For a variety of reasons, people often seek a long distance transportation service. Thanks to the expansion of those services in recent years, people can find the transportation that fits their needs, ranging from car services for those who do not want to drive themselves to medical services for those who need assistance during their travels.
What you need depends on the reason for hiring the service. The phrase long distance transport actually encompasses three different categories of transport: non-medical, medical and emergency transportation.
Non-Medical Long Distance Transport
For those who need transportation but do not have any mobility issues or other health-related issues, car services are a popular choice if you do not want to fly or drive. Car services can provide both short distance and long distance transportation services. An insured, professional driver handles the driving. Customers can use a “driver by the hour” service to have someone drive their own car, or can hire a service that provides both the car and driver.
These services are popular in large metropolitan areas where business people use a car service because they want to take calls or conduct work while riding into an office. For long distance travel, those who are not comfortable riding on an airplane or driving themselves can hire car service for long distance transport, including “snowbirds” traveling to Florida or Arizona during the winter months.
If you live in or near a large metropolitan area, it’s easy to find car services through an internet search. As with every type of service, it’s important to look for reviews, references, proper licensing and experience.
The best non-emergency medical transport companies (NEMT) provide end-to-end service for those who need assistance taking a trip that involves flying on a commercial airline. An NEMT company makes all the arrangements for the trips, working with airlines and airports ahead of time to ensure the client’s needs are met.
NEMT companies also have an experienced flight nurse who accompanies the client on their journey, starting from when they leave their home to when they arrive at their destination. They help clients navigate airport and security, and then ensure their comfort and safety during the flight. They also administer medication and have training to provide medical services at high altitudes.
People in many different situations hire NEMT companies to get long distance medical transportation services at a rate far below what emergency services require.
Seniors who want assistance when relocating to a new home
People with disabilities that impact their mobility
Those with dementia issues
Those have suffered an injury that impacts mobility
Those injured while on vacation who need medical care for their trip back home (known as medical repatriations). NEMT provides a far less expensive air ambulance alternative.
Older travelers who feel more comfortable making long distance trips with medical assistance
Finding NEMT services requires searching online for companies that offer all the services you need while also having nurses with years of experience in trauma care and in-flight care. The best NEMT services handle all the arrangements, no matter where you travel, and in a variety of different circumstances.
Emergency Medical Transportation Services
When it comes to long distance transportation that involves medical care, emergency medical transportation is the most well-known and also the last you want to use. Emergency services, including air ambulances, are expensive and typically only necessary for those who need immediate medical care to survive.
Emergency medical transportation is used after accidents and natural disasters. Trained paramedics travel on the flight, providing medical care to keep patients alive before arriving at a hospital. People rarely try to find emergency long distance transportation – they are reached by calling emergency phone numbers and then dispatched by local government agencies.
All three of these long distance transportation services are available, depending on your needs. For most people who need long distance medical transportation, an NEMT company is the best choice outside of the rare emergency.
Holiday travel during the months of November and December can prove stressful to anyone, including those with disabilities. However, holiday travel with limited mobility is possible if you plan ahead and follow smart tips during your journey.
The following looks at some of the major issues to keep in mind if you plan on limited mobility holiday travel, especially air travel. As with those with specific issues, including everything from traumatic brain injury to a spinal cord injury, flying with medical assistance and medical flight services can make the trip go much easier.
Planning Holiday Travel If You Have Limited Mobility
Keep these issues in mind before you leave the house and during your flight.
Know Your Rights
Make sure to know the rights you have under the Americans With Disabilities Act. In the broadest terms, you cannot be discriminated against because you experience mobility issues. There are rules in place that make bathrooms accessible, allow service animals if required, and provide assistance going through security.
Even under normal circumstances, you want to book your trip early. For holiday travel, it’s even more important. Flights fill up quickly in November and December. Book as far in advance as possible and stick with non-stop flights, if possible. If you must take two flights, make sure there is plenty of time to change planes at the airport. Arrange transportation to and from the airport.
