Traveling On Plane with PALS Pros and Cons

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SLAUGHTER1555

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Joined
Jul 12, 2015
Messages
107
Reason
CALS
Diagnosis
05/2015
Country
US
State
Oh
City
cincinnati
Hi everyone my PALS and i were thinking about taking a trip and would be flying and for me it will be my first time ever flying. Being that ive never flown.

what things should i consider when we go?

We were thinking of trying to rent a wheelchair van and take his powerchairs on the trip, do they allow powerchairs on planes?

What questions do i need to ask?

Is i safe to fly with my PALS?
Thank you for any information you give.
 
We flew from Australia to Dubai in October, you need to find out from the airline you are travelling with what type of batteries they allow in the wheelchairs , a lot are not allowing lithium batteries.
You need to get to airport about an hour earlier than everyone else on your flight as they have to transfer PAL into one of there wheelchairs and stow yours, you will be first on plane and last off, if the toilets are off limits for your PAL because of mobility then you may have tou use a uridome( not sure if your PAL is male or female).
We broke our trip into a 5 hour and 7 hour flight so he had a chance to stretch and go to the loo in a disable toilet.
We have another trip involving international flight from HongKong to Australia in April, you need patience but you do get special treatment.
Luv Gem
 
We flew with a Pwc with a gel pack battery and carried the paperwork from the manufacturer stating it should not be removed. Also taped signs to the chair showing where to turn the power off for storing. We called the airport ahead of time and made arrangements to meet with the baggage supervisor to show him the paperwork. He personally took our Pwc to the cargo hold. Because it was a small airport (Flint, MI), everything was easy and we were confident it was being properly cared for. At the time my hubby had some mobility, so was able to use the bathroom, etc. good luck- and keep living each day. Glad you are planning something to look forward to. Donna
 
Depending on where you are going, I would talk to jis pulmo and make sure, breathing wise, what you would need to do.

I have been told southwest takes care of pwc better than most but people take their seat cushion from the chair onto the plane, wrap up the control arm etc. Someairlines dont like to take the batteries out of the chair and reinstall them. I know Southwest does. You will need to know what type of battery your pals chair has.Check the airlines accessibility page for these types of answers. Sw helps people transfer to their seat.

Medical equipment like a bipap doesnt count towards your personal item and a carryon. Always carryon the breathing equipment.

When we flew to denver, we loked at renting a wheelchair van and chair. The chairs were about 35 a day and the van 115. Make sure you know what types of vans and chair are offered so your hubby fits.

Supposedly permobil, if that is the brand he has, will loan you a chair. I do not know how this works.

Slaughter, we travel a lot. The main thing is to make sure your rental vehicle is big enough for everything you will bring without having to unload it everytime your pals gets in and out. We love getting away but for the cals it is work. You are doing the driving, packing and unpacking, etc. I always carry a ton of ones and fives with me so if I have someone else, like a valet, to do the work, I can tip them.

Hotels....this is important. If you are staying in a hotel you need to get a handicap room if your pals needs help transferring or will be in a power chair. Hotels are only required to have 1 or 2 roll in shower rooms, and a few accessible with tub rooms. If you make your reservations online, make sure you get this guaranteed. After your online reservation, call each hotel. Make sure they block the room otherwise there is no guarantee.

I have written a book so if you have more questions pm me or ask here! Good luck
 
Please dont be intimidated by the work involved to get ready. If your husband talks or emails, he can do some of the inquiry web search part for you. Travelling is really worth!
 
Donna is so right about the paperwork. Allow tons of time. Try to get nonstop or at least no change flights if you can. If southwest flies the route you need they are good about allowing changes. If you pay more you can get fully refundable.
Can anyone go with you? An extra person makes it a lot easier. Even if they can't fly with you you should be able to get someone to go with you to the gate area. I have done this is in past. I got a paper from the airline counter on the day that, with the usual picture ID got me through security with my person ( who had another adult traveling with her so they allowed it even though she had one companion already)

Consider too how you are going to manage at the place you are going. Staying with family? How accessible is the house? Hotel? All accessible rooms are not equal and if that is what you are doing we can give you advice on that. What about transfers? You will be tired and so will he. Not saying don't go. If possible do and as soon as possible but think through every step. People here can give advice if you share your plans
 
I went from Amsterdam to Curacau, a 10 hour flight,
No problem with my Permobil C500s wheelchair.
Cannot go to the toilet, so do that at home and don't eat.
Pee in a bottle, is no problem.
enjoy the trip.
 
Depending on where you are going, I would talk to jis pulmo and make sure, breathing wise, what you would need to do.

I have been told southwest takes care of pwc better than most but people take their seat cushion from the chair onto the plane, wrap up the control arm etc. Someairlines dont like to take the batteries out of the chair and reinstall them. I know Southwest does. You will need to know what type of battery your pals chair has.Check the airlines accessibility page for these types of answers. Sw helps people transfer to their seat.

Medical equipment like a bipap doesnt count towards your personal item and a carryon. Always carryon the breathing equipment.

When we flew to denver, we loked at renting a wheelchair van and chair. The chairs were about 35 a day and the van 115. Make sure you know what types of vans and chair are offered so your hubby fits.

Supposedly permobil, if that is the brand he has, will loan you a chair. I do not know how this works.

