Flying With Supplementary Oxygen

[dazk]

I have a relative who has a lung disease he has been told he can fly with a supplementary oxygen supply.

Does any body know first hand the various air lines policy's that fly from uk to bkk ie rules and additional costs

Apparently every air line has different rules

thanks

[BrianCR]

Why pay extra get it free! I too have a lung disease and sometimes when flying need oxygen. Just call a member of the airline staff and tell them that you feel unwell and have a chest pain. Within minutes you will have all the oxygen. you need and free? No, with the price of tickets nowadays I paid for it in the airfare. All aircraft carry emergency oxygen bottles. Call me mean, i just think that I'm getting greater value for money!

[PattayaPhom]

If every airline has different rules...what airline are they flying with?..do they need a Drs cert to board?...if so you will probably have to have arranged oxygen already...best advice will come from the actual airline they are flying with...recent experience with domestic Air Asia, was refused and 3 days to order oxygen for a 75 minute flight.

[dazk]

Why pay extra get it free! I too have a lung disease and sometimes when flying need oxygen. Just call a member of the airline staff and tell them that you feel unwell and have a chest pain. Within minutes you will have all the oxygen. you need and free? No, with the price of tickets nowadays I paid for it in the airfare. All aircraft carry emergency oxygen bottles. Call me mean, i just think that I'm getting greater value for money!

he will need oxygen for the whole flight

[dazk]

If every airline has different rules...what airline are they flying with?..do they need a Drs cert to board?...if so you will probably have to have arranged oxygen already...best advice will come from the actual airline they are flying with...recent experience with domestic Air Asia, was refused and 3 days to order oxygen for a 75 minute flight.

they are not flying with any airline yet we are trying to find which will be easiest, i though before emailing all airlines that fly to bkk i would post the question here first just in case someone had some idea maybe a short list

[WilliaminBKK]

I would suggest you stay with a national carrier either BA or TG so at least at one station you will be dealing with the actual airline staff and NOT ground agents, say in the case of EVA ground agents in BKK & LHR and maybe only one true employee. TG would probably be my pick as they are one of they very few airlines that have HEPPA filters onboard for passenger health. As you may know the airline will be supplying the oxygen so he will not be able to take his own tank, you will want to ask if you are permiited to bring your own tubes aboard. Also stock up on nasal spray it is terribly dry for normal passengers I can only imagine someone on oxygen.

POC's (personal oxygen containers) are permitted by almost every carrier - there are many variables that would apply to your mates trip, medical clearance, prebooking assigned seats etc, they will place him at the rear of the aircraft to be close to the FA's and yes cost will be based on the flight length, don't assume they will order a wheelchair, call and confirm they add a note to the record (PNR). I would suggest calling BA or TG and find out the medical procedures and make double sure the return portion doesn't require a GP's note issued within the last 7 days or something as this will create a problem on the return.

Good luck

[dazk]

I would suggest you stay with a national carrier either BA or TG so at least at one station you will be dealing with the actual airline staff and NOT ground agents, say in the case of EVA ground agents in BKK & LHR and maybe only one true employee. TG would probably be my pick as they are one of they very few airlines that have HEPPA filters onboard for passenger health. As you may know the airline will be supplying the oxygen so he will not be able to take his own tank, you will want to ask if you are permiited to bring your own tubes aboard. Also stock up on nasal spray it is terribly dry for normal passengers I can only imagine someone on oxygen.

POC's (personal oxygen containers) are permitted by almost every carrier - there are many variables that would apply to your mates trip, medical clearance, prebooking assigned seats etc, they will place him at the rear of the aircraft to be close to the FA's and yes cost will be based on the flight length, don't assume they will order a wheelchair, call and confirm they add a note to the record (PNR). I would suggest calling BA or TG and find out the medical procedures and make double sure the return portion doesn't require a GP's note issued within the last 7 days or something as this will create a problem on the return.

Good luck

very helpful info thanks

[Soutpeel]

Why pay extra get it free! I too have a lung disease and sometimes when flying need oxygen. Just call a member of the airline staff and tell them that you feel unwell and have a chest pain. Within minutes you will have all the oxygen. you need and free? No, with the price of tickets nowadays I paid for it in the airfare. All aircraft carry emergency oxygen bottles. Call me mean, i just think that I'm getting greater value for money!

My nomination for Cheap Charlie of the week award......how f8kcing selfish

[harrry]

I would suggest you stay with a national carrier either BA or TG so at least at one station you will be dealing with the actual airline staff and NOT ground agents, say in the case of EVA ground agents in BKK & LHR and maybe only one true employee. TG would probably be my pick as they are one of they very few airlines that have HEPPA filters onboard for passenger health. As you may know the airline will be supplying the oxygen so he will not be able to take his own tank, you will want to ask if you are permiited to bring your own tubes aboard. Also stock up on nasal spray it is terribly dry for normal passengers I can only imagine someone on oxygen.

POC's (personal oxygen containers) are permitted by almost every carrier - there are many variables that would apply to your mates trip, medical clearance, prebooking assigned seats etc, they will place him at the rear of the aircraft to be close to the FA's and yes cost will be based on the flight length, don't assume they will order a wheelchair, call and confirm they add a note to the record (PNR). I would suggest calling BA or TG and find out the medical procedures and make double sure the return portion doesn't require a GP's note issued within the last 7 days or something as this will create a problem on the return.

Good luck

very helpful info thanks

This is misinformation.....

POC refers to Personal Oxygen Concentrators. they are not allowed on all airlines only some of them although all Us flights with a US flight number must allow the use of approved models after having received medical clearance.

Personal oxygen tanks are not allowed on almost all carriers though Australian flights allow the use of tanks supplied by the government approved suppliei\r in special containers after previous medical approval.

