Travel Woes

1.What sort of things about travel, mostly air travel, are the biggest inconvenience for you?

Travel by Air if you are a wheelchair user is pretty stressful or can be. I travel using my manual attendant pushed wheelchair as my moderate sized power-chair does not meet size specifications for storing in plane hold or door size. So travelling without my power-chair with specialist seating is a pain.

You cannot take your own chair on board you must be transferred from your manual chair to the aisle chair by not always very careful people. this involves someone lifting you by knees and another behind you in a cross armed grip under your arms and lifting but chest/upper body under arms.

on aisle chair your tipped back for most of the transfer trip till you reach your chair.

Meanwhile people are boarding all around you. pushing shoving and annoyed that this disabled person is in the way. holding everyone up even tho us disabled people must present ourselves about 1-2hrs earlier to qualify for the boarding help.

Getting off in my experience normally bit easier as they make disabled people wait till last. it can be long uncomfortable wait on the hot tar mac or the Scottish winter cold buy normally bit more dignified being lifted off in an empty plane. unless they start boarding the next flight which can happen.

2. How do you deal with fatigue on long flights?

I use my Bipap Ventilator to be more comfortable but not really a way to deal with fatigue other than distract with reading etc. Part of the fatigue comes from not being able to eat and drink on board as no access to a toilet. the Aisle chair is not available during flight and no disabled access toilets.

3. Best/Worst flying experiences?

Have limited experience of only 3 flights so cant really add opinion.

4. What makes flying more enjoyable?

5. What could airports do to help make things easier?

Have disabled toilets at the disabled persons boarding gates for each flight. having experienced a delay on the disabled check in assistance collecting us from disabled check in even tho I was 3 hrs early from another connection. Was made late for plane and not permitted to use the toilet before a 4 hour flight home.

A clear action plan for disabled travels with medical equipment. If a delay should occur which could be many many hours facilities for charging medical equipment should be made available. they should have and publish a duty of care to make sure disabled. elderly and children have access to food/drink and toilets. or alternative travel.

Heres hoping for a brilliant success on its sales.

Mike