Questions about electric wheelchair, airports, ec.t.....

[scootch]

My aunt has this wheelchair in storage. It is BRAND NEW. Even the wheels aren't dirty. We are going to get it out later today. Here is a link. http://www.phc-online.com/9000_action.htm by the pic it is easy to disassemble. So I just need to be sure what else I need to do??? do I need to call the airline company??? let them know at disney that we will have this in the room?? ...... thanks for any help!!

 

[krdisneybound]

I just recently traveled with a motorized wheelchair/scooter. I flew Delta from CA.

I took it right up to the door of the plane and then an attendant took it to the belly of the plane. When we landed, it is the first thing off the plane and they brought it to me.

You must call the airline and tell them that you have someone in their own wheelchair and they need to be in it pretty much the whole time.

Can she walk to her seat?? If not, they have a special chair that she sits in and then they can take her to her seat.

But in any event, you must call the airline you are flying on and see what their requirements are.

 

[scootch]

She can walk... doesn't use one daily, but I know she will need one there. She has no feeling from her knee down on one leg. She had atumor removed in June from her sciatic nerve. She wears a brace now. So she can easily walk to her seat and such. Since she is not dependent on it, will they give me a hard time??? I just know it is brand new and will save me almost $200 from renting one. It is also a small size, so wont' take a huge amount of room in our hotel. thanks

 

[SueM in MN]

Since she is not dependent on it, will they give me a hard time???

I'm not sure what you mean.
They are required to transport a mobility device (wheelchair, scooter, can, walker) at no extra cost. It also doesn't count as part of your baggage allowance. It doesn't matter whether the person basically can't walk at all (like my DD) or just can't walk distances (which sounds like your aunt).

You should call the airline. Depending on the airport, you may be able to gate check it (which is what krdisneybound described). If it can't be gate checked, the airline will take it beffore loading and be able to provide a wheelchair for you to push her to the gate with. The airline should have some information on their website (some have much easier to find information than others, though).

That wheelchair is similar to my DD"s power wheelchair (she has an Invacare Arrow - which is/was the next step up from the wheelchair in the picture). That wheelchair should have sealed gel batteries (which is what my DD's has). That kind doesn't need to be removed for travel.

The things you do want to remove are the seat cushion (which often are attached with velcro), footrests if they swingaway and can be removed easily. Also, if you can remove the controller easily (which should be attached with several screws), that is the most delicate and easily damaged part. The seat back should be able to be folded down to the front. If you have the owner's manual, you should find directions for some of these things. If you are not exactly sure how to remove and re-assemble any pieces, it's safer to leave them on. Basically, what you want to remove is anything that could fall off, be pulled off, caught or damaged.

 

[SueM in MN]

PS.
You don't need to let the resort know unless she will need some special accomidations - like a bath seat/chair.
If she doesn't need it in the room, you can just park it where ever it fits. It would be a good idea to bring a power strip to plug it in - the nearest plug may not be close enough to where it needs to be parked; if you have a power strip/surge protector, it's safer in case of power surges.

 

[scootch]

Sue, you are great. The one post just made me worry that they may not let her take it if it is not needed all the time. Currently with her brace, she can walk... like to physical therapy, to radiation, around the house ect. I am just trying to save some money instead ofy renting one when someone has kindly given us a brand new one. She would never be able to do a park. We went to a concert saturday and I arranged wheelchair escort of her and my mom(who is on oxygen). Lindsey had jeans on and thus you could not see her brace and the guy there was rude like, "how does this healthy looking teen need a wheelchair escort???" Will make the calls today. My aunt found the instruction booklet, so that will be helpful too!!

 

[SueM in MN]

We have a lot of experience with travel with a wheelchair (although we have not traveled by plane with DD's power wheelchair, just her manual).

You will probably run into some rude people, but the good outweighs the bad and your family knows she needs the wheelchair. You (and she) are the only ones who matter.

Has she driven the wheelchair yet? It is a bit harder than it appears and takes some practice, especially how much room it takes to turn and backing up. Practice (even some walks around the neighborhood) are important to get comfortable with the wheelchair. The more practice shee has before you go, the better.

Here's some power wheelchair 101 since it sounds like she is not that familiar with the wheelchair.
That wheelchair looks like it has a similar, but simpler controller than my DD's has - the controller gives commands to a computer which is underneath the wheelchair. The computer can be adjusted for about different parameters - things like how quickly it accelerates, how much torque it has (higher torque helps with going up hills), how quickly it slows down when you let up on the joystick, the power/speed level (the top speed on that one is only 3.8 mph, my DD's is 6.5 I think, and we have some of her programs set for only 50% of the power). When we first got DD's wheelchair, it was set to accelerate quickly and slow down quickly when the joystick wass let go. It was really jerky and she was scared to death to use it - we got it reprogrammed by the equipment dealer and after that she did really well.

Looking at the pictures, it looks like you probably might not want to remove the controller, but you do want to protect it during transit. Maybe rig up a box over it or something. You want to protect the joystick from being hit - DD's has been sheared off aready in the past. Also, if it's a swing away joystick, you want to protect it in transit from swinging away accidentally and if she swings it away to fit closer to a table or something, be sure to swing it back - when DD was first learning, she went thru a doorway with her joystick swung out and the joystick did not survive the hit.

A few other things to get familiar with:
- the battery charge indicator that tells how much power is left. I didn't see the range (distance the wheelchair can go without charging) on that page. It should be in the owner's manual, along with a diagram that shows how to tell what the charge is. Watch the indicator during the day to know how much power she has left.
- how to put it in and out of free-wheel mode (so the motor is not engaged). That will allow the wheelchair to be pushed if necessary.

 

[pugdog]

DW also has a Invacare Arrow like sue's DD and one thing that we do when we fly is to fold the seatback down. we do this by leaving the bolt in the bottom hole but use cotter pins in the top holes so it is easier to fold down at the airport.
You might want to call the airline to see how big the cargo doors are, most are only about 27 inches tall so most powerchairs with the backs up will not fit in upright. and that then allows the airlines to remove the batteries to fit it in and then every thing becomes a cluster%^$# and is never put back the way it should be.
If you want I could email some pics of how we fold her chair down and make it airline ready