Some airlines do not allow the use of any oxygen.

Some allow the use of approved concentrators with prior medical approval.

Some airlines can supply oxygen with prior medical aproval for a fee which can be very high.

A few such as Cathay allow it free with prior approval as does Thai on internal flights although THAI does charge $US100 a sector on international.

All oxygen users require prior medical approval on the form available on most airline websites.

Most airline websites include their information under Special Needs ...Passengers with Medical Conditions.

People with special needs are not put at the back of the plane. They are placed in seats round row 5 which is above the wings and near the first enterance. They are however not allowed to occupy bulkhead seats or exit rows.

[wolfmuc]

'Apparently every air line has different rules' ... and each lung disease is different.

Sorry, this isn't an answer to your question. But humid tropical air only should be

agreable if there is no dust or exhaust. And I doubt he'll find such a place in Bangkok.

In addition air conditioning produces a dry atmosphere.

Why don't go to Davos in Switzerland e.g.?

[gk10002000]

Long duration portable oxygen concentrators have a sizable amount of internally stored oxygen, i.e. a tank. You need to check with the specific airline. My father's small portable one was sufficient in the USA for a flights that were a few hours long. Then we had an oxygen tank and system waiting at the house. Larger ones can definitely last for long hours, but even they may need re-charging after a 13 hour flight from say, LAX to BKK. I have to believe one can coordinate that with the airport/airline.

[gk10002000]

Why pay extra get it free! I too have a lung disease and sometimes when flying need oxygen. Just call a member of the airline staff and tell them that you feel unwell and have a chest pain. Within minutes you will have all the oxygen. you need and free? No, with the price of tickets nowadays I paid for it in the airfare. All aircraft carry emergency oxygen bottles. Call me mean, i just think that I'm getting greater value for money!

Well, I personally might have some doubt, depending on the airline how faithfully they charge, check, and maintain their oxygen. I also would be concerned that they keep it full for the next flight usage. If I needed it, then of course I would ask for it. If I was abusing it, then, well, I wouldn't, because of my concern about other people needing it.

[geriatrickid]

Why pay extra get it free! I too have a lung disease and sometimes when flying need oxygen. Just call a member of the airline staff and tell them that you feel unwell and have a chest pain. Within minutes you will have all the oxygen. you need and free? No, with the price of tickets nowadays I paid for it in the airfare. All aircraft carry emergency oxygen bottles. Call me mean, i just think that I'm getting greater value for money!

Are you trolling or what? Unless you are in a full fare J/C/F/P seat, your ticket most certainly will not cover the costs of maintaing oxygen supply on the airplane. Where in the ticket price is there a charge for your oxygen? The ticket price would include the cost if you were honest and made a declaration. You do not make the declaration do you?

Those bottles have to be verified at specific intervals and each use necessitates alot paperwork. It is medical grade oxygen and isn't meant to substitute for some cheapskate's desire to circumvent the rules. There may come a time when that oxygen is needed for someone that is seriously ill and you will have squandered it. Invest in an approved portable oxygen concentrator or risk ending up like this PAX from 2008;

NEW YORK - An American Airlines passenger died after a flight attendant told her he couldn't give her any oxygen and then tried to help her with faulty equipment, including an empty oxygen tank. Have you stopped to consider that your refusal to behave in a responsible mannerrisks disrupting everyone else on the plane? Guess other people don't matter in your selfish world.

BTW, pull the stunt enough times and you will find a medical note entered next to your name in the airline data. Won't you be surprised when you show up at the counter one day and are asked for a medical certificate. It happens.

[geriatrickid]

Long duration portable oxygen concentrators have a sizable amount of internally stored oxygen, i.e. a tank. You need to check with the specific airline. My father's small portable one was sufficient in the USA for a flights that were a few hours long. Then we had an oxygen tank and system waiting at the house. Larger ones can definitely last for long hours, but even they may need re-charging after a 13 hour flight from say, LAX to BKK. I have to believe one can coordinate that with the airport/airline.

Yes you can work with the airline. Some airlines are very reasonable and do appreciate people being upfront. EU and North American carriers are more accomodating to special needs PAX than the typical asian carrier. That's because there are laws in place to prevent discrimination. Yes CX and SG are sensitive to special needs PAX, but I'd worry about the quality of equipment on TG or even BR. I was on a flight from HKG to TPE when an elderly man had a crisis. It took the BR flight almost an hour to figure out what to do and to get an ambulance and a ramp to offload the old guy. (We were taxiing to the runway.) The guy should have been offloaded without delay.

As an amusing sidenote a week or so ago, the President of Israel was on his way to the USA and Canada. From CBC;

Israel's national airline has apologized to President Shimon Peres after attempting to charge him nearly $5,000 to bring an oxygen tank on an official trip to Canada. Israeli media reported last week that Peres opted to fly with Air Canada because El Al, for the first time, wanted to charge for the oxygen tank. According to protocol, an oxygen tank and other medical equipment is mandatory whenever an Israeli president or prime minister flies abroad.

[harrry]

Long duration portable oxygen concentrators have a sizable amount of internally stored oxygen, i.e. a tank. You need to check with the specific airline. My father's small portable one was sufficient in the USA for a flights that were a few hours long. Then we had an oxygen tank and system waiting at the house. Larger ones can definitely last for long hours, but even they may need re-charging after a 13 hour flight from say, LAX to BKK. I have to believe one can coordinate that with the airport/airline.

They do not have a tank storing oxygen at all. They work by pumping air at presure through a container of a mineral which absorbs nitrogen under pressure leaving the air richer in oxygen so that it is roundd 95% oxygen. when the ressure is relieved the nitrogen is released into the ambient air an the process starts again. Most use two cylinders to even out the flow. I repeat....an oxygen concentrator does not store oxygen.