Mom, 86, is alert and mobile, but shaky and uses a cane. She tires easily and doesn't think she can travel any longer, but we want to take her from SAN to OAK. It's a 1.5 hour flight, and we will be met in Oakland.

The downside is that it's on Thanksgiving and we have tickets on Southwest. :eek:

Of course I'll call the airline, and I understand they have their own employees who push the chair, who should be tipped, but is this something we should talk her into?

I'm posting here because I'd like feedback on what to expect. My thought is the trip will be easy for her as we hopefully can arrange a wheelchair at the curb, seat her on the plane, help her off, and use a chair to the curb in Oakland. But maybe I'm dreaming.

My husband and I would accompany her and she can walk short distances. The commotion of the terminal would bother her. She will need to use the restroom, but wouldn't need to take the chair in.

Would it be better to pay United an arm an a leg for the same flight into SFO? If I did that, only one of us could accompany her (financial problem) .

Is this more of an Omni question? :eek:

I can only offer my experiences with BA which were a real mixed bag.
It took me 6 weeks of constant badgering both by phone and in person to get BA to allocate a seat next to the toilet allocated to my father. Eventually the threat that he would have to pee into a bottle did the trick.
They then complicated the whole thing by having a last minute equipment change a Gatwick but BA did the decent thing by allocating a business class seat next to the toilet.
At Tampa Airport a wheelchair was brought to the aircraft door, i chose to wheel him but an agent was available.
All the staff at Tampa were sensitive to his needs.
I find America excellent for its treatment and facilities for disabled people.
Make sure the airline is fully aware of your needs at all times and everything should be fine, do not ever let a disability be a bar to travelling. Good Luck

Being that it's during the Thanksgiving rush the only thing I would worry about is that they don't run out of wheelchairs! Other than that both airlines would be similar.

Southwest doesn't assign seats while United does, so you have to decide if that's important. United pre-boards, if you ask, I'm not sure about Southwest. If either of these doesn't matter, then you'll be fine on Southwest.

Mom, 86, is alert and mobile, but shaky and uses a cane. She tires easily and doesn't think she can travel any longer, but we want to take her from SAN to OAK. It's a 1.5 hour flight, and we will be met in Oakland.

The downside is that it's on Thanksgiving and we have tickets on Southwest. :eek:

Of course I'll call the airline, and I understand they have their own employees who push the chair, who should be tipped, but is this something we should talk her into?

In the reservation, request wheelchair. They should ask about her abilities (cant walk at all, walk short distances, walk on to the plane herself, does she need a wheelchair to get on the plane, ect...) When you get to the airport for the departure, you will need to get the airport wheelchair. If she's traveling alone, at the desk ask for a pass for anyone not travelling to get through security.

At the gate, if she's traveling alone, sometimes the agent will let you help her on the plane if you explain the situation. Sometimes they won't let you on the jetway at all. Sometimes they say they have to push her down for insurance reasons. Even if they do, no need to tip. If someone pushes her across the entire airport, then you should tip. If you are traveling with her, then you can probably push her down yourself.

On Southwest, wheelchairs and those traveling with her go on the plane early, so she should be able to get good seats in the first-come-first-serve seating arrangement.



I'm posting here because I'd like feedback on what to expect. My thought is the trip will be easy for her as we hopefully can arrange a wheelchair at the curb, seat her on the plane, help her off, and use a chair to the curb in Oakland. But maybe I'm dreaming.

At the airport if you're meeting her, go to the Southwest ticket counter and request a pass to get through security. Go to the gate and wait for them to wheel her up. If they are short on people to "push" I suppose you could volunteer to go down after the entire plane clears out, but they probably won't let you. Then wheel her yourself to the baggage claim and then to your car. If the person who pushes her up the jetway keeps on pushing, then tell them you'll take it from there. Again, no need for a tip for a 15 yard push.

If your traveling with her, then wait for the entire plane to clear out and they should have a wheelchair waiting or on its way. Once she's in it, you can push her up yourself.



My husband and I would accompany her and she can walk short distances. The commotion of the terminal would bother her. She will need to use the restroom, but wouldn't need to take the chair in.

Would it be better to pay United an arm an a leg for the same flight into SFO? If I did that, only one of us could accompany her (financial problem) .


Regardless of who's pushing her, stopping at the restroom won't be a problem as long as she doesn't need help "in" the restroom. :)

Stick with the cheapest option. There should be no difference in the type of help they provide.