Last week I had my first flight by myself since getting sick, and while in pretty bad shape with regards to OI. I was going from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport to Seatac airport near Seattle. I didn't have a lot of time to prepare, but did do some research before going. But there were still a few things that went wrong, so maybe my problems and what I learned from them can be helpful for someone else too
Preperation
First of all, I got the seats that had the most possible leg room without being business/first class. I had to pay 100 euros extra each way ($125?), but had a seat where I could put my feet up on my carry-on, or even prop them up on the wall in front of me. For Delta/KLM, these seats are at 12C, 12D, 12F, and 12G in the Economy Comfort area. The other Economy Comfort seats don't have enough leg room to get your feet up unless you have a cooperative seatmate. 12G is best for bathroom access and keeping track of whether it's occupied.
On Delta's site for managing my booked trip, I was able to select wheelchair assistance and gluten-free meals. Basically airports handle all assistance in getting you to the airplane. You tell the airline that you need the assistance with a bit of specificity (can walk short distances, etc), and they tell the relevant airports. Then the airports schedule things.
From Parking to Gate
At Schiphol they say they have wheelchairs at the parking areas. But you have to go into the airport and travel a bit to get to them You need a 2 euro coin to uncouple one, which gets spat back out when you hook it up again when you're done using it, just like shopping carts in Europe. I ended up walking all the way from parking, which was mistake number 1.
At the KLM/Delta check-in/baggage desk they noticed from my booking info that I needed assistance, and they pointed me to the counter where the airport coordinates that. We wandered over, then waited an hour - they were badly understaffed, hopefully not a chronic situation. I then had to walk through passport control, though in an empty line specifically for people needing assistance, and me and another passenger on the same flight got onto a cart and were driven to our gate, which was a VERY long way away.
From Gate to Plane
When I got off the cart, I went through security, which is handled at individual gates for flights going to the USA. An airport guy made me wait a few minutes while standing there, even though he saw me get off the cart, then asked the usual questions. When he finished, he pointed me to the line for body scans and carry-on x-rays, and I told him I can't stand in line that long. He looked at me like I was crazy and said "Well there is only the one line." So I stood in line, while the other guy that had ridden on the same cart was escorted to the front of it. When I was on the verge of melting down, I told a Delta/KLM guy that I was supposed to be getting assistance and that I really couldn't keep standing like this. He took me to the front of the line then and I got through quickly.
Then I was in the waiting area, which was packed because it was only 5 minutes before pre-boarding. Nowhere to sit near the gate, so I sat at the back and tried to recover physically and mentally. When pre-boarding for people needing assistance was called, I tried to walk to the gate but there were a bunch of people standing around, so had to wait for them to move. There was no wheelchair at the gate, so I had to walk to the airplane. Then a couple people were blocking the path onto the airplane while they tried to wheedle better seats out of the flight attendants. By then I was ready to collapse again so I called out "I really need to sit down and I can't keep standing here!" and they moved along.
Bathroom Nazis
I was really wrecked the first 2-3 hours of the flight, though I got my carry-on down and propped my feet up on it as soon as possible. After about an hour I needed to pee, and there was a bathroom less than 10 feet in front of me. It was a first class bathroom, however, and I was in the economy cabin. A flight attendant saw me staggering toward it and snapped at me to use the ones toward the back. I said "I can't walk that far", and she didn't respond, so I sat down and tried to think clearly and not burst into tears while getting up the strength for a 2nd try. The guy next to me was nice, and told me to explain it to her. I went for a 2nd try, but she was walking the other way and I made it in without being detected Eventually they saw me using it, but I was messed up badly enough (could barely walk) that it was fairly obvious I needed to use it. Then another flight attendant saw me going for it near the end of the flight, and called me on it. I was doing a lot better by then (many hours sitting with my feet up), so I was able to give a coherent response: "I can't walk that far. I'm disabled. I'm sorry, but I can't walk that far." And then he was quite nice and said "Oh, that's okay, just checking", etc.
Assistance at Seatac (Seattle)
Getting off the plane was easy. I'd read online that people getting assistance should wait til everyone else is off. Even though I was near the front and could have hobbled off pretty quickly, there was a wheelchair waiting for me right outside the plane (with my name on it!), and it's a lot easier for the wheelchair pushers if they can avoid the crowd. So I sat and waited, and a flight attendant saw me waiting and asked if I had a wheelchair outside, and I said I was supposed to, so he went out to check and said it was there. So I got off after everyone else, and got onto the wheelchair, and the pusher put my carry-on underneath it. She then pushed me to the gate, the passport control, the transport train, and baggage. After my bag arrived she took me to a bench outside so I could sit on that to wait for my ride.
What I learned:
Preperation
First of all, I got the seats that had the most possible leg room without being business/first class. I had to pay 100 euros extra each way ($125?), but had a seat where I could put my feet up on my carry-on, or even prop them up on the wall in front of me. For Delta/KLM, these seats are at 12C, 12D, 12F, and 12G in the Economy Comfort area. The other Economy Comfort seats don't have enough leg room to get your feet up unless you have a cooperative seatmate. 12G is best for bathroom access and keeping track of whether it's occupied.
