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- A new study found personal wheelchairs can fit onto aircraft if the left two front seats are removed.
- Former Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldaza said the cabin modification could cost $1 million per aircraft per year.
- Over 10,000 wheelchairs and scooters were damaged by airlines in 2019, according to data from the DOT.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, airlines are not required to make it possible for passengers to fly in their personal wheelchairs. However, a new study concluded there may be a plausible, yet expensive, solution.
A new study from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concluded most commercial aircraft, if given special cabin modifications, can accommodate personal wheelchairs. Currently, most passengers who need wheelchair service are transferred from their personal wheelchair to a narrow, airline-owned one, and their customized wheelchair, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars, is checked or stored in the cabin.
The study said the most feasible location for personal wheelchair securement is the front of the aircraft near the boarding door, which would offer adequate space and eliminate the need to maneuver down the aisle.
However, this would require airlines to remove two rows of seats at the front, left side of the cabin, which, on many airlines, is dedicated to business or first class. According to the study, eliminating front-row seats could pose a financial burden to airlines, including the cost of taking out the seats and the loss of premium capacity.
Former Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza said that even if the affected seats were economy, it would cost airlines an estimated $1 million a year per plane to remove them. The report did not include the financial impact of removing two rows nor explored the safety of wheelchair securement for survivable air crashes.
Offering the ability to fly with a personal wheelchair could be a game-changer for passengers with disabilities who have struggled to be comfortable in airline-provided wheelchairs or have had their equipment lost or broken. John Morris, a power-wheelchair user and founder of WheelchairTravel.com, told Travel Weekly his biggest problem is how often his equipment is damaged by airlines.
According to DOT consumer data, 10,548 wheelchairs and scooters were "lost, damaged, delayed, or pilfered" in the US in 2019. Up until December 2018, airlines were not required to report lost or damaged wheelchairs and scooters, but that changed when wheelchair-user and Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth added a provision to the FAA Reauthorization Act.
TikTok star and disability advocate Bri Scalesse called out Delta Air Lines for damaging her wheelchair when she was returning home from a wedding earlier this year. She told Insider earlier the event was "dehumanizing" and highlights the industry problem that carriers continue to fail to care for their disabled customers and equipment.
More recently, Boston resident Matt Wetherbee told local TV news station his powered wheelchair was damaged by airline staff when flying out of Boston Logan International Airport on Sunday and that he had to leave it behind during his layover in Charlotte.
-Matt Wetherbee (@MWetherbee) September 27, 2021
"We strive to provide a safe, enjoyable experience for all of our customers, including those who fly with wheelchairs and assistive devices, and we sincerely regret that Mr. Wetherbee had a negative travel experience. Our team is looking into what occurred, and we have reached out to apologize and discuss his concerns," American told Insider.
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