Before you travel

On request, US Airways provides certain seating accommodations to passengers who have a specified mobility disability, depending on aircraft type. If you have a mobility disability and would like special seating, please call 800-428-4322/TTY 800-245-2966 at least 24 hours before your scheduled departure. If you request a special seat less than 24 hours before departure, then US Airways will try to meet the request.

We can provide special seating for passengers who:

  • Use an aisle chair to access the aircraft and who cannot transfer over a fixed aisle armrest, US Airways will provide a seat in a row with a movable aisle armrest. On aircraft with 30 or more passenger seats, US Airways offers movable aisle armrests on at least one-half of the aisle seats in rows in Coach in which passengers with mobility impairment are permitted to sit under FAA rules.
  • Have a fused or immobilized leg, US Airways will provide a bulkhead seat or other seat with more legroom.

If you have another mobility special need and if you identify yourself as having a specified disability, then US Airways will attempt to accommodate your seating request, if the type of accommodation exists on the particular aircraft. Please call 800-428-4322/TTY 800-245-2966 at least 24 hours before departure so we can try to help.

On aircraft with 60 or more seats (even if the aircraft does not have an accessible lavatory), US Airways can provide an on-board wheelchair for a passenger who can use an inaccessible lavatory but cannot reach it from a seat without using an on-board wheelchair. In this case, please call 800-428-4322/TTY 800-245-2966 48 hours in advance.

For safety-related reasons, if a passenger has a mobility impairment so severe that the person is unable to physically assist in his or her own evacuation of the aircraft, US Airways requires that the passenger travel with a safety assistant to assist the passenger to exit the aircraft in case of an emergency evacuation. The safety assistant must purchase his or her own ticket.

At the airport

Curbside assistance

Please let us know if you need an airport wheelchair or help with your own wheelchair. Just ask a skycap or ask an agent at the US Airways ticket counter. Skycap vendor assistance is available in certain cities at no charge. Please advise the skycap vendors of any special needs that you have requested.

At the ticket counter

If you not did not check in online, you can check in at the airport up to 4 hours before your scheduled departure.

Please inform an agent of any special assistance you may need.

If you did not request a seating accommodation in advance, US Airways will still attempt to meet your request at the airport for accommodations such as a seat with a movable aisle armrest and an adjacent seat for a companion who will be assisting you (and to have that person listed in your reservation).

If you need wheelchair assistance, please inform the ticket counter agent or the gate agent so that we may fill out the proper documents, update your reservation and inform our agents at your destination that a wheelchair is needed.

Electric carts may be available at some airports. These carts are used to transport passengers between concourses within the same terminal. Please ask an agent for help.

Security checkpoint

At security, please ask screeners for help with your mobility aid and carry-on items. Let the screener know your level of ability (e.g. whether you can walk, stand or perform an arm lift) so they can assist you.

  • Inform screeners of any special equipment or devices that you are using and where this equipment is located on your body. This will help the screener to be careful of that equipment if a physical search is necessary.
  • Let screeners know if you cannot remove your shoes when additional screening is necessary.
  • Ensure that all bags are on the X-ray belt for inspection.
  • Ask the screener to help you find your carry-ons and other personal assistance items after the X-ray inspection.

Before you board

US Airways offers pre-boarding for passengers with a disability who need extra time or assistance to board, stow accessibility equipment or be seated.

  • US Airways also offers boarding and deplaning assistance.
  • Please inform a US Airways gate agent of your request.

Boarding the aircraft

Special boarding chairs are available to help passengers with mobility impairments to their seats. Please provide clear instructions on how you wish to be transferred into the seat.

Please also let us know if you need help to stow and retrieve carry-on items such as mobility aids and other assistive devices.

On board the aircraft

Accessible lavatories are only available on large aircraft with two aisles (generally on international flights). For those aircraft, US Airways has an on-board wheelchair to help passengers to/from the lavatory.

Deplaning

If you need a wheelchair at your destination (or connection) please notify an agent so that they can document your reservation and order your wheelchair.

Transporting wheelchairs and other assistive devices

Manual wheelchairs, canes, crutches and walkers

On aircraft with more than 100 seats, US Airways has room for one typical adult-sided folding, collapsible or break-down manual wheelchair, cane, crutches or walker in the cabin’s priority stowage space, so long as it complies with applicable safety, security and hazardous materials rules. The priority stowage space will either be a closet or the back row of seats.

US Airways offers in-cabin wheelchair stowage on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please call 800-428-4322/TTY 800-245-2966 24 hours before your flight to document your request for in-cabin wheelchair stowage.

Wheelchairs stowed in the cabin do not count as a carry-on.

Walkers are stowed in the overhead storage compartment, and canes are usually stowed by the passenger at their seat.

If space is not available in the cabin for mobility aids and other assistive devices, or if the items do not meet safety, security and hazardous materials rules, then US Airways can transport the items in the cargo compartment. US Airways will tag your mobility aid or assistive device for special handling, place it in the cargo compartment as you board the aircraft and return the mobility aid or assistive device to you at the destination gate upon arrival or at a connecting airport. US Airways does not charge a checked baggage fee for this type of item.

Battery-powered mobility aids

For battery-powered mobility aids, such as a battery-powered wheelchair or other mobility device, US Airways can transport the items as checked baggage if the baggage compartment is large enough and if all aircraft airworthiness requirements are satisfied. We cannot transport a damaged or leaking battery.

If you wish to check your battery-powered wheelchair or other similar mobility device, you must call 800-428-4322/TTY 800-245-2966 48 hours in advance and check in one hour before the check-in time for the general public.

In some situations, it will be necessary to remove the battery from the passenger’s wheelchair or other similar mobility device, and to package it separately:

1) Any lithium-ion battery
2) Any battery that is inadequately secured to a wheelchair; or
3) Any spillable battery contained in a wheelchair that cannot be loaded, stowed, secured and unloaded in an upright position.

Also, when used as an assistive device Segway transporters will be accepted, but we are not authorized to transport the large lithium batteries that many Segways use according to U.S. Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations.

Transportation of lithium ion batteries requirements




  • Batteries must have 25 grams of equivalent lithium content 'ELC' or less or rated 300 watt hours or less. The U.S. Department of Transportation considers lithium ion batteries to be hazardous materials, and prohibits lithium ion batteries with over 25 grams ELC or rated over 300 watt hours from air travel.
  • Batteries must be labeled or you must provide documentation showing the battery has been UN P.T. III Section 38.3 tested.
  • US Airways will not transport more than 2 batteries at 25 grams ELC or rated 300 watt hours or less per person.

Please call 800-428-4322/TTY 800-245-2966 about:

  • Transportation of an electric wheelchair on an aircraft with fewer than 60 seats
  • Provision of hazardous materials packaging for batteries or other assistive devices that are required to have such packaging (a wheelchair or other device that uses a wet cell battery)

When disassembly is required

If US Airways will be required to disassemble your wheelchair, other mobility aid or other assistive device, please provide written directions (ideally from the manufacturer).

Connections

Using your own personal wheelchair during your connection? At Charlotte, Philadelphia, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando, Phoenix and Las Vegas, we have special equipment to expedite the delivery of personal wheelchairs to use during your layover. If there's not enough time between flights to retreive and assemple your personal wheelchair, we'll provide wheelchair service.