bgcbarbara

Has anyone traveled on BA in a power wheelchair? My daughter has a small chair (she is 4'9&quot. I have called British Airlines twice to ask about taking her wheelchair and nobody has been able to help me with information. They are not sure what happens. Her chair does not have a liquid battery. It plugs directly into the wall. They should not have to take it apart.

Also, if you took your chair to the UK, how did you handle charging it?
Barbara

nytraveler

You really need to talk to someone at the airline. I assume a power wheelchair would have to be checked (no room for it on the plane unless it folds up small - and I've never seen one) - and you might be charged as extra baggage. Also, you would need to arrange for their wheelchairs to/fro plane and baggage pick up.

jsmith

A search on the BA website (put wheelchairs in the search box) produced this:

18d1) There is no charge for transporting any assistive device, such as a wheelchair or a cane, and such assistive devices will not be counted towards your free baggage allowance.


http://www.britishairways.com/travel...xt=WHEELCHAIRS

Disability assistance
... is available, we will store collapsible wheelchairs and mobility aids in the aircraft
cabin. If space is not available in the cabin, your wheelchair will be ...

Battery powered wheelchairs
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...=searchResults

Can't help with charging info but unless there is a heavy current draw I think a convertor. would suffice.

Good luck.

daveesl

Just got back with MIL from England and Ireland. While not on BA, all airlines have same requirements for assistive devices. We did UA and Ryanair.

They will carry motorized wheelchairs and scooters. There is no charge for this, but they must be able to fit in the cargo hold.

Here is the problem, while some taxis in London do have wheelchair ramps into the cab, that is not the case with others, outside of the city.

In my MIL's case, we have an EasyTravel, foldable scooter. It weighs only 50 lbs. Battery is FAA approved and folds up to fit in the trunk of a Camry with ease. If anyone is interested, it is called the EasyTravel. Be aware that the battery charger burned out a couple of days after we arrived, but I got one for the Rascal which works far better than the original.

daveesl

Also be aware that the cargo handlers are not real careful with the chairs. The heavier they are, the more upset they get. A standard motorized wheelchair can weigh upwards of 200 lbs.

bgcbarbara

Thanks for the info. It is just as I had suspected. They are not careful with the heavy chairs. I guess we will rent one when we get there.
Barbara

amsdon

I have traveled with a wheelchair companion and it was one of the most frustrating experiences ever.
Some planes have lifts and some put the passenger on a dolly like apparatus while laying on a strecher (I am not kidding it was horrible)

Definately speak to BA in advance and ask for someone to find out and respond very specifically to your questions preferably via e mail. As you know power chairs are very heavy. People (including flight staff) who do not know about these devices make ridiculous requests & remarks to handicapped persons.

You need to get exact dimension of the walk ways n the plane of course.

If that doesn't work there must be a regulatory equivalent of the ADA for BA, check out this website
http://www.disabledtravelers.com/airlines.htm

jkbritt

I own a Scootie Jr. scooter. It weights 60 pounds. If you take the battery pack out, it weights 30. I took it on United, Air Lingus and Ryanair. United and AL were no problem. Showed up early, turned chair in and went to the seat in the plane. I am somewhat ambulatory. Scooter was off loaded and brought to me at the cabin door - I had requested that when I notified them I was bringing an electric scooter. It is a long walk from the plane to the baggage area.

Air Lingus was a bit more trouble. When the baggage handlers were told that they had a electric wheel chair to load -they refused. They did not even look at it, they refused to come and get it at the security desk. The agent told me not to worry, when they went off shift, the next shift would load it with no problem, which they did. Go figure? I also reminded him -nicely-that they were required to carry the chair because I had notified them in advance and they -the booking agent-agreed to take it and me aboard.

On charging, I took a converter -converts UK voltage to US 110. I plugged it into the socket that converts UK plugs into US plugs, then plugged the converter in and plugged the chair charger into the converter. Worked fine. We bought all that we needed at Radio Shack. If you can, I would take an extra chair charger with you. They are hard to replace when traveling. Converters can be found in Europe.

As nytraveler suggested, you MUST talk to a person about this and have it scheduled. However, as nyt suggested about baggage charges -there is no extra baggage charge for a chair.

jkbritt

Should have said no problem with United and Ryanair. A bit of a problem but was solved with Air Lingus. Sorry.

flanneruk

BA has a generally pretty slick policy on wheelchairs. I'm amazed the - presumably American - phone staff you're talking to are being so pathetic.

Their website is quite helpful about this. http://www.britishairways.com/travel...o/public/en_gb

If the monkeys on the US helpdesks aren't any use, there's probably no point trying to find one with a brain. Email or fax (+44 20 8759 4314) their head office. For advice about wheelchairs and similar things in Britain in general, www.radar.org.uk

bgcbarbara

Thanks for the info. The people who answer the phone and their supervisors really are no help. You should have seen how long it took me to get assigned seats--about 50 minutes. The person on the phone must have been new to the job. She almost panicked when I needed to get seats. I asked her if they would have the isle wheelchair on board in case my daughter had to go to the bathroom. She put me on hold to ask her supervisor.

