Traveling with a wheelchair...advice?

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kevin7500

Pre-takeoff checklist
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kevin
I'll try to make a long story short. My employer (widow) wants to take her daughter (wheelchair) and a couple other family members to south Florida this fall from Michigan. Before being widowed, they used to drive to the Keys every year.

The travel difficulty is that her daughter, 22 years old, must remain in the wheelchair (electric & support systems) and the chair is about 400 pounds.

I haven't pursued the Mercy/Angel flight networks yet. This option is being avoided because she is not looking for charity. I have started to look at charters, but the size of the chair is a hurdle.

Any advice is appreciated.
 
kevin7500 said:
I'll try to make a long story short. My employer (widow) wants to take her daughter (wheelchair) and a couple other family members to south Florida this fall from Michigan. Before being widowed, they used to drive to the Keys every year.

The travel difficulty is that her daughter, 22 years old, must remain in the wheelchair (electric & support systems) and the chair is about 400 pounds.

I haven't pursued the Mercy/Angel flight networks yet. This option is being avoided because she is not looking for charity. I have started to look at charters, but the size of the chair is a hurdle.

Any advice is appreciated.
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If the daughter must remain in the chair, medical transport might be the only option. AFaIK none of the Air Care Alliance outfits (AF etc) will accept a non-ambulatory patient. Some charter operators might have provisions to anchor a wheelchair, but the occupant would need to be secured in the chair in a FAA acceptable manner for that to work. I'd be looking for a way to transport the daughter out of the chair with the chair itself stowed separately. Perhaps the "support systems" could be removed from the chair or duplicated for flight in a conventional seat. I think that a Pilatus or Caravan would be able to accommodate the chair so you might look for a charter in that equipment.

Other than that, ground transport in a van might be more practical.
 
Kevin, Ironically I think the best solution may be to take the train. Roomy, comfortable, great views and ADA accessable. Perhaps Amtrak has a rep that can help them out.
 
Check for the ability to do a short term rental of a chair at the destination? I don't know what to do about the actual flight, though.
 
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