Currently, commercial air travel lacks proper accommodations for wheelchair users and presents significant financial and emotional challenges for the individual during the duration of the trip. In 2023 alone, commercial airlines reported damaging or destroying 11,527 wheelchairs and mobility scooters (Smith). Because custom wheelchairs frequently cost upwards of $30,000 (BraunAbility), many wheelchair users report their reservations with flying. Coupled with the current boarding process requiring multiple physical transfers on and off their personal wheelchair, aisle chair, and airplane seat, wheelchair users lack autonomy and dignity throughout this experience. The statistics and lived experiences of wheelchair users point to a clear conclusion: there is a critical need for better accommodations for wheelchair users during air travel.
To address the critical shortcomings in wheelchair accessible air travel, our team has engineered a specialized solution designed to ensure the continuous comfort and safety of wheelchair users throughout their flight. To ensure the quality and feasibility of our design, our team focused specifically on integrating our solution to Delta Air Lines’ Boeing 737-800. By targeting one of America’s largest airlines and most common commercial aircraft, we aim to maximize the solution’s impact for the greatest number of passengers. Our project seeks to improve wheelchair users’ experience during air travel by enabling them to travel independently and safely on an aircraft, and therefore narrowed the scope of our project to a design solution that leaned more towards assisting the user during the duration of the flight.
Our design will be a power wheelchair that will allow the user to stay on the wheelchair for the duration of flight. The wheelchair can be controlled by the user with minimal to no assistance from the flight crew to board the aircraft and also navigate up and down the aisle. There will be a designated, modified seat at the back of the aircraft with a locking mechanism for the wheelchair to be secured in place for the duration of the flight. The user will be able to lock and unlock themselves in order to use the airplane facilities and board/off board without having to undergo transfers off this power wheelchair.