Call Ahead
Contact both the airline and the airport to find out all the services available to limited mobility travelers. They include shorter security lines, the chance to board early and get assistance (such as a wheelchair) while moving through the airport. Be specific about your injury and write down the details of what they offer to help you.
Packing Equipment, Medication
If you take medication, bring enough to last the entire trip and place it in your carryon bag. When you speak with people at the airport and airlines, find out rules around using equipment – crutches or your own wheelchair, for example – during your trip. For example, airplanes have special wheelchairs meant to fit the narrow aisle, so your wheelchair will be stored during the flight. Make sure you ask to have your own chair brought to you at the gate of your destination airport.
Going Through Security
The Transportation and Safety Administration advises those with limited mobility to speak with a TSA agent about any concerns before going through security. You can contact the TSA about this issue through the TSA Cares toll free helpline.
If you’re approved ahead of time through TSA Pre✓®, you will not need to remove laptops or 3-1-1- liquids from your bag or take off shoes, belts, or light jackets during the screening process. However, TSA adds that “everyone is required to undergo screening at the checkpoint by technology or a pat-down. Also, TSA officers may swab an individual’s hands, mobility aids, equipment and other external medical devices to test for explosives using explosives trace detection technology.”
Find the Right Seat
Most airlines will allow you to board early, so choose a seat on the aisle so you can more easily get up and go to the bathroom, if necessary. You’ll want a seat as close to the bathroom as well.
Drink Water, Bring Food
Stay hydrated during the flight by drinking water – about eight ounces of water is recommended for every hour you fly. With that in mind, a stop at the bathroom is a smart move, too! Also, if you are on any type of special diet, bring food packed in your carryon bag to make it through the flight.
For those with limited mobility who plan holiday travel, making the journey with a flight nurse can provide the peace of mind of having a medical professional with you every step of the way. A flight nurse has experience providing emergency medical care and will oversee all your travel arrangements, including working with airport and airline officials on your behalf. They also oversee the handling of medical equipment and medications throughout your journey. They take on a lot of the stressful parts of holiday travel for those with limited mobility.
Everyone should enjoy going to see friends and loved ones during the holiday season. That included those with limited mobility. Flying with medical assistance can help make the journey easier, and give you the comfort of knowing someone is with you who can handle any problems that arises.
When it comes to moving seniors to a new home, flying makes the most sense. It’s the fastest, safest way to manage a long distance senior relocation. The key is to follow some best practices that have proven to make the experience much smoother for all involved.
Adult children, who often must help parents downsize and relocate to a new home, can benefit from learning those best practices and putting them into action before, during and after the trip. They include the tips listed below.
Many of these issues, including booking all travel arrangements, are handled by partnering with professional senior relocation services.
Tips For Before You Travel
The best long distance senior relocations go well because of a solid plan. The time to create one happens long before you leave the house. The first step is to make a checklist for pre-trip considerations, including the following.
Talk to the doctor. If seniors have chronic medical conditions, check with a physician to ensure they can fly. You may also want to consider having a flight nurse on the trip to manage medications, medical equipment and any issues that may arise during the flight.
Book the flights. Book flights as far in advance as possible to get the cheapest rates. Also, make all the flights non-stop, if possible, even if they cost slightly more. Doing so saves seniors the hassle of getting on and off a plane twice and having to navigate a third airport.
Call the airport and airline. If you need special arrangements for seniors, call ahead to set them up with the airport or airline. This includes issues such as getting a wheelchair or assistance in going through security. You can also request special seating arrangements on the plane.
Arrange ground transportation. Make sure that you have dependable ground transportation both to the airport and from the destination airport.
Packing. Make sure that all medication is packed in the carry-on bag and labeled correctly. Also put any snacks and extra water the seniors might want or any other items needed during the flight.
Tips For Day of Flight
If everything is set up during the pre-trip phase, then trip day should go as smoothly as possible. Remember to follow through with those phone calls to the airport and airlines, getting help through the airport, if needed (including a wheelchair) and assistance getting through security and onboard the plane.