On Delta's site for managing my booked trip, I was able to select wheelchair assistance and gluten-free meals. Basically airports handle all assistance in getting you to the airplane. You tell the airline that you need the assistance with a bit of specificity (can walk short distances, etc), and they tell the relevant airports. Then the airports schedule things.
From Parking to Gate
At Schiphol they say they have wheelchairs at the parking areas. But you have to go into the airport and travel a bit to get to them You need a 2 euro coin to uncouple one, which gets spat back out when you hook it up again when you're done using it, just like shopping carts in Europe. I ended up walking all the way from parking, which was mistake number 1.
At the KLM/Delta check-in/baggage desk they noticed from my booking info that I needed assistance, and they pointed me to the counter where the airport coordinates that. We wandered over, then waited an hour - they were badly understaffed, hopefully not a chronic situation. I then had to walk through passport control, though in an empty line specifically for people needing assistance, and me and another passenger on the same flight got onto a cart and were driven to our gate, which was a VERY long way away.
From Gate to Plane
When I got off the cart, I went through security, which is handled at individual gates for flights going to the USA. An airport guy made me wait a few minutes while standing there, even though he saw me get off the cart, then asked the usual questions. When he finished, he pointed me to the line for body scans and carry-on x-rays, and I told him I can't stand in line that long. He looked at me like I was crazy and said "Well there is only the one line." So I stood in line, while the other guy that had ridden on the same cart was escorted to the front of it. When I was on the verge of melting down, I told a Delta/KLM guy that I was supposed to be getting assistance and that I really couldn't keep standing like this. He took me to the front of the line then and I got through quickly.
Then I was in the waiting area, which was packed because it was only 5 minutes before pre-boarding. Nowhere to sit near the gate, so I sat at the back and tried to recover physically and mentally. When pre-boarding for people needing assistance was called, I tried to walk to the gate but there were a bunch of people standing around, so had to wait for them to move. There was no wheelchair at the gate, so I had to walk to the airplane. Then a couple people were blocking the path onto the airplane while they tried to wheedle better seats out of the flight attendants. By then I was ready to collapse again so I called out "I really need to sit down and I can't keep standing here!" and they moved along.
Bathroom Nazis
I was really wrecked the first 2-3 hours of the flight, though I got my carry-on down and propped my feet up on it as soon as possible. After about an hour I needed to pee, and there was a bathroom less than 10 feet in front of me. It was a first class bathroom, however, and I was in the economy cabin. A flight attendant saw me staggering toward it and snapped at me to use the ones toward the back. I said "I can't walk that far", and she didn't respond, so I sat down and tried to think clearly and not burst into tears while getting up the strength for a 2nd try. The guy next to me was nice, and told me to explain it to her. I went for a 2nd try, but she was walking the other way and I made it in without being detected Eventually they saw me using it, but I was messed up badly enough (could barely walk) that it was fairly obvious I needed to use it. Then another flight attendant saw me going for it near the end of the flight, and called me on it. I was doing a lot better by then (many hours sitting with my feet up), so I was able to give a coherent response: "I can't walk that far. I'm disabled. I'm sorry, but I can't walk that far." And then he was quite nice and said "Oh, that's okay, just checking", etc.
Assistance at Seatac (Seattle)
Getting off the plane was easy. I'd read online that people getting assistance should wait til everyone else is off. Even though I was near the front and could have hobbled off pretty quickly, there was a wheelchair waiting for me right outside the plane (with my name on it!), and it's a lot easier for the wheelchair pushers if they can avoid the crowd. So I sat and waited, and a flight attendant saw me waiting and asked if I had a wheelchair outside, and I said I was supposed to, so he went out to check and said it was there. So I got off after everyone else, and got onto the wheelchair, and the pusher put my carry-on underneath it. She then pushed me to the gate, the passport control, the transport train, and baggage. After my bag arrived she took me to a bench outside so I could sit on that to wait for my ride.
What I learned:
- Sit in the car until your wheelchair arrives, either brought by your friend/family member or airport personnel (arrangements have to be made directly with the airport in advance).
- Insist upon wheelchair assistance for anything that requires standing more than a minute (or however long you can repeatedly stand). The airport is required to accommodate that.
- Preface any demands with "I am disabled." If you only say "I can't stand in line", they might just think you think you're a special snowflake that wants unnecessary privileges. It's hard to think of how to convey these things properly when in bad shape, so rehearse saying "I am disabled. I need X" and "I am disabled. I can't do Y". It needs to be automatic, which is hard when alone and oxygen-deprived and unused to thinking of yourself as disabled and needing assistance.
- Talk to the flight attendants as soon as you get on the airplane, and explain that you need to use the closest bathroom, even if your ticket does not entitle you to use it. It's a reasonable accommodation, so they don't really have a choice in the matter.
- It's really worth the 100 extra euros for leg room to get your feet up. If no such seat is available when you book your flight, contact the airline and explain that you need it - they're used to kicking people out of those seats for passengers with medical needs.