Aer Lingus refuse to carrying wheelchair..

YiddoKiddo

hey all


I am looking for some help concerning... I'm going to Portugal at the end of July and because our last airline left Ireland we are being forced to go with Aer Lingus. but here is the deal they refuse to carrying my powered wheelchair because it weights over 120k, yet anyone we've spoken to has never ever heard of this.. I believed till a few days ago that maybe they had a rule change but because nobody heard of this i now think they are f**king lazy...

if anyone of you nice folks could shine some light on this it would be awesome.

italodisco

Health and safety.

From what I know only planes with cargo facilities can take such heavy items.

Aer lingus flights to Portugal only have standard baggage holds not suitable for something that heavy .

Whereas Lufthansa planes have huge holds that can take large animal boxes, motorcycles etc.

It's not because of laziness !

Tabnabs

According to AL own literature, it's permissible http://www.aerlingus.com/media/aerlinguscom/content/pdfs/Guide_to_Dangerous_Goods.pdf

Also, according to Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Ireland;

Power wheelchair users are asked to transfer to a manual chair prior to boarding an AerLingus flight. This is in accordance with flight regulations as batteries must be turned off prior to boarding the plane. All Aer Lingus staff and airport attendants have been fully trained in manually handling and are there to help. If you require assistance contact the above number for Special Assistance. Aer Lingus do not charge extra weight charges for wheelchairs or mobility equipment.

http://www.sbhi.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Holidays-In-the-Air.pdf

italodisco

Double check up in the airport itself beforehand , just to be sure

YiddoKiddo

thanks guys. sorry it's just very frustrating, they have known about this for about 5months yet they only come back and with this less two months away from my holiday.

schemingbohemia

YiddoKiddo wrote: »

thanks guys. sorry it's just very frustrating, they have known about this for about 5months yet they only come back and with this less two months away from my holiday.

Who is they? Have Aer Lingus come back to you stating they will not carry your powered wheelchair on board?

SpaceTime

I'd say talk to them first, but if it's not possible to carry it one one solution would be to have the wheelchair airfreighted to the airport you're landing at in Portugal by DHL, FedEx, UPS or one of those carriers.

They have terminals at most major airports in Portugal and at Dublin, Cork and Shannon.

You'd probably need to arrange to have a temporary wheelchair for a day or so though.

Also, contact the Irish Wheelchair Association for advice on what's possible too. They would have all the right contacts at the airlines to find out more info.

italodisco

Also , electric wheelchair hire is an option just in case it comes to it.

Airlines will assist you in a manual chair and an electric one will be waiting for you .

Who are 'they' though ?? Did aerlingus tell you that or was it a tour operator

YiddoKiddo

schemingbohemia wrote: »

Who is they? Have Aer Lingus come back to you stating they will not carry your powered wheelchair on board?

they are Aer Lingus

YiddoKiddo

italodisco wrote: »

Also , electric wheelchair hire is an option just in case it comes to it.

Airlines will assist you in a manual chair and an electric one will be waiting for you .

Who are 'they' though ?? Did aerlingus tell you that or was it a tour operator

''they'' are Aer Lingus and they told our operator that they couldn't take my chair.

munchkin_utd

YiddoKiddo wrote: »

''they'' are Aer Lingus and they told our operator that they couldn't take my chair.

and your operator told them at the outset that your chair was a beast of a 120kg battery operated wheelchair and got a confirmation from them in writing that this exceptionally heavy and bulky piece of equipment was fine to carry?

The aer lingus website says to contact them specially with regards to electric weelchairs on a case by case basis, so it is obviously not something that can be presumed is straight forward or to be taken for granted.

italodisco

To be honest I worked as a baggage handler 8 yr back and as said before, something that weight generally wouldn't go in an average baggage hold. Sas and Lufthansa had huge cargo holds that was the reason they did.

In the worst case you'll have to rent one in your destination which is very common these days