American Airlines and Mobility Devices

[Evita_W]

We are considering American Airlines for our next flight, but unsure how well or poor they are doing with transporting mobility devices these days, I know 2020 and earlier they seem to have had major issues, but can't find much more recent than that. So, I would like to see if anyone has recent experiences, good or bad?

 

[BonnieA]

Traveled with American a month ago. No real problems. I registered online for my ECV but they asked the same questions at check in. The only thing was when unloading the ECV. You never knew where they were unloading it. One time it was to the gate desk, once to the luggage, the last was at the area where it was left off (the end of the boarding ramp). No other problems

 

[mamabunny]

If you gate-check your device, it *should* be returned to you at the gate. Typically, your device will come out of the hold, and be returned to you in the jetway area just outside the aircraft door.

Allow a few extra minutes for gate-checking your device; when I fly, I always keep an eye on the desk at the gate, and as soon as the crew shows up to work that flight, I will approach the desk, and tell them that I want to gate-check my device when boarding. They will often go ahead and set up your gate-check right then, so that they don't have to stop and do it in the middle of boarding everyone else.

One last tip: when you arrive at your destination or layover, remind the flight attendant(s) that you will be waiting for your mobility device to come up from the hold. Typically they will let you move up to wait closer to the door, and will tell you when your device is there if you need to sit while waiting.

Source: I fly A-A because my husband works for a major American Airline

 

[DisneyOma]

One last tip: when you arrive at your destination or layover, remind the flight attendant(s) that you will be waiting for your mobility device to come up from the hold. Typically they will let you move up to wait closer to the door, and will tell you when your device is there if you need to sit while waiting.

Source: I fly A-A because my husband works for a major American Airline

That doesn't make sense - if you are waiting for your mobility device, and standing up at the front of the plane, aren't you blocking all the people who had seats in front of you from getting off? Or is this after those in front of you get off?

 

[Evita_W]

That doesn't make sense - if you are waiting for your mobility device, and standing up at the front of the plane, aren't you blocking all the people who had seats in front of you from getting off? Or is this after those in front of you get off?

No, you sit down in one of the seats closer to the front of the plane, that is common on most airlines.

 

[Evita_W]

If you gate-check your device, it *should* be returned to you at the gate. Typically, your device will come out of the hold, and be returned to you in the jetway area just outside the aircraft door.

Allow a few extra minutes for gate-checking your device; when I fly, I always keep an eye on the desk at the gate, and as soon as the crew shows up to work that flight, I will approach the desk, and tell them that I want to gate-check my device when boarding. They will often go ahead and set up your gate-check right then, so that they don't have to stop and do it in the middle of boarding everyone else.

One last tip: when you arrive at your destination or layover, remind the flight attendant(s) that you will be waiting for your mobility device to come up from the hold. Typically they will let you move up to wait closer to the door, and will tell you when your device is there if you need to sit while waiting.

Source: I fly A-A because my husband works for a major American Airline

Thank you, I was more referring to if they have fixed their issues with high rates of damaging mobility devices? Before COVID they had one of the highest rates of damage in the industry.

 

[DisneyOma]

No, you sit down in one of the seats closer to the front of the plane, that is common on most airlines.

So, after the people in front have gotten off? How long does it usually take for the mobility devices to be brought to the terminal ramp/tunnel thing? My mom will need to bring a mobility device from now on whenever she travels, and it would be good for her to know if it takes a long time (she gets cranky when she has to wait, ugh!) so that she can mentally prepare herself. Her last trip up here, she didn't bring her own device, and it was a hot mess.

 

[BonnieA]

Just saying, you never know where the scooter will come out. Believe me. The time they took it to baggage claim, they did have a wheelchair waiting for me upon exiting the plane.

 

[Evita_W]

So, after the people in front have gotten off? How long does it usually take for the mobility devices to be brought to the terminal ramp/tunnel thing? My mom will need to bring a mobility device from now on whenever she travels, and it would be good for her to know if it takes a long time (she gets cranky when she has to wait, ugh!) so that she can mentally prepare herself. Her last trip up here, she didn't bring her own device, and it was a hot mess.

Sometimes up to 30 minutes, so yes after people have gotten off at the front.

 

[Evita_W]

Just saying, you never know where the scooter will come out. Believe me. The time they took it to baggage claim, they did have a wheelchair waiting for me upon exiting the plane.

If you gate checked, it is supposed to be available when you deplane, but you may have to wait for it to be brought up.

