HXdave

good day to you all. i would be grateful if any cabin crew could resolve an argument i am having with a family member. they are flying long haul uk - aus with a change of aircraft enroute in the far east. his doctor has suggested that my dad has oxygen on board just in case he needs it, although it might be only for a very short period if at all. my dad does not want to tell this to the airline because after checking it appears that he will have to pay for the oxygen as it would require an extra seat for which he will be charged for. his view is that he will just be able to use the emergency oxygen carried on the aircraft if he needs it.

can someone clarify if he could do this, or would there be more serious implications if he had to use it.

many thanks in anticipation of your replies. i am only trying to look after my dad.

speedmarque

Which airline is charging for oxygen?

DO NOT go down the route of not telling the airline, if something happens he will not be covered by travel insurance and diverting an aircraft costs tens of thousands of pounds!

Honesty is the best policy!

Good luck.x

speedbird_85

Honesty is definetly the best policy.

Emergency oxygen is for emergencies
Telling the airline also allows them to put extra onboard incase your father needs it more than previously thought. It also puts a message to the cabin crew so they brief themselves on the condition & be aware of it incase of a emergency

flygirl28

I would agree with the previous comments.
The oxygen that is available on the aircraft is for emergency situations only and not for general use.
The crew really need to know about your fathers condition prior to flight. This will enable them to keep a close eye on his medical status as the flight progresses and check in with how he is feeling regularly.
I understand that having additional oxygen onboard incurs cost and i know that this doesnt come cheap, but it really is in your fathers best interests to alert the airline prior to travel.

gadgetman

it depends on what airline you're with, but most provide medical O2 at no charge as far as I know. (The medical O2 doesn't require an extra seat, so even if there is a charge, it would be nominal compared to paying for another seat) This is O2 that is either constant flow or a pulse dose 'on demand' valve, and can flow at rate of 15+ litres per minute. (max flow will depend on what brand or type is being used. Some may go up to 25lpm) it varies from the typical set up on the ground (in a hospital or ambulance set up) in that is is officially rated for use in flight, but that is about it.

The emergency O2 setup runs at 2-4 lpm, nothing more. if your Dad has COPD or similar, he will require a higher flow than that as the cabin altitude is typically around 5-7000 ft above sea level for the cabin pressure. If his O2 saturation can drop below 70%, the 4lpm is unlikely to be a huge help

DON'T rely on the aircraft emergency O2 if he has a known condition that could require extended use of O2. The crew can also get a bit squirrely about using the onboard O2 and may want to start pressing panic buttons if it's used. A flight from the UK to AUS will take about 20 hrs or so, depending on your routing. the emergency bottles would last about half that time, depending on what aircraft and how many are available. if you have a stopover, the crew would quite likely offload your Dad for a medical checkup rather than let him continue if he's been on O2 for most of the previous leg.

If you arrive on board with a medical certificate and O2 ready to be used, it will be a much more routine set up.

Landing into AUS, if there is a passenger with a previously undeclared medical condition who's been hogging all the O2 for the last 10 hrs, the quarantine staff will hold the aircraft until all has been checked out, make you fill out a whole stack of paperwork and give you a check up so thorough you'll think you've been kidnapped by martians BEFORE they let anyone at all disembark.

I hope that is a help, if you have any specifics on the flight or condition I can try and answer them for you.

HXdave

hi guys.....

thanks for the back up. the flight is manchester to singapore then sydney with singapore airlines. my dad does have a mild form of copd which requires just normal medication here, but i was worried about the oxygen levels in the plane at altitude. as far as i am aware the insurance company have given him the all clear to fly, but then again i am not sure what he has told them, and whether he has given them the full picture.

at least the flight is not until october, so at least we have time to make sure everything is all right with his planned trip.

Forgot to say, big thanks to gadgetman for a thorough explanation.

VS-LHRCSA

Also, bear in mind that it will probably be in the booking remarks that he has enquired about oxygen and declined due to cost. Airlines can charge for the oxygen unit but it should go on the floor under the seat in front, so I don't see how SQ can charge for another seat. However, you may have to be prepared to explain this at check-in. They may even have to call med-link for approval before checking him in. I know when I was checking in, I would want to cover myself by referring to med-link. It doesn't necessarily mean he won't travel but it could take time, so you had better plan for this.

gadgetman

If it's mild COPD, it shouldn't be grounds for withholding your Dad from a flight at all, but as VS-LHRSCA said, they'll want to cover themselves at check-in.
Get a travel certificate from your Doc prior to travel, (should be dated within 2 weeks of travel) whether you decide to order the therapeutic O2 or not. This will make everything easier and hopefully smoothe the way. If you do elect to order the O2 give the airline plenty of notice. I'm not sure about SIA, but some require a couple of weeks.

Make sure your Dad takes his prescription for his medication (albuterol I'm guessing), and a goodly store for his trip. It's readily available in AUS, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.

Hope your Dad has a safe trip.

naughtybutnice

I think that would b such a selfish thing to do, with me being crew i would b so angry that this was never brought to our attention that your father needs oxygen just because he cant be bothered to py £150 which could save his life.. I hope hes not on my flight I tell u that after you posting a very very selfish thread.. We dont get trained AVMED just for fun its real medical emergencies that occur unexpected!!

ozangel

Keep in mind that the onboard O2 is for use in emergencies.

The O2 is not just for medical emergencies, but inflight emergencies such as depressurisation - allowing the crew to attend to passengers following such and event.

It really is no different to travelling with medication, insurance, emergency funds etc - if you can't afford the basics to keep yourself safe and healthy, you really can't afford to travel.

As for the airline charging for the extra seat - well it sounds a tad greedy on their part, but it does of course depend on how much oxy he will need etc...

dollydaydream

Did you actually read it????
If you think that was a selfish post I feel quite justified in saying how angry your post made me - 'just because' you 'can't be bothered' to use punctuation and correct grammar

dollydaydream

Naughtybutnice??

In response to your pm - I don't have a problem, neither am I normally addressed as OI U.
I felt your reply to hxdave's question was neither helpful, informative or pleasant so I made a comment re: your post.
We are all entitled to an opinion but I will air mine in public rather than offensive pm's.

gadgetman

The guy is asking well in advance of a flight in an attempt to be prepared, to make the journey as safe as possible for his Dad - this is in no way selfish - check yourself.

COPD affects about 5% of the developed worlds population, odds are that you'll have a passenger with COPD on almost every flight. You then have to factor in every other illness that isn't disclosed to the cabin crew - CHF, Angina, emphysema etc... there'll be multiple potentially serious medical conditions on almost every flight. You don't have time to get 'so angry' so many people now do you? Getting angry at someone because they require medical attention probably isn't part of your training either. Calm down, it can't be good for your own blood pressure, then you'll have your own medical condition to announce every time you fly.

Apologies are really in order for that comment.

If this is how you react to a perfectly reasonable query from the public I'd question your ability to react to a real emergency.

HXdave

guys. please lets not fall out over this. everyone has their opinion on this and this is what i wanted to hear. perhaps it is a bit selfish for someone not to want to pay for extra oxygen - but this is what i am trying to get through to my dad. i am hoping to show him all the replies on this thread to ensure that he does what is neccasary for him to have a safe flight - cost wise irrespective!

many thanks for everyone help on this matter. i am hoping i can get through to my dad to make sure he does things right.