I believe I was the only wheelchair passenger. On arrival, I thought I had plenty of time for my connection, so I was happy to comply with the cabin crew's suggestion to wait until the end. Then, when we were sent to a hard stand there was a further delay because the only stairs available were for smaller planes.

i had several conversations with the cabin crew about using the stairs vs. waiting for a lift truck. Since my next leg was on an ATR, I had been happy to be listed as "wheelchair, can do steps" - the few steps on the airstair into the ATR are OK for me.

When I saw that I would need to do the 747 stairs and that they then expected me to walk across the wet tarmac to the bus - I said I wanted the lift truck. Only then did they agree to bring my own chair from the hold to the bottom of the steps.

The "don't leave the plane" advice is always the ultimate answer, but in this case I had good assistance onto the shuttle bus. It was only getting off the bus at the far end that the serious problems started.

Meanwhile, a hard copy letter has arrived referencing an email that I have not seen; the letter included a modest gift card - not at all what I'm looking for. I'm interested in avoiding problems in the future!

In retrospect, I can only assume that someone met one of the first buses and did not wait for the last bus. That was the first problem. The lack of assistance once I presented myself inside the terminal remains inexplicable to me.

Bottom line - in my current condition I need an intermediate level of assistance for "can only do a few steps". Germany remains highly problematic for me - thinking of the time in Munich were my chair was tagged "deliver at aircraft", yet they expected me to walk up the lengthly jet way that did not even have handrails.

On the other hand, they've sometimes been extremely helpful there. What to do? Build in more time for connections and never assume...