Flight help & BWV thoughts - thx

[Im_Chipper_Dale]

Many thanks for your help so far... to recap... my family (DW, 2DD, & I) taking severely mobility impaired sister (able to do a few walking steps if no stairs). My family plans to drive from PA and meet her at airport. She's never flown... can anyone brief me on how to make arrangements for help to get her on the plane.. I will be there to help her get off (but w/ security I don't know if I'll be able to meet her). Airlines set up to handle these things? Also, she is a big lady... any special arrangements needed w/ airline to accommodate size... is 1st class needed?

thanks for your help...

as an update... we are staying at BWV instead of BWI... I'm not sure how long she will be able to handle the parks... she may tire easily... so I thought the villa would be more comfortable for her than the inn... thoughts... which would you prefer.

thanks again for your help.... all this is new to me...

Dale

 

[ReneeQ]

I broke my left thigh bone while in Chicago attending a conference in March. I live in Georgia. I had to have surgery in Chicago and stay in the hospital there for 12 days. Then I had to fly home. My husband flew to Chicago to be with me, so he was with me on the flight home. We flew Delta and they were GREAT.

On my ticket we had a "meet and assist" notation. When we got to the airport in Chicago to come home, a Delta agent met us with a wheelchair. He stayed with us the entire time. He wheeled me through the airport to the gate. (Like I said, my husband was with me, but Delta did everything for me.) I was the first one on the plane. The agent wheeled me down the walkway to the door of the plane. Then two other Delta agents helped him transfer me to a narrow wheelchair that would roll down the aisle of the plane. They rolled me to my seat and helped transfer me.

When the plan landed, I was the last one off the plane. More Delta agents came on the plane and did everything in reverse - loaded me onto the narrow wheelchair, rolled me off the plane, transferred me to the regular wheelchair, and rolled me all the way to the front of the airport to the loading zone, where we waited on my husband, who had gone to get the car. I could stand if using a walker, but the walker was too wide for the aisle of the plane.

One thing I learned the hard way - the bulkhead row (which is the first row after first class) DOES have more floor room, BUT the tray tables are inside the armrests, so the armrests do not lift up. This was VERY uncomfortable for me as I couldn't stand anything touching the side of my leg where the incisions had been made for surgery.

I don't know what airline you are considering, but we found Delta went above and beyond. Good luck!

 

[SueM in MN]

All the airlines have a special needs department (the reservation person you talk to on the phone might not be aware of it, but they all do have someone/some department that deals with special needs requests). You also want a non-stop flight (which I'm sure you have already thought of).
Renee made a good point about the bulkhead seats. Another point is that the bulkhead seats usually don't have any storage space except the overhead bin. Normally, your storage space is under the seat ahead of you. Since the bulkheads don't have a seeat ahead, they usually don't have a place to put anything. Occasinally, we have seen bulkhead seats with a storage bin right ahead of the seat, but that's not usual.
About her size, you can talk with the special needs department about that too. If the flight is not full, they would try to not seat anyone next to her, but that is not guaranteed. On some airlines, she would need to purchase another seat (from what I have read, at a reduced price). First class is larger seats, but more expensive.
I have also read posts from people who have gotten a pass that allows them to go thru security and to the gate with a child or a person with special needs. You would request that from the special needs department beforehand and get the pass from the desk agents at the check in area. I know people have written about using it to put someone on the plane and pick them up, but I don't know the procedure you go thru to get one for picking people up.

I think you are making a good choice on your change from BW to BWV. Having a living room and a small kitchen makes a big difference if someone will be in the room a lot. It's just more comfortable to have a couch to sit on instead of just a bed. Also, having a kitchen will allow her to get a cool drink, snack or have a cup of coffee without having to leave the room.