Traveling with limited mobility

Many folks with mobility issues from age, surgery or other reasons are reluctant to fly, fearing that they’ll never be able to negotiate a busy airport, much less the aircraft itself. But airports and airlines have long offered services to help these travelers, which last week included my husband. So, how well do these services work?

            Dave underwent surgery on his right foot on April 11, and three days later flew to Arizona to visit his family and see his mother during her final illness. The trip couldn’t be put off, so on the day of his outbound flight, I drove him to the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. He was flying Sun Country, so we used Terminal 2. After letting him out, I parked the car and then returned to help him with his rolling suitcase as we went inside to the check-in station. Dave gets by on crutches well—previous knee surgeries gave him plenty of experience—but we still arranged for him to get a wheelchair once his checked bag was on its way.

            It went very well. An aide was standing by with a simple wheelchair, like the ones in the photo, and whisked him directly to security. The TSA agents were very helpful (having TSA Pre-check certainly helped speed things along) and the “pusher,” as a wheelchair aide is called, went through the checkpoint with Dave and took him directly to his gate.

            Once on the plane, the flight attendants were very helpful as well, storing his crutches and stowing his carry-on overhead. Upon arrival in Phoenix, there was another wheelchair and a
pusher waiting to whisk him to baggage claim. On the return flight, Dave asked his pusher to stop at a coffee shop on the way to the gate, and the gentleman was happy to help Dave get his chai tea “fix” for the day.

            Overall, he said it was a very efficient and helpful experience, and he was happy to provide gratuities to each of his pushers. “It was well worth it,” he said, adding that he hopes he’ll never have to do it again!

            Federal regulations require airlines to provide travelers with disabilities extra services like these, including first-to-board privileges at the gate, but the airlines have embraced it with the goal of providing superior service to handicapped travelers. After all, the airlines want them on their planes, and these folks want to travel, so it’s a win all the way around. Earlier this year, the Department of Transportation announced plans for new regulations that would enhance existing rules, noting that millions of Americans use wheelchairs and most of them would love to travel, just like most everybody else does. The DOT estimates that the number of passengers with a disability traveling by air in 2021 was about 18.1 million, and that number has surely increased in the years since.

            If you’re concerned that mobility challenges might limit your ability to travel, we’ll help you get on board. Give us a call and get packing!    

 Air taxi's may take off sooner than you think.

First-time American visitors to the United Kingdom are always unnerved to see cars driving on the “wrong” side of the street, even though they’ve seen it in the movies many times. Actually getting behind the wheel over there can be daunting, especially since that wheel, and all the controls, are on the wrong side of the car. Fortunately, most of the world—about 70%—drives on the “right” side. But why do nearly a third of the world’s drivers still drive on the left?

            In Europe, Napoleon Bonaparte had something to say about driving on the right, while Conestoga wagons drove the decision over here. As to the Brits, well…

            We’ve all seen them in the movies—creaky, cloth-covered wagons, pulled by horses or oxen, carrying a family and all its worldly goods as the wagon train headed west, looking for a new start on the American frontier. They were Conestoga wagons, developed by Pennsylvania carpenters and blacksmiths to carry goods to market in the 18^th-century colonial metropolis of Philadelphia. The early wagons didn’t have a seat up front; they had a “lazy board” that extended out of the side. But often, the wagon driver walked alongside the horses, pulling levers and ropes to keep the team on course. And since most people are right-handed, he would walk on the left side of the wagon. That meant, of course, the wagon itself was on the right side of the road.

            The first major highway in the U.S. was the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road, opened in 1795, and one of the rules written in the charter required all traffic to stay on the right. In 1804, New York became the first state to dictate traffic to stay on the right side of the road. A century later, Henry Ford put the steering wheel of his hugely popular Model T on the left side of the vehicle, because horse-drawn wagons and carriages had been driving on the right side for a long time. Ford wanted his drivers to be close to the middle of the road.

            In Europe, foot traffic on roads was on the right, with the left side of the road reserved for carriages and those on horseback, which meant the upper class. During the French revolution, the government ordered all traffic to be on the right, as a way to help equalize the classes in society. A few years later, Napoleon’s armies, marching on the right, rolled through continental Europe, enforcing the right-side French tradition on everybody else. Except in England, of course, where riders had been riding on the left, as they preferred to keep their right hands toward oncoming traffic, to wave a greeting or maybe a more unflattering gesture, and occasionally wield a sword or pistol.

            In New York City, traffic drives on the right, of course, but there’s lots of it, and that can cause a problem when people want to get to the airport. It typically takes an hour or more to drive from midtown Manhattan to JFK International Airport or vice versa…but what if you could fly? Well, sometime next year, you’ll be able to find out.

            Joby Aviation has already tested its electric air taxi and plans to put it in service by mid-2025, following FAA certification. The ALIA-250’s flight from JFK to the Downtown Manhattan Heliport will take seven minutes. The four-passenger craft recharges in five minutes, so by the time a new group has boarded and strapped in, it’ll be ready to take off again, vertically like a helicopter, but producing only one-tenth the noise and virtually no emissions.

