Flying as a wheelchair user is way more difficult than it should be, but that won’t be true for long. Delta Flight Products’ newest innovation allows people to remain in their own wheelchairs during an airplane flight.
Bringing your personal wheelchair on a plane just simplifies the whole travel process for all parties. No more broken/damaged wheelchairs, aisle chairs squeezing down the narrowest of lanes, wheelchair users transferring to a seat, and no more agonizing waits for your wheelchair to arrive after all other passengers have already de-boarded the plane.
I traveled to Philadelphia for the FARA symposium at CHOP in October 2024, where I tested this wheelchair seat prototype, met a Delta Flight Product representative and partnered with Biogen to create a video to promote the design on social media. View that video above to see how it works and read my thoughts on the prototype below.
It’s easier than you would think…
What begins as an ordinary, three-seated airplane row stows up and permits room for a wheelchair to be strapped in like it would on a transit bus. The process of transitioning the seat to accommodate a wheelchair takes less than 60 seconds.
It leaves room for one non-wheelchair user to accompany you at the end of the row and space for carry-on bags and items in between. This also prevents you from going up and down the isle for easy entry and exit and access to the bathrooms, as each wheelchair row is on the front of each section of the plane.
Easy peasy.
How I currently board a plane
I use a walker on a day-to-day basis, though I need a wheelchair to navigate an airport. So I have some walking ability, although I need assistance stabilizing due to the loss of balance and coordination caused my neuromuscular disorder called Friedreichs ataxia.
That being said, I typically check my walker and have an escort push me up to the door of the airplane in a wheelchair. I then stand and grab the seats ahead of me as support to walk to my seat. This is a very doable process for me at my current stage of disease progression, but I know it might not be something I will be able to do down the road… (year(s), months, idk? Disease progression is funky.)
I’m hoping my walking abilities will hold strong until Delta Flight Products’ wheelchair seat becomes available…
AHEM, and when will it be available, Noah?
I asked that exact question when I spoke to a Delta representative. His answer was that he could not give me an exact date, but they are excited to release the date SOON . *wink wink*
A Delta Representative was also on a panel at the FARA symposium in Philadelphia, where I tested the product, and her response was that this wasn’t some project that was NOT in its birthing stages.
This is something I’d continue to keep my eyes out for in 2025. I felt a lot of optimism that this is a project that will come to life in the near future.
How will you book/request a wheelchair seat?
I also asked this question to the Delta representative, and he said it will depend on the individual airline. So, this is still a process that needs to be ironed out, but as I discussed, this prototype is so easily convertible at a moments notice that this shouldn’t be too complicated. I expect this convertible row to be available to wheelchair users first, and then become fair game to all passengers once there are no other remaining seats. Hopefully, it is also available to wheelchair users at no price upgrade.
Since it can still be utilized as a regular airplane seat, airlines won’t lose money if wheelchair users aren’t booking every single one of these seats on every plane. That makes me extremely optimistic that this prototype will not only stick around on Delta planes, but that other airlines will catch on once they see how simple and beneficial it is to all parties.
Do you foresee any issues with this product?
I think this product has great potential to change lives, but as with any handicap accessible product, there is opportunity for misuse. I really hope the airlines prevent misuse by prioritizing wheelchair users in the availability of the product.
As I wrote in a previous blog post, accessibility doesn’t mean convenience. For example, a handicap parking spot isn’t just a “temporary” parking spot for quick trips or pick ups, and handicap bathroom stalls aren’t luxury changing rooms. As long as these wheelchair convertible plane seats aren’t utilized by able-bodied people as roomy and spacious seats for comfort while a wheelchair user is told “sorry, there are no more accessible seats,” then I expect this design to be a game-changer in accessible travel.
Why is this product so important to you?
When I go to FARA conferences like the one in Philly, I am around a lot of wheelchair users – in the FA community, we are united by the need for wheels. Some of those people come from across the country as I did – heck – some even make the journey across the borders (and I salute them for that forreral). The only realistic option is to fly there. Or don’t go.
But being there is crucial in our lives and journeys. I talked in another post, A California Adventure, about the significance of being around people with the same rare disease as you – it makes you feel understood, validated and encouraged in a way not otherwise possible. The reality that some people miss out on that because air travel is too difficult is a tough pill to swallow.
Even for those who are physically able to forgo the demands of an airport/plane, I hear way too many horror stories about their thousand-dollar wheelchairs being damaged. Or waiting on the plane for an hour after it lands while no answers are given as to the whereabouts of your wheelchair (your ticket off the plane, your legs, however you wanna slice it.) Or being treated like cargo that gets its own seat.
Alleviating all of those burdens that hold wheelchair users back from a seamless flying experience is why I am thrilled to witness this convertible wheelchair seat come to life. I believe people will see just how much accessibility can fit into typical operations and cater to everyone’s experience.
This product brings independence. With that independence comes hope for the future. It can’t come fast enough.
Knowin' Noah 
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