Here's a new one!

At the outset of my conversation with an airline res agent, I stated that Mom would have a medical letter from her physician indicating she was diabetic, carrying syringes & lancets, had medications and used her travel wheel chair to the gate for storage in the plane's hold.

While finalizing air arrangements to ensure Mom's needs are addressed, I was asked exactly how may syringes she will be carrying on the plane. When I said we were going on a three-week cruise tour and Mom would have approximately 50 syringes, the res agent hesitated and had to put me on hold to inquire about the number. When she finally got back to me, she also needed to know the size of the bag in which they would be contained along with the weight of 50 syringes. I said we weren't sure which carry-on bag Mom would be taking so I couldn't give the exact LxWxD at this time but to keep the airline happy I could reduce the syringe weight by removing them from the sealed packaging to save an ounce. The agent insisted the information was required, so I said a clear 12"x12" zip lock Glad Bag and added the weight as 6 ounces. That seemed to leave her content.

I was also asked the weight and folded size of the travel wheel chair. This is something I can understand, but I have never been asked for anything like this in the many trips we have taken. When I finalized our return flight with a different airlines, they simply took the information without question.

Since airlines are required to transport assistive devices in addition to the standard baggage allowance, I was wondering if they ask the weight of the baby strollers and number of diapers & bottles. Or am I dealing with an airline that is not very accommodating to people with disabilities?

Just venting.......

Darcy

I hate to guess as far as res agents are concerned, but here's my somewhat educated guess as to why she asked.

1. This could have been somebody who had no clues at all as to how small syringes are, so she wanted to make sure they would fit in the overhead compartment or under the seat. She could have envisioned boxes and boxes of them if she didn't really understand the size.

2. In regards to the dimensions of the wc. She was probably checking it out to see if it would fit in the on-board closet. There has been a lot of ruckus of some airlines not allowing them lately as required under the ACAA (a lot of airlines have been fined by the DOT) so they might be more conscious of it these days.

I think it's pretty common for them to inquire about the weight, size, etc. If anything I think you are dealing with an airlines that is more conscientious of access issues -- as they at least realize that all wcs are not alike.

Candy

I wasn't aware until recently that wheelchairs could be stored onboard in a closet instead of taken to baggage. Everytime we have flown my husband's chair has been tagged and taken to baggage and then brought back to the cabin once the plane has landed. We've always been a little uncomfortable in doing this because if something should happen to his chair we would have a major problem. We will be flying United Airlines on our cruise this May and will definitly make sure his chair is kept onboard and not put into baggage. I'm always amazed at how much information I get from these boards. Thank you everyone.

Carol

When we travel by air, we always take Mom's wheelchair to the gate. Once there, we collapse the chair, and it is immediately taken down the outside steps by the jet-way to a separate compartment. When we arrive at our destination, ground crew quickly access the lower compartment, bring the chair, baby carriers, folding strollers, etc., to the door of the plane to facilitate quick passenger departure . I have never seen a chair in the cabin due to limited space and the difficulty flight crew may encounter attempting to secure a chair from moving in flight. When we traveled to Hawaii, Mom wanted to take her walker. Even though that easily folds and is very light, it was put in the hold, not in the cabin.

I spoke with my TA today about the res agent, and he said that syringes are considered a safety issue. The airlines are becoming stricter due to security matters, with many setting particular policies in the name of passenger safety. That's why more people are opting for homeland cruising. Our trip is to Europe, so we have to fly. Mom's wheel chair, walker and cane have been so closely examined, tested for traces of chemicals, and subject to x-ray every time we fly.

Darcy

We have flown 3 times in the last 1 1/2. We have only flown Southwest non-stop flight. My DH not only isuse an eletric wheelchair he also is a diabetic. All three time (6 flights) I have taken the needles in my carry on and no one has even looked twice at them. I have never been asked about them at the xray machine. That having been said, I'm sure I will have a full body seach my next flight, I'm sure I have jixed myself for sure. I pack a traveling air mattress with pump and the battery charger in one small suitcase and that gets open and searched everytime. My husband also get a good going over. Someday, someone is going to grab that leg bag and get a wet surprise. I tell him some people pay big bucks for a gropping like he gets. He has no sense of humor.

under ADA they can not limit how many syringes you bring on board as long as you have the phamacy label on them. and as far as the chair goes the only reason for asking the size would be for fitting it through the cargo door. the FA are the ones that say wither you can put it in the closet so fight with them. they never want to move their luggage so a wheel chair can be put in the closet instead.

