Several aviation stakeholders are doing admirable and important work to address a glaring cabin accessibility problem: wheelchair users cannot currently remain in their own mobility devices onboard aircraft. And the threat of seeing their chair damaged in the cargo hold is all too real.
But in Airbus’ view, cabin concepts that would simply accommodate one or two wheelchair users in-flight via wheelchair securement systems will not adequately address the issue.
Facilitating “one or two” wheelchair users “is not a solution,” Airbus vice president cabin marketing Ingo Wuggetzer suggested to Runway Girl Network at this spring’s Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg.
“The solutions I’m aware of, it’s a good start but we are not there.”
One possible conundrum is the high volume of people who require wheelchair assistance in certain markets, including in the United States. The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) of 1986 prohibits both US and foreign carriers from discriminating against passengers on the basis of disability, and requires them to take steps to accommodate passengers with a disability. General obligations include providing the services of personnel and the use of ground wheelchairs, accessible motorized carts, and ramps or mechanical lifts, among other provisions, when needed.
On certain US domestic flights it’s not uncommon to see a multitude of people require wheelchair assistance on the ground, leading some airlines to complain about passengers who feign disability. Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle in May decried what he sees as “rampant abuse” of the system, as reported by CNBC.
What if the same volume of passengers seek to remain in a wheelchair in-flight?
“[W]e need to take time and to consider all these questions which are not answered if you get one chair in,” Airbus’ Wuggetzer told RGN in Hamburg. “And what [about] the other ten waiting outside?”
Airbus in June started bringing stakeholders together “to come up with great ideas how to make it” — the onboard travel experience — “better” for wheelchair users, said the Airbus executive. “I think that there’s a lot more to improve, to optimize, to find a solution that works for both sides.”
Air4All, a consortium which is famously designing a system for aircraft that will allow wheelchair users to travel in their own chairs, has done impressive work to move the needle on cabin accessibility.
Delta’s wholly owned subsidiary, Delta Flight Products (DFP), is partnered with Air4All to bring the concept through engineering development and manufacturing.
The original Air4All design converts front row seats and installs a wheelchair guidance and locking system to the aircraft, facilitating up to two wheelchairs in the row, whilst ensuring that airlines do not lose out on revenue-generating space.
During this year’s AIX, DFP showcased updates to the original recliner model, and revealed an economy class solution for the very first time. The latter concept would consume the space of two economy class seats.
There’s actually more wheelchair space in the economy class version of Air4All. Image: John Walton
In terms of a potential conundrum in the US market or similar arguments, aviation accessibility consultant Chris Wood, who is an Air4All founding partner, told RGN:
Most manual wheelchair users would not use Air4All, it will only be for power wheelchair users, those with the most impacted and severe disability — think Stephen Hawking.
The grey bit is some manual wheelchair users may need to use the space and vice versa some power wheelchair users will would rather sit in a passenger seat — the grey bit is rather small. This will be defined as we move through to operations.
Another idea that seeks to support wheelchairs in the cabin without reducing seat count comes from Molon Labe Seating, whose so-called Freedom Seat is based on the firm’s patented “Side Slip” design.
Here’s how it works. The aisle-side seat slides over the adjacent seat to create a double-wide aisle that allows the passenger in their powered wheelchair to maneuver into position. The wheelchair is then secured by a Q’Straint docking system.
Freedom Seat testing aboard a Boeing 737 mockup in 2021 highlighted some of the challenges facing industry, including narrow aircraft aisles that make it difficult for larger powered mobility devices to navigate the tight space in a timely fashion.
Collins Aerospace is also advancing a solution for onboard wheelchair accommodation, using a Q’Straint style restraint system set into the floor, as highlighted at AIX. Image: John Walton
For its part, Airbus might not yet be convinced that industry has arrived at the answers for bringing passengers’ own wheelchairs into the cabin, but the airframer is also not sitting on its hands.
“It’s a challenge. It’s not easy. I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m not telling you [we’ll] have something tomorrow, but that’s something we need to have a closer look at,” Wuggetzer said.
In the meantime, Airbus has secured US FAA approval to install mini-suites in the cabin of its new long-range A321XLR twinjet, including suites to aid persons with reduced mobility, Flightglobal reports.
Related Articles:
- Accessibility improvements proposed by Delta, Collins and Boeing
- First look at Air4All economy wheelchair system, recliner model update
- US DOT’s expanded lav rule for narrowbodies still a decade away
- Why United’s decision to add Braille to its cabins is profound
- Ideas abound as US DOT eyes wheelchairs in the cabin
