Using a walker on a airplane

[trbarton]

33 minutes ago, CruisingAlong4Now said:

Make sure your phone is fully charged before you get to the airport.  If there are delays before you board, you phone could run out of power.

 

I always carry a printed copy of my boarding pass.  

Thanks I always have both my IPhone + my IWatch fully charged. I always have my boarding pass loaded on my phone but I think UNITED at the airport could print one out plus I have a code if necessary. At the airport I just put my phone on there machine & it takes care of everything. 
 

Thanks for your suggestion. I never leave my house without a fully charged phone plus I’ll have charging cables with me so my phone is kept charged while I’m on the plane. 
 

Thanks again!

 

Tom😀

[mexico8]

5 hours ago, trbarton said:

When I called they mentioned I already had a close seat plus their English language was so so & they didn’t understand a lot of what I was explaining. Guess I should have called back. Would you call again?

 

Tom😀

As you don't have a letter from your doctor I would drop it for now.   If you do get a letter from your doctor then the next time you call to book a  seat mention that and perhaps they will waive the charge. 

 

I think it's too late now that you have paid and plus you don't have any  letter from your doctor to substantiate your claim.    Better luck next time.

[schmoopie17]

People talk about the "wheelchair pushers". Am I allowed to push my wife in the airport wheelchair that we requested from the airline, or do we need a "pusher"?

Edited October 14, 2023 by schmoopie17

[kokopelli-az]

2 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

People talk about the "wheelchair pushers". Am I allowed to push my wife in the airport wheelchair that we requested from the airline, or do we need a "pusher"?

With most airlines, you do not need to use a pusher; you can do it yourself.  I would go to where the people are waiting for the pushers for your airline and ask whoever is in charge if you can take the wheelchair yourself and leave it at the gate.   If there is no one there in charge at the time you get there, I probably would just take one of the wheelchairs. 

 

The advantage of using one of the airline's pushers is that they know exactly where to go and know the shortcuts of getting through lines and security.   It's usually quicker and easier to use one of the airline's pushers.  

[NavyVeteran]

3 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

People talk about the "wheelchair pushers". Am I allowed to push my wife in the airport wheelchair that we requested from the airline, or do we need a "pusher"?

 

1 hour ago, kokopelli-az said:

With most airlines, you do not need to use a pusher; you can do it yourself.  I would go to where the people are waiting for the pushers for your airline and ask whoever is in charge if you can take the wheelchair yourself and leave it at the gate.   If there is no one there in charge at the time you get there, I probably would just take one of the wheelchairs. 

 

The advantage of using one of the airline's pushers is that they know exactly where to go and know the shortcuts of getting through lines and security.   It's usually quicker and easier to use one of the airline's pushers.  

It depends on the airline and airport. DW usually uses a wheelchair in an airport. I have asked several times if I could push her instead of waiting for a pusher. I've received the following responses at different times and places:

• Yes, no problem. I'm welcome to push her.
• No, I have to wait for a pusher.
• No, I have to wait for a pusher. But when a pusher did not arrive after a period of time, the gate agent then said I could push her.

 

Ask the gate agent when you check in or the person at the wheelchair desk if there is one. You won't know until you ask.

[trbarton]

7 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

People talk about the "wheelchair pushers". Am I allowed to push my wife in the airport wheelchair that we requested from the airline, or do we need a "pusher"?

Any problems getting on or off from the airplane & which airlines?

 

Tom🤔

[gluecksbaer]

On 10/14/2023 at 4:27 PM, trbarton said:

Any problems getting on or off from the airplane & which airlines?

 

Tom🤔

I have had trouble on Southwest and Delta with wheelchair attendants not being available when I disembark.  They will push everyone up to the gate area and then say that someone will come back, but sometimes no one does.  Luckily, when that has happened to me I've had a family member able to help.  We just had to figure out the baggage that they were carrying (and couldn't while pusing the wheelchair).  Sometimes there are places on/under the chair for a carryon, but not always.  

I've also been pushed to the gate in a transport chair and left there to wait for my plane, which made going to the bathroom before boarding complicated.  I'm fairly ambulatory though, and that trip I just had a backpack, so I put it on the chair and used the chair like a walker to get to and from the restroom.

[kokopelli-az]

7 hours ago, gluecksbaer said:

I've also been pushed to the gate in a transport chair and left there to wait for my plane, which made going to the bathroom before boarding complicated.  I'm fairly ambulatory though, and that trip I just had a backpack, so I put it on the chair and used the chair like a walker to get to and from the restroom.

You can always ask the pusher to stop by the restroom on the way to the gate.  They will wait for you outside the restroom.  I have had them ask if we wanted to stop by a restaurant to order something to go.  

