Airlines and wheelchairs

[alizesmom]

We are planning a new trip to WDW for Dec of this year and need to decide whether to drive or fly from NW PA. My concern is that we will be bringing 2 special-made wheelchairs, a vent, oxygen and a bunch of other medical equipment. We will not be able to function without these specific chairs. Do I dare risk them on the planes? Then what are my chances of getting a rental that has 2 sets of tie-downs? Any suggestions, information or experience would be greatly appreciated. Karen

 

[McCall]

Personally while the airline would be responsible for any damage that might happen, that would not help you much if it did. with all you have I believe in your situation I would drive. If you do fly try to get hold of actual special needs dept at the airline ahead of time and go in detail about what you will bring and need from them and get names and extension numbers. though I know from experience that this is not easy.
Which ever way you choose to go, I hope you all have a great time.

 

[pumpkinboy]

In your situation, I would also recommend driving over flying. For my DS we'd be in difficult straights if his wheelchair were damaged in transit on the plane, but it would not be life-threatening as with your two little ones. Bringing your own adaptive van would also be a big plus, even assuming a van with two wheechair tie-downs is available (links in the sticky threads on the top of this forum).

We've flown with DS's wheelchair a bunch of times, and about one time in ten there will be some minor ding or a loose bolt or one of the attached devices come loose during the flight. We have taken to traveling with his old mor robust wheelchair, which still fits him mostly; it's only for a short while, so for a week he can live with a slightly imperfect ride.

 

[Mason7AK]

We have two kids in wheelchairs and have flown three times to Disney World. All three times, the chairs made it fine going but we had either parts missing or in one case a handlebar bent coming home. This year four of us are flying and two members of the family are driving, mostly so my 6 year old can bring his new wheelchair (which I do NOT trust to the airlines) and be comfortable the whole trip. My DD is flying and we are taking her old EasyS Jazz Chair (more like a stroller) instead of her new Quickie IRIS tilt in space (again, don't trust it to the airlines). This also solves the problem of DD's oxygen concentrator, as my husband will bring it in the van, along with the myriad other medical supplies we need for the week!
I am flying with my older DD16 and medically fragile DD8 and youngest DD2 as the drive (17 1/2 hours from Houston) is too tough on DD8. If you have someone who can fly with you to help with the two little ones you have, maybe this is an option for your family too?
My husband and DS6 will arrive a day later than us and be home a day later than us, but it works for us this time around. Our alternative was to drive, as the last trip flying was too stressful worrying about the equipment and supplies and all that.
Good luck!
Angea

 

[Mary976]

Sorry I don't have much advice about the other issues, but I will say that DD's manual chair always seems worse for the wear after flying. There is some talk about having her move to a powerchair, and I'm even more worried about traveling with that. We'd rent one down there for her, but she is like the Goldilocks of wheelchairs, if it's not her chair, there is always something "wrong" with the way it feels. If you do decide to fly, I could swear I saw a thread here on how to prep your chair, like putting bubble wrap around the sensitive parts and things like that. I'm sure others will have some good advice on that.

Also, we looked into renting a w/c van, but found that they are very expensive.

Mary

 

[DisneyWheeler]

We've flown several times with my Quickie 2 manual wheelchair, and never had any problem with it being damaged. Especially since it has long push handles for the stroller handle extension to snap in and out of.

Last year was the first year we took my manual wheelchair tray when we went to Disney World. My mom had a bag for the footrests, stroller handle extension, and cushion that she put them in so that she could carry them onto the plane. I carried the wheelchair tray, and Dan (husband) helped me walk onto the plane. The bag and tray easily fit into the overhead bin on the way there from Portland to Chicago, then Chicago to Orlando. My mom and I were really worried that the tray wasn't going to fit in the overhead bin due to its size. But, it worked out nicely. However, coming home the flight attendants were worried that my tray was going to hit someone in the head. So, we had it stored in the closet.

The only difficult part about gate-checking the wheelchair was that we had to wait for five minutes for it to come up from the baggage hold as everyone was getting off the plane. This was difficult for us, for the times we had a tight connection to be able to get to the next plane.

Then, came the fun part of having to put all of the parts: stroller handle extension, cushion, and footrests back on. That took another two to three minutes. I was grateful that I didn't have a carry on bag with me on that trip. I had my valuables on me, and the rest I put into the checked suitcase that Dan and I both shared.

Samantha

 

[dclfun]

I've flown now three times with my Permobil and vent plus SD- once back from LA after a DCL cruise, once r/t to Chicago and once r/t to Las Vegas to visit my Mom after my Dad passed away. I was a nervous wreck each time but my chair has not yet sustained even a scratch and the airline personnel could not have been kinder to me. I had to use a transport chair w/in the airplane and bring my equipment onboard to use during the flight. My biggest concern was a possible flight delay and the resultant discomfort to my SD and/or my portable vent battery packs running out. My respiratory therapist was also worried about the batteries and gave me four extra ones( the flat lithium-ion ones) to bring with me. If you do fly then you can use DME to get to/from Disney and then use their transport w/in the parks. I'm not sure about getting a lift vehicle rental with two tie-downs or how much the rental might cost though or if cost is even a factor for your trip.I would've been in the same boat though as your kids if my chair had been damaged. It's a custom chair and there isn't a "rental" that would've worked for me, plus I doubt a rental would have a vent or feeding pump mount. I'm not sure if it's worth taking a chance. For me each time I really didn't have an option so I took a chance and luckily made out just fine.---Kathy

 

[mrsksomeday]

My boyfriend has Cerebral Palsy and is in a motorized wheelchair. I have flown with him 6 round trips on direct flights to and from Disney World on Southwest. I take his tray off, they store it either in overhead or the closet, I take off the foot rests and his custom bottom seat and store them in the overhead bin. In 12 flights we have only had one tiny bolt on the back of his chair come off and they put another bolt on it.

My suggestion, if you do decide to fly, take off everything that is able to be taken off, bring a bag to put everything in, and carefully check the chair when you get it back.

I hope you have a magical trip.