 

[bluecruiser]

Just saying, you never know where the scooter will come out. Believe me. The time they took it to baggage claim, they did have a wheelchair waiting for me upon exiting the plane.

Whenever I gate-checked my power WC with American Airlines, the agent always asked me if I wanted the chair back at the plane at each stop/connection or checked through to baggage claim at the final destination. They marked this on the tag they placed on the WC, so that baggage handlers knew where to deliver the WC.

Seems to me the process should be the same with scooters.

We are considering American Airlines for our next flight, but unsure how well or poor they are doing with transporting mobility devices these days, I know 2020 and earlier they seem to have had major issues, but can't find much more recent than that. So, I would like to see if anyone has recent experiences, good or bad?

In November 2021 I took my folding power WC (Fold & Go Magshock) on a trip via American Airlines between Pittsburgh PA and Orlando FL. Connection in Charlotte NC on both trips (there and back). I gate-checked the WC on each leg, and they brought it to me at the plane door each time per the marked tag. There was no damage to my WC that wasn't already there before (minor scratches in paint on frame).

On the way down I used a travel bag that I bought from the WC manufacturer to make it easier for the baggage handlers and hopefully protect the chair. But on the way back I managed to misplace/forget the travel bag at the security check in Orlando. Unfortunately I didn't realize it until I was at the departure gate and didn't have enough time to go back and get the bag. So I gate-checked the WC anyway and just took a couple minutes at the plane door to show the baggage handler how to fold the chair and the best way to carry it (since it doesn't "lock" in the folded mode). I was a bit nervous, but as I stated above, I didn't notice any damage to the chair.

I filed a missing item report with MCO Lost & Found as soon as I got home, but they never found the bag. I haven't replaced the bag due to several reasons:
(1) The travel bag always took a good bit of time to put on the chair, so I had to do that in the boarding area, not at the plane door, to avoid slowing down the boarding process. Then I had to carry/wheel the chair down to the plane when boarding.
(2) The Velcro straps on the bag had a tendency to come loose, defeating the purpose of the bag to make it easier to handle the WC.
(3) Even without the travel bag, the baggage handlers seemed to have no issue handling the chair once I took a couple minutes to explain the best way to carry it.

That being said, I might feel differently if I were checking the WC through to the destination and picking it up in baggage claim. Some of the automated baggage handling systems are pretty rough, so I would be more worried about damage.

 

[mamabunny]

Thank you, I was more referring to if they have fixed their issues with high rates of damaging mobility devices? Before COVID they had one of the highest rates of damage in the industry.

That I can't really speak to - I would check the US Dept of Transportation page that links to the most current reports. Full disclaimer: I have not flown since before the pandemic; we drove down and back for our Thanksgiving/early December trip last year.

Personally, I have had more issues with TSA than I have any airline; we have had 2 laptops dropped and broken, and Angus was rendered nearly inoperable once by a cranky TSA agent at MCO who demanded that I unplug his battery!

It takes more than a year (on average) to get a TSA claim for damage through the system; our 2nd laptop that was dropped took more than 18 months for them to reimburse us for the repairs.

Those experiences are the primary reason why I encourage folks around here who must use a mobility device at the airport to *follow* a helper through the line if they have another person in their travel party - you want to have someone ahead of you that you can trust to grab your stuff after it is scanned, as typically you will be busy with the TSA agent, and your stuff will just sit there, unattended, otherwise.

 

[mamabunny]

So, after the people in front have gotten off? How long does it usually take for the mobility devices to be brought to the terminal ramp/tunnel thing? My mom will need to bring a mobility device from now on whenever she travels, and it would be good for her to know if it takes a long time (she gets cranky when she has to wait, ugh!) so that she can mentally prepare herself. Her last trip up here, she didn't bring her own device, and it was a hot mess.

I would prepare her for up to 30 minutes - that's the longest it ever took us to get my device back. On average, it's closer to 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the several factors:

- When your device was gate-checked for the flight (often the first, or heaviest items are placed at the bottom/back of the hold, so they may come off the plane last)
- How many other devices were gate-checked besides yours
- How many of those items will be coming back up to the aircraft door
- How far it is from the aircraft itself on the tarmac to the nearest service elevator, and from there to the jetway of your aircraft. (This alone can easily add 5+ minutes to the time). If your device is light enough and/or small enough, they will often just carry it up the outside stairs, and pop it in through the doorway. This is most often the case for strollers, and super lightweight scooters like my TravelScoot.
- How large the aircraft is (more seats = more people = more items that will inevitably be gate-checked)
- How many crew members are working the gate-check hold. If there is only 1 crew member on that hold, and they have to empty it out, and begin to re-load it, it will be the full 30 minutes most likely.

