flying in Japan with power wheelchair – timing before next plane
flying in Japan with power wheelchair – timing before next plane
Hello all,
we plan to go back from Kagoshima to Haneda airport by plan with ANA, which is 3 times cheaper and faster than with Shinkansen.
We should board in Kagoshima at 7 PM on Oct 31 and land at Haneda at 9 pm Oct 31. Our next flight for France take off at 1 AM Nov 1, so 4 hours after we arrived at Haneda.
We will need to get off the plane, take back my power wheelchair and the suitcase, go to the international terminal, before passing the security controls, and we generally board around midnight. So we have 3 – 4 hours to do all of this.
From your experience, do you think this timing realistic ?
I never took a flight with Japanese company, and dont know if it is quick and efficient, or if we might face timing problems…
I use a permobil M3, is there any special thing I may know/do to make things easier ? I know a lot of companies are a little paranoid with batteries, and it may take some time to explain…- 3 Replies
Hello Stéphane,
Again sorry not lively experienced but what I know.
No idea yet on local fligth as it will be my first attempt with local ANA and JAL in November.
I suggest to ask both companies (local and international) with an email, just as guarantee.
If I am not mistaking, as soon as you get registered somewhere in the airport, they know you are here and plane will wait for you in a reasonable manner and airport’s people will be looking at you to hurry up the process.
But for batteries if you can remove them and bring them in the cabin it could be easier for the company to accept.
I cannot comment on the timing specifically but, for airlines, my experience is that timing can vary quite a bit and not just by airline. Sometimes even the same airline can have a huge variety based on staff and the airport.
the fastest I’ve been through with my Invacare power wheelchair was about 15-20min but have often needed 40-50min other times.
The biggest hold up is always the battery, so it can help to have documentation ready.
Additiobally, you’ll likely be required to be at the gate about 30min before takeoff.
So, I’d want to budget at least 1hr and 30min before takeoff.
Stephane, you are flying into Haneda with ANA. Who are you flying out with? ANA are Skyteam, is your outbound airline also Skyteam? If so it’s possible that ANA will be providing ground services in which case you won’t have a problem. Without assistance we transferred from T3 to T1 (aircraft door to departure gate) in under 2 hours including immigration and customs. We only had a manual wheelchair so the battery issue didn’t arrive. At departure security you bypass the queue so it only takes a few minutes. You will also go to the front of the queue for baggage drop. Just note Josh’s previous posting about batteries in overhead lockers.
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