You asked about flying. I don't know if a power wheelchair is involved, but I will share my experience.
I had to take two trips in the January/February timeframe. On 3 out of the 4 legs, my wheelchair was damaged. Cumulatively across those flights, the Permobil C500 needed a new shroud, backrest cushion and shell, Roho seat cushion, left arm rest, a few trim pieces, and motors.
The really did a lot of damage to the wheelchair, even though I coached them on how to handle it and showed them how to prepare it for travelling in the cargo hold.
It has been over 5 months and the wheelchair is still not completely repaired. We are hopefully getting close, but are still waiting on the new motor/gearbox/brake assemblies.
If you travel with a power wheelchair, be aware that it could be badly damaged and might need many months to get it repaired. I have read of cases where the wheelchair is not even useable after the flight. Mine was, which was fortunate. Note, I always travel with a Roho pump, so we were able to add air to the Roho cushion to make up for what was lost through the slow leak caused by the airline.
When flying, I sat in a regular seat. I used to fly extensively for business, but this was the first time I had been on an airplane since shortly after diagnosis. I had not realized just how hard those seats were! My bottom has lost a lot of its natural padding. I should have taken the Roho cushion in the cabin with me and sat on it.
There was an awful lot of waiting in the airports and I was glad to be able to sit in my wheelchair, as the chairs in the various gate areas do not offer much in the way of upper body support.
The airline staff was amazing. I was always the first to board (along with my wife). We had plenty of time to get me into the seat and settled in.
We arrived at the airport quite early, per the airline's instructions. After booking, I went to the airline's web site and filled out a form about my special needs. They took really good care of me, but not such good care of my wheelchair.
Steve