gottaluvNW

I have an elderly family member who will be traveling shortly on a transatlantic flight. This person has a medical condition which requires a traveling nurse as well as a lot of physical privacy on the flight.

First is probably a better option than Club World. But in your opinion, how good is BA flight crew in terms of being attentive to and responsive towards any assistance that might be required en route. I am not suggesting that the passenger will need medical help. But more along the lines of helping the passenger get up, assist the nurse in taking the passenger to the bathroom, etc?

Finally, given the circumstances, I need to book the family member in the plane with the largest possible toilet (that could allow a nurse to keep this person company inside of the toilet, for example, if required.) Any suggestions as to which plane has the largest toilet in First?

Finally, is there another airline going from Europe to the US that has far superior first class crew/service? I thought of SQ of course but they only fly to New York for their TATL flights.

How does Virgin compare with their Upper Class toilets as well as their crews, relative to BA First?

gms

BA.com provides some details about what the crew can and cannot do.

Hubbabridge

The EK A380 has by far the largest lavatory on a plane I have ever seen, it also has a shower in the same room. You would have to look up on what routes it is currently used.

I don't think BA staff will be in a position to offer anything more than is outlined on the site

corporate-wage-slave

I would also point out that a US to Europe transit it may be a lot more comfortable for all concerned if you look into going by boat. Cunard runs regular New York to Southampton services and there are a number of other ways to do it. The cost of the cheapest cabin on one of the three Cunard ships is quite a bit lower than CW, never mind F. There is also a doctor on board.

Also Cunard is very well used to dealing with passengers who are elderly or have mobility issues. Finally the bulk of Cunard's onboard staff below management are Filipino, who tend to have enormous respect for the elderly. I've done NY-Southampton by ship quite frequently, by all means PM me if you want more information about life on board.

As I tend to ask, how did we manage 50 years ago without mass air transit?

Short Final

gottaluvNW,

Try the Passenger Medical Clearance Unit (PMCU).

Telephone: +44 (0)20 8738 5444
Fax: +44 (0)20 8738 9644
Email: [email protected]

abfab

I think the toilet/shower rooms on the EK A380s are pre-reserved to passengers in 30 minute time slots in advance though, so Im not sure if they would necessarily be available to use on demand as a disabled loo.

WhitePlains

One of my friends did something like this recently: accompany his father in a transatlantic flight and from what he had to say: there is not much for the CC to do in terms of helping the passenger. Yes, they get water or blankets if needed asap, but apart from that...not much they can do.

KenJohn

A 747 F toilet is larger than a 777 F toilet for sure.

If there is a travelling nurse on board then surely there will be little for the crew to do except to follow the advice of the travelling nurse if required. Also depends if especially equipment have to be brought on board that requires capital permission like oxygen tanks.

Your family member is not the first and not the last pax to require such assistance. Glad you can afford the fare in F x 2.

Re privacy, a CW window seat on the lower deck is probably more private with the screen raised comared with most seats in F. You probably need 1A/1K in F for the same level of privacy. Screen can be lower when travelling nurse is in the aisle partner seat so the nurse to monitor the patient (probably easier than in F since it is a face to face seating arrangement).

You might request crew to use the larger toilets in F.

sunrisegirl

Virgin's Upper Class is not a First class product but a business class product.

All toilets are more or less the same size on board. Those in F appear slightly larger, though whether they are I'm not sure.

If the elderly person needs privacy then I think CW would be better as it has the screens where. if they're in a window seat, they can block themselves off.

However, as there will be a nurse travelling with this passenger then they (the nurse) should be responsible for the elderly person's welfare, not the crew.

gottaluvNW

Thank you all for your comments. I am especially intrigued by the comment regarding the curtains in Club World. Could someone explain to me how this works and whether there are photos posted around so I can actually get a glimpse of what the cabin looks like?

gottaluvNW

Thanks for this great idea.

PETER01

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviatio.../0/1467032.jpg

This is a 777-200 but if you go into flickr.com or airliners.net you will find many more including 747's. There are alos many trip reports here on FT BA.

Pete

satman40

I travel with a Medical Doctor, they tell us both to set in our seats

thumbelina

I found the cabin crew very unhelpful on my last BA F flight. I wear a brace when I fly that goes from the top of my head to my hips and a medical device on my left arm and antithrombotic stockings on both legs. The brace does not let me bend except at the hips, so I cannot fit in the F bathroom on the 747 ( truly tiny) with the door closed if I need to utilize the WC. They have to pull the curtain in front of the bathroom for privacy with the door left open (same thing happens on Alaska air)

Rules are such that they cannot help passengers into toilet (no problem for me as I need no such assistance).
The toilet is about a third larger than a US phone booth, but the WC takes up half the floor space.

I would recommend SAS as it has a bathroom 3-4 times larger and with two windows facing the outside world (watch for curious birds!) Seats on SAS nowhere near as comfortable as BA, and their attitude towards the disabled leaves a lot to be desired. If they (or most airlines' FAs see there is a nurse or other assistant they will usually refuse to be of any help whatsoever, figuring everything is "covered" and someone else has all the responsibility) but SAS does have much easier bathroom use.
I had heard htat some planes have business class bathrooms which share a wall which can be
moved to combine two bathrooms into one bathroom for disabled--never saw such a thing though.

Hope you find your answer!

PS beware of the wheelchair pushing persons at LHR--I have been injured by them on more than one occasion. Hopefully the nurse will serve to protect your relative.

PS you might want to post this on disability travel forum--someone there may have more experience