Wheelchairs and Mobility Devices Destroyed or Damaged by Airlines

Over a year ago the major airlines in the United States were made aware that for the first time they would be required by law to report the number of wheelchairs and scooters they destroyed or damaged. Prior to December 4, 2018 a wheelchair or scooter was classified as luggage. No data on on how many wheelchairs and scooters destroyed or damaged by airlines had ever been compiled. As anyone who uses a wheelchair knows, horror stories abound about the large number of wheelchairs destroyed by airlines. Thanks to the FAA Reauthorization Act American based carriers are now required to record the number of wheelchairs and scooters it breaks per month. Link: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/10/26/2018-23475/airline-reporting-of-data-on-mishandled-baggage-wheelchairs-and-scooters

The first monthly report has been issued and it is an eye opener. Link: https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/resources/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/333601/february2019atcr.pdf If one navigates to page 37 you will find the below chart:

AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
MISHANDLED WHEELCHAIRS AND SCOOTERS: RANKING LARGE U.S. REPORTING CARRIERS*

						DECEMBER 4 - DECEMBER 31, 2018
RANK			CARRIER			NUMBER OF WHEELCHAIRS AND SCOOTERS ENPLANED	NUMBER OF WHEELCHAIRS AND SCOOTERS MISHANDLED	PERCENT OF WHEELCHAIRS AND SCOOTERS MISHANDLED
1			SKYWEST AIRLINES			3,018	24	0.80%
2			DELTA AIR LINES			11,838	105	0.89%
3			UNITED AIRLINES			7,307	80	1.09%
4			ALASKA AIRLINES			1,126	14	1.24%
5			HAWAIIAN AIRLINES			638	13	2.04%
6			SPIRIT AIRLINES			1,442	33	2.29%
7			JETBLUE AIRWAYS			1,121	45	4.01%
8			FRONTIER AIRLINES			585	30	5.13%
9			EXPRESSJET AIRLINES			75	4	5.33%
10			SOUTHWEST AIRLINES**			2,879	186	6.46%
11			AMERICAN AIRLINES***			2,091	151	7.22%
12			ENVOY AIR			109	16	14.68%
			TOTAL			32,229	701	2.18%

If you look closely there three asterisks. Those asterisks state: 

* All U.S. airlines with at least one percent of total domestic scheduled-service passenger revenues, as determined by DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
**Southwest informed the Department that for December 2018, it reported mishandlings of all power-assisted and manual wheelchairs and scooters; however, Southwest stated that its enplaned wheelchairs and scooters number did not include any manual wheelchairs enplaned by the carrier. Southwest has disclosed to the Department that it will have the ability to reliably capture manual wheelchairs enplaned on or after January 15, 2019, in its enplaned wheelchairs and scooters number submitted to the Department.
***American informed the Department that for December 2018, it reported mishandlings of all power-assisted and manual wheelchairs and scooters; however, American stated that its process for determining the enplanement number of wheelchairs and scooters may not have consistently accounted for all wheelchairs and scooters enplaned. American has also stated that this process may have impacted American’s wholly- owned subsidiary Envoy and American’s other branded code share carriers ExpressJet and SkyWest. American has indicated to the Department that it is enhancing its process to reliably capture all reportable enplaned wheelchairs and scooters, which may take a few months.

Between December 4, 2018 and December 31, 2018 701 wheelchairs and scooters were mishandled. Yes, the top twelve airlines on average break 25 wheelchairs and scooters a day. I love the wording-mishandled. How benign a word for stating airlines have irreparably damaged the life of a person with a disability. I hope the airline industry notes the total number of passengers that fly per month using wheelchairs or scooters: 32,229. A little basic math would indicate 386,748 people who use a wheelchair or scooter fly in a calendar year. This number is somewhat misleading--it only includes people who have their wheelchair or scooter put in a plane's cargo. I would suggest hundreds of thousands of others who use mobility devices also travel--those using a myriad of mobility devices such as canes, crutches, walkers, etc. No statistics for those that store mobility devices in the airplane cabin are recorded. No information about how long it takes for a passenger whose wheelchair or scooter is placed in the cargo hold is recorded. Most importantly, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines failed to track the number of wheelchairs and scooters it transported. See asterisks above. Despite having a year to institute tracking methodology American and Southwest failed to do so. 

On the surface the number of broken wheelchairs and scooters seems minimal. Of 32,229 wheelchairs and scooters handled by the airlines 701, or 2.8% were destroyed or damaged. The worst airlines were American Airlines, its subsidiary, Envoy Air, Southwest, and Delta (worst here meaning the number of wheelchairs or scooters destroyed or broken). Surprising to me, United Airlines, the airline that destroyed my wheelchair, reported breaking 80 wheelchairs and scooters. I wonder what the airline industry thinks of these preliminary numbers. I suspect they will consider these numbers a positive. The naive may think so too. I think the numbers are appalling and misleading. A mere two percent chance exists that my wheelchair will be destroyed or damaged. Surely that is a risk most people are willing to take. At issue here is choice. Every time I fly I take chances others do not. I risk my wheelchair being destroyed or damaged. I risk my body being injured during the transfer into and out of an aisle wheelchair. I risk injury when improperly secured in the aisle wheelchair by the sub contractor hired by the airline to perform this task. I lose oodles of time every time getting on and off a plane. First on, last off adds at least an hour to my travel day and that is if everything goes right. None of this mentions that single row airplanes have no accessible bathroom. In other words while others know to be well hydrated when they fly I do the exact opposite--I severely dehydrate myself because I know I cannot access a toilet. Imagine the reaction if passengers at JFK were told they could not use the restroom until they landed in Seattle. 

