Finally, everyone can take to the skies, By: Jason Hahr

 

Above is a picture of an empty plane cabin with gray seats. 

I have written a lot about travel for this blog. I have written about cruises and concerts, but I have never written about travel. That is because, until recently, air travel has not been accessible to someone like me. I’m not saying that someone can’t transfer from a wheelchair into a seat on the plane; it would be complicated for me to do so in my current state. When I was younger, people could lift me and transfer me to a seat; however, as I've gotten older, this is no longer possible without the help of multiple people and a lift.

Unfortunately, on a plane, the aisle seats are not wide enough for a lift, and even if they were, the lift would not be able to be stored underneath the plane with the rest of the baggage since most lifts are complex to disassemble. However, a new possibility has emerged that may make air travel fully accessible to all after all.

A company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Collins Aerospace, revealed updates to its Prime Solutions prototype wheelchair plane seat earlier this year in Hamburg, Germany. It introduced the concept less than a year ago, but through vital feedback from wheelchair users, it has created a system to secure wheelchairs on planes similar to the one I use in my van.

As I stated earlier, up until now, a wheelchair user would have to transfer to an aisle chair and then be pushed down the aisle to their seat. However, according to the article, the new prototype allows a user with a power chair to stay in their chair. The chair would slide into place and lock down with a tie-down system and a lock underneath the chair. This has great potential to open the world to a portion of society that was previously restricted to land or sea travel.

I am excited about this because my uncle, who edits my blogs, lives in Switzerland, a landlocked country. You can reach Switzerland by car or air, but there are no seaports. Correct me if I am wrong, Uncle Tom. My dream of going there for my 41st birthday may be coming closer. Only time will tell if this exciting prototype becomes available to the masses.

I will include the article from New Mobility magazine below, but what exciting times lie ahead within the disability community?

 Until next time, your friendly neighborhood super advocate, Jay

 

https://newmobility.com/upgraded-airplane-wheelchair-seating-solution-unveiled/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJzf_hleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHuowhVE3okomT2gLPH7Sf1vu2LXhazH2kiRM5Hr-GUPOXSrWv2OWNbjnfAPH_aem_pqOSEAQBRGJBP1KLrEj2DA

 

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