 

About being left at the gate without a pusher (from the US Dept of Transportation): 

If you believe your rights under the Air Carrier Access Act are being or have been violated, ask to speak with a Complaints Resolution Official (CRO). A CRO is the airline’s expert on disability accommodation issues. Airlines are required to make one available to you, at no cost, in person at the airport or by telephone during the times they are operating.

 

Here is the Air Carrier Access Act FYI:

https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/passengers-disabilities

[gluecksbaer]

9 minutes ago, kokopelli-az said:

You can always ask the pusher to stop by the restroom on the way to the gate.  They will wait for you outside the restroom.  I have had them ask if we wanted to stop by a restaurant to order something to go.  

 

About being left at the gate without a pusher (from the US Dept of Transportation): 

If you believe your rights under the Air Carrier Access Act are being or have been violated, ask to speak with a Complaints Resolution Official (CRO). A CRO is the airline’s expert on disability accommodation issues. Airlines are required to make one available to you, at no cost, in person at the airport or by telephone during the times they are operating.

 

Here is the Air Carrier Access Act FYI:

https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/passengers-disabilities

I like to go right before boarding to avoid using the bathroom on the plane, that's why just asking an attendant to stop on the way isn't helpful.  They always have attendants again when it's time to board, or the airline employees help, but I would be worried about missing preboarding if I asked them to take me then.   

[trbarton]

1 hour ago, gluecksbaer said:

I like to go right before boarding to avoid using the bathroom on the plane, that's why just asking an attendant to stop on the way isn't helpful.  They always have attendants again when it's time to board, or the airline employees help, but I would be worried about missing preboarding if I asked them to take me then.   

Are the attendants required to stay with you once you’re at the gate prior to the boarding of the plane?

 

I will be traveling with a walker. Is that stored on the plane & taken off upon arrival?

 

How much do people usually tip the attendants?

 

Thanks for everyone’s information & suggestions. 
 

Tom😀👍

Edited October 17, 2023 by trbarton

[kokopelli-az]

53 minutes ago, trbarton said:

Are the attendants required to stay with you once you’re at the gate prior to the boarding of the plane?    They do not stay with you while you are waiting for your plane.  Except if you arrive at the gate and your plane is boarding, then they would probably stay to push you to the door of the plane (otherwise it would be another person to push you to the door).

 

I will be traveling with a walker. Is that stored on the plane & taken off upon arrival?   Let the personnel at the counter (at your gate) know you have an item that needs to be gate checked.   They will tag your walker.   Your walker will be left at the door of the plane (by you) and will be stowed below the plane along with wheelchairs, strollers, etc.   If you have a connecting airport request that your walker be brought back to you when you arrive at your connecting airport so you can use it to go to your next gate.   You will not have to tell the airline personnel at the gate counter that you have a walker because it will have already been tagged.  Then you do the same thing:  leave your walker at the door of the plane, it gets stowed, and it will be brought back up to you when you arrive at your final destination.  

 

How much do people usually tip the attendants?   We usually tip $5-$10.   The more time they spend with us, the more we tip.   

 

Thanks for everyone’s information & suggestions. 
 

Tom😀👍

 

[gluecksbaer]

10 hours ago, trbarton said:

Are the attendants required to stay with you once you’re at the gate prior to the boarding of the plane?

 

I will be traveling with a walker. Is that stored on the plane & taken off upon arrival?

 

How much do people usually tip the attendants?

 

Thanks for everyone’s information & suggestions. 
 

Tom😀👍

The attendants do not stay with you at the gate.  They will take you to the boarding area.  The good ones will also check in with a gate agent to let them know that you are there.

 

There is sometimes a closet that can hold folded wheelchairs/walkers, but they will usually be gate checked.  Gate checked items are placed with the baggage in the cargo hold.  They are the last items loaded so they are the first items off (and can easily be brought to the gate).  You will need to let the customer service agent at your gate know that you need a gate check tag.  If you gate check the walker, you will leave it at the door to the plane.  If you have a connecting flight, you can choose whether to check it through to your destination (where it will go to the regular baggage claim) or claim it at the gate (where you will pick it up as you get off the plane and take it yourself to your connection). If you use the airport wheelchairs, you may want to check your walker through either at the counter at your origin city or at the gate.  It can sometimes take a while for gate checked items to make it up from baggage so that's some unnecessary waiting for you if you have a connection.  In the US/on a US carrier your medical device can be checked free, so the walker won't count against any baggage allowance.  (When I put my walker in a bag to check it, I was warned that it only counted as a medical device if that was the only thing in the bag.  That is airline dependent, but they only have to exempt the medical device.) If you want your walker available at the gate when you get off the plane, make sure the customer service agent at your gate knows that.  Usually you will get a second tag that says "claim at gate" so the baggage handlers know to bring it up for you.

 

I also tip $5-10, sometimes a little more, depending on time spent and general care/concern shown.

