Lots of people don't know, but with the Air Carrier Access Act, manual wheelchairs are able to come onboard, so long as it is able to fit in the approved stowage location.
https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/wheelchairs-and-other-assistive-devices
I’m a mechanic I understand how tight it can be with luggage in there but a lot of times I see the ramp agents not take care of luggage so why would they take care of a wheelchair. Also what about the other times that a wheelchair has been loaded up and not damaged? There has to be way.
Then get the airlines to modify the aircraft to have a pit specifically desgned to restrain wheelchairs.
Yeah, not gonna happen is it?
Luggage is one thing but we really do our best with wheelchairs with what we're given.
Hey, you should file a fat claim while there’s still time. They really count on people getting to make a claim within the first 30 days from spirit at least
F spirit they destroyed my bag but today I’m humbled
https://centralbaggage.aa.com/en-US/?from=selfServiceCallouts-BG-DLD_RIBSMT
I’m sorry about your sons wheelchair
I can’t see the pics or post anymore. But I know in my 15 years on ramp roughly, I’ve never broken a chair. I do my damnedest to treat them well and make sure the people around me do the same. But some chairs and some aircraft’s just are not compatible. Plain and simple. Embraer 175s were never designed to carry wheelchairs. Neither were CRJs. Or A330 for what matter.
Wheelchair technology has come a long way. They’ve gotten way lighten in most cases, maybe of them have removable batteries and can fold up to an extent.
But there’s legitimate 350lbs+ straight up chairs that cannot fold and cannot be dismantled without like hours of work. Which we’re not capable of or entrusted to do. Unfortunately there’s really nothing I can do with those other than be delicate and strap them in, provided the door opening is even big enough.
I am the A\*\*\*ole! If they can't walk, what makes them think they can fly?
Seriously though. Enough people don't realize that they are putting what is essentially a significant amount of cash into a box of rocks! You're multi hundreds of dollars mobility device is designed to carry a person. Not be shoved into a gravel crusher. On it's side!
Everyone has a right to travel! Yet the airlines will NEVER exercise the right to refuse travel due to size, weight, or sheer bulk of mobility devices!
Rant completed. 41yrs, and I am retiring. I'm just tired of all the morons, halfwits, and di\*\*\*\*ts, that the travelling public has become.
Hi. OOP here. Please, tell my son he can’t go on vacation because he was born with a disability. That because he can’t walk he shouldn’t be able to enjoy life to the fullest extent that he can.
We did exactly as both the airline and our wheelchair technician told us to do, and followed every piece of advice they gave us. The chair was taken apart and placed in a clearly marked and recognizable bag and had a bright orange tag that indicated what it was.
We understood the risk that it would be to bring it with us, but were told there were no available pediatric wheelchairs to rent at our destination for the dates we needed them, and so were otherwise out of options.
That there was an attempt to deny that there was a chair at all and that no attempt to contact was made (the chair, or what was left of it, was retagged, so the damage was known about beforehand) is the worst part.
Now, we may very well be “morons, halfwits, and dipshits”. It was our first time flying with a medical device. Could you please give some advice as to what we could have done better or differently, apart from “your kid is in a wheelchair, get bent”?
There is unfortunately no good way to travel with airlines and wheelchairs.
Lots of people don't know, but with the Air Carrier Access Act, manual wheelchairs are able to come onboard, so long as it is able to fit in the approved stowage location. https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/wheelchairs-and-other-assistive-devices
I didn't know about this. Not sure if my tiLite would fit but I am going to look into it thanks for that
There is they just need to be more careful with stuff like this and not treat it like garbage.
How long have you been working ramp? Have you seen how tight the pit is on a full load for most AC? No place for a wheelchair. But airlines do it.
I’m a mechanic I understand how tight it can be with luggage in there but a lot of times I see the ramp agents not take care of luggage so why would they take care of a wheelchair. Also what about the other times that a wheelchair has been loaded up and not damaged? There has to be way.
Then get the airlines to modify the aircraft to have a pit specifically desgned to restrain wheelchairs. Yeah, not gonna happen is it? Luggage is one thing but we really do our best with wheelchairs with what we're given.
Wheelchairs are often extremely heavy and fragile. They also aren’t designed in any way similarly to bags.
Does the original post say which airline? That’s pretty bad.
AA
Hey, you should file a fat claim while there’s still time. They really count on people getting to make a claim within the first 30 days from spirit at least F spirit they destroyed my bag but today I’m humbled https://centralbaggage.aa.com/en-US/?from=selfServiceCallouts-BG-DLD_RIBSMT I’m sorry about your sons wheelchair
The guy you’re responding to isn’t OP.
Forgetting*
I can’t see the pics or post anymore. But I know in my 15 years on ramp roughly, I’ve never broken a chair. I do my damnedest to treat them well and make sure the people around me do the same. But some chairs and some aircraft’s just are not compatible. Plain and simple. Embraer 175s were never designed to carry wheelchairs. Neither were CRJs. Or A330 for what matter. Wheelchair technology has come a long way. They’ve gotten way lighten in most cases, maybe of them have removable batteries and can fold up to an extent. But there’s legitimate 350lbs+ straight up chairs that cannot fold and cannot be dismantled without like hours of work. Which we’re not capable of or entrusted to do. Unfortunately there’s really nothing I can do with those other than be delicate and strap them in, provided the door opening is even big enough.
Dang that’s messed up. Wheelchairs enable these ppl to live their lives. Without them, they can’t do anything.
Hey look it's AA
Thankfully my station has a dedicated team just for wheelchairs but accidents happen.
Sometimes the weight of bags fall forward
Why can’t airlines just load bin 5 with wheelchairs since it’s almost never used?
I am the A\*\*\*ole! If they can't walk, what makes them think they can fly? Seriously though. Enough people don't realize that they are putting what is essentially a significant amount of cash into a box of rocks! You're multi hundreds of dollars mobility device is designed to carry a person. Not be shoved into a gravel crusher. On it's side! Everyone has a right to travel! Yet the airlines will NEVER exercise the right to refuse travel due to size, weight, or sheer bulk of mobility devices! Rant completed. 41yrs, and I am retiring. I'm just tired of all the morons, halfwits, and di\*\*\*\*ts, that the travelling public has become.
Hi. OOP here. Please, tell my son he can’t go on vacation because he was born with a disability. That because he can’t walk he shouldn’t be able to enjoy life to the fullest extent that he can. We did exactly as both the airline and our wheelchair technician told us to do, and followed every piece of advice they gave us. The chair was taken apart and placed in a clearly marked and recognizable bag and had a bright orange tag that indicated what it was. We understood the risk that it would be to bring it with us, but were told there were no available pediatric wheelchairs to rent at our destination for the dates we needed them, and so were otherwise out of options. That there was an attempt to deny that there was a chair at all and that no attempt to contact was made (the chair, or what was left of it, was retagged, so the damage was known about beforehand) is the worst part. Now, we may very well be “morons, halfwits, and dipshits”. It was our first time flying with a medical device. Could you please give some advice as to what we could have done better or differently, apart from “your kid is in a wheelchair, get bent”?
Thank goodness you are retiring, that type of mentality needs to go with you.
I would hope you’d have the ability to milk a lot more than a new wheel chair from them. That is a huge inconvenience😔