Flyingmama

I have to take exception to this sweeping generalization. Case in point is my husband who looks able bodied, but is not. He can walk, and does not use a walker or canes, but for him to walk 100 yards is the equivalent of me (a fat old lady) trying to run the Boston marathon. Impossible. Yes he normally travels with able bodied family members, but what do you propose we do ... carry him to the gate on our shoulders?

baglady

Excellent point. My handicap does show currently but in a few months or so, the casts/cruches will be gone and I'll still need a wheelchair when I travel. I'm now told I may never walk normally again. What will that mean? Who knows? But it will probably mean wheelchair assistance for the next several months to a few years. That's okay for me, but people need to not judge and think that just because I don't have something that makes me look less abled, that I am a complete able bodied person.

smurfph

DeafFlyer- Unfortunately the service was created for both the 95% and the 5%, but if the 95% tipped accordingly, we wouldn't have a care in the world, Only about 40% tip us. Instance, yesterday I spent 45 minutes with a women who sprained her ankle watering skiing on vacation. She told me how she won 6,000 in the casino on a cruise and couldnt wait for her next vacation next month. I got no tip from her. Those are the things that aggravate.

Baglady and flyingmama- by able bodied family I dont mean a spouse of equivalent age or slight physical ailment. I do however mean the grandparents that are traveling with their children in their 40's and their grandchildren that are 15-25. When a large family of 10 comes off and and the grandparents tell their children/family, "let the wheelchair pusher do it, its their job" they are very right, however a little thanks would be nice, since we do work for tips. Now if you are in that 5% that is flying not due to being rich and spoiled, perhaps a funeral, or a trip to see the children that live across the country, and you really need my help (not just to get to the front of a line) and you dont have the money to tip me, I will still graciously take you wherever you need to go, with the same respect as a tipping passenger. I know you are not just using me, you actually need me and that makes me feel good regardless of tip.

baglady

Do you think the majority of passengers know they should tip a wc pusher or cart driver? I don't think they do - I think they see it as a service of the airline and that their ticket covers it. I think there are a lot of travelers who don't realize that skycaps should be tipped.

I don't think it is necessarily that they have money and are cheap, but rather they don't know they should tip. Sometimes, a gate agent takes me down to the plane - I wouldn't tip him/her as I know they are an airline employee and that wheelchair assists and skycaps are contract employees.

DeafFlyer

I'm in that 5%. If I had money, I think I would tip, and my views might be different about it. Thanks for posting here.

LapLap

Another one of the 5%ers, and again, thanks for the insight!

I'm not even able to propell myself at the moment and need to rely on my husband - I can imagine that, were we to travel, his pushing me AND dealing with the luggage cases would present a very real problem (it's tricky enough going to the local grocery store when the motorised seats there don't work).

And only an emergency would make us go on any kind of lengthy journey right now as we can ill afford it - our families are in Spain and Japan, so any asistance given us at NRT or ALC would not require us to give a tip.

But I'd certainly do my best to have something handy should I ever travel Stateside in my present condition (although this again would be rather tricky - the most cost effective way for me to change money is to use an ATM overseas, which means I wouldn't initially have any cash to tip with - and then the notes would be too large to use.)

I'm actually pretty shocked that the wonderful service given by people such as smurfph is so abused by travellers and so little regarded by airlines. If it was just the small percentage who genuinely required this service who requested it then surely the airport servicers would be able to accommodate them by providing personell on respectable salaries. Instead it seems (that in the airport management's eyes at least) you've been regulated to the status of porters despite the sensitivity and people skills you need as well as the level of responsibility required of you.

We're very lucky to have people like you to assist us, but I am angry that you aren't renumerated in the way you deserve to be. I'm just not in any position to address this. I can only say how much I appreciate and value your work.

Thank you!

SAPMAN

In response to above, you can tip in US $$. I always carry a lot of $1 bills with me and people (espec. in airport areas or big cities) are happy to get a few $$ for a tip.

My question: I will be taking someone who needs a wheelchair (she can walk about 50 yds at one time). Can I push her with in an airport wheelchair -- Midway? Or do I need a pusher?? I will not have a carryon and can manage easily. Then we can stop for coffee or a snack along the way - as I am sure we will get there early.

What about getting through security if I am doing the pushing?

Thanks.

DeafFlyer

I've never experienced being in an airport chair and bringing my own "pusher" but I do think it can be done. As far as security, the check-in agent might direct someone to lead to the front of the line, or they might not. If you do that, stay with the chair until they direct you to go through the detector (probably make you cut in to the line) while they do an examination of the person in the chair. Same thi ng usually happens when a chair pusher is used. They keep groups and families together, usually.

Katja

I don't have any experience with MDW or PHX. At IAD, you can dispense with the airport's pusher, but then you have to leave a driver's license or something else of value with the wheelchair contractor and retrieve it when returning the chair, which sort of defeats the purpose of getting the person to the gate.

Since wheelchair contractors work for airports and not airlines, I suggest you try contacting the individual airports with your question.

