Sunday, July 12, 2009

A Progress Report on Lynn Ellen's Trip


From Lynn Ellen:

When I checked in [at the airport], they told me I could not bring the scooter to the gate, as they didn't get that it is light weight enough for them to take away like they did the baby strollers, so I left it at baggage check in and got a wheelchair ride to the gate. But the international terminal at that hour was fairly quiet and not at all frantic.

In Sydney, I got my bags and my scooter, assembled myself and went through customs with no problems. then I had to check my bags again, and the scooter again, go through security, take a bus to the domestic terminal, and board the flight from Sydney to Melbourne. I was reunited with my scooter and bags, scooted onto the shuttle bus, and took that downtown, where I was met by friends. Delightful. The scooter easily fit in the back of her car.

6 comments:

  1. Fantastic! So good to hear she made it there without issues :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am extremely frustrated that she was not able to gate check scoot. I will be travelling on Sept 26th. I hope I have better luck. I HATE having those attendants push me in a wheel chair. I dislike paying the extra tip. I dislike not being to shop along the concourse. Maybe I'll get a check in attendant who will be reasonable.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Georgia, I feel exactly the same way! My trip is at the end of July. What I'm going to do is talk to someone at the airline first who handles disability issues and find out what I have to do to get it gate checked. I'm also going to be sure I put the gate check hang tag on there that I got from TravelScoot.

    What airline are you using? I'm going with American Airlines.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We always fly American. Be sure to let us know your findings. Where are you cruising next year?

    ReplyDelete
  5. We're going to Cozumel and Progresso on the Carnival Ecstacy next March. It's part of a size acceptance event called Big As Texas, if you're interested in joining us! We're leaving out of Galveston.

    American Airlines has recently said they want to be the best airline for disabled passengers. Let's do some research and find out what we have to do to be sure that's true in our situations.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Georgia, I just researched AA's policy and posted it as a new blog post. We shouldn't have any trouble, but I suggest going to the page on their website and printing it out and having it handy when you check in!

    ReplyDelete