If a new seat design is deployed, wheelchair users may be able to remain in their own powered chairs for the duration of a flight.
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Delta Flight Products (DFP), a subsidiary of the US airline Delta, unveiled a prototype seat design at the biennial Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg, Germany.
If the concept passes the DFP’s safety and regulatory testing stages, it might be available for commercial usage within two years.
“This product is still in its early development stages, with about 18 months of work and reviews ahead of us,” stated Morgan Durrant, a spokesman for Delta Air Lines. “We are constantly looking for ways to improve the travel experience for all customers, so Delta will keep a keen eye on the progress of this concept being driven by our subsidiary.”
The modular design was created in collaboration with Air4All, a UK consortium that specializes in aviation accessibility solutions, and can be converted to and from a conventional airline seat to allow powered wheelchair docking.
In order to quickly adapt to existing cabins and prevent the need for structural alterations to the aircraft, the seat was developed around the seat-track systems already in place.
Airlines that are unable to accept powered chairs and the problem of wheelchair users needing staff help to be lifted into an aisle wheelchair and then again into a plane seat are two operational issues that are addressed by DFP’s seat concept.
Customers with limited mobility can thus continue to be independent during their trip thanks to the design, which also makes boarding and disembarking easier. Over 200,000 people use wheelchairs in Australia.
According to DFP President Rick Salanitri, the seat concept and partnership seek to investigate novel approaches to provide “equal access to comfort, safety, and dignity for all customers.”
Before the prototype was unveiled in May, Salanitri stated in a press release that “this patented design offers new possibilities for customers with disabilities to enjoy a travel experience they truly deserve.”
Following the loss of seasoned ground crew and ongoing staff shortages brought on by the pandemic, Australian airlines and airports have recently been the target of a surge of complaints regarding disability standards. As a result, other incidences have surfaced, including those involving model Akii Ngo and Australian Paralympian athletes Natalie Curtis and Karni Liddell.
Paralympic basketball player Curtis had to crawl down the aisle to her wheelchair in Thailand in November 2022 because Jetstar officials were unable to deliver one to her in time for her to disembark. She says she was informed that she would be responsible for paying for a wheelchair, but she declined.
Liddell blasted Jetstar in June after she was informed that, despite having previously obtained special permissions, she would not be allowed to bring her wheelchair on a journey to Proserpine because it included a lithium battery. Ngo suffered a concussion, shattered rib, and ruptured ligaments last month after being unintentionally propelled out of her wheelchair by ostensibly novice mobility assistance staff on her way back from Australian Fashion Week in Sydney.
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