One More Question

[CarolAnnC]

Does anyone know if they will gate check ECV's when boarding a plane? I am renting either a wheelchair or one of those if available, and was wondering about this.. TY!

[teri]

You mean renting in new Hampshire and taking it to Florida? Will the NH rental compnaines let you take them out of state? Many people use a regular chair to travel and then rent an ECV in Orlando.

I am not sure if they let you gate check... I think maybe the battery packs have to be removed before they load it, not sure if that can be done at the gate. ???

[SueM in MN]

I don't know either, and I am also surprised if the NH company will let you take it out of state, but I have 2 suggestions:
1) Call the place you are renting it from and ask if they know.
2) Call the airline and ask for someone who deals with special needs. They should know. And then you might want to see if there is a number for the airline actually at your airport as a final check.
If they won't gate check it, they should be able to give you a manual chair to use.

[CarolAnnC]

Here is what I found out:

I went to the medical supply rental co and they did not rent the ecv. They would have sent me to Boston but said the price was around $200 per month, eek.

Instead I rented a regular wheelchair there with the extended leg rest to hold up my broken limb. It was $70 per month.

SWA actually would have gate checked the ecv, but they take it apart and do pack the battery separate. They would have required 48 hrs notice to do this.

I will plan on taking this wheelchair and hope I just find skycaps to push me around. :)

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for adding what you found out. And hope you have a great trip.