Arrive at least two hours before your flight is scheduled to depart to avoid feeling rushed
Wear comfortable shoes
Invest in plane seats with plenty of legroom (and close to the bathroom)
Bring plenty of snacks and water
Carry a list of emergency contacts in carryon baggage
Never hesitate to ask for assistance
Tips For After the Flight
Once you’ve arrived at your destination, there are other issues to deal with, including the following. Putting these tips in action can further reduce travel stress for the elderly.
Get assistance through airport. Follow through with the contact made with the destination airport during the pre-trip phase, ensuring you have wheelchairs or other assistance needed for the seniors as they deplane and exit the airport.
Double check ground transportation. Transportation should have been arranged during the pre-flight phase. Double check as soon as you have cell phone service to ensure that they are ready to meet you once you collect your baggage.
Wash hands. Wash everyone’s hands thoroughly in the destination airport bathroom or clean them with a sanitizer.
Drink Water. People often limit what they drink on the flight to cut down on trips to the bathroom. Make sure that once they get off the plane, seniors drink plenty of water. The air inside an airplane is dry, so they should drink water even if they don’t feel thirsty.
Get rest. Don’t make extra stops once you arrive. Take the seniors directly to the hotel or new residence where they can rest. This is especially needed if it’s a long flight.
These tips can help make long distance senior relocation by airplane go as smoothly as possible. Put them into action as you begin to plan the trip.
For senior travelers, it’s important to stay aware of the many types of common travel scams ready to trip them up. Scammers are always looking for ways to separate people from their money, but awareness of the problem is at least half the battle.
The following looks at some common travel scams and ways to avoid them. It’s something every senior traveler should know about, as they often are the target of shady people while on vacation. They’re also good to know for adult children flying with elderly parents.
Common Travel Scams and How to Avoid Them
Even the smartest of senior travelers might fall victim to a travel scam. Part of that is because criminals have become more sophisticated in their approach. People also naturally have their guard down while on vacation. However, it’s still possible to relax while taking a trip but also remain aware of these common travel scams.
Timeshares
Timeshare scams happen before people ever leave the house, but it’s worth listing here because so many people build trips around timeshare ownership. Timeshares involve a property sold to multiple buyers, with each buyer getting a set amount of time to use the property each year. They’re popular because they make vacations to exotic locales affordable. They also attract scammers who offer deals (such as free nights at the timeshare) that don’t exist. Once you buy a timeshare, a common scam is to offer you a chance to sell it for a fee paid upfront. The solution is to always thoroughly research the company offering the timeshare (or buying/selling services) to ensure it is legit.
Taxi Scam
The most common taxi scam involves a driver taking a longer route than necessary to a destination. Travelers unfamiliar with the area have no idea they are getting scammed. Avoid this by researching your route on Google Maps beforehand and letting the driver know you understand the most direct route to your destination. Another common taxi scam is claiming the meter is broken and charging a ridiculously high rate. Avoid this by either negotiating a price upfront or ensuring the meter is working before you get into the taxi.
This also happens with taxi drivers. They will tell you that the hotel you are staying in is overbooked or a “bad” hotel, then take you to a different hotel where they receive a commission for delivering new guests. Avoid this by calling ahead to ensure your hotel is not overbooked, or simply insisting that the driver take you to your original hotel.
The Free Item Is Not Free
Another common travel scam is for a stranger to approach you in a public place and put a friendship bracelet on your wrist or hand you a small “welcoming gift,” then demand money for it and cause a scene if you don’t pay. Avoid this by never accepting anything handed to you by a stranger or letting someone put something on you.
Pickpockets
Pickpockets still work in tourist areas and near public transportation, such as train or bus stations. Avoid this by never putting valuable items in your front or back pockets. Use a concealed money belt or a zippered crossbody bag.
Renting Transportation
Motorcycle, jet ski and moped rentals in foreign countries may ask to retain your passport when you rent, then claim you caused damage to the rental and hold your passport until you pay a fee (which most people will do, because losing their passport is terrifying). Rent transport through your hotel if it is available. Wherever you went, take pictures of the rental to record existing damage and discuss it with the rental agency, so you don’t get blamed for it later.
