Final month, a report launched by the Nationwide Academy of Sciences concluded that the securement of wheelchairs on business plane is technically possible, and that many wheelchairs already meet or exceed the minimal horizontal crash requirements utilized by the FAA to certify airplane seats. That report confirmed what many people already knew or had anticipated, however the problem of creating an answer to satisfy the wants of each disabled vacationers and airways stays.

A consortium consisting of London-based design studio PriestmanGoode, Flying Disabled and SWS Certification, has unveiled a brand new airplane seat design that it says will meet that problem — making a wheelchair house whereas retaining seat depend. The proposed system, generally known as Air 4 All, “goals to revolutionise air journey for passengers with decreased mobility (PRM) by enabling powered wheelchair customers to stay in their very own wheelchair for your entire journey.”

Air 4 All works in an identical solution to latch-type locking and securement techniques utilized by many wheelchair customers in their very own autos. When a wheelchair consumer is flying, the seat folds as much as reveal the securement house and attachments. If no wheelchair customers require entry, the seats operate as common airline seats.

The system is designed in order that totally different powered wheelchair varieties could be licensed for flying and can have the ability to interface with a variety of airline seats. One level of frustration, nonetheless, is that the Air 4 All seating system can be suitable solely with powered wheelchairs, not guide wheelchairs. The idea is a vital first step in fostering collaboration between airline inside producers and wheelchair producers to provide an accessible securement system match for air journey, and I actually hope that future iterations will embrace assist for guide wheelchairs.

Paul Priestman, designer and Chairman of PriestmanGoode says “Air 4 All will usher in a step change within the trade and eventually supply equal entry to consolation, security and dignity for all passengers. The most important barrier up to now has been that giving higher house to passengers in wheelchairs would have decreased seat depend and resulted in a lack of income for airways. Air 4 All solves this drawback and has the additional advantage of enabling airways to retain the design of their cabin on each seat, guaranteeing model consistency and a cohesive model expertise for all passengers. Air 4 All will facilitate a smoother boarding and disembarking expertise for PRMs and also will considerably scale back the variety of wheelchairs which are broken by way of poor dealing with.”

Air 4 All has been initially designed for narrowbody (single-aisle) plane, in a 2+2 configuration. The answer can be notably appropriate for widespread plane varieties just like the Airbus A320 sequence and Boeing 737 sequence. The Air 4 All system is designed to transform entrance row seats and set up a wheelchair steerage and locking system to the plane, permitting for as much as two wheelchairs per row to journey on a single flight. The consortium can be working alongside Dawn Medical to determine these powerchairs that may be match to fly, in addition to to retrofit and create new requirements for powered wheelchairs, thus enabling passengers with probably the most difficult disabilities to journey. 

Chris Wooden MBE, Founding father of Flying Disabled says “Air 4 All is the primary system that has been developed collectively by a design company, a certification physique and with enter from the disabled group. With a number one international wheelchair producer in addition to the subsidiary of a significant airline on board to develop the product, it’s a really collaborative mission. We’re actively working with all the required events, together with preliminary discussions with a number of the key Nationwide Aviation Authorities,  to make sure our resolution is harmonised and match for objective, thus considerably bettering the journey expertise for severely disabled passengers.”

A primary prototype of the Air 4 All system is predicted in December 2021. It is a vital step ahead in accessible airplane design, and I stay up for watching it progress by way of the assorted phases of improvement and, hopefully, set up. The excellent news: PriestmanGoode says that it’s already working with a subsidiary of a significant airline to carry the Air 4 All system to the market.

To be taught extra in regards to the Air 4 All seating system, learn the total press launch from PriestmanGoode.

Have questions for the designers? Be part of the stay Q&A session for Wheelchair Journey readers!

Tune in on Tuesday, November 2 for a stay Q&A with consortium accomplice Christopher Wooden hosted by yours really. We’ll have a look below the hood and I’ll go alongside your questions. Put up them right here, within the feedback beneath! Particulars on the stay broadcast can be shared nearer to the occasion date on Fb, Twitter, Instagram and within the Wheelchair Journey E-newsletter. Be certain to observe/subscribe for updates!