My Aunt and Uncle are moving from Zimbabwe to Australia, my 86 year old grandmother, who lives with us in Ireland, wants to visit them.
Alone.
She is a lady of independent means, so money isn’t a problem. She has travelled to Zim or SA every year for the past 15 years so long-haul flights aren’t a problem.
She will be flying sea-level to sea-level so that’s not a problem. She is physically in good shape and walks 2 miles every day, so that isn’t a problem.
She’ll go in April, so the heat won’t be a problem.
And yet…
She eats a restricted diet, so airport and aeroplane food is out, but hotel food would be ok as long as they have notice.
She is easily confused in unfamiliar environments, so she usually has a wheelchair to and from the plane.
She is somewhat forgetful and the flight will necessitate at least 3 transfers (Belfast-London-LA/Singapore-Sydney- Broken Hill), and probably a stopover in Singapore or LA, so she could easily miss a plane if not escorted.
If she does break up the flight with a stopover the hotel will have to be booked and paid for and taxis to and from it pre-booked also.
And then there is jet-lag…
Basically, this could be a nightmare.
We aren’t going to be able to dissuade her, and she is determined to go unescorted by family or friends.
Does ANYONE have any ideas of how we could make the trip easier for her?
Anyone who has had elderly relatives fly long distances before, or Aussie dopers who have organised for aged rellies to come over I would really appreciate your input here.
My 77 year-old (and very arthritic) aunt has flown every other year for as long as I can remember. She flew to Germany via the UK last year with no problems. The airlines were so good at looking after her that I have no idea of any advice to give you because it was all done for us. And done very well.
If you need somebody to pick her up at the airport in Sydney, transfer her to the domestic terminal, and make sure she gets on the Broken Hill flight ok, I may be able to help (read: I will if I can), but it depends on times, and if I am off work, etc, so no promises.
My uncle’s mother (not my grandmother) made the trip from Seattle to (Syndey?) Australia a year or two ago on her own to meet a long-lost brother. She’s in good shape, and in her early eighties. She was fine. She even carried her own baggage between terminals.
Airlines should be able to give some extra accomodations for her if they have advance notice. I think if the trip is carefully planned, she should be fine. Maybe you can make up a sheet with all her transfers, reservations, etc. so that she’ll have all the info with her in one place?
some airlines have an unaccompanied program. Usually it’s for children travelling alone but they may have something for someone like your grandmother. It’s not a free service, but they escort you making transfers and the like.
About the only problem Granny is likely to encounter is some eating houses in the Outback having a pretty pedestrian menu for those on restricted diets.
FWIW, the airlines don’t have any problem with providing special meals or wheelchairs to and from the terminal.
If she does need hotel accommodation in Sydney, given that money isn’t a problem I would suggest booking her into one of the hotels which provides airport courtesy cars - that way you can be certain she will be collected from the airport and taken to her hotel and vice versa. Do not rely on pre-booked taxis. The airport is a madhouse and there’s every possibility that a taxi booked to collect your grandmother from the airport will fail to locate her.
If she doesn’t want to spring for one of the more expensive hotels, there is an airport bus which stops at most of the major hotels in the Sydney CBD.
The only thing I would be at all concerned about is the heat. Even in April, Broken Hill isn’t going to be temperate.
Endorse TLD’s views, though specifically I don’t know his aunt from Adam.
Have a couple of elderly 'lations and 'laws who have done long and short haul plane trips and thought the best part of the whole trip was the attention from the airline staff. My advice, as mentioned above, is give them good notice of your requirements and they usually surprise on the upside.
Would also be happy to offer assist as a chaperone during the Sydney transition if it’s needed; pending availability etc etc.
Airlines have literally dozens of meal options you can request, so don’t count out the idea of her eating on the plane. If her dietary restrictions are at all common, most major airlines can accomodate her needs.