It is amazing what the airlines are coming up with for luxury travelers. In the pics above, Ethiad, JAL, and Singapore airlines highlight their first class sections and premium suites. Look at that bar with all the space around it! Check out that couch! And that bed and recliner combo in that last suite. AMAZING!
Innovation is at top speed at these airlines and the airplane companies that supply their fleets. It has even been floated that sleeper suites could one day be available in modular cargo hold pods. How incredible would that be?
Whoah, woah, woah, back it up. Can we get wheelchairs on planes first before the next round of luxury suite development?
While many airlines are busy improving their first class service (I’m not even sure how I’d be lifted/transferred into some of these suite designs), wheelchair users are left behind. In a world where all of the above designs are not only possible, but in production, wheelchair users board planes like this because we cannot remain in our wheelchairs.
How archaic does this look? Some of the wheelchairs that people are put on to be brought onto planes are decades old. There are sometimes as many as six straps (one for each attorney who has ever sued an airline when someone fell out, I’m sure). Often wheelchair users have to be lifted by improperly-trained teenagers. Other times it’s by people not in shape enough to handle the lift.
Nothing is more ridiculous than being lifted to an aisle chair, strapped in with six straps, then rolled ten feet to my seat only to do the process in reverse. It takes time, it is awkward, and often other passengers have nothing better to do than watch (even though airlines try to board wheelchair users first).
Not just that, but wheelchairs are broken at a rate of 25 per day, according to 2019 FAA reports. Could you imagine if 25 pairs of passenger legs were broken every day? And don’t even get me started about passengers with disabilities who are injured because of lifts and transfers.
There are small organizations trying to move forward with wheelchairs on planes, such as the All Wheels Up organization. In accordance with recent legislation, AWU has raised money and performed safety testing on wheelchair restraints on airplanes.
It would be nice, however, if airlines or airplane manufacturers could lead on this issue. Of course it’s a matter of money. Of course it’s also matter of there being no requirements for this. It’s an example where capitalism needs improvement.
Airlines don’t seem to understand that flying is often the only time a wheelchair user is more than a few feet from their wheelchair — EVER. It’s taken under the plane to cargo and brought up after landing. Sometimes it’s brought to the airplane door (as it’s supposed to in the USA) but other times it’s brought to baggage. Sometimes it’s not brought at all (I had a chair left in Sweden once by the airline).
I know safety needs to be evaluated so all passengers remain safe if chairs are on planes. But let’s face it, if passengers can accept that the beverage cart (which weighs 300 pounds fully loaded) can roll freely down the aisle, then they can accept a 100-200 pound wheelchair (usually less) which is strapped down for the duration of the flight.
Think about how passengers are belted in. A 200 pound passenger is belted into a seat with a standard airplane seatbelt. You’re telling me a four-point tie down or locking system isn’t going to be sufficiently safe for a 100 pound wheelchair?
But come on. If you can figure out a way to create an entire industry of flying metal birds with luxury suites the size of a small home bathroom, then certainly you can innovate a way to allow wheelchair users who want to fly in their own chairs be able to, without losing money.
In the meantime, I continue to fly as much as I want. I have backup chairs at home in case one breaks. I file complaints when something goes wrong. I get my chairs fixed by airlines when they’re broken and I get vouchers and gift cards when they damage my chair. It’s frustrating to have to handle it when it comes up but I’m not going to stop flying because of it and I’m not going to feel bad when an airline has to shell out a few thousand dollars to fix a chair they broke.
I also mention to flight attendants, pilots, and ground staff that one day maybe we’ll be able to fly in our chairs and save everyone time getting on and off the planes. I have never been met with anything but support from airline employees. Even the ones who are tasked with apologizing to me will lament the fact that chairs aren’t allowed on planes yet.
I go anyway and I encourage you to go anyway too. Even though many chairs are broken each day, many more do make it safely. In my experience, I’ve had only a handful of mishaps over dozens and dozens of flight segments. If you are nervous about your primary chair, find a cheap backup on Craigslist or eBay that you can use and survive in for the duration of your trip. You could also rent one in your final destination.
Hopefully one day I’ll be able to roll down the jetway and get onto a plane the same way I can roll onto any accessible train. Nobody will have to lift me and nobody will have to touch my chair except to put on the restraints.
But at the current rate, I will probably get space for my chair on a SpaceX flight to Mars before I can stay in my chair on a flight from Chicago to Europe.
You Should Go Anyway 