air travel disabled

dipsy

Hi

does anyone know how you arrange to have more room when booking a flight, I don't use a wheel chair, but I use a stick and I need to be able to move my legs as they seize up

I wanted to know if I need to pay for more leg room (only 5ft 2) or will they make allowances for someone registered disabled?

thanks

Poppie68

Registered disabled?

Check your airlines website there will be a number for you to call . Disabled passengers are usually allocated seats at the front and allowed one carer to sit next to you.

GlasweJen

I've found that if you declare a disability they wont let you sit in most of the extra legroom seats as these are also evacuation areas and you need to be an able bodied adult to sit there in order to not be a hinderence to people evacuating the plane.

When flying to Florida last year I was allocated a chair with a skycot and they just folded the cot up into nothing, this was to accommodate me if i needed to get up during the flight to get to the loo (9 hour flight from Glasgow). I had to pay extra for the extra leg room and have done on every flight I've taken since becoming ill as a teenager. If I didn't pay I would have been in a regular seat. I was in one of only 3 extra legroom seats that were not classed as evacuation routes, my other half was in the chair beside me and the lady beside him was most annoyed that she had been charged for the legroom upgrade at the airport as she expected to be given it at no charge, and to add insult to the injury her husband was all the way down the other end of the plane. This was on an american airlines plane being used by BA.

If you tell them that your legs seize up and cause problems with walking expect the airline to ask for a doctors note to say that you are fit to fly as the airline will be concerned that you're high risk for DVT if you can't move your legs about when in the air. I forgot to take one and had to see the airport doctor before being allowed to fly home from Orlando International.

benniebert

dipsy wrote: »

Hi

does anyone know how you arrange to have more room when booking a flight, I don't use a wheel chair, but I use a stick and I need to be able to move my legs as they seize up

I wanted to know if I need to pay for more leg room (only 5ft 2) or will they make allowances for someone registered disabled?

thanks

Daughter and family have this problem too. They are off on their annual trip with the children to Florida in June for 2 weeks. They always upgrade to business class with BA - all the room that you need + you don't get treated like cattle!

duchy

A lot depends on where you are flying to ......so where are you flying to and which airline ?

keep_calm_and_carry_on_2

benniebert wrote: »

Daughter and family have this problem too. They are off on their annual trip with the children to Florida in June for 2 weeks. They always upgrade to business class with BA - all the room that you need + you don't get treated like cattle!

Well in 18 Orlando flights, in varying classes, I can honestly say I've never been treated like a cow!!!! Of course the pay-off for your family flying to Orlando at the cheapest time of year is obviously taking the children out of school for 2 weeks. I thought this was a no-no nowadays?
Anyway, OP, if you cant afford/don't want/get on a small plane that doesn't have (but for exit seats) an extra-legroom seat, I'd suggest simply asking for an aisle seat where it will be easier for you to get up and move around/stick your legs out/whatever you need to do. You don't say where you're going to or the length of the flight, but I hope you manage to get sorted xx

Mupette

we have to pay for the extra leg room, yes i am disabled, yes i should pay, this isn't a perk its a necessity, and happy to pay.

Starrystarrynight1

I've always had to pay a supplement for seats with extra legroom, but there are rarely any left! On BA, it's usually at least £30 per seat, per journey, which ramps the price up a fair bit, as I need my husband to sit with me. I've flown with BA, United & Virgin, none of which have given any consideration in seat allocations for me.

We usually travel the same route, so try to book seats towards the back of the plane, which are grouped in twos, so that hubby & I only have each other to disturb when we need to get up. I'm so clumsy, and frequently trip on a dropped foot, so climbing over a stranger isn't appealing.

I always book the special assistance, which gets me a wheelchair or buggy from the booking in desk, right up to the aircraft, including a skylift if the aircraft is off stand. We usually get to to board first, so I don't get trampled in the rush, and there's a chair to meet us at the other end. We haven't had to wait in those huge queues at US Immigration, either.