Is there any special preparations for taking a PWC on a flight?

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Romeosc

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PALS
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11/2017
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US
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Memphis
Do you have to notify airline in advance?
 
Yes. Usually they only have room in the hold for one chair. There are many other considerations to try to avoid damage, of which there are frequent episodes even among very experienced passengers.

I have attached a document with some of the how-to's and would add the suggestion to disconnect the batteries before the chair goes into cargo, even before the author's suggestion to disconnect other parts. Some airlines will require this, anyway.

And I am sure some of your fellow PALS will chime in! What airports are you flying out of/into?
 

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  • AirTravelPowerWheelchairTips9-2017.pdf
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You can bring your chair right up to the door on the airplane. They have a chair to get you to your seat.Usually you are the first on the plane. When you get out of your chair put it in neutral, that's those levers on the motors. They will have to push the chair from there. Remove the head rest and joy stick. These stick out and are frequently damaged by the gorillas loading it on the plane. Take them with you on the plane. If you are using a roho cushion bring that too, airplane seats are really uncomfortable. From there, order a drink and enjoy the flight. First on last off, I usually get them to push me from the plane to oversize baggage pick up. Now you wait usually upwards of an hour to get your chair off the plane and to you. Now it is just a matter of putting the chair back together( bring zip ties) put it in gear and away you go. Most airlines have paperwork to fill out before you get to the airport. My wife are able to fly domestically with only one of us paying and she flies free as my attendant. I just found out it works when going to the theatre too!
 
Forgive the unedited cut n paste; this is from a document I have:

As noted earlier, there is a Facebook group for this

• Traveling with ALS

The ALS Association has multiple articles on this subject, here are a couple:

The ALS Association
https://alsadotorg.wordpress.com/2017/09/21/helpful-tips-for-traveling-with-als/

Christopher Reeves (Superman!) didn’t have ALS but he was a quadriplegic with a tracheostomy, his foundation has a few tips:

https://www.christopherreeve.org/living-with-paralysis/home-travel/traveling-with-your-wheelchair

And finally, here is a useful website:
https://wheelchairtravel.org/air-travel/
 
Thank you very much!
 
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