            What will it cost? Early estimates are that one-way fares will be about the same as using an Uber black, or about $200 per seat. Blair Air Mobility, the company that is bringing the air taxi to the Big Apple, has ordered 20 of the aircraft, with plans to expand landing sites throughout the New York metro and eventually bring the air taxi to other major American metro areas.

            Your trip in 2024 or even next year may not include an air taxi ride, or a drive on the left side of the road, but maybe it will. Give us a call, and we’ll get you out there!

 Final portion of our Switzerland adventure

We returned from Switzerland last week after a wonderful visit to this Alpine country in the heart of Europe. It takes awhile to get there, and to get home, but it was worth it. Last week’s newsletter was about our stay in the charming, Italian-centric city of Lugano, in the extreme south of Switzerland. This week, it’s about our post-conference visit to Engelberg, right in the midst of the Alps.

            We departed Lugano on the morning of the 25^th, once again availing ourselves of a leisurely ride on the train. Joining us for the leg from Lugano to Lucerne was Maurus Lauber, the CEO of Swiss Railway System, who told us of the line’s colorful and innovative history, going back to the 1880s. Our ride was about 3 hours long but the time flew by, with Herr Lauber himself serving us delicious hot chocolate from the dining car!

            Engelberg is a charming town of less than 4000, nestled in a valley at the base of Mt. Titlis. We checked into the historic five-star Kempinski Palace Hotel and accompanied our guide, Claudio, on a walking tour of the town. We visited Kloster Engelberg, a monastery that opened in the 12^th century, and a cheese shop that provided us with delicious samples. After dining at the hotel’s Cattani Restaurant, we relaxed for the evening in anticipation of our journey up the mountain the next day.

            Tuesday the 26^th dawned with gorgeous views of the Alps, but as we prepared for our excursion, word came that high winds at the summit would keep us from going all the way to the top at 10,623 feet, which meant we wouldn’t be able to experience the rotating gondola that lifts skiers and hikers up the final few thousand feet. But we were able to take a more traditional gondola all the way up to 5900 feet and the Berghotel Trubsee, a charming boutique hotel and restaurant with easy access to the ski slopes. A number of skiers were already there, many of them children, and we couldn’t resist snow-tubing down a short slope (a couple of times) and a ride on an electric snowmobile.

            It was an exhilarating day, but it wasn’t over yet. That evening, Claudio took us to what he described as a “rustic” restaurant, and he wasn’t kidding. A van picked us up at the hotel shortly after sunset and we proceeded up onto a mountainside, along a narrow, switch-backed road—with no guardrails—to Bergrestaurant Fluhmatt, nestled into the side of the mountain, a small chalet operated by the lady who lives upstairs. I had the specialty of the day: Alplermagronen mit Apfelmus, which is a dish with penne pasta, cheese and fried onions, with apple sauce on the side. It was delicious. My husband Dave had the Wildbratwurst mit Zwiebelsauce, which is a wild game sausage (venison, mountain goat and wild boar) with a red onion sauce, and French fries. A glass of red wine during the dinner really hit the spot, and we chased it all down with shots of Luzerner Kirschbrand, a Swiss cherry brandy. As Dave, the German speaker, said, “Ihren Mahlzeit war ausgezeichnet!” (“Our meal was excellent!”)

            Our final full day in Switzerland was in Lucerne, a leisurely half-hour train ride from Engelberg. We joined a new guide for a walking tour of the Old Town district, and then inspected the Mandarin Oriental Palace, another five-star hotel where the couple we were traveling with, Sandy and Mark DeGonda, would be staying for a couple of nights after departing Engelberg the next day. We had a sumptuous lunch in the hotel restaurant and then availed ourselves of some shopping, in spite of the chilly and rainy weather. Dave was on the hunt for a Swiss army knife, and he found one for himself and another for our grandson.

            The highlight of the Lucerne visit came later in the afternoon, when Claudio took us to Max Chocolatier, a genuine Swiss chocolate factory. Our hostess explained the process to us and served up samples of the best chocolate I’ve ever tasted. We had a delightful time touring the factory and watching them make chocolate Easter bunnies.

            Back to Engelberg on the train, we retired early so we could rise before dawn and catch our ride to Zurich, an hour away. By nine a.m. we were in the air, and by nine that night, Wisconsin time—nearly 24 hours after our alarm went off in Engelberg—we were settling down for the night at home. Our transatlantic flights on Delta, both ways, were about 8 hours long but more than tolerable, thanks to our seats in the Premium Select section of the plane. I highly recommend it for your own travels to Europe.

            We enjoyed Switzerland tremendously, and we already miss the gorgeous Alps. Want to see them for yourselves? Give us a call, and “Gerne organisieren wir Ihre Reise!” (We’ll be happy to arrange your trip!)