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Collins Aerospace has refined its concept for the accessibility of a personal motorized wheelchair, aiming to meet both passenger needs and operator requirements, company executives said at Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) on April 8.
The introduction of the demonstrator marks progress in enabling persons with reduced mobility to fly in a dignified manner. For them, air travel still involves assisted transfers and abandoning a custom-made, expensive vehicle to insufficiently trained baggage handlers. In recent years, lobbying associations have managed to put the issue in the spotlight.
Taking into account feedback from carriers, Collins has strived to create a dignified solution for the passenger, while ensuring the carrier does not see any loss of seating density or revenue, or a longer boarding phase, Cynthia Mucklevicz, VP customer and business development, interiors, explained during a press visit at AIX.
The Prime wheelchair seating platform thus relies on minimum handling. The platform is located close to the door, in front of a row of seats. Contrary to some other concepts, the installed seats do not need any handling, such as folding up the pan. Rather, a small workstation for the cabin crew, next to the door, is kept in a fold-up position.
When the passenger enters, a single member of ground staff secures the wheelchair to a four-hook restraint system, similar to existing ones in buses, that is otherwise masked under the carpet. The wheelchair makes one business-class seat or two economy-class seats unavailable. A caregiver can sit next to the person in the wheelchair. At deplaning, the passenger is the first out and does not have to wait for ground personnel to help with transfer, Mucklevicz emphasized.
The Prime platform provides the passenger with the same equipment as any other: a power outlet, a passenger service unit (including a reading light, an air vent and an oxygen mask) and a retractable tray table (integrated into the folded-up workstation).
Since the introduction of the first version of the platform last year, engineers have refined the restraint system and the tray table, Shawn Raybell, director, business development, said. They are now talking to the FAA on both the restraint system and how the crew should manage the occupant of the wheelchair. Motorized wheelchairs already have a standard for seat belts, Raybell added.
While the platform can be built into a new aircraft, Collins is prioritizing retrofit and foresees entry into service within three years.
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