I have always felt its best to just pack the supplies and zip my lips. I am a diabetic and travel with all of my lancets, syringes and insulin vials in my carry on. I pack the syringes in there original sealed bag inside a ziplock so taht they can be viewed if needed. I am always sure to have on a hand a note from my MD that I am a diabetic and need to travel with syringes. I have never had anyone ? me about the syringes.

I'm also diabetic and when I travel I carry my meter, strips and lancets in the medical pouch that came with my meter. This pouch is always in my carry on along with my inhaler. I have had people check my inhaler but never my diabetic supplies. We will be flying again in May and hopefully I won't have any problems. As a side note my husband who's in a wheelchair uses a bag which slips over the back of his chair. In this bag he carries a small leather pouch filled with tools necessary to repair his chair ie. screwdriver, pliers, tire patch kit and extra tubes and they do a very through patdown search on him yet have never questioned his bringing along the tools. Maybe we've just been lucky or they're being to get stricter.

Carol

My best friend who I travel with alot has always carried her needles in her carryon bag. It passes through the metal detector and the xray machine and noone has ever looked in her carryon. Go figure.

On our flights on American, the flight attendants have been lovely about putting my folding chair in the closets. They said passengers come first, but they only have room for one, so be first in line on American. On United, where husband is premier exec, million miler flyer, and we usually upgrade, using miles, to first class, the flight attendants have NEVER let my chair in the closet.....they say that they have to put THEIR bags in there and there isn't enough room. Go figure! Southwest and Alaska have just put it underneath. In all cases, though, it has been brought up to the door of the airplane when we are leaving the plane..............and now, that I usually travel with my scooter, they even bring THAT up to the door. I have had wonderful treatment from the guys that do that stuff!

Mom has never had a problem with any of her diabetic testing supplies or medications going through TSA security. She keeps them in a separate bag in her carry-on. We always have a letter from her doctor and a copy of the Rx for the syringes, but have never been asked to show this. It's Air France that is questioning the syringes.

British Airways flight crew is by far the best. Even though we were in cabin class, an attendant approached Mom before take-off to inquire if she needed a beverage and throughout the flight encouraged Mom to drink water, take a walk with assistance to prevent DVT, and served her diabetic meals & snacks first. Delta, Northwest and Air Canada have all been great.

By contrast, a few weeks earlier, we flew United from Hawaii to the East Coast. Even though I ordered a diabetic meal for Mom, all we got was beverage service during an 11 hour flight. On the plane I was told they don't do special meals. In fact they had NO meals. Luckily I had some crackers and cheese packs with me.

For the most part, the crew who get the chairs to the jetway have been wonderful. We only had one problem, and that was with Continental. We had a very tight conection, and the plane was late arriving in Newark. We could see the connecting plane still at a gate across the terminal and told the flight attendant we needed Mom's chair ASAP to make the connection. She said we had to wait until everyone was off the plane, then they could get her chair. As a result, we missed the connection, and Continental blamed us for not being at the gate on time! They didn't have another flight on which to book us, and said they could get us to BOS in a couple of days. We rented a car and drove to BOS to pick up our car at Logan. What makes this even funnier, our luggage made the connecting flight.

Darcy

Just as a clarification.....the ADA does not apply to planes and flying (only to the airport itself). Other DOT regulations apply to planes themselves. You can get a copy of the regs here.

Airlines are REQUIRED to have a small enclosed closet on all US flights that will accomodate 1 folding wheelchair. The attendants are NOT allowed to put their bags in there instead, although they often do. The regs say the wheelchair has priority for this closet. Take a copy of the regs with you when you fly and pull them out as needed. Jet Blue just was assessed a large fine for failure to have these closets on some of their planes. Make a DOT complaint if you are refused for any reason other than someone else's wheelchair beating you to this closet.

Chairs are frequenty damaged when carried in the luggage hold, so try to get yours in the cabin instead. When you do get your chair from the baggage hold, immediately assemble it and check it for any damage. Run all functions on a power chair (you should have taken the controls on the plane with you as carry-on). File a claim immediately for any needed repairs. A compliance officer must be on-call 24/7 to help with these claims.

Carol, I had my small kit of tools that came with my Quickie manual confiscated at BWI by the TSA. They were in my backpack and no amount of "I'm a quadriplegic how am I going to stab anyone with a half size phillipshead screwdriver?" would work. The lines were long that day so no time to go back out and check them. I asked if they could at least put them in lost and found since we leave near BWI and could pick them up on return. NO. So you might want to check the tools in the future.

