AdaminDC

Apologies if this is not the right thread location, but I’m posting from my phone in a hospital bed, loaded up on morphine, and this was the only place I could find to post that was halfway logical. And yes, there’s an epic story behind this request, but it will have to wait until later in the interest of keeping it as brief as possible.

Currently in a Thai hospital with four broken ribs and a broken clavicle. Due to be discharged in a few days and looking to get home to DC ASAP (exact day uncertain, but aiming to fly sometime Wednesday to Friday next week). Not only do I want to get home ASAP, but importantly due to injuries, comfort is a big concern.

Flew here on United business class award ticket. Will miss original flights. United offered to waive rebooking fee. As last night, presenting two business options: Thurs 1250am Thai/TG flight 924 to Munich (777), United/UA flight 107 (777) to IAD or Friday 130am Thai/TG flight 936 to Vienna (787), Austrian/OS flight 93 (767) to IAD.

My concern is that the equipment/hard product and bedding soft product on these flights is not the best. Things like ease of access (e.g. middle seat on a UA 777 with 2-4-2 seating could be rough) and seat cushioning (only United seems to offer mattress pads) are big issues given my broken ribs. Don’t particularly care about food on these flights. I am considering booking a new one way ticket and crediting the unused award ticket for another time. That way can better assure my comfort. Looks like Qatar and Etihad are options. JAL would be but looks like requires short AA flight from ORD or Logan, and even in first/business, concerned about rock hard seats from Project Oasis upgrade. Same with Cathay, and also maybe their business class isn’t very soft? I’ve never flown business on the ME3 or JAL, so not sure what to expect.

TL,DR: I need to get from BKK to IAD next week in business class in the physically most comfortable way possible for someone with broken ribs. Guaranteed plush seats, mattress pads, aisle access key. All other considerations secondary. What airline(s) should I take?

zombietooth

Welcome to Flyertalk. Admittedly, you are coming here under less than ideal circumstances, but I believe there are a lot of very knowledgeable people here who will do their best to help you.

I fly the BKK-MUC-IAD/ORD route quite a lot and find the TG seat less comfortable than the UA seats. OS seats are less comfortable than UA, so I would take the UA flight from MUC. Flight 107 still has the old Global First cabin, I believe. Will they let you pick one of those seats (rows 1 and 2)? If so, they are very comfortable and roomy seats. On TG, I think a window seat bulkhead in row 19 would be the best seat for you.

Good Luck!

Mwenenzi

What has your travel insurance offered as a way to get home?
What are the overall travel times(duration)?
Great Circle Mapper
Great Circle Mapper

Any airline may require documentation you are fit to travel

LondonElite

What is the medical advice regarding travel? And have you spoken with your travel insurer about what they can do for you in these circumstances?

LondonElite

I see we are once again on the same page

AdaminDC

Yeah, far from ideal circumstances, but I’ve also been very impressed (and relieved) with the help I’ve gotten from various sources...including you! My research suggested that the UA flight used the old 2-4-2 layout, but I forgot that meant it also had the old Global First. Not sure if I can get a seat there on such short notice, but seems like I have a pretty reasonable basis for a higher priority. And also very good to know about the OS seats.

Still considering crediting the flight and buying something like Etihad or Qatar. And then taking my chances at begging UA into straight banking the miles (rather having to use the credit with time and location restrictions).

Anyway, thank you for your very quick informative response. And all other info and thoughts still welcomed.

Hi all. Sorry if I left out pertinent details. I’m generally long-winded to begin with and this is one hell of a story. But sounds like I need to tell more of it.

I have a Sapphire Reserve card and Chase has been fully involved since almost the beginning. Initial injuries occurred in Laos and I was unable to fly to my next intended destination in southern Thailand while I sought treatment in Laos. I mention bc I also have trip interruption and cancellation insurance thru Chase, so some of associated costs (missed flight, unused hotels, etc.) are covered thru that. Chase’s medical insurance is handled thru Allianz, who is also heavily involved (not sure who pays for things like the hotel I needed in Laos while I was treated, but can figure out when I get home). Eventually needed emergency medical evacuation to Thailand. Allianz and Chase also handled. Got my treatment, now getting ready to be discharged.

Original tickets “bought” with Chase points transferred to MileagePlus. As mentioned, UA says they will waive the change fee on my return ticket and issue new award tickets (plus any additional taxes, which presumably will be covered by Chase or Allianz). However, as award tickets, possible itineraries are limited. I am considering just canceling and buying ticket that works best for me, in which case UA currently says I will only get a credit that expires one year from originally booking date (July) and which would presumably need to be used in same region.

If I cancel and buy new ticket, I don’t know if Chase or Allianz would reimburse me for new ticket as part of trip or medical insurance respectively. Honestly, while great, I don’t necessarily care if I get home a couple of days earlier or in more comfort (I’m alone on this trip). I think Allianz might cover it as medical insurance but Chase maybe only the cost of the old ticket (which given it was miles, maybe is only the taxes? So I eat the miles if I don’t use the credit?).

I don’t know if I want to get into it too much unless strictly necessary bc of personal medical info, but I have two choices for returning: by myself or with Allianz medical escort. Latter would be business class and I’d have some choice in itinerary but would be complicated by other factors, so I somewhat lean against. But even then, issue would be what is the most comfortable seat in the sky for a guy with broken ribs and a broken collarbone.