The records that airlines are now required to maintain are game changing for every person that uses a wheelchair or scooter. When I flew Southwest this month the paper work filled out for my wheelchair was different than a gate claim ticket. The gate agent asked what company manufactured my wheelchair and what model wheelchair was I using. He entered this information on the computer and asked me if I had upgraded any components. I informed him I had the carbon fiber frame upgrade as well as Spinergy wheels. I also provided him with the serial number of my wheelchair. The agent looked up and said "wow, I had no idea a manual wheelchair could be so expensive". This was most definitely a first in my life. 

There is no question I will be looking at these statistics on a monthly basis. I urge my crippled brethren to two the same. We cripples all know these statistics are grossly misleading. The airlines destroy and damage far more wheelchairs than they are acknowledging. Often the damage to wheelchairs is not immediately apparent. For a manual wheelchair user a bent or broken weld is not going to be noticed immediately. For a power chair or scooter user, damage to the controller may not be apparent. Further complicating the issue is that over the last few decades the bar has been set very low for airlines. Most people I know who fly are simply relieved their wheelchair has been returned in one piece. No one I know thinks of reporting cosmetic damage or minor damage like bent or twisted brakes. 

On December 4, 2018 the FAA Reauthorization Act changed life for wheelchair or scooter users. I go to the airport now with empowering information. American Airlines, Southwest, Frontier, and Delta had better clean up their act. Before booking a flight, I will examine the number of wheelchairs and scooters broken by airlines the previous months. More than price, this will dictate what airline I fly. I am far from alone. Every wheelchair user that travels has heard the horror stories about wheelchairs being destroyed, broken or lost. Videos of wheelchairs being mishandled by ground personal are readily available on You Tube. Google damaged or destroyed wheelchair and airline and images of abound of mangled wheelchairs. 

At a practical level, we wheelchair and scooter users must be proactive. If a gate agent dismisses concerns about your wheelchair being destroyed or broken provide them with statistics about the number of wheelchairs destroyed or broken the previous month. Insist the gate agent record the following information: wheelchair manufacturer, model number, serial number of the wheelchair, and upgrades on component parts. From now on I will also being taking photographs of my wheelchair moments before it is placed in the cargo hold. The Air Carrier Access Act is very clear: wheelchairs and scooter must be returned in the same condition they were received.  What I am most encouraged about is the social change the FAA Reauthorization Act will prompt. If gate agents become aware of exactly how  much wheelchairs and scooters cost it is my hope that will make an impression. The agent is no longer moving a wheelchair but is placing an item that cost many thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. The people at the airport cannot be expected to know that buying a wheelchair these days is like buying a car. The stated price for a base model is misleading--upgrades can double or even triple the cost of a wheelchair. Gate agents have no knowledge that getting a wheelchair replaced can take many weeks and most likely months. When United destroyed my wheelchair it took three days to get an inferior loaner and nearly twelve weeks to get a new wheelchair. 

Armed with information, I wonder what will happen if my wheelchair is destroyed by an airline. The major carriers such as United hire a sub contractor to arrange a replacement wheelchair if they acknowledge it is broken beyond repair. United's subcontractor, Global Recovery Network, was impressive. They were professional and did their best to provide me with a. replacement wheelchair as soon as possible. I was not impressed with the business practices of NuMotion the durable medical equipment provider tasked with placing the order and evaluation of my needs. I had to wait weeks merely to be evaluated for a new wheelchair. I then had wait more weeks before a demonstration model wheelchairs could be examined. Once selected, it took yet more weeks to receive the wheelchair selected. It is my hope that in the event an airline destroys my wheelchair a sub contractor like Global Recovery Network can provide the manufacturer with the make, model, and upgrades made to my current wheelchair and simply replace it. Durable medical equipment companies, notorious for providing horrific customer service, can be cut out of the loop. This alone would save many weeks of time and aggravation. 

The monkey wrench in what I envision is the wheelchair user. It is far easier to cross one's fingers and hope a wheelchair is not destoryed. After all, for the naive the chances as far we know after one month of reporting is that there is a 2% chance your wheelchair or scooter will be destroyed. I sincerely doubt that most wheelchair users know the manufacturer, model and serial number of their wheelchair. I also doubt most wheelchair users will be proactive and take photographs of their wheelchair before boarding and if damaged report it immediately. The minute you leave the gate with a damaged wheelchair you are out of luck. After decades of abuse on the part of airlines, it is going to be very hard for people who use a wheelchair to assert their new rights. The last time I flew I did not think of taking photographs of my wheelchair. I only noticed a week after flying a large scratch on the foot rest. Prior to December 4, 2018 I would not have dreamed of filing a complaint over minor cosmetic damage to my wheelchair. Today, I would file a complaint immediately. The only substantive change that will take place will be driven by finances. The margin of profit in the airline industry is razor thin. In a data driven business, if the airlines note their profit margins are impacted by the cost of replacing expensive wheelchairs and scooters they will change their handling practices. That means it is incumbent upon the wheelchair and scooter user to be proactive. For the first time in my life I am hopeful that air travel will become less nerve racking and risky.