wheelchair pax seating

[Ckin Gal]

Hi just wondering if anyone can help.

Does your airline have specific rules about where wheelchair passengers can sit. I've always been told that these passengers may only sit in the window seat unless it is members of their family in the other two seats.

is this the same on all airlines? or does it vary station to station?

thank you for any help.

[16tequila]

you absolutely right.

Wheelchair passengers do embark first and disembark last. Usually they are put in one of the back seat coz it is very difficult to carry them down the aisle and its closer to toilet. They must seat by the window (of coz never by the window exit. But that is a different drill) coz even in case of emergency they evacuate last. If they sat by the aisle they would block other passengers.

[Ckin Gal]

thanks for clearing that up. unfortunately when trying to explain to some pax that they cannot sit in the aisle sometimes results in well i did on the way over.
is it the same rules if it is their own family in the window and centre seat?

[16tequila]

In case of family u can allowe the w'chair to sit by thie aisle but his family/medical assistant must be aware he'll be evacuating with passenger as last as well.. oooooops ;) (coz actually they are the ones helping with his evacuation) so then it doesn really matter where they sit.

[Seat1APlease]

Sometimes certain seats are desginated for handicapped pax.

They often have special armrests that can be removed to facilitate getting into and out of the seat. These will vary from airline to airline and type to type.

The fact that a pax sits in a particular seat on the way out doesn't mean he can necessarily sit there on the way back. The location of these seats will depend on factors such as access to nearby toilets with handicapped facilities, emergency exits, no stairs (upper deck 747) etc.

[missleadfoot]

Our airline allows wheelchair pax to sit generally anywhere (obviously not exits) as all of our arm rests on the B767-300 can click up. Most are usually seated in a aisle to facilitate easy access to and from the bathroom etc however it still amazes me why check in staff continue to put these pax as far away from the loo as possible. I'm not sure on other airline policies but at AO it's a continuing problem. I do agree with someones post that they should be seated next to a window for easy evacuation but really, for convenience they should be seated towards the front near a bathroom. On this topic where do you guys have your on board wheel chair stowed? Ours is right at the back of the aircraft on all but 1 a/c, making it difficult to access especially on a full flight and considering our disabled toilet is in mid cabin.