As I typed this, I do wonder if setting aside issues related to the medical escort (which are definitely issues, just not relevant here), if Allianz gives me full discretion on itineraries, I could potentially insist on my preferred route home (ME3 for example, if that is in fact the most comfortable seat/bedding for a guy with broken ribs). Caveat that it needs to be business, not first, and I want to get home ASAP, so not holding out for Qatar if it means waiting an extra week.

LondonElite

I would always go with a medical escort. Only you know the full story, but what happens if someone drops their overhead bag on you? Or you trip? Or you have some other in-flight emergency? I'm also long-winded and could tell you several stories concerning myself and others I am close to about exactly this type of thing. Trust me, a mattress pad on UA adds 0.1% to the comfort of my sleep (qualification disclosure: over 100,000 miles long haul miles on UA Polaris seats this year). Having a professional escort is by far the wiser choice. There is a reason these services are offered.

Welcome to FT, by the way. Hope you stick around.

AdaminDC

Thank you. Understand about the risks about flying without an escort. Greatly appreciate your advice. The more I’ve thought about it and considered the replies, I think I can focus this question better. Namely, what is the most comfortable seat (seat padding and bedding being the prime factors presumably) to fly BKK to IAD? Since either way, if I have discretion in my medical escort itinerary, I will want that.

nancypants

To be quite honest I’d expect regardless of carrier that you would need to be prepared with some extra pillows and the like anyway to support yourself. You also need to make sure they send you with adequate analgesia and covering letters for customs. You need to be able to deep breathe and cough without getting pain, at a minimum. This is not the time to be getting a pneumonia but it is a very common complication. Depending if you have other injuries also think about DVT prophylaxis. Depending how stable the rib fractures are the risk could be a lot higher.

it probably wouldn’t be the most taxing trip a medical person has ever taken but there are various things that could go wrong, in some cases quite spectacularly

catocony

Adam,

It is shorter to go through Tokyo, which I assume was your original booking. Note that the NRT-IAD flight is Polarized, so business is 1-2-1., not the 2-4-2 coffin config. NRT business is 1-2-1 as well, on both types of 787s on the BKK-NRT route.

If they have to send you through Europe, Austrian Biz class is awesome. 1-2-1 seating and the best food in the sky. The Vienna-Dulles flight is very nice. Going through Munich, it's been hit or miss if its Polarized or not. You could get stuck with 2-4-2. As for the Thai flights, I can't help you there, but if you have to go through Europe, I would connect with Austrian.

ANA has mattress pads as standard, you don't have to ask like on United. What was your inbound routing, so we have a frame of reference?

prestonh

Sorry for your condition. I have flown with broken ribs before. It will not matter the type of seat as any movement or breath or God forbid a sneeze and it's over. So pick the shortest route the shortest layover and I would recommend getting wheelchair assistance. Best wishes.

ETA: you are not really going to be able to move your upper torso or arms without significant discomfort and searing jolts of pain from the ribs and clavicle fractures. Consider this as you plan for packing/taking things with you and making arrangements on either end for getting through customs/immigration, security, food, etc. And without knowing your age and types of injury/prognosis rib fractures always carry with them the risks for lung puncture and/or collapsed lung so having a medical escort for a trip of such length would be absolutely worth preserving your health and comfort given the limited mobility you will face.

Miggles

What are the travel recommendations from the hospital and/or doctor? Unless the discharge says otherwise, you should be okay to travel, even in regular economy. Many people who engage in "medical tourism" undergo complex procedures in Thailand and fly in and out on regular flights. If you are concerned that economy or business class on major airlines will worsen your medical condition, then there are private jets and beyond that air ambulance services to consider. If it were me and had doubts about my ability to travel, then I would stay put and give it more time.

wpcoe

This was mentioned above, but have you received medical clearance to fly? I don't know your condition, but if you are going to fly with a torso tightly bound with bandages, is their potentially a problem with cabin pressure? Our body normally expands a bit as the cabin altitude rises. What happens if you are tightly bound with bandages?

mfirst

looking at this picture a little differently - without getting into too much detail (and sorry if this was discussed) - but how did you break your ribs - the point being is that sometimes there is an associated "pneumothorax" (i.e. collapsed lung) from a small hole in the lung (small being a relative term) - is your lung completely expanded (i.e. 'up') on a chest x-ray or CT scan? The changes in barometric pressure at altitude or on a flight might have an impact on this - and not in a positive way. In fact, even with coughing - if your lung scrapes up again a sharp edge of a broken rib, it can cause a small hole to collapse even if there was no problem previously.

Experts on plane details might provide better insights - but I think the 787's are better pressurized - closer to "normal" and might help with such stuff.

Not, dispensing medical advice - but raising some things to think about.

Have the doctors who were treating you cleared you for travel?

-m

AdaminDC

All, thank you for your concern for my physical well being, but I assure I have that under control. I come from a family of doctors, so I literally have a team taking care of me. I won’t travel if it’s not safe for me. Just trying to maximize my comfort.

I’m out of hospital, and now that I’m able to look at United’s desktop site award search myself, I have a couple of more questions. My outbound routing was DCA-SFO-TPE-CAN, so I think the first United agents I spoke with were either unaware or willing to overlook that flight West thru Germany would be around the world. Later agents have said I can’t do that. Is that correct?

Additionally, my original inbound of BKK-IAD was one stop (PEK), so I think agents were only looking at one stop options. Is there any prohibition on adding a stop though? Because I see, for example, a BKK-Narita-LAX-IAD routing that would only be a bit more miles from my original BusinessSaver award (8,000 as opposed to the extra 100,000 miles an Everyday).

Thank you for your help.