Eldership Mission Sweden - Wheelchair Chronicles

On Tuesday, our adventure in Sweden came to an end. We were scheduled to return home. It was a lovely day for departing as we've learned to appreciate in Gothenburg with temperatures in the mid-50's and slight rain. We'd managed to develop a degree of a stable pattern over the last week dealing with Wife's injury. Now we were going to have to deal with the air transportation system to get home.

Preamble - Letting the System Know Your Needs  

If you've done any air travel, you've certainly experienced those people who get on the airplane first, and who seem to gum up the disembarking process. Well, that would be us now. Actually, you can't just show up at the airport and request wheelchair service. You need to get into their system. And you must do so a number of days before your flight. I communicated with the airline I made my reservation with, United.  They were able to handle the flight they actually were flying. But most of our flight was a code share with Lufthansa out Germany. I had to communicate directly with them for their flights. This required multiple calling to phone numbers that didn't work until punting and emailing a special group in NYC that dealt with medical issues. That got the result desired and we were 'officially' in the system.

Gothenburg  

I'd deduced that trying to drop Wife off with luggage, and then taking care of the rental car was going to be a logistical nightmare so I turned in the rental car a day earlier. This was good thinking as the rental car drop off was anything but well marked and logical. 

Day of the flight, we took an Uber to the airport where there were no wheelchairs or luggage carts available when you arrived curbside. Fortunately the airport was very quiet. Wife hobbled, and I did relay shuttling of the luggage until we got in the terminal. We found a luggage cart at last. The check in counter wasn't open yet. When it finally opened, we were acknowledged as 'in the system' for the wheel chair system we'd requested. We were sent to a 'waiting area'. There we were met my an attendant who stayed with us for the full time, getting us through security, to our gate, and coming back when it was time to board the plane.

We were asked multiple times if Wife could go up and down stairs. We responded negative, she could not. As I knew we were on a smaller regional jet for our first leg, I had a sinking suspicion that they were not using a jet bridge to load the plane. Sure enough, Wife and I were wheeled down on the tarmac and taken to a truck that brought us to the height required so she could walk on to the plane. This caused an already late plane to be even later. (And I'm sure earning us the opprobrium of a majority of the passengers.)

Frankfurt

 (Note to self - Avoid using Frankfurt on International changeovers!)

We were running about 40 minutes late and we had a changeover time of and hour and 45 minutes so things were running tight. As we landed, I notice we are coming in about as far away from the terminal as is possible. We taxi and taxi and taxi until we come to one of these remote areas where they bus you in from the plane to the terminal. I am sure we're going to need the truck to take us down again. Sure enough, the whole plane deplanes and is taken off in their buses before, the truck comes and we are wheeled off. Then Wife has to transfer via walking to a car, that takes us the long drive into the terminal. Of course, through this whole experience, there is no communication of what the process is. You have no idea of what exactly is happening so there is this on-going anxiety.

We are put in a waiting area with others needing assistance. After a medium wait, someone comes down and gets us. We are wheeled to a electronic buggy that drives a long way and takes us to passport control, where Wife again has to walk until we get to an elevator and go to another floor where we walk until they put us on yet another buggy that will take to our gate. We are told to 'hurry', Wife managing getting on as best she can. We go this long ass way and get to the gate where they are already in the process of boarding. A wheelchair takes her to the plane entrance and we work our way to our seats.

Lufthansa did have the system pretty well organized and we were never lost 'in the system, as it were. It just had a lot of working parts and more walking than I thought was necessary.

Denver

We land in Denver. Now United Airlines will take us over. We are met by a wheelchair attendant who will take us through the entire process from getting off the plane all through immigration, baggage, security, transferring terminals, and finally our departure gate. He did a great job. No wondering what was going to happen next.

Then, the ball got dropped. There were three who had requested wheelchairs to get from the gate to the plane. None arrived and again Wife had to hobble down the Jetway to our seats. 

Albuquerque

Upon arrival in Albuquerque, we again got a single attendant who took care of us all the way until we got your bags and got into a taxi. Another job well done. 

The systems all worked for the most part. We made our flights. Wife had a number of times where she had to walk where I wished she didn't. I'd give the system a low B.