she has been told that to fly, the battery would have to be removed from the chair and the chair checked thru baggage (not gate checked). She isn't willing to do that. And I can't say I blame her.

I suggested that she look at renting a power chair in Orlando. But how would she get from the airplane to the shuttle to the resort (assuming a chair was waiting for her there?) Or will the rental companies deliver to the airport?

The child is 12, and basically normal size for a 12 year old, so carrying her more than the shortest bit, like to transfer to a ride, isn't do-able.

Thanks,
LisaB

 

[SueM in MN]

We have not been brave enough to travel with our DD's power wheelchair (there are also some issues regarding her driving it when she gets tired). We have just brought her manual wheelchair.
I know there are posters who can help with the flying with a power wheelchair part. The first thing I would suggest is to go to the website for the airline she would fly. When we had done some research, we would not have needed to remove the batteries from DD's power wheelchair because they were sealed gel.
We have looked into renting a power wheelchair for DD in Orlando and decided it just would not work out for us because of the size DD needed, needing ankle straps and her Jay pressure reduction seat cushion. The companies we contacted could provide a 16 inch wide, plain seat wheelchair (which is too wide for my DD). They could do a seat belt, but not ankle straps and they were not sure whether her goalpost joystick would go on the regular stem or not. She's also very obsessive, compulsive about her wheelchair and if it didn't look or feel right, she wouldn't drive it anyway. So, for us it didn't work. For someone who can be more flexible than my DD, it could work.

 

[BCV23]

We have flown once so far with our DDs new "portable" power chair although we were not going to WDW that trip. We were able to gate check it. She might want to double check with the airline about that. I know airlines have a special department to help with disablity or mobility issues. It can be hard to drag the info out of reservationists however.

When we gate checked, the guy who was taking the chair down asked if we minded if he left the battery in. We said of course not. He said some fliers get irate about that and insist it be disconnected.

If for some reason she really can't gate check the power chair, could she transfer to a manual chair? The airlines will provide that. To get on the plane itself, airlines have aisle chairs which are very narrow little things that do fit down the aisles which should make that transfer easier.

We have rented a power chair for our daughter at Disney resorts and it has worked out well. We used our own manual Quickie on the airlines on those trips. The power chair was always waiting for us "backstage" in the lobby of our hotel. I don't know if the companies would deliver to the airport but my guess would be no. They are so expensive and who would be responsible for it between dropoff and arrival?

Disney has a new free service to/from the airport (free for the time being anyway) called Magical Express. Many of those buses are accessible. If they choose to rent a power chair, I would think the airline wheelchair could be used to the Disney bus. Transfer and then when they arrive at their Disney hotel, transfer to the rental or a hotel manual short term. This service is only for WDW hotels though. And I would double check all arrangements making sure that ME knows a wheelchair is coming and that the rental company will be delivering before you arrive. We have used CARE and the service has been great.

 

[pugdog]

We have taken DW powerchair the last 4 times down. We have always checked with the bags because of 2 reasons.
1. If you gate check it the airline WILL NOT guarentee that it will be placed on your flight. It could be on the next flight down.
2. We have a process where we fold the chair down so it will fit through ANY size cargo hold door.
Like Sue said if you have gellcell batteries, and almost all new chairs do, they do not have to be taken out.
As far as getting from the ticket counter to the plane we always take her manual chair with and then we also have a back up just incase the powerchair would break while we are down there.
Like the others have said if you have a lot of specialized seating on the chair the rental would be very uncomfortable then.
If you friend would like to know more about flying with a powerchair let me know and I could answer her questions or show her how we fold DW chair down for the trip.

 

[BCV23]

Hi pugdog, what airline won't guarantee that a gate checked chair won't make the flight? We have never been told that. As I said, we only have one experience with her portable power chair but we have gatechecked regular strollers, McClaren type strollers and her manual Quickie many times over the years and have never been told that.

I wonder if it varies by airline. It seems unreasonable to me to not guarantee that something that one needs for mobility won't make a flight.

Anyway, we usually fly United (or now Ted if going to MCO), American and to Orlando we sometimes fly Southwest. We have never had a problem nor been advised that her means of transport might not make it.

I also am wondering about the cargo door width. Again, never a problem. Those doors seem huge. Or maybe you fly on small planes. Could that be the difference?