We always ask the Flight Attendants if we can please move forward and sit in the empty First Class seats (once First is completely emptied out). They have never said no to us, but we always try to be respectful of the situation. Often, they will invite us forward to sit and wait.

I actually find it kind of takes the stress out of de-planing, because everyone else is always so eager to get off the plane. We just take our time and wait, and let all of them go ahead of us; knowing that, we build our layovers a bit longer, and let them all go on. I'm still going to Disney World, even if I get there an hour later on the next flight, than the guy in the seat behind me!

 

[mamabunny]

Whenever I gate-checked my power WC with American Airlines, the agent always asked me if I wanted the chair back at the plane at each stop/connection or checked through to baggage claim at the final destination. They marked this on the tag they placed on the WC, so that baggage handlers knew where to deliver the WC.

Seems to me the process should be the same with scooters.


In November 2021 I took my folding power WC (Fold & Go Magshock) on a trip via American Airlines between Pittsburgh PA and Orlando FL. Connection in Charlotte NC on both trips (there and back). I gate-checked the WC on each leg, and they brought it to me at the plane door each time per the marked tag. There was no damage to my WC that wasn't already there before (minor scratches in paint on frame).

On the way down I used a travel bag that I bought from the WC manufacturer to make it easier for the baggage handlers and hopefully protect the chair. But on the way back I managed to misplace/forget the travel bag at the security check in Orlando. Unfortunately I didn't realize it until I was at the departure gate and didn't have enough time to go back and get the bag. So I gate-checked the WC anyway and just took a couple minutes at the plane door to show the baggage handler how to fold the chair and the best way to carry it (since it doesn't "lock" in the folded mode). I was a bit nervous, but as I stated above, I didn't notice any damage to the chair.

I filed a missing item report with MCO Lost & Found as soon as I got home, but they never found the bag. I haven't replaced the bag due to several reasons:
(1) The travel bag always took a good bit of time to put on the chair, so I had to do that in the boarding area, not at the plane door, to avoid slowing down the boarding process. Then I had to carry/wheel the chair down to the plane when boarding.
(2) The Velcro straps on the bag had a tendency to come loose, defeating the purpose of the bag to make it easier to handle the WC.
(3) Even without the travel bag, the baggage handlers seemed to have no issue handling the chair once I took a couple minutes to explain the best way to carry it.

That being said, I might feel differently if I were checking the WC through to the destination and picking it up in baggage claim. Some of the automated baggage handling systems are pretty rough, so I would be more worried about damage.

I seem to recall our friend, @Ray Sharpton, struggling with that travel bag as well.

Whenever I travel by car, once Figgy (my F&G) is folded, I go ahead and put a strap of Velcro One Wrap through the opening on the foot rest, through the push bar on the seat back and secure that. That way, it can't "pop" open. (I have not traveled with Figgy by air since I was gifted him just after the pandemic began, and we have not flown since)

I gave up a long time ago trying to keep my mobility devices "perfect" - I view the dings and scrapes and little booboos as a sign of all my travels and adventures!

 

[bluecruiser]

I seem to recall our friend, @Ray Sharpton, struggling with that travel bag as well.

Whenever I travel by car, once Figgy (my F&G) is folded, I go ahead and put a strap of Velcro One Wrap through the opening on the foot rest, through the push bar on the seat back and secure that. That way, it can't "pop" open. (I have not traveled with Figgy by air since I was gifted him just after the pandemic began, and we have not flown since)

I gave up a long time ago trying to keep my mobility devices "perfect" - I view the dings and scrapes and little booboos as a sign of all my travels and adventures!

Thanks @mamabunny, I'll look for some Velcro One Wrap for my next trip! What width do you use? It looks like it comes in widths up to 1.5 inches. And just to confirm, you don't put it around the whole chair, just between the foot rest and push bar?

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks @mambunny, I'll look for some Velcro One Wrap for my next trip! What width do you use? It looks like it comes in widths up to 1.5 inches. And just to confirm, you don't put it around the whole chair, just between the foot rest and push bar?

you would put it where 2 pieces fold together to hold them next to each other so it doesn’t unfold.