And I also recently was asked through my TA about size and weight of my chair for our Fall transatlantic from Dover. British Airways was real picky from what she said. We flew BA back from our last transatlantic and they wanted me to use the aisle chair during a 3 hour lay over in Heathrow from Rome rather than get my chair from where they gate check them. I had a 7 hour flight after those 3 hours and my butt just wouldn't handle that kind of abuse! I mean it's a fairly lightweight manual chair. I also found it strange that they asked me about using the aisle chair a good 30 minutes before landing. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that their union people are working on getting tight restrictions on what and how much they have to lift under Freedom of the Skies or whatever are UK cousins call it.

My dad is a million miler on Delta. They always put his chair in the luggage compartment after getting him to his seat. One time it was left on the tarmac and was not available when he arrived (back home). Delta had to give my parents a wheelchair to get him home. His chair was delivered the next day.

Luckily it was on the way home because is chair is one of those lightweight ones, and the chair Delta gave him was one of the older heavy chairs. So just be aware, even if something happens to your chair while travelling, the airline should be providing something.

Splinter is correct -- US aircraft with 100 or more seats have to supply onboard storage space for at least one folding wheelchair. Several airlines have been fined recently for failing to do this and the DOT has issued a few waivers which allow some airlines to use the last three seats as their storage space (instead of the closet).

In any case, you have to preboard in order to avail yourself of this storage space. Additionally it's not something the airlines *offer* you -- in most cases you have to ask and be very proactive about it. In fact, most airlines would rather you checked your wheelchair at the counter -- you have to ask for a gate check, which again is your right under the ACAA.

Here's another interesting rid bit - although the airlines have to allow certain items on planes under the ACAA, the TSA (not the airlines) is the agency who determines what gets through security. The airlines have no say in this. The TSA is also exempt from the ACAA, but in past practice they have been very fair. So the bottom line is, whatever the TSA (security) says goes, in regards to what you can (and can't) carry-on the plane.

Candy

Although I have been aware of the requirement that newer planes have room on board for one, folding wheelchair for many years, we have never been able to take advantage of it. Either I have been told that the plane was built prior to the ADA requirement or that my husband's manual chair is too big. It is a few inches taller than most so I assume that any onboard wheelchair space is sized to fit only the smallest wheelchairs.

Thank you everyone for the information. Splinter I printed out the regs and will be taking them with me when we travel in May. Northernlites my husband also has a quickie chair and I will pass the info about the tools along to him. I agree that I would rather have them checked with our baggage than not have them with us. The last time we had a problem was when we were in Aruba and he got a flat tire. I ended up walking about 20 blocks to a gas station to get fix a flat and tire patch repair kit (he forgot to back one). A word to the wise do not use fix a flat on a wheelchair. It's made for a car tire and he ended up blowing a hugh hole in his tire. He rolled on the hole until the mixture hardened and then we preceeded to reboard the ship. Once onboard he used a tire patch and patched the hole on the outside of the tire which fortunately held until we got home. After this incident 2 yrs ago I keep a tire patch kit packed inside our main luggage and carry on at all times. Candy I enjoyed the info on your blog and will continue reading it and keeping tabs on how the government will decide the ADA issue.

Carol

Bike shops are also great for most wheelchair tire repairs and can usually be easily found in most ports. We have also found that many of the ship's crew carry bikes onboard, and they are often willing to help with tire or spoke repairs. We carry a small hand pump for any slow leaks as well.

Just a comment about how strict the TSA can be. On our last trip to-and-from Miami, I had talked with Sun Country headquarters about the handling of my powerchair so the airports were ready for it and would not damage it. I strongly emphasized that under no circumstances can they carry my chair up/down any steps, so they should make sure they have elevator access. Sun Country headquarters said that the airports and airlines have no control over the elevators that go to the tarmack and that it was upto the TSA to decide who could use them. I told them to get whatever clearance they needed.

Leaving Minneapolis was no problem. The SC crew there is very good at handling wheelchairs. They had TSA clearance for the elevator and written instructions on how to handle my chair.

Arriving in Miami was another story. First we were told my chair was in the elevator and would be at the jetway in a few minutes. No, it wasn't. We looked outside and there we saw five guys struggling to get my chair up the steps to the jetway. We commented that they were not supposed to do that and the guy in charge claimed they did not have an elevator. He was lying, of course.

When we arrived at the Miami airport to return to Minneapolis, we found they were actually prepared. They had put in a request with the TSA to use the elevator and were waiting to hear from them. They said that if they didn't get permission, they had guys lined up to carry my chair down a wider stairway - which still was not a good idea, but they did get the permission from the TSA so everything worked out fine in the end.

Sun Country has been nothing but fantastic for me. I have flown them six times and have never really had any problems. I have started notifying them ahead of time with my travel plans just to make sure everything went smoothly, but I cannot say enough good things about them! Northwest on the other hand I will never fly again. They are very rude and ALWAYS damage my chair.