Air China Travel Tips – Things You Need to Know before Applying for Wheelchair Service

A few days ago, one of my friends had a situation with his knees and did a minimally invasive surgery. After that, he had to walk on crutches while recovering. Imagine an outdoor person suddenly became bedridden!

And this “disabled” friend asked me a question – is it possible to travel by air for a person in his situation?

Well, the service of applying for wheelchairs is definitely available in airlines! Here let me introduce the three kinds of wheelchair service – ground wheelchair, boarding wheelchair and onboard wheelchair.

Ground Wheelchair

Ground wheelchair: can be automatically used in the passenger elevator; be seated in the passenger cabin; assisting needed passengers only between terminals and planes.

Range of application: applied to the actual carrier flight of Air China.

Time limit of application:

Make a reservation: as for domestic flights, passengers should submit the application at least 24 hours before takeoff. As for international flights, passengers should submit the application at least 48 hours before takeoff.

No reservation: can be provided by North America airlines; as for the other airlines, shall be decided by service sectors upon resource availability.

Medical certificate: no need to provide for ground wheelchair service.

Application location: when applying for the ground wheelchair service, no application location restricted (online purchase excluded).

Reminder: no quantity limit for ground wheelchairs.

Boarding Wheelchair

Boarding wheelchair: cannot automatically get on/off plane, but can move to the seats of the injured and the disabled passengers in the passenger cabin.

Range of application: applied to the point-to-point flight for a non-codeshare flight Air China (applied to all the actual operating models of Air China).

Time limit of application: passengers should submit the application at least 48 hours before takeoff.

Medical certificate: when applying for boarding wheelchair service, the injured and sick passengers should provide medical certificates issued by county-level or two class A and above hospitals. The date of medical certification should not be earlier than 10 days before the earliest date of flight (takeoff day not included).

Application location: when applying for the boarding wheelchair service, no application location restricted (online purchase excluded).

Reminder: no quantity limit for boarding wheelchairs.

Onboard Wheelchair

Onboard wheelchair: for the injured and disabled passengers who are completely unable to walk and need others’ assistance to be seated in the flight cabin.

Range of application: applied to domestic, international and regional Air China’s actual carrier point to point direct flight of Chengdu, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Chongqing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Dalian, Hohhot, Beijing departure or arrival (applied to all the actual operating models of Air China).

Time limit of application: as for Africa, Central America and South America airlines (including Havana), passengers should submit the application at least 72 hours before takeoff. As for all the other airlines, passengers should submit the application at least 48 hours before takeoff.

Disability/Disability Certificate: should be provided by disabled passengers applying for flight wheelchairs. When applying for flight wheelchairs, the injured and sick passengers should provide medical certificates issued by county-level or two class A and above hospitals. The date of medical certification should not be earlier than 10 days before the earliest date of flight (takeoff day not included).

Application location: when applying for flight wheelchairs, passengers may submit the application to the direct ticket department designated by Air China official network and Air China.

Note: special service application location: North America direct flight application not restricted by the point of departure, the other airlines otherwise.

Reminder: there is quantity limit of flight wheelchairs in each airline, please consult with the staff when applying.

Very comprehensive? Of course! There would be no problem for my friend to travel by air now!

Reminder: should you have any questions about the above-mentioned application service, feel free to call the Air China service hotline – 95583 before purchasing tickets, or you may go to the direct ticket office of Air China for consulting, in case it affects your journey or brings you any unnecessary trouble.