Written by John Morris, wheelchairtravel.org, May 25, 2024
Plus a preview of the accessibility innovations I’ll be reporting on from the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany next week.
Happy Saturday!
With more than 1,100 flights and more than 1.2 million miles flown as a wheelchair user, accessible air travel is one of my areas of expertise.
I have shared knowledge gained from those flights in the Wheelchair Users’ Guide to Accessible Air Travel, which is free and includes critical information that will help you prepare for your next flight. Here are a few of the most important articles:
- Will my power wheelchair or scooter fit on the airplane? What are the dimensions of the airplane cargo door?
- Do airplanes have accessible bathrooms? How do I use the airplane lavatory if I cannot walk?
- What levels and types of wheelchair assistance are available at the airport and on the airplane? What are SSR codes?
Over the past couple of weeks, a lot of stories relating to accessibility in air travel have emerged, and I thought it appropriate to dedicate this newsletter to those developments. Let’s dive in!
Two new wheelchair securement spaces for airplanes will debut next week in Hamburg, Germany
Last year, I traveled to the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany, where I became the first wheelchair user to test out Air4All from Delta Flight Products, the first wheelchair securement space designed for airplanes.
Tomorrow, I am returning to Germany, where I will be reporting on two new wheelchair securement prototypes — one from Delta Flight Products that has been designed with low cost carriers in mind, and another from Collins Aerospace. The competition in this space should accelerate development and lead to products that better respond to the needs of airlines and passengers.
Although Collins is keeping a lid on its products until the expo, Delta Flight Products has released a new mock-up of its wheelchair securement system (this one designed for the economy class cabin). Something caught my eye that isn’t being reported on elsewhere and, while it may seem like a small change, I think it speaks volumes about the viability and future of the Air4All seating product.
Last year’s mock-ups presented the seating system with a generic, unbranded design in neutral colors. This year, the Air4All seat appears within a Delta Air Lines aircraft cabin, upholstered in Delta colors, and with the Delta logo clearly visible. Although the airline has made no commitment to install Air4All on its aircraft, branding this product as its own makes a statement that is difficult to ignore.
Readers like you are critical to making reporting like this possible. You can support my trip to Hamburg, where I will report on these and other accessibility innovations (including accessible lavatories), by upgrading to a paid subscription or making a one-time or recurring gift via PayPal. Thank you for joining the team!
Subscribed
President Biden signed the bipartisan “Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act” into law, which includes several accessibility easter eggs
Congress and the President have reauthorized the Federal Aviation Administration through 2028, and the bill that made it so included several accessibility wins. Here’s some of what the law delivers:
- Training of wheelchair/baggage loaders — The law compels the DOT to establish training standards that will require airline baggage handlers and contractors to undergo hands-on training “before being allowed to handle or stow a wheelchair or scooter.” The training must cover the handling of “the most commonly used power and manual wheelchairs and scooters” and how to safely utilize equipment used in the loading process.
- Wheelchair space in the cabin — The DOT Secretary must establish a research program to assess the demand for wheelchairs in the aircraft cabin and the feasibility of such systems. If feasible, the secretary shall conduct further research that should ultimately lead to a negotiated rule making for a minimum of two wheelchair spaces in the aircraft cabin per airplane.
- Additional detail on wheelchair damage — The DOT must submit annual reports detailing the types of wheelchairs mishandled, the ways in which wheelchairs are mishandled, and the type of damage to wheelchairs (such as broken drive wheels or casters, bent or broken frames, damage to electrical connectors or wires, control input devices, joysticks, upholstery or other components, loss, or delay of return).
- DOT response to consumer complaints — The law now requires the DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division to investigate ACAA complaints and issue a determination within 120 days of receipt, an improvement from the present response times of up to a year or more.
While some of these mandates overlap work already being done in the recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Accessible Air Travel, it is welcome to have these provisions set forth as a matter of law rather than regulation. The act sets minimum standards for the DOT’s current and future rulemaking.
Senator Duckworth, disabled veteran and wheelchair user, says she’s “not at all confident” she could safely evacuate an airplane
Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a disabled veteran and wheelchair user, recently told CBS Mornings’ Kris Van Cleave that she is “not at all confident” that she could safely evacuate an airplane in 90 seconds.
As part of the FAA Reauthorization, Congress will require the FAA to incorporate disabled people in its assessment of aircraft safety. Airlines need to develop a plan for evacuating wheelchair users and passengers with disabilities, and Senator Duckworth is leading the charge.
Frontier Airlines CEO claims disabled people are faking it to get assistance
While speaking at a luncheon on Thursday in New York, Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle claimed that “there is massive, rampant abuse of special services” and that “there are people using wheelchair assistance who don’t need it at all.”
I became aware of Mr. Biffle’s statements after CNBC reached out to me for comment on its story. In speaking with the journalist, I reiterated the points made in my 2018 article, “Jetway Jesus and the Airport Wheelchair Imposters Lie.” I shared similar comments in a FOX 5 New York segment that aired yesterday.
I concede that there is likely some abuse of wheelchair assistance services in America’s airports, but reject the false claim that it is “massive” or “rampant.” Biffle’s comments are an attempt to shame people with disabilities for availing themselves of a civil right guaranteed by the Air Carrier Access Act, which mandates that airlines provide wheelchair assistance to disabled passengers, from the door of the airport terminal to the airplane seat and back.
Numerous TikTok creators have wrongly encouraged people to skip security lines and take advantage of preboarding by requesting a wheelchair at the airport, but I don’t believe large numbers of people are following that advice. I can honestly say, in my decade of traveling as a wheelchair user, I have not once suspected any of the people in line with me of faking a disability.
Biffle is upset not about the handful of people abusing wheelchair assistance services, but by the demographics of an aging population, where 26% of Americans have one or more forms of disability. He doesn’t want to bear the cost of providing wheelchair assistance to disabled people, and he’d likely prefer that you not fly with his airline. To that I say, “too bad!” In a world that is truly accessible and inclusive, we should see many more wheelchairs in public and on airplanes!
Frontier and other airlines should work to become part of the solution, rather than advocate for the erection of barriers to equal access. And, by the way, we should not forget about the hundreds of wheelchairs Frontier Airlines mishandles each year. Now that is truly rampant, if you ask me.
What I’m reading and a final thought
My final newsletter edition of 2023 was titled Carpe Annum. Seize the Year. I picked up the phrase from The Big Year, a film comedy starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson that focuses on the hobby of birding.
I’ve watched the movie a few times, and each time I gain a renewed interest in the birds of the air. A reader recalled my commitment to learn more about birds, and sent me a copy of an interesting new book, The Birds That Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness. Thank you, Melissa, for your gift!
Tomorrow, I will be flying to Frankfurt, Germany, spending the night, then continuing on to Hamburg Tuesday morning (it was cheaper than flying direct to Hamburg). When I received my alert that it is time to check-in for my flight to Frankfurt, I was reminded of the time I met two flight attendants in a restaurant and flew with them the next day… to Frankfurt! You can read about that wild experience in my article, On Serendipity, Chance Meetings and an Unexpected Trip to Germany.
American author Orison Swett Marden once said, “Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great.” I reflected on that a lot this week as I prepared for the trip to Hamburg — when I think about the wheelchair space on airplanes, the point is to make it possible for all of us to travel safely and comfortably to the common occasions we take for granted — graduations, weddings and family reunions. Let’s do the extraordinary by making the ordinary accessible.
Talk to you from Hamburg,
— John