Depending on your airline and whether your flight is direct or has different legs, you may have the choice of where gate checked items are returned.
When we‘ve traveled Delta Airlines, the gate check tag had different choices that could be checked on the tag. If there are choices, it’s important to make sure the correct one is checked.
We‘ve traveled recently by Sun Country; their tag is bright neon yellow and printed ONLY with instructions to bring the item to the gate.

As for dings, we’ve taken 3 trips now with DD’s newest manual wheelchair. It looks like it has a better/deeper paint job than her old one did. So far, the only dings are small ones on the black painted wheel push rims, which can be repainted.
I haven’t had time to do it yet, but am planning to put clear film on the painted frame parts to protect them. It’s the same material you may have on the door edges of your car to protect against dings (also called ‘helicopter tape). I’ll post after I do it; it’s supposed to be pretty easy to put on. I just have to have DD out of her chair long enough to do it.

We haven’t traveled with DD’s power chair - way too many moving parts since it pretty much does everything - raise, recline, stand - don’t want to tempt fate on that one.

 

[Evita_W]

That I can't really speak to - I would check the US Dept of Transportation page that links to the most current reports. Full disclaimer: I have not flown since before the pandemic; we drove down and back for our Thanksgiving/early December trip last year.

Personally, I have had more issues with TSA than I have any airline; we have had 2 laptops dropped and broken, and Angus was rendered nearly inoperable once by a cranky TSA agent at MCO who demanded that I unplug his battery!

It takes more than a year (on average) to get a TSA claim for damage through the system; our 2nd laptop that was dropped took more than 18 months for them to reimburse us for the repairs.

Those experiences are the primary reason why I encourage folks around here who must use a mobility device at the airport to *follow* a helper through the line if they have another person in their travel party - you want to have someone ahead of you that you can trust to grab your stuff after it is scanned, as typically you will be busy with the TSA agent, and your stuff will just sit there, unattended, otherwise.

I can't find that page, do you by chance have a link to it?

DH is a bit gun shy with flying since they damaged his ECV on the last trip, luckily Southwest owned up to causing the damage and Gold Mobility was able to have it repaired and delivered back to us within a few hours and provided a loaner in the meanwhile. For the record, Gold Mobility and Southwest's insurance company worked well with each other and the insurance company was impressed by the level of communication, speed of repair and how cost effective they were. Honestly, if we had to have a damaged device, it couldn't have gone better, just wish it hadn't been damaged in the first place and Southwest was very apologetic about it. Luckily in this case the damage was cosmetic, allowing him to take the scooter to the resort where Gold Mobility could pick it up. If you are wondering, the damages totaled around $500 to be repaired.

Reading various articles, it takes most scooter repair companies 3-6 months to even get the parts right now and that is causing issues for the airlines, for example Southwest tries to have repairs completed within 30 days, but they can't do that if the repair company can't get the parts. This is why Southwest's insurance company was so surprised with Gold Mobility, talking with them, someone else had a damaged chair on their scooter and it took 4 months to get a new one for them, so when they saw it repaired in the matter of hours, they said they will end up using them for future repairs in the area if necessary.

We were also fortunate that Gold Mobility has a good relationship with parts providers and was able to get the parts (a captains chair and the bracket for the front basket on a Victory 10.2) very quickly, but we were going to Disney World and renting another scooter for me from them and were already planning on having them inspect the scooter to make sure there was nothing that needed addressing before it became a big problem (there wasn't any damage aside from what the airline did), so it was relatively easy. This trip though we are flying to Miami and so if damages occur, we may have bigger issues.

As for the TSA bit, in the Long Beach, CA airport (where we prefer to fly from), our TSA agents have not only been very friendly, but helpful as well, having a person watch DH's unsecured belongings while he was dealing with the TSA agent. Orlando is a completely different story though.


FYI, Here is a picture of the damage to the seat:


Yes in the grand scheme the damage was fairly minor and as DH said at the time, if he had done the damage to the seat himself, he wouldn't have worried about it, but he hopes that by reporting it to the airline and having them repair it that it makes them a little more cautious with other mobility devices, as what he wouldn't want to see is a device damaged so badly that it was unusable. And for the record, there was absolutely no damage to the scooter before the flight, the ticket agent checking it over even commented that it looked brand new and it was written down there was no damage.

