Elderly travelers

[masma]

My elderly and frail neighbours have asked me to book them a flight to Scotland - no problem there (I hope)
My question is... they both have difficulty in walking and will need to be taken to the plane on one of those buggy type things - can I book that on-line/phone or will they need to arrange it at the airport.
Thank you.

[KARL]

One usually arranges this with the airline when booking, by reporting special needs. This can usually be done online and certainly by telephone. If you wait until you arrive at the airport, it is really too late although in most cases staff will do what they can but at that stage you may have to pay extra whereas pre-notified needs are generally taken care of for free. I have some experience of this with elderly relatives (several occasions).

[Buenchico]

I normally get very annoyed when someone here replies with "Why don't you google it?". But that's exactly what I'm going to suggest. If you google the name of the relevant airline, together with the words 'special needs', you should find everything you want to know.

For example, googling 'ryanair special needs' brings this up straight away:
http://www.ryanair.co...ns/special-assistance

Just an additional (and unrelated) point. I sometimes get asked to help friends (who are often elderly) with booking domestic flights (or flights between the UK and Ireland). The first thing I always ask them is about what type of ID they have. Some airlines (e.g. Ryanair) will ONLY accept a passport or national ID card for their security purposes. Others (e.g. easyJet) will accept things like a bus pass. Make sure that you match up your neighbours' ID to the requirements of the airline you book with.

Chris

[237SJ]

No problem. Just request it when you book the ticket. You can do a `late request` but the earlier the better. As previously mentioned re:cost - there shouldn`t be a cost. Ryanair (who else)! tried that once and was done for discrimination

[masma]

Thank you all for your answers, you're all very helpful x