Slaughter, we travel a lot. The main thing is to make sure your rental vehicle is big enough for everything you will bring without having to unload it everytime your pals gets in and out. We love getting away but for the cals it is work. You are doing the driving, packing and unpacking, etc. I always carry a ton of ones and fives with me so if I have someone else, like a valet, to do the work, I can tip them.

Hotels....this is important. If you are staying in a hotel you need to get a handicap room if your pals needs help transferring or will be in a power chair. Hotels are only required to have 1 or 2 roll in shower rooms, and a few accessible with tub rooms. If you make your reservations online, make sure you get this guaranteed. After your online reservation, call each hotel. Make sure they block the room otherwise there is no guarantee.

I have written a book so if you have more questions pm me or ask here! Good luck
Thanks so much this will be our first trip and i am so nervous. My Pals does not walk and has no mobility to stand or help in anyway everything we do is done by transfer. We do have a permobil 300 not sure what battery is in it i have to look at the manual. I might have to bring his walker to because he uses it to stand to use the restroom. Or i might have to just bring the manual wheelchair and maybe just rent a powerchair. This does sound like a lot of work but Im excited all at the same time. We have limited funds so we were looking to go some where not too expensive.

We want to go to Miami but hotels are expensive from what my PALS saw so we were thinking Las Vegas not really sure yet just wanted to get some information before deciding where to go.
 
Donna is so right about the paperwork. Allow tons of time. Try to get nonstop or at least no change flights if you can. If southwest flies the route you need they are good about allowing changes. If you pay more you can get fully refundable.
Can anyone go with you? An extra person makes it a lot easier. Even if they can't fly with you you should be able to get someone to go with you to the gate area. I have done this is in past. I got a paper from the airline counter on the day that, with the usual picture ID got me through security with my person ( who had another adult traveling with her so they allowed it even though she had one companion already)

Consider too how you are going to manage at the place you are going. Staying with family? How accessible is the house? Hotel? All accessible rooms are not equal and if that is what you are doing we can give you advice on that. What about transfers? You will be tired and so will he. Not saying don't go. If possible do and as soon as possible but think through every step. People here can give advice if you share your plans
Thanks Nikki and you are right as this is my first time flying so the nervousness of that plus trying to take care of my pals will be alot but all this information is so helpful. As i make plans i will definitely let you all know step by step so i can cross all Ts and dot all I's. I will look into seeing if someone can go with us that would be great but our circle is very limited as we are on an island in this at times :). I will start calling hotels now and talk to the doctors on his breathing but long as he has his bipap he's ok. Im so nervous and we have not even gone anywhere smh. Thanks everyone!
 
Im still learning this website so what is PM mean? you said pm you :)
 
Pm is private message. If you do not have your hearts set on a specific destination check flights for non stop destinations. You certainly don't want to have to change but even a stop without change will add significantly to your travel time. You want this to be as easy as you can make it. I like to fly early in the day when possible. Fewer delays
 
Pm is private message. If you do not have your hearts set on a specific destination check flights for non stop destinations. You certainly don't want to have to change but even a stop without change will add significantly to your travel time. You want this to be as easy as you can make it. I like to fly early in the day when possible. Fewer delays
Thanks Nikki and all of these post are so wonderful that we might have to rethink this flying thing. We are not really in a good place financially so we might have to go somewhere like a spa place for a few days something relaxing is what we're looking for just for us its been such a hard long road. I dont think im ready to fly with him just yet after reading all that it entails. I want to be wise about our trip and make it worthwhile and right now hotel and airplane drama is the last thing we need. So something over the road is what it just might be God willing :) Now to decide where :)
 
Since you don't have a specific destination in mind, I would commend an Amtrak trip to your consideration. The Cardinal leaves from Cincy 3x a week, you can reserve a wheelchair accessible bedroom (that includes a roll-in bathroom/shower) and travels overnight to many nice places, including WV, VA and DC, which has a great [accessible] train system for seeing the sights. On the train, you can just stay in the room and watch the mountains roll by; they will even bring your meals if you like. The Cardinal was one of Larry's favorite trains, and he experienced most of them, since he could not fly or drive even in the pre-ALS years.

No TSA checkpoints or transfers to airplane seats, a porter will transfer your bags into the train if you specify "needs assistance at station" when you make the reservation, your mobility equipment stays with you, and most train stations (certainly DC's) are well-served by transit to hotels and attractions. Just as with the airlines, the more in advance you book, the cheaper it is. But I just did a quick check on an imaginary round trip with only a month's notice to DC for the two of you and the combined total fare, which includes meals, was $757. VA and WV would be cheaper in terms of hotels, most likely, although like anywhere there are bargains to be had in DC.

Miami, Vegas, though tourism magnets, aren't always accessible in terms of sidewalks, transit and the like, and then there are the crowds/lines. It can be very hard and tiring getting from point A to B, and the weather is more extreme than the Mid-Atlantic/ Appalachian region. Also, from a health standpoint, I could never revisit Vegas (spoke at a conference there once) because of the smoking everywhere.

Just some thoughts.

Best,
Laurie
 
Great suggestion Laurie. My sister has a PALS friend in pwc and on a vent who always travels by train and recommends it
 
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