That is exactly the point. As long as CPAP is FAA approved airlines should allowed it and FA should be educated to not make a fuss about it.

You are absolutely correct. We have the authority to ask passengers to turn the off if they are not pre cleared with CX. The manifest has an option to let us know if a passenger has been pre cleared with the machine.

And calling in to notify them in advance is an impossible obstacle?

While I agree with you that they should I don't think it can be expected for FAs to know the difference between a FAA (or the licensing body where the airline is from) approved and non-approved machine. If you made no steps to ensure that they know it's approved I think that falls back on you.

Calling in advance is not an impossible obstacle but it is inconvenient. I fly 2-3 time a month and log 250k+ miles a year. I'm the same person boarding the same airline with the same medical equipment every time. The motivation for my original question was to see if anyone has used a FREMEC to alleviate the need for calling before each flight.

And I'm not saying they shouldn't have a system to fix this, which in my opinion includes a pre-approved machine on all flights with an airline.

However it is reasonable that the airline gets some notification in advance.

That is certainly the case on U.S. airlines. FAA regulations (and certifications), however, are not generally compulsory outside the U.S. on non-U.S. airlines.

Just as pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) is an over-the-counter drug and possession is legal in the U.S., yet possession is a crime in Dubai, each country is free to set its own laws. It is simply one of the things you need to deal with when traveling internationally.

While I appreciate that you want to be able to use your CPAP without restriction worldwide on every airline you might fly, just as I would like to be able to carry pseudoephedrine when I travel to Dubai, that is not how the world works.

Your analogy breaks down and completely do not apply in this situation because neither CX nor HK law bans CPAP on planes, CX just made it very hard to use them on the air craft. The argument is not wether CPAP should be legal by HK or CX or not, approved models are legal, period.

There should be no reason why CX couldn't just have something on the web, for example, for customers to key in their CPAP information (brand, model number, etc.) and CX instantaneously know their CPAP is air-worthy or not.

By the way, I'm told by Resmed (most popular CPAP maker) all CPAP machines (Resmed or other brands) are air-worthy and approved by FAA or EU-equivalent. This is why Resmed was kind of shock when I asked them about the hassle and wonder if this is air industry wide. There are no models out there that aren't approved. Interesting....

You're still looking at it backward. CPAPs are not permitted unless and until they are approved by CX or HK regulatory authorities. Certification elsewhere is meaningless. It's not a matter of what is banned. It is a matter of what has been approved.

Can't disagree with that, but perhaps the reason is that CPAPs are so seldom used in-flight. With about 4-million miles under my belt, I have seen one used on an international flight. One.

Are they approved by CX or HKG regulatory authorities? That's all that matters when you fly CX.

Can't disagree with that, but perhaps the reason is that CPAPs are so seldom used in-flight. With about 4-million miles under my belt, I have seen one used on an international flight. One.


The fact that CX and most other airlines have adopted policies regarding the inflight use of CPAP machines would suggest there is more demand than your observations would indicate.

CX would know better than I, and I can't affirm that I have seen every CPAP in use on every flight, but I don't think it is legitimately debatable that CPAPs are not in wide-spread use on flights. It's a niche issue

For those who need them, however, it is obviously a significant issue to them.

I find it funny that is the author actually trying to tell us everytime he flies he goes up and down checking everyone making sure if someone is using CPAP or not? Planes head to tail? Heh heh.

So let me get this straight, we've know now that Lithium battery when not store property is a definite fire hazard and has already caused a few on-board fires, is still not regulated less than a "warning". But CPAP, which to date has not caused any problems on-board, and the technology is exponentially safer than a lithium battery, gets all kinds of grief? Talk about twisted priorities.

Care to point to where I said any such thing? Heh, heh indeed.

Perhaps you need to learn a little more about aviation safety before you rant.

CX gives you a procedure to use your CPAP. You apparently don't want to be bothered to follow that procedure. Maybe you should fly an airline other than CX in that case.

I am not sure you meant on CX only or all other airlines too. I guess the reason why there are so few passengers using CPAP on board of CX flights is because it is really tedious. I have applied before, it was usually a 3 days job. I have to call reservation first and then send in the manual at least twice and explain to at least 2 different departments. I have not bothered to use the machine on board any more. It's not worth the time being wasted.

BA treats cpap as a notebook, no need to apply at all. On the last flight I took to LHR, there were 3 pax (including me) using CPAP on board. So go figure.

That's good information on BA. I'll start using them for my London flights. I could not agree more with your comments regarding the tedious and unnecessary arrangements CX requires for inflight CPAP use.

Have you looked into obtaining a FREMEC? I'm curious to know if this would remove the need to call CX before every flight.