[kokopelli-az]

10 hours ago, gluecksbaer said:

There is sometimes a closet that can hold folded wheelchairs/walkers, but they will usually be gate checked.  

 

Regarding the wheelchair closet, on our flight next month to FLL, I plan on requesting that my husband's foldable wheelchair be placed in the closet, not stowed below.   We have a somewhat short layover (thanks to the airline changing the schedule) and I would like to have the wheelchair available immediately (and hopefully the pusher will be there when we land, too).   I'm interested in seeing what they say when I request this since I know the crew likes to stow their own things in the wheelchair closet.  

[trbarton]

On 10/17/2023 at 8:28 PM, gluecksbaer said:

The attendants do not stay with you at the gate.  They will take you to the boarding area.  The good ones will also check in with a gate agent to let them know that you are there.

 

There is sometimes a closet that can hold folded wheelchairs/walkers, but they will usually be gate checked.  Gate checked items are placed with the baggage in the cargo hold.  They are the last items loaded so they are the first items off (and can easily be brought to the gate).  You will need to let the customer service agent at your gate know that you need a gate check tag.  If you gate check the walker, you will leave it at the door to the plane.  If you have a connecting flight, you can choose whether to check it through to your destination (where it will go to the regular baggage claim) or claim it at the gate (where you will pick it up as you get off the plane and take it yourself to your connection). If you use the airport wheelchairs, you may want to check your walker through either at the counter at your origin city or at the gate.  It can sometimes take a while for gate checked items to make it up from baggage so that's some unnecessary waiting for you if you have a connection.  In the US/on a US carrier your medical device can be checked free, so the walker won't count against any baggage allowance.  (When I put my walker in a bag to check it, I was warned that it only counted as a medical device if that was the only thing in the bag.  That is airline dependent, but they only have to exempt the medical device.) If you want your walker available at the gate when you get off the plane, make sure the customer service agent at your gate knows that.  Usually you will get a second tag that says "claim at gate" so the baggage handlers know to bring it up for you.

 

I also tip $5-10, sometimes a little more, depending on time spent and general care/concern shown.

Thank you very much for your information. I’ll be on United so I’ll see what happens. I like the idea of gate checking my walker. I have no connecting flight so no problems there. 
 

My walker is small with only wheels on the front. I’ve looked on Amazon but their bags are for big walkers. Any suggestions?

 

Thanks again!

 

Tom😀

[kokopelli-az]

13 minutes ago, trbarton said:

My walker is small with only wheels on the front. I’ve looked on Amazon but their bags are for big walkers. Any suggestions?

 

We have a 4 wheel rollator and have never bagged it.   Just left it at the plane door for the airline personnel to take it.  

[trbarton]

Just now, kokopelli-az said:

We have a 4 wheel rollator and have never bagged it.   Just left it at the plane door for the airline personnel to take it.  

Thanks!  I assume that you have some kind if ID tag on it. 

 

Tom😀

[kokopelli-az]

9 minutes ago, trbarton said:

Thanks!  I assume that you have some kind if ID tag on it. 

 

Tom😀

Not only an ID tag, but the airline personnel at the gate will tag it, too.  Check in with them when you get to your gate and tell them you have a walker to be gate checked.   They will put a tag on it.  

Definitely have your own ID tag on it, too.

[gluecksbaer]

2 hours ago, trbarton said:

Thanks!  I assume that you have some kind if ID tag on it. 

 

Tom😀

I have custom labels now with my name, email address, and phone number on them.  I put them in 3 places on/in anything that gets checked.  Avery No-Iron Clothing Labels is what I used before I had the custom ones.  Those are nice because they do not come off for anything (you can write your information on them).  

I actually ended up with a car seat bag to find one big enough for my walker because mine is pretty big, but I wouldn't worry about a bag as much for gate checking.  I checked mine at the counter because I also use a mobility scooter and I didn't want to deal with both through the airport.  I was mostly noting the warning I got in case you wanted to use a bag.  Sometimes people see extra space in a bag for a medical device or car seat and then end up having to pay extra baggage fees.

[prudence passenger]

I have a fractured ankle.  I used both wheelchair and walker.  I needed the aisle wheelchair to get to my seat.  Airline very happy to assist, they just need notice.  Walker could not fit down aisle.  Good luck

 

[trbarton]

1 hour ago, prudence passenger said:

I have a fractured ankle.  I used both wheelchair and walker.  I needed the aisle wheelchair to get to my seat.  Airline very happy to assist, they just need notice.  Walker could not fit down aisle.  Good luck

 

Thanks.  I’ll probably have granulated to a walker. I’ve already requested the wheel chair assist on United & Princess to not have to carry anything heavy.

 

Thanks again to everyone. 
 

Tom😀👍