My elderly mother is flying from Home to Destination. She’s terrified of flying so she’ll be on an anti-anxiety medicine, and she’s concerned she’ll be so mellow at the airport that she won’t remember to actually get on the plane. Further, she switches planes in Dallas, and is concerned about making the connection. Finally, she thinks she won’t be able to lift her carry on bag into the overhead bin.
I’m thinking of just paying a couple hundred bucks, for my peace of mind, and traveling with her on the plane. If I booked a flight from Home to Destination, then booked another flight from Destination to Home, leaving Destination less than an hour or so after I arrived, and didn’t have any checked or carry-on baggage, should I expect to be taken to a private room with a TSA officer and a pair of gloves?
Do airlines have processes for passengers who may need some extra help?
The extra help part, especially the bag stowage, they do on a regular basis.
Helping her make sure she boards the plane is the trickier part.
Pre 9/11 you usually could have waited with her, that is not allowed any more.
As to traveling with her, people on business do make trips lightly. Just carry a small carry-on with a few basics. It can’t hurt to have a change of underwear and a clean shirt anyway in case of an unexpected delay at the destination.
This is no longer necessarily true – airlines are allowed to issue an “escort pass” to allow a companion to accompany a minor or person with a disability to the gate. Likewise, they can issue a pass to allow a companion to meet them at their arrival gate.
Of course this doesn’t help with the connection, but airlines are generally very accommodating of helping passengers with limited mobility make it from gate to gate. Call the airline and I’m sure they’d work with you.
When my grandma was getting older but still able to travel on her own she would get a skycap to help. They would push her in a wheelchair to her gate (she could walk, but powering through an airport by herself was out of the question), handling all her luggage. I believe they would meet her at the gate in the layover terminal, and take her to the connecting gate.
My Almost-Centenarian Mother loves this feature! I’ll take her to the airport where she’s met by what’s basically her own concierge. They get her on the plane (she gets to board first! She feels like royalty), and for the flight connection, one of those Airport Bumper Cars pulls up and whisks her to Gate A1 in plenty of time.
Thought: she could try one anxiety med now (on a day she doesn’t have to drive or run a front-loader), and see if it mellows her so much that it keeps her from ordinary activity like changing planes… (spoiler: it won’t!)
Even if you ARE taken to a private room by TSA, your story is extremely plausible, and they’ll believe you.
People vary in their reactions to meds. My mom had a valium once, and slept for a week. She really wasn’t able to do anything for that week. But I have friends who pop a valium every time they fly, with no issues at all.
Testing in advance is a good idea. Best not to be taken by surprised when flying.
Sure, it’s no problem. My brother flies out to pick up and return my nephew. So, he has to do a quick return. Sometimes flight times don’t work out and he has to overnight and return in the AM
There is this thing among very frequent fliers called a “mileage run”, where someone makes a flight, then immediately turns around and flies home, just to get the miles. These people have elaborate calculations so they only do it when the math works out, i.e. the cost of the trip is less than the value of the miles. Nowadays this is harder to do because airlines changed how miles are awarded.
But the point is that I’ve read many reports of people doing exactly what you’re considering, with no problems whatsoever.
It’s possible they’d ask you some extra questions. But there’s nothing illegal about what you’re proposing, so you certainly wouldn’t get in any trouble. If you did come under extra scrutiny, you’d have your mother right there to corroborate your story.
There is no rule she has to bring on a carry-on piece that must be stowed up in an overhead bin. She could just plan to put her purse/tote bag under the seat and use checked luggage for her suitcase.
Plus, every flight I was on in recent memory (I’m now 72), kind fellow passengers, both male and female, as well as flight attendants, offered to put my carry-ons up in the bins for me. There was always a surplus of helpful youngsters who offered more than enough help.
Asking the airlines for extra assistance ahead of time is the way to go. That way they will have both the personnel and wheelchairs or electric carts arranged for and available. Choose flights that don’t cut it too close for connections. The cheaper flights are often the ones that are riskier there. Give her and the airlines enough time if she’s not someone who can sprint between terminals and gates, forgoing the restroom and meal breaks the rest of us might need.
Lastly, make sure she has a fully charged cell phone on her and she has your phone numbers also on her person (or purse) in case the worst happens and she needs your help in sorting out problem fixes. Have her plan to not deplete that cell phone’s battery entertaining/passing the time by texting/watching movies, etc. on the first flight, in case she needs to sort out problems with her connections. Of course, having a power bank charged and in her purse is a good idea, as is having a charging cable and power cube.
I am handicapped and I have been doing this since about 2012. It works well everywhere I have traveled including overseas destinations.
You can either sign up when you arrange your ticket or talk to the folks at the airport.
I have flown with my in-laws from Atlanta to Dallas and Atlanta to Chicago, and then flown back 3 or 4 hours later.
In Chicago I helped them get to the international terminal, and get into the right security queue and I waited there until they had cleared the queue and I could not see them any more.
In Dallas, when I was helping them check in, the ticket agent gave me a pass that allowed me to all the way to the gate. I went through security with them and stayed with them all the way to the gate.
They don’t speak or read English, and those were their first trips outside their home countries (in their 70s). My mother in law had never been on a plane before the first of these trips. I do not speak more than a few words of their language either. But somehow we managed to communicate. This was before handheld translators were very good (2003 and 2006).
Quoting for extra emphasis. Put in her wallet or phone case a card with emergency numbers, just in case. And label the numbers so a stranger has a clue who is being called, “Son Aragon XXX-YYY-ZZZZ, Daughter Arwen AAA-BBB-CCCC”, etc.