When she came back, she said no, my daughter would just have to walk. I then told her she could not walk or talk or do anything for herself. I also let her know that airlines are supposed to have the isle wheelchair on board. I asked if I needed to request it in advance. She left to go and ask her supervisor again.

When she came to the phone, she asked me "what is wrong with her." I said she has cerebral palsy, and she had never heard of it. She left the phone again.

When she came back, she asked me to spell it. She said she would put it on file so they would know that my daughter really was disabled.

You would have thought that I was the first person to travel with a disabled individual. I have had this same problem with other airlines.

amsdon

"she said no, my daughter would just have to walk"

Barbara, this is precisely the kind of ignorance I mean. Especially if said on board in front of other impatient travelers. I have seen it myself.

I agree follow Flanneruk's suggestions and let us know how it pans out for you.

flanneruk

On practically every BA jumbo I've been on lately to destinations like Florida, the Caribbean or South Asia there have been several wheelchairs, and the staff - at checkin, throughout the airport, at the gate and on the plane - seem to have been well-trained, efficient and courteous.

Here's what seems to have happened every time:
- people in big wheelchairs made their own way to the gate in teir own chair, usually with an attendant, as well as their companions
- at the gate, they were moved onto a smaller BA chair, and boarded first. Their own chair was then put in the hold.
- The smaller chair was kept on board, as far as I could see. It seemed to be used for loo visits: flight attendants generally seemed to get their motivation from ensuring these passengers and their companions were as comfortable as possible.
- they then disembarked last, in the smaller chair, to find the big one waiting at the plane exit.

That's why I'm amazed their US phone staff are being so unprofessional. I've no connection with BA, but their staff generally goes out of their way to be helpful to people with real difficulties. It's us reasonably fit passengers they delight in being horrible to.

dfr4848

<It's us reasonably fit passengers they delight in being horrible to.>

Gee, that's encouraging (!). We're taking our first flight on BA next month. Usually go LH, CO, or KL. Can hardly wait (wink).

bgcbarbara

Thanks, I am glad to hear this. It is what I was expecting. It is just so hard dealing with people on the phone.

Because we have such a hard time dealing with getting her power wheelchair on the planes, we bring her manual wheelchair that can be folded. We take this through the airport and onto the the plane. Then her father picks her up and puts her into her seat. They take the wheelchair and put it away for us. When we get where we are going, we rent a power wheelchair. This will be the first time that we might have to use the bathroom because the flight is longer.

At some airports, she is treated like they think she might be a terrorist. They swipe her wheelchair all over and check for explosives. Then they search her for explosives. I have even been asked to remove her braces and other articles of clothing.

She is searched and checked like you wouldn't believe, while real terrorist are probable walking by smiling. The searching is definitely overkill. I wish the airlines and airports could pay more and hire more people who could think on their feet.

I now call the TSA office at the airports when we travel to see what the security officers should or should not be requiring us to do.

Jean

bgcbarbara, I hope at some point you'll write a letter to the CEO of British Airways and describe your difficulties both before and during your travel.

I work for a gentleman who used to be the CEO and Chairman of an international, multi-billion $ corporation, and, if a letter describing your problems landed on his desk, heads would have rolled.

British Airways Plc.
Waterside
PO Box 365
Harmondsworth
UB7 0GB
England

Mr. Willie Walsh, Chief Executive
Mr. Tony McCarthy, Director of People and Organisational Effectiveness
Mr. Martin Broughton, Chairman

historytraveler

With all the negative comments about BA, I have to say when I traveled with them several years ago (in a wheelchair,but could walk with crutches) I never encountered a problem. They couldn't have been nicer.

They will take you to the plane and then transfer wheel chair person onto (small wheel) chair to get to seat. That chair will then be stored at front of plane. Your chair will have been tagged and will then be sent to baggage,the same procedure as gate-checked bags. On arrival ( you will be last to disembark) they will do the same as you did boarding the plane. They may escort you to baggae claim to recover your personal chair.

I would strongly advise the following:

1) Rent a lightweight chair for the trip and,of course, rent it here.

2) Check with BA prior to flight and let them know your situation. If those you are dealing with are difficult, speak with someone else.

3) When you check in do so with an agent and remind them of you need for assistance.

4) Do the same at the gate.

Good luck and take all the dire comments with a grain of salt.

takemealong

In May 2007, I was on a BA flight from Barcelona to London. There was a group of about 15-20 severely disabled individuals and their assistants on the same flight. As flanneruk said, this group boarded first. BA staff assisted with the boarding pretty much as flanneruk described. The BA staff both at the Barcelona airport and during the flight seemed to handle this with no problems.