7 replies to this topic

[Irenec]

We are travelling on a plane this weekend. My husbands chair is a quicky gp.It also has extras on it.
The ez lockiing device for the car,and the batteries for the e-motion wheels.IT is very heavy.
Should we remove the heavy metal attached for the ez to make it a bit lighter.We have to keep the batteries on for use when we get there. We are flying with Thomas Cook airlines.Do they moan if the chair is too heavy?
Are you allowed extra hand luggage for all your medial requirements?
Irenec

Edited by Irenec, 02 June 2008 - 08:59 AM.

[kdenon01]

My husband and I travel quite a bit, and he has a manual chair with E-motion wheels on it.

We take the batteries out and carry them on, so they won't get damaged. And we also take his cushion on, his slideboard, and like 3 carry on bags. lol

They never say anything.

Also, about the weight...I'm not sure on that one. As you know the E-motion wheels without the batteries are really heavy and they never say anything. But my husband doesn't have an easy-lock on his chair..? I think as long as it is light enough for 2 men to carry it, it should be fine. Because usually they take the chair RIGHT before boarding the plane, and there are usually 2 guys taking it down.

Hope that helps!

[Webwych]

Hello Irene,

If I was in your position I would get in touch with Thomas Cook as soon as possible because different companies have different policies. Also if you get an email to back up anything they tell you on the phone, you have a good case should anything go awry during your journeys.

Let us know what happens

[Hapahowlee]

My husband and I travel a lot and he also has a Quickie GP. The Quickie weighs about 40 lbs. don't know what that translates to in the U.K., but I'm sure the EZ lock device adds on about 10 lbs. My husband used to have the EZ lock bracket on his wheelchair, but I since found out it was an unnecessary charge to the Govt. because my husband drives his van from the original driver's seat with a swivel base and his chair is just locked down by his breaks. So we removed the bracket ourselves and demanded a refund for that entire system that we don't feel is EZ at all.

You definitely should call the airlines and get a backup in writing of their policy. I know when we fly in the U.S., we first of all take my husbands spare wheelchair because the chair goes down in the belly of the plane and gets torn up. We've been compensated for repairs many times. Also, we take his cushion and foot pedals off and place it in the upper bins with us. Anything that is not bolted to the chair should be taken off to go with you. We also carry on luggage and since we are the first one's on the plane, we never have any trouble with all the stuff we take off the wheelchair. In fact the flight attendants usually asks us if we want to take anything off the chair for storage up above.

Hope your trip goes smoothly.

[Simon]

Contact the airline, webwych is right each have different policies.
I know easyjet has a limit as they refused a clients electric wchair yet we have many other clients who travel with electric chairs which weigh a huge amount.
Simon

[JT80]

i use a quickie with e-motion wheels and this is what i do prior to and at the airport.
- telephone airline to request 'carry on' service.
- check in nice and early and reitterate carry on needed.
- be at departure gate early and make myself known to staff early and check they know what the deal is.
- proceed with groundstaff helpers to plane.
- transfer to aisle chair.
- take cushion and emotion centres onto plane with me.
and away you go..reverse at other end.

chair weight shouldn't be an issue and provided you're not taking a whole pharmacy shouldn't have any problems. enjoy..

[gazrobsuk]

Irene,

As mentioned contact the airline for the small print as they vary, but I recall filling in a form stating details & dry battery etc etc. In the past I've flown many times long haul with my power chair with no problems. All we ever did was remove the joystick & cushion and they wheeled the rest away.

We have flown many times recently with Easyjet (no power chair) & with them you are allowed an extra carry on bag for medical purposes providing you have a copy/letter from GP stating such, otherwise you know how tight these budget airlines are with baggage. We were 0.9kg over recently & they made us go away to their 'desk' to pay €9 for the excess then fight our way back to the front grrrr.

Good Luck and let us know you get on.

Irenec, on Jun 2 2008, 08:04 AM, said:

We are travelling on a plane this weekend. My husbands chair is a quicky gp.It also has extras on it.
The ez lockiing device for the car,and the batteries for the e-motion wheels.IT is very heavy.
Should we remove the heavy metal attached for the ez to make it a bit lighter.We have to keep the batteries on for use when we get there. We are flying with Thomas Cook airlines.Do they moan if the chair is too heavy?
Are you allowed extra hand luggage for all your medial requirements?
Irenec

[Mike (c4-5) & Lorena]

I travel all over the US, Germany, Austria and thev Philippines. My advice is to take of and tie together anything that might brdak of your wc. Arm rest, leg rests, supports etc. Anything small, take with you onto the airplane. Take your cushion onto the plane and remove there sear cushion. Place your cushion in the spot of their cushion.

Most batteries need to be gel and sealed for flying. I would disconect them from the joystick but leave the batterries in the wc. They should be safe there. The biggest issue I found id that if your wc doesn't fold, ie the electric wc is not meant/designed for flying, they will place the wc on it's side to get it into the cargo door. My wc the back folds foreward making it easy to fly.

You should always be the one to pull apart your wc. The airport staff still have no clue how to handle wcs.

Mike