 

[SueM in MN]

I have heard that too about power wheelchairs.
It depends on the airport and how close an elevator is to the gate. The manual wheelchairs can be carried down the steps (which is what I have seen them do with DD's most of the time).
What I have heard is that in some airports the elevator that goes down to ground level may be too far away to physically get the power wheelchair from the gate back over to the plane for loading if you gate check it.
I don't think it's the cargo door width. What I have heard is the height is more of a problem; in some cases the wheelchair has to be put on its side to get in because of the height.

 

[Michigan]

I have 2 daughters with SB. I would guess that the girls level of paralysis is pretty high if she is in a power chair. I'm sure they have a manual chair and that's what I would take because she would also be able to get on more rides.

 

[BCV23]

Michigan, our daughter has had access to the same rides in the rental power chair as she's had in manual chairs. She does have to transfer to a WDW manual chair at Pirates. She doesn't do the mountains so I don't know if that is an issue. What rides are affected?

I'm really wondering about this gate check thing and getting worried about future trips. Our trip in Dec/January was at O'Hare which is of course a very large airport. Furthermore, we were on United and had to do the tunnel thing, elevators, etc.. It is a very long way from the ticket counters and we probably did them a favor by getting the chair to the gate. But as you said Sue, it was necessary for them to use an elevator to get the chair down to the tarmac. The closest one that I noticed was the one we used which was not close at all. On our return, we arrived at the same gate and it did take a long time for the chair to get up. At 5:30 in the am, that was not fun.

Tis a puzzle to me.

 

[Michigan]

BCV23 I'm thinking of any of the rides that the guide says transfer to manual chair. If she is in a power chair my guess is that her myelo site is very high and she is probably unable to do transfers herself and would have to be lifted and carried.

 

[pugdog]

I have heard that too about power wheelchairs.
It depends on the airport and how close an elevator is to the gate. The manual wheelchairs can be carried down the steps (which is what I have seen them do with DD's most of the time).
What I have heard is that in some airports the elevator that goes down to ground level may be too far away to physically get the power wheelchair from the gate back over to the plane for loading if you gate check it.
I don't think it's the cargo door width. What I have heard is the height is more of a problem; in some cases the wheelchair has to be put on its side to get in because of the height.

Sue you are right on with that answer.
We have flown out of MSP on AA,NWA,DELTA, Continetal and Sun Country and ALL of them will not guarentee that the chair will be on your flight if you gate check it. Not sure where the closest elevator is but must not be close.
And the cargo door problem is not the width but the height.
The smallest plane we have been on was a DC9 which has a door height of 27 inches. and with the way that we can fold the chair down we can get it all the way down to 22 inches.
If you dont compact the chair down and they need to put the chair in sideways they WILL take the batteries out for safety even gell cell is what we were told.

And as far as MCO we were told that the closest elevator from the tarmac was at the main terminal building. Not sure if that is correct or not but never wanted to chance it since we have the whole packing the chair thing down and it works for us.

anything else let me know.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[BCV23]

As we are flying next week on Ted out of O'Hare, I needed to check on this! It is too large of an airport to get to the gate and have to turn around!

So I called this am. I was put on hold while the reservationist checked. She said we could gate check. I asked if it varied by airport and she said no but that it might vary by carrier. BTW, she did not have our flight info. She said we would be fine on Ted as well as United. If our experience is different, I'll be sure to post when we return. Of course, that is assuming United is flying next week....

 

[SueM in MN]

She said we would be fine on Ted as well as United. If our experience is different, I'll be sure to post when we return. Of course, that is assuming United is flying next week....

i don't know who owns/provides the elevators. It could be that they are the responsibility of the airline and United chose to have them located close to the gates they control??? Or maybe they are just lucky and their gates are by the elevators??
Anyway, good luck.

 

[BCV23]

Actually, it sounded as if it is just United's policy. Our experiences in Dec/Jan were at O'Hare and Kahului, Maui which is a rather small airport. O'Hare of course is huge. Since folks in wheelchairs are seated first, it does give them some extra time to move the chair.

And I didn't offer nor was I asked about our specific flights.

Good point about the heighth of the cargo door. But I wonder if that too has more to do with the airline's willingness to accomodate. Aren't those holds large enough to hold a worker or is it all automated within the cargo hold? I wonder if there is another door that could be used?

Thank you very much for the good wishes. I wonder if we will end up driving if the attendants and service union do strike.

 

[pugdog]

And I didn't offer nor was I asked about our specific flights.

Good point about the heighth of the cargo door. But I wonder if that too has more to do with the airline's willingness to accomodate. Aren't those holds large enough to hold a worker or is it all automated within the cargo hold? I wonder if there is another door that could be used?

