In a perfect world, the ideal itinerary for a wheelchair user traveling by airplane goes something like this:

• Check in at ticket counter, check in luggage, proceed to gate.
• At boarding time, check wheelchair at gate.
• Proceed to seat, via airline's modern, comfortable aisle chair, with any necessary assistance provided at your direction by helpful, knowledgeable airline employees.
• Arrive at destination on time. Disembark, again via readily available aisle chair with assistance from airline employees.
• Find wheelchair, in perfect condition, waiting at gate, along with knowledgeable, friendly airport employee to escort you to connecting flight or baggage area.

Sound like a dream? It's a plan that, when properly executed, can mean a smooth start to a business trip, vacation or other adventure.

But when one of these steps doesn't happen as planned, travelers with disabilities can experience anything from an irritating inconvenience to a humiliating disaster. Just ask Kim Leahy who, when traveling to meet with President Ronald Reagan several years ago, encountered bumps still too typical when wheelchair users fly.

Leahy of Orlando, Fla., works as a market research analyst for Disney World, and has nearly completed a master's degree in recreational studies with a specialty in commercial tourism at the University of Florida.

At the time, she was living in Michigan and received a volunteer award. She was scheduled to be honored at a luncheon with the president and tour Washington.

But Leahy, who has spinal muscular atrophy, had to get around in the nation's capital without her power wheelchair, thanks to her Northwest Airlines flight.

Check-in, boarding and everything else went fine, up to the point when Leahy checked her chair at the gate.

Then, "we looked out the window of the plane to see if we could see what was going on down there, and they literally pretty much threw it into baggage. It landed on its side," she said. A discombobulated chair, with disconnected wires everywhere, was waiting for her when she landed in Washington.

"It was unrepairable, basically. We worked for a couple of hours at the airport, and could not get it to work. The whole time we were in D.C. - four days - we could not get it to work. I was pushed everywhere, and Northwest ended up buying me a new chair," Leahy said. Leahy's experience echoes that of thousands of people with disabilities whose wheelchairs have been damaged, destroyed or lost on flights. Although her trip singles out Northwest, no U.S. airline appears to be immune, according to federal statistics that track disability-related complaints. Add to these nightmares the scores of horror stories about encounters with insensitive, uninformed airline and airport employees, and it can be enough to keep even the most adventurous soul grounded for good.

So how can you defend against such travel disasters?

Plan, prepare, prepare some more, and double-check all your plans, said seasoned traveler Alexandria Peck Berger.

"This is hard work. Traveling when you're disabled is actual hard work, and it takes twice the planning that it normally would for somebody to just get on the plane," said Berger, who lives in Portsmouth, Va., and is a member of MDA's National Task Force on Public Awareness. Berger, who writes a syndicated newspaper column about disability-related issues, estimated that she's traveled 200,000 air miles in one year, taking business and pleasure trips all over the world. She's affected by myasthenia gravis and polymyositis. She uses a manual wheelchair and requires oxygen when she travels.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

Before even making a reservation, any traveler with a disability should become familiar with the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), Berger said.

Enacted in 1986, the ACAA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in air travel and requires U.S. air carriers to accommodate the needs of passengers with disabilities. Provisions include specifics about what airlines may and may not do for passengers with disabilities, accessibility of facilities and other accommodations. (See "Air Travel Resources" on page 18 for how to find a copy of the ACAA.)

Here are some of the act's highlights:

• Air carriers may not require advance notice that a person with a disability is traveling, although they may up to 48 hours' notice for certain accommodations that require preparation, such as ventilator hookup or transportation of a wheelchair.

• "New" aircraft - planes ordered after April 5, 1990, or delivered after April 5, 1992 - with 30 or more seats must have movable aisle armrests on half the aisle seats.

• New aircraft with 100 or more seats must have priority space for storing a passenger's folding wheelchair in the cabin.

• Airlines are required to provide assistance with boarding, deplaning and making connections for passengers with disabilities.

• And, a new rule passed in fall 1999 that governs the act lifted the cap on liability that airlines must pay for damage, destruction or loss of wheelchairs or assistive devices. Previously, the cap was $2,500, which didn't begin to cover some power wheelchairs. Now, airlines must replace such equipment at current cost, and provide you with an equivalent loaner while yours is being repaired or replaced.

PLAN AHEAD

The locator number will reference an area of the reservation where special notes can be made, such as whether the traveler requires extra assistance. "The locator number is very important, because you can request they put a note in the locator that says you have requested oxygen, or you are traveling with your own wheelchair and you will need assistance," Berger said. Having that information in the computer system can help you make sure all plans are in place. More important, "what that means is that if they goof, you have even more recourse against them," Berger said.

Airline or airport employees should be on hand to assist with transfers.

Travelers should also contact the "medical help desk" or appropriate medical person with the airline, particularly if you need supplemental oxygen. These officials will tell you about any necessary paperwork or doctors' letters you should have on hand when you travel, Berger said. Head to your computer, too. Most airlines have Web sites that outline their policies and procedures for passengers with disabilities, and some include diagrams of airplanes. This will help you select the most ideal seat in the plane, such as a roomier bulkhead seat, or a seat near the restrooms, aisle or window, etc.

The airline's medical desk should help you reserve the seat that would be the best for you, Berger said.

For seat selection, the ACAA also backs you: Carriers are required to provide bulkhead seats to passengers with service animals or immobilized legs. But if such a passenger fails to reserve a seat at least 24 hours before the flight's departure, or doesn't check in and confirm seating accommodations at least one hour before the flight departs, the air carrier isn't required to relocate another passenger to accommodate the disabled passenger's needs.

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