Getting air miles with my Travelscoot
Safe journey
I am the proud owner of a TravelScoot lightweight folding mobility scooter. I have my scooter safely on over 75 flights. There are simple rules to follow that will significantly reduce the chances of damage to the precious scooter. Unfortunately accidents can happen. Here are a few simple precautions that you need to take. Getting air miles with my Travelscoot
At the very beginning
I tell the airline I have a mobility scooter when I buy my tickets. They want to know the weight, size and type of battery. So have these to hand when you buy the tickets. Now just rest easy until a couple of weeks before your departure date.
Getting air miles with my Travelscoot
If you are like me then there are probably one or two little things that need to be done to your mobility scooter or wheelchair that you live with. Get them fixed straight away. Before I go away I am confident that The Trike has an ‘MOT’ certificate, so the throttle, brakes, battery and bell function.
Check-in at the airport
Arrive with plenty of time to spare, things can happen. When I enter the departures area I look for a representative of the airline. They will take me, my luggage, friends and family to a specific check-in desk.
This bit is really important I say ‘I am going to ride my mobility scooter right up to the door of the aircraft. At the departure gate I will get a gate tag for my scooter’.
Over-sized luggage
Under no circumstances do I allow The Trike to be treated as over-sized luggage, this will only end in tears. My Rollator is sent as over-sized luggage and I have never had a problem with that but it is much lighter and smaller.
Security
I ride The Trike through security. If I’m encouraged to walk through I just shake my head. If they want me to take off my shoes I explain that I wear an FES and without it I cannot walk. They soon get the message. Security staff are very helpful but don’t forget to smile 🙂 .
Departure gate
Travelscoot ready for to fly, Travelscoot.eu
When I arrived there I tell them who I am and that I need a gate tag for The Trike. I and other physically disabled people board the plane before the ‘great unwashed’. I ride The Trike to the aeroplane door. There I get off it, remove the lithium ion battery and anything else that is easy to take off. This all goes into the cabin with me. I do not fold it up The Trike at all. If asked I just say it’s impossible. I show the baggage handlers how to apply the brakes and tell them it is very light. They manually load it onto the plane.
At the other end
I am the last person off the plane. The Trike is waiting for me on the air bridge. Now I just plug in the battery and ride off into the sunset 🙂
I worked out most of this procedure myself. Daniel, the Australian TravelScoot rep, who needs a TravelScoot as much as I do confirmed the details.
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October 2016
Great advice, Patrick. I have also taken my manual wheelchair abroad many times mostly without problems. I have done all of what you recommend here. I am to disabled now (EDSS 8.5) for future trips!!
Hello David,
Plucky chap. I like the way you say ‘mostly without problems’. What are the problems and any advice
It was quite a long time ago now but I seem to remember that the chair was returned to me missing some parts which needed to be detached in order to stow correctly.
It was a manual wheelchair and I think I may have learnt to caution the baggage handlers to pay careful attention
Hello David,
The baggage handlers who stow it seem to be OK. in my limited experience it is the baggage handlers at the destination. With the Travelscoot there are no detachable bits on it when it is given to them to stow.
I also do what you advise with my travelscoot. Travel with easyjet to Spain regularly. What I do need though is a wider,softer wheel on the front and a sprung seat post. I will be getting these for myself for Christmas!
Kind Regards, Peter.????
Hello Peter,
It does give a bumpy ride but isn’t that half the fun?
That sounds really good, and it’s so good you had a nice trip. I took my DiBlasi R30 to Russia for the world cup, on planes and trains, and had a great time, round Moscow and St Petersburg. I have a friend who says the scooter is a babe magnet, and she’s right. People always want to talk about it – OMG does it just fold up – yeh well it does – Oh I’ll get one for my mum.
Hello Nick,
The DiBlasi looks good fun. The Travelscoot is another babe magnet, people just want to ride it cos it looks ‘big fun’. I was in St Petersberg in about 2006 and there were no dropped kerbs in the main shopping streets. I was using a wheelchair in those days for long walks and this was a horrible problem. Also the Russians kept on staring at me as if I was a martian, maybe they were not used to seeing a disabled man being pushed by his wife
Great advice, Patrick. I have also taken my Luggie abroad a couple of time without problems. Generally I have done most of what you recommend here, but you have definitely given me a few extra tips for future trips!!
Hello Paul,
The most important tip is to take scooter or wheelchair with you to the departure gate and not consign it to oversize luggage. More on this later 🙁
Thank you so much! These were the answers I needed to know before purchasing my Travelscoot. Great article!
Hello Kay,
The info on this postworks, click on the picture halfway down to read the instructions from Travelscoot where they dot the ‘i’s and cross the ‘t’s