 

[SueM in MN]

TSA Air Travel Consumer Report 2021 and 22 YTD
This was released February 2022.
The wheelchair info is pages 43-47; kind of nebulous- it’s ‘mishandled‘ wheelchairs, which includes damaged, misdirected and lost.

 

[mamabunny]

Thanks @mamabunny, I'll look for some Velcro One Wrap for my next trip! What width do you use? It looks like it comes in widths up to 1.5 inches. And just to confirm, you don't put it around the whole chair, just between the foot rest and push bar?

Yes! I just wrap a length of it around the push bar, and go through the foot rest, and I make sure that it overlaps by about 6 inches. I use the 1.5" width.

you would put it where 2 pieces fold together to hold them next to each other so it doesn’t unfold.

Depending on your airline and whether your flight is direct or has different legs, you may have the choice of where gate checked items are returned.
When we‘ve traveled Delta Airlines, the gate check tag had different choices that could be checked on the tag. If there are choices, it’s important to make sure the correct one is checked.
We‘ve traveled recently by Sun Country; their tag is bright neon yellow and printed ONLY with instructions to bring the item to the gate.

As for dings, we’ve taken 3 trips now with DD’s newest manual wheelchair. It looks like it has a better/deeper paint job than her old one did. So far, the only dings are small ones on the black painted wheel push rims, which can be repainted.
I haven’t had time to do it yet, but am planning to put clear film on the painted frame parts to protect them. It’s the same material you may have on the door edges of your car to protect against dings (also called ‘helicopter tape). I’ll post after I do it; it’s supposed to be pretty easy to put on. I just have to have DD out of her chair long enough to do it.

We haven’t traveled with DD’s power chair - way too many moving parts since it pretty much does everything - raise, recline, stand - don’t want to tempt fate on that one.

That's a very cool idea - to use the "helicopter tape"! (LOL at my hubby work they have sticky protective stuff called "elephant hide" - it isn't clear, but boy-howdy does it protect stuff!)

 

[mamabunny]

I can't find that page, do you by chance have a link to it?

DH is a bit gun shy with flying since they damaged his ECV on the last trip, luckily Southwest owned up to causing the damage and Gold Mobility was able to have it repaired and delivered back to us within a few hours and provided a loaner in the meanwhile. For the record, Gold Mobility and Southwest's insurance company worked well with each other and the insurance company was impressed by the level of communication, speed of repair and how cost effective they were. Honestly, if we had to have a damaged device, it couldn't have gone better, just wish it hadn't been damaged in the first place and Southwest was very apologetic about it. Luckily in this case the damage was cosmetic, allowing him to take the scooter to the resort where Gold Mobility could pick it up. If you are wondering, the damages totaled around $500 to be repaired.

Reading various articles, it takes most scooter repair companies 3-6 months to even get the parts right now and that is causing issues for the airlines, for example Southwest tries to have repairs completed within 30 days, but they can't do that if the repair company can't get the parts. This is why Southwest's insurance company was so surprised with Gold Mobility, talking with them, someone else had a damaged chair on their scooter and it took 4 months to get a new one for them, so when they saw it repaired in the matter of hours, they said they will end up using them for future repairs in the area if necessary.

We were also fortunate that Gold Mobility has a good relationship with parts providers and was able to get the parts (a captains chair and the bracket for the front basket on a Victory 10.2) very quickly, but we were going to Disney World and renting another scooter for me from them and were already planning on having them inspect the scooter to make sure there was nothing that needed addressing before it became a big problem (there wasn't any damage aside from what the airline did), so it was relatively easy. This trip though we are flying to Miami and so if damages occur, we may have bigger issues.

As for the TSA bit, in the Long Beach, CA airport (where we prefer to fly from), our TSA agents have not only been very friendly, but helpful as well, having a person watch DH's unsecured belongings while he was dealing with the TSA agent. Orlando is a completely different story though.


FYI, Here is a picture of the damage to the seat:
View attachment 661124

Yes in the grand scheme the damage was fairly minor and as DH said at the time, if he had done the damage to the seat himself, he wouldn't have worried about it, but he hopes that by reporting it to the airline and having them repair it that it makes them a little more cautious with other mobility devices, as what he wouldn't want to see is a device damaged so badly that it was unusable. And for the record, there was absolutely no damage to the scooter before the flight, the ticket agent checking it over even commented that it looked brand new and it was written down there was no damage.

So sorry for the problem - I fixed the link up there, and here it is again:

DOT wheelchair statistics

Also, thank you @SueM in MN for posting that link as well!