While it may seem like a distant dream for wheelchair users to remain in their wheelchairs while flying commercially, promising news emerged from last week’s Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany. Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of the world’s largest aerospace and defense company, gave the public a first look at an improved version of the Prime wheelchair seating solution it debuted at the same conference a year earlier.
The new iteration is built around a “transformable monument” that can provide modern passenger amenities when a wheelchair user is flying or a flexible crew service station when not. The monument houses all the amenities enjoyed by other passengers, including a height-adjustable tray table with integrated tablet holder, power outlets and a passenger service unit with reading light, attendant call button and public address speaker.
John Morris of WheelchairTravel.org was one of the first to demo the new Prime solution. His Permobil F3 slid easily into position on the Airbus A320 mockup, and he showed how the monument’s adjustability would likely suit a wide range of wheelchairs. He also noted the monument can be moved to make it easier for manual chair users to transfer in-plane without using an aisle chair.
“[These are] really great developments from the prototype that was shown last year,” he says. “I’m excited to see this project move forward.”
Prime enables power wheelchair users to remain comfortably seated in their wheelchairs throughout flight. Power wheelchairs are secured to the aircraft utilizing an industry standard “roll on, lock down” tie-down system.
The Collins Aerospace team said the improved design wouldn’t have been possible without the vocal response of the disability community.
“The feedback we’ve received has been invaluable and the driving force behind the design and experiential upgrades made to Prime over the last 10 months,” said Cynthia Muklevicz, vice president of customer and business development for Collins Aerospace. “The user experience is not only on par with flight amenities enjoyed by every other passenger, but further considerations were implemented to ensure emergency egress standards are met and a caregiver can occupy the seat directly next to the Prime user.”
Collins Aerospace hasn’t released any information about the safety or suitability of the system for flying in a manual wheelchair without transferring.
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Why should it take moving into the 2000s to make this happen?
I asked an airline pilot why they didn’t have at least ONE or TWO handicapped accessible airplanes in their fleet. He said that it would cost too much!
It is extremely difficult and uncomfortable for a quad to try to sit on the lil chair that they roll you into the plane. There’s no way to balance yourself out nothing to hold on to. Then, a person who is a quad can’t do much to help themselves in a seat–even though it’s right in the front!!
This innovation could be a major game changer in how the disabled travel! It would be a great deal to a lot of people!
As manual wheelchair users, my wife and I used to exclusively fly Southwest. Their open seating allowed for the opportunity to transfer to bulk head seats, without the need for isle chairs. It seems silly to me that those seats haven’t always been reserved in every airline for folks with disabilities. It’s great to see at least someone is thinking about those of us in need, especially those who have trouble transferring.
I WONDER IF ALL BATTERY TYPES WILL BE ALLOWED. WILL PERSONAL SCOOTERS BE ALLOWED TO USE THIS SPACE.
I have been relegated to a powered wheelchair for about five years and have not flown on an airplane since then. I have been concerned with having the airline crew and staff to transfer me into a regular airplane seat as I have MS and I am not strong enough to maneuver myself into the seat. Also worried about my wheelchair as it weighs 330 lbs. and having the airline able to place the wheelchair in the baggage compartment without damaging the wheelchair. These concerns could be alleviated with this airline seating arrangement It cannot happen soon enough!