Yes the cargo holds are big enough to have someone stand up in most of the planes. but the door size is usally much smaller.
The airlines have no say in the cargo door size, that is determined by the airplane manufacture (i.e.Airbus or beoing). and each door size depends on the size of the plane. Some of the larger planes have containers that they put the bags in and then place those in the planes but there are not to many of those.

I think almost all airlines are willing they are just limited by what is made for them.

 

[LisaBi]

Thanks for all your responses. To answer a few of your questions:

The "mother" is actually the grandmother, and does not think she can handle a manual chair for that time and distance. So some option that allows a power chair is a requirement for her.

The child has absolutely no use of her legs - she must be lifted/carried to transfer at all, but can sit up on her own if placed on a normal chair (even without sides). If they go in the next year or so, she will still be little enough that they will be able to lift her onto rides that require it.

LisaB

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for all your responses. To answer a few of your questions:

The "mother" is actually the grandmother, and does not think she can handle a manual chair for that time and distance. So some option that allows a power chair is a requirement for her.

Is there anyone else to help her with pushing/ can the girl wheel herself sometimes for short periods to give the "mother" a break?
I guess if there are more people, I'd just switch off if she can't bring her powerr wheelchair.

The child has absolutely no use of her legs - she must be lifted/carried to transfer at all, but can sit up on her own if placed on a normal chair (even without sides). If they go in the next year or so, she will still be little enough that they will be able to lift her onto rides that require it.

LisaB

The only thing to keep in mind is that the CMs can't help with lifting/transferring. They can steady the wheelchair while you get out and they can move it out of the way/back again after the ride is over, but they can't physically assist with the transfer.
If she can sit up in a chair, she should do OK on most rides.
My DD has cerebral palsy. She can stand if we hold he up and can take a few steps if someone is holding her up and walking behind her, but we are mostly lifting her onto rides.
The one ride I would strongly recommend against is Primeval Whirl. It looks pretty tame from the ground, but is a combination of a roller coaster with a spining ride. My DD had a very hard time keeping herself up and nearly spun out of the restraint. My other DD who is not disabled, said she had to brrace herself a lot with her legs to keep upright.

 

[LisaBi]

Thanks for the post Sue - the only other person who would go is the Grandfather. I don't believe they feel that even between them they can deal with a manual chair. I can understand that. It is tough for me alone with Connor, and he CAN walk when needed. I do realize that CMs can't help transfer - that's why they need to go soon, while they can stil lift her.

I agree 100% with you about Primevial Whirl. My DS(11) who has Downs got hurt on that. It is just too hard to brace. I wouldn't recommend that ride for any fully-abled kid under 12.

LisaB

 

[BCV23]

Yes the cargo holds are big enough to have someone stand up in most of the planes. but the door size is usally much smaller.
The airlines have no say in the cargo door size, that is determined by the airplane manufacture (i.e.Airbus or beoing). and each door size depends on the size of the plane. Some of the larger planes have containers that they put the bags in and then place those in the planes but there are not to many of those.

I think almost all airlines are willing they are just limited by what is made for them.

Actually, pugdog, I know that the manufacturers make the planes to the specifications of the airline. I don't know if that includes size and configuration of cargo holds but the workers have to access those holds. They don't do it through the passenger cabin.

Anyway, I wanted to report on our gatechecking with a powerchair for our WDW trip. We flew down on the 18th out of O'Hare on Ted/United. We arrived shortly before boarding was to begin (I'm certainly not recommending that but my daughter was in SLOW mode!). We gate checked with no problem. When we arrived at MCO, her chair was brought to the gate within about 5 minutes of landing. Same thing on our return flight to ORD. She motored down the gangway on both flights and then my DH walked her to her seat.

pugdog, I have a question for you. Have you actually been refused gatecheck at all the airlines you listed or have you just chosen to use the system that works well for your family?

BTW, our DDs new Quickie powerchair was great for the parks. It is very easy to change to manual which we did on many rides to make it easier for CMs to move it when necessary. It has handles like a manual wheelchair so that makes it easier as well. That is also comforting in case of any problems with the battery or electronics.

 

[pugdog]

Flying out of MSP the elevators are few and far between and that is why they won't guarentee the chair will be on the plane. We do gate check DW's manual chair all the time without any problems. Plus just watching the ground crews sometimes I think I wouldn't trust them to much if they are trying to get a powerchair on last minute, but that's just me.

As far as the manufacturers building the planes I believe it's just the topside that the airlines get to pick out. As far as cargo hold doors, electonics and hydrolics that would be a fixed postion on most planes because of engineering designs to make the planes air worthy.