Juice Jacking
A relatively new scam involves swiping information from your smartphone when you plug it into a USB port to power up your battery. Scammers configure the port to load malware that can lock your phone or steal passwords, files, contacts, texts, and voicemails. In some cases, the malware makes a backup of the entire phone. Juice jacking most often occurs at airports, shopping malls and other public places that provide free charging stations for mobile devices.
Avoid this scam by always plugging directly into an AC outlet, not into a USB port charging station. You can also buy a protective attachment called a USB data blocker (or USB condom) that sits between the charging cable and the USB charging station, blocking all connections to the phone other than power transfer.
These are some of the most common travel scams that senior travelers face. Avoiding scams is second nature for RN flight coordinators who book their client’s entire trip. It’s a good choice for those who have difficulty flying on their own. Flight nurses accompany seniors and others with injuries or conditions, ensuring they have constant, reliable medical care during their journey. They also know the signs of common travel scams.
At some point, many adult children must manage flying with elderly parents. In some cases, it’s necessary to fly parents to a new home if they decide to retire or need to be closer to family. Another common reason is to bring elderly parents to a family get-together in a location far from their home.
Whatever the case, going into the experience with a plan based on tips from experts can help the process go smoother. The following ideas come from years of providing non-emergency medical flight services for all types of travelers who face difficulty flying on their own. That includes elderly parents.
Strategies to Make Flying With Elderly Parents Easier
There’s no one magic step to take that makes flying with elderly parents easier, but a series of smart strategies can reduce the risk that things will go wrong. If everything falls into place – and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t – putting these tips into practice can make the journey much easier.
Talk to Physician
Before booking a flight, talk with your parents’ physician about any tips they have for flying with people who have your parents’ conditions and/or illnesses. List all the prescription drugs they need to take on the flight, as well as writing down the dosages and time of day to take each medication. The doctor can also give your parents a checkup and ensure they have no issues that could prevent them from flying.
Booking the Trip
When flying with elderly parents, take steps to make travel as easy as possible. Look for direct flights rather than making them meet a connection and switch planes, even if it costs a bit more. If you use an airline that allows you to pick a specific seat, get one on the aisle near the front of the plane to make boarding and deplaning easier (as well as any trips to the restroom).
Special services can include a wide range of issues. For example, if your parents have a disability, request seats that airlines set aside for the disabled. Other requests that can improve air travel for seniors include a wheelchair and special screening lines at security.
Going Through Security
In addition to requesting a special line for those with disabilities or medical equipment, keep in mind that all medications and equipment – including walkers and wheelchairs – must go through the screening process. Security may allow those 75 and older to go through security wearing shoes and a light jacket. Your parents can travel with liquid medication if you alert the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent about its presence. Also tell TSA agents about any special medical-related items, such as ice packs or syringes.
You should come to travel day with a rock solid plan for managing medication. This is of critical importance because it can prove difficult to get medication in some locations. Tips include keeping the medication in the original bottles, which makes it easier to prove what the pills are (this is especially important for international travel). Also, place them in carry-on bags, not check-in luggage. Pack extra medication and take water bottles onboard so they can easily take pills.
Extra Time
The most useful strategy of all is to plan ahead carefully and give yourself plenty of time for each step of the airport process. It’s bad enough to rush when you’re on your own and trying to catch a flight. It’s many orders of magnitude worse trying to rush with elderly parents (in fact, it’s next to impossible). Give yourself, and your parents, plenty of time to get through the process at a comfortable pace.
Working With a Flight Nurse
If you hire an experienced flight nurse with a non-emergency medical transport company, they take many of the issues listed above off your plate. A flight nurse coordinator books all the flights for you. A flight nurse joins you and your elderly parents throughout the entire travel day, from the moment you leave the house until your arrival at your destination. They manage medications, call ahead to make arrangements with security, make any special requests needed and provide any medical care needed during the flight itself. Flying with elderly parents is possible if you plan ahead and take all the right steps during the travel day. Having a professional flight nurse along during the trip can lead to less stress and the peace of mind knowing your parents are getting the best care possible.