LapLap

That's exactly what I'd be concerned about - I usually deal with pounds sterling, Euros or yen. Unless I'd got some changed in the UK first (which I never do as the exchange rate using an ATM is much better) you can count on me arriving in the US without any cash at all.

The procedure I've always followed as an able bodied traveller is this - arrive at airport, pass though customs, collect luggage, go landside, find ATM and get $$$s, buy a refreshment (which also provides me with small $ bills), continue journey.

What happens when others from non US countries arrive without cash in $$$s? Surely I'm not the only one.

I'm concerned because I hate the position your employers have put you in in order for you to gain a salary in a place that I'd always assumed is geared towards international (as well as national) travel habits.

smurfph

BagLady- I highly agree with you that some people dont know. I can't say I understand it, especially since they are usually frequent travelors. On the other hand, we sometimes get tipped 25-50 CENTS. I have had passengers give me two quarters and tell me there is no way that they could have ever done it without me, yes the same passengers that just flew in from there summer home.

Deafflyer- I am glad that you have insight from our side. I never wanted to be pushy, just understood. Im glad that I may have helped a few.

Also, I have heard some airports require you to leave a liscense when using the chair without a pusher, but at MHT you can just take the chair for as long as you like, leave it wherever you like, and use it to your own convenience. Which makes not getting tipped worse when they decide to use us.

To all, safe travels. I have been hired by the best airline there is. I will no longer work for tips but I do respect all those attendants. I got this job because the airline saw that I had true compassion and understanding for our disabled passengers. Thank you.

smurfph

LapLap

Thank you for your appreciation.
I cant speak for others but if I recieved the equal to a few US dollars in something other, i.e. Euros or yen, I would be happy that you thought of me, I have no foreign currency and would keep it. Also, if you do have US money, but you feel its too large, we often have change, I always start my day with change. But thanks for your understanding and caring.

LapLap

Thanks very much for your thoughful response.

Alas, a wheelchair doesn't necessarily come with a handbook - so there have been a lot of adjustments I've had to make, habits I've needed to break or change, and I've needed to shift my expectations and behaviour continually.

Almost of all of this has been done with hidsight, i.e. I've had to adapt to and think of a new way of tackling a situation after having already tried to approach it.

I'm grateful for your posts, they've provided a very useful and interesting insight, so I will now feel a little more prepared for my airport experience should I need to travel to the states. As countries we may (officially) share a language - even two - but the culture and customs are very different to what I'm used to.

Best wishes!

oldpenny16

I tried to get information from DFW International Airport on this subject. It was far from easy. There are several types of chair pushers at DFW. The first group are actual airline employees. The 2nd group are hired by a contractor. The 3rd group are volunteers, members of the Airport Ambassadors program at DFW who help out travelers all over the place.

The Ambassadors primarily give out information to travelers on how to get around the airport, change planes, use airport facilities etc. You will recognize them by the fact of their badges and uniforms. They nearly always wear cowboy hats. They do not accept tips. They can make calls to get a person help when needed. They love to talk to visitors. Bless them! In some situations, during peak times, Ambassadors will push chairs, but it is not their primary area.

The airline employees (obviously) are very well paid. Some will accept tips, others will not.

The contractor employees get more than the minimum wage and benefits. I was unable to find out how much they are paid. They do accept tips. Tips are voluntary.

When either arrangements are made in advance or an airplane's crew calls for a chair pusher, the chair pusher sees the person through immigration, baggage collection and customs (when appropriate), on to the person's next flight or out to transportation off the airport.

If you are coming in on a domestic flight and are pushed to baggage claim, the chair pusher is not supposted to hand you off to a sky cap (who work for tips), but some do. If this is not what you want, certainly speak up!

Sorry not to be able to find out about wages, but obviously this is a private area. All airport employees outside of waiters and bar folks get more than the minimum wage. If a chair pusher tells you that he or she works ONLY for tips, I've been assured it is a lie.

On the subject of how much a tip should be, I got absolutely nowhere. If it takes a chair pusher 40 minutes to get you from your incoming flight, through immigration, to collect your baggage and through customs, I haven't a clue how much is fair.

Wish I could get more info. When I'm next at DFW International I will ask in person. When I asked how to reserve a chair pusher for an elderly person, I was told to work with the airline in question. There is no central dispatch telephone number.

oklAAhoma

Yes, that is how it works at any airport afaik. It's best to tell the airline at the time of ticket purchase (aa.com has a box to check when purchasing online) and then to call and double-check before travel. I have no idea how other airlines handle it, but with AA one can designate whether the pax can walk onto the plane themselves or whether they need assisitance all the way into their seat.

Regarding pushers, in my limited experience, it varies greatly from airport to airport. At LAS the skycaps called for a wheelchair and it arrived within minutes, at DFW the ticket agent called and called and called... we finally received a chair and I was designated the pusher. At LHR, there were none to be had (neither wheelchairs nor pushers), despite the fact that we had requested such. Luckily my mom was somewhat mobile at the time and since she's tougher than boot leather, we somehow managed without. (However, she paid the price later that day - in pain and swelling of her feet and legs - and I realize now I should have tried harder to secure her a wheelchair.)