by swalker » 19 Nov 2021, 22:48
I am not sure I know of a best way. I will share with you what I have done.
I have taken two trips out of DIA (the Denver airport). We took a commercial van to DIA each time. They dropped us off at the airport, we checked in and then I wheeled to the security screening.
Security screening was easy both times. We allowed extra time, but they escorted us to the front of the line. I have flown a lot before being disabled, so kind of know the ropes pretty well. I had things organized to make it through screening without any issues.
I then rolled to the gate. We boarded the aircraft early. I was flying Southwest, where I could pick my own seat at boarding time. Since I boarded early, I was able to get an aisle seat in the bulkhead seating row. My wife and the flight attendants took care of stowing all my gear. Then the ramp agents took my wheelchair to be loaded into the aircraft's cargo hold.
I can still walk a few steps, so I was able to walk from the wheelchair to my seat on the airplane. If you can't walk, they will use an aisle wheelchair (designed to be narrow enough to fit down the aisle of an airplane) to take you to your seat.
Things were more interesting when we arrived at our destination. There was no wheelchair accessible transportation at either airport. On the first trip, we booked a hotel within walking distance of the airport. The hotel's shuttle was out of service, so even though it was wheelchair accessible, it did me no good. I wheeled to the hotel and we checked in.
The next day, my wife took an Uber to a facility that rents wheelchair vans. We had a reservation and she picked up the van, drove back to the airport hotel, and we then proceeded with our trip
Getting home was the reverse of the above. She dropped me off at the airport about 4 hours early, then drove the hour to the wheelchair van rental place, took an uber back to the airport, made her way through security, and met me at the gate.
On our second trip, we took the same wheelchair accessible van service to DIA. We made our way to my seat on the airplane just like we did on our first trip.
We had a reservation with a wheelchair accessible van service that was supposed to meet us, at our destination airport, but it did not. My wife scurried and finally found one that would pick us up. They went way out of their way to do this and we really appreciate it. It was late at night and there were no hotels I could get to riding the wheelchair. Our only alternative would have been to spend the night at the airport and figure something out the next day.
Reversing this worked just like it did on our previous trip.
My wheelchair was damaged on 3 out the 4 legs that we flew on those 2 trips. Fortunately, the worst damage was on our flight home and we were able to get it home and park it until the airline could send someone out to repair it. It took 8 months to get the wheelchair repaired. Much of the delay was due to covid, but not all of it. I was glad that I travelled in a backup wheelchair, so it was the one that was out of commission.
In summary, It is pretty straightforward to get to and then fly out of DIA. What is more troublesome is figuring out what you will do at your destination airport. I highly recommend selecting a destination with a hotel you can ride your wheelchair to, just in case local transportation there gets messed up.
If I was not renting a wheelchair van, then I would put a bit of a priority on picking a destination where I could ride my wheelchair to everywhere I wanted to go. Public transportation might be available, but I regard it as highly unreliable. For example, I once tried to take the light rail system in Denver. The station where I was to board had an elevator to the track level, but the elevator was broken. There was no alternative for me. We had to give up.
Many city bus systems allow you to call ahead for a wheelchair accessible van to transport you where you want to go. Many I have researched in the US require that you apply ahead of time to be eligible for this service and some require that you appear in person to get the approval. I have heard from one user that they took advantage of this service in San Antonio, TX. The van was 4 hours late picking them up. Every time they used it. That would not work for the kind of trip I would take.
On the other hand, the van service works great where I live (Vail). They have always been on time and are great. I think they are the exception, though.
Finally, be prepared for a power wheelchair to be damaged by the airlines. Don't do what I did, which was to take my broken wheelchair with me. Once I was gone, there was no urgency on their part to get my wheelchair repaired. I have read the better approach is to sit at the airline's baggage claim office until they either fix the wheelchair or provide an acceptable loaner for your trip. It is their obligation to do this (in the US). That means, don't arrive on the last flight of the day into an airport. Arrive earlier in the day so they have time to resolve any potential issues.
To give you an idea of what can happen to a wheelchair, after my four flights, they wound up replacing both motors, the shroud on the base of the wheelchair, the Roho seat cushion, the foam back cushion, the backrest shell, and the left armrest.
Steve
Permobil F5 Corpus 3G
Permobil C500s VS
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