Gate checked walkers/rollators
 

I am planning a trip in 2 weeks to Ireland, taking my mother who has had her cancer metastasize into various miserable places.
Have booked the flights with flight passes to LHR and back as well as upgraded. Will complete the bookings to BHD tomorrow once I get some feed back from the community.
YYJ-YVR-YUL-LHR - Good connections except AC 194 - AC 864 in YUL, 45 min. Looks like it lands btwn 48 -64 checking flight aware and departs btwn 52-64. Shouldn't be a problem but she requires a walker. How long does it take to retrieve a gate checked walker. Another possibly is to use AC equipment and check it from YYJ.
Lie flat seat is an absolute must, I see 2 downgauges on 194 in the last 2 weeks? Given her circumstances how will AC react to this situation? ( I know, who knows )
Looking at EI 31, sched at 9:50 out of T2 to BHD, AC 864 sched in 7:15, usually by 8:00. Easy transfer I assume? Have not done LHR since T3 days.
Return has no issues given an overnight in London.
Thanking you in advance.

If there's a downgauge on YVR-YUL, ask to be put on YVR-LHR.

Actually, why didn't you book that in the first place?

I have no experience with rollators (sorry), but just thought I'd make two comments:

1) The triple connection sounds extremely tedious for an elderly person. Any particular reason you're not doing YYJ-YVR-LHR or YYJ-YYC-LHR?

2) Depending on her health condition, you may want to get an official doctor's approval that she's fit to fly.

To both posters, no p available on yvr lhr and I do want an exit strategy with in Canada if things are too painful. IE yvr yul is a test drive. Drs are all good.

One other idea: Have you considered spending the night (<24h layover) in YUL or YYZ to make the journey less tedious?

E.g. YYJ-YVR-YYZ (day 1); YYZ-LHR (day 2)

Ask for wheelchair assistance to be waiting at all gates. I vaguely remember that it is best to ask 48 hours before flight time. It made my recent trip with my daughter much more bearable. She would never have been able to handle the insane walks at BRU, and it made the other parts of the journey much easier too.

Really sorry about your Mum's health problems.

I've never travelled with a gate checked walker, but I have travelled with a gate checked stroller several times and will assume they would be delivered at the same time. Typically, a ramp agent will deliver them within minutes after deplaning. I usually sit as close to the front of the aircraft as I can and usually recover the stroller before the plane has fully emptied - for larger aircrafts at least.

@ Aspan - so sorry to hear about your Mom, hopefully this trip will be all that you hope it to be. Can confirm that gate checked walkers are retrieved by ramp agents same time as strollers are. I did YHZ-YYZ-YHZ last weekend to get my 87 year old Mom down for a visit. I order a wheelchair for her, but still bring her walker which we gate check (just be sure to get a "tag" at check in or at the gate counter.

Thanks for the information.
Can anybody confirm the LHR T2 experience. We will have fast track and AC should interline the baggage.

I echo this. I had some problems with my feet and had to request wheelchair assistance for a few months and Air Canada was great. It should help with your connections. Always met at the gate on arrival and expedited through security checks (and customs too if I recall correctly - separate lanes in some European airports - I did not transit LHR). At YYZ there is a number to call and they will meet your taxi as you are being dropped off at a designated area. United on the other hand....just left me sitting in a hallway at IAH and I had to fend for myself or I would have missed my connection.

It wasn't AC (BA) but after being pre-warned they were actually very very good out of LHR even in Y. My friend was actually taken on board first and sat in F until everyone else had boarded then then led back to his seat.

AC should be able to at least come close to this level of service with some advance warning.

I mean, she's in J internationally so will have partial concierge service right, so AC should be able to take care of this. Make sure you Mom has a cell phone that works in the UK as well. I'd actually ask AC for the concierge numbers as she's in J, you never know.

Thank you all, emailed the concierge and all is good. Very prompt reply.

Gate checked item and IRROPS
 

Flying an elderly friend to YUL tomorrow for his hip surgery, YLW-YVR-YUL
Carry on bags for all three of us.
He needs a walker, it folds but will not fit in an OH bin or under seat so needs to be gate checked.
Given current weather in YUL and possibility of IRROPS tomorrow as well, I want us to be as nimble (in the IRROPS sense) as possible.

Will a gate checked item be considered as checked when with dealing with IRROPS or will we be considered as having no checked bags?

Note: merged with existing thread.

Feedback upthread suggests walkers will be retrieved at the gate like strollers, i.e. not checked baggage. Not sure whether anyone has any more recent experience, but pretty sure I've seen this in action.

have flown with elderly parents like this last July (Yyz-sea) and October (Yyz-Yhz). Walkers/rollators were tagged with handwritten barcode tags at checkin (not at gate) and then left at the door to the aircraft. They were put in the hold and returned to the door of the aircraft on arrival, typically no more than 15 minutes after the door opened. We were seated in J on the left side and the parents deplaned when they saw the walkers had come up.

we’ve not experienced any damage or rough handling.

definitely sign up for PRE boarding assistance, and consider taking the offered wheelchair ride down to the aircraft rather than walking.

I expect the rollator/walker would be treated like no checked bags in case of irrops, as you will have it with you until boarding, but not certain. The tags do get scanned like regular checked luggage when placed into the hold and tracked on the app, so maybe not.