Help from Powerchair users or those who no about them

[Belle1997]

Question for all power wheelchair users. I travelled to WDW and back. Thanks to the advice of this board I took my arm with the power controller off the chair so no damage was done. I was asked to bring a manual of the chair. Which I did. I also took pictures and pointed out how to fold my seat as my back has been made with a latch that folds the back rest down. 2 things are puzzling to me and I am not sure if I should complain.

1) When I went to turn on my chair in Toronto. There was no power. Someone had take off the back of the chair and unplugged the battery. And left the lid not attached. I had a technician go over my chair. I even knew how to get at the battery but it meant taking apart the seat.

This was not done on my flight down. So is this a saftey issue. Do they need to do this. If so do you not think they should put it back the way they found it. I was panicking when it did not work. I had no idea about this connection. I needed my husband to put the lid back on as I did not have the strength. I was travelling alone. He was on the other side of security. Was someone trying to get at the battery?

2) I had given full instructions on how to fold down the backrest. I had pictures and arrows. I left all instructions under my seat but sticking out so they could look. Someone took an allen key and moved my postion on my chair. So much so that the backrest did not fit properly. Again my husband and to put it back together the right way.

My biggest concern is if this happens on my way down to WDW and he is not there to fix these issues. Having an exposed back where the wires are is not a good thing. Having a chair that gives me no back support not good either.

I also found a small tear in my back rest and a few scratches where they to off the back plate. But to me that is no big deal as I except some wear and tear.


Thanks for your help

 

[Belle1997]

Just a friendly bump. I am gussing no one has run into this issue???

 

[Nanajo1]

Double posting

 

[Nanajo1]

I have not taken my power chair on the plane to WDW. I use my ECV in the airport and rent a power chair from an Orlando vendor. One of my fears is discovering a problem after leaving the airport. As far as unplugging your chair I see no reason to do so. I think I would call the airline and ask why your chair was unplugged and why they touched and fiddled with your seat back. They must be told that this is unacceptable and dangerous to you. Also report the damage. See if you can find out from the airline what their policy is and for them to explain their actions.

 

[peemagg]

The airline is also supposed to return the chair back to you in the condition you left it to them. This means that if you left the battery intact, they have to return it to you intact. I would call the airline and let them know all of the issues you had.

 

[WheelieBigDisFan]

Yes, the airlines do have to disconnect the battery to a PWC depending on the battery type you have. If you have a gel battery it can often be left attached, but with the chair turned off. If you have a wet cell (liquid) battery it must be detached and put in a special box inside the cargo hold to prevent a hazards spill. Once the flight is over, they should replace the battery and reconnect it. There is NO reason they should have used an allen key to move your backrest. If you left instructions on how to FOLD the backrest, those should have been followed. If your backrest is NON folding, they should not do ANYTHING to it.
Also, I would have filed a damage claim for the tear in the backrest. This is definitely the airlines fault, and they need to be held accountable. Once you have left the airport it is much harder to file a claim b/c there is no way to definitively prove that you did not cause the damage yourself.
I think that ANYONE who uses a chair and has ANY damage to their wheelchair after getting off a flight needs to report it and have it fixed, no matter how small. Only once the airlines start feeling the money leave their pockets paying for wheelchair repairs will they finally start treating our chairs with respect and not damaging them by dropping them from large heights, throwing them around, using tools where they don't belong, stacking baggage on top of them, etc.
Mandy

The airline is also supposed to return the chair back to you in the condition you left it to them. This means that if you left the battery intact, they have to return it to you intact. I would call the airline and let them know all of the issues you had.

 

[maroo]

The airline is also supposed to return the chair back to you in the condition you left it to them. This means that if you left the battery intact, they have to return it to you intact. I would call the airline and let them know all of the issues you had.

totally agree with this!