In recent years, easyjet has been promoting access to air travel through the adoption of inclusive solutions and, more recently, the adoption of on-board wheelchairs and the announcement of the first fully accessible toilet on a single aisle plane.
All easyjet new Airbus A320 delivered after May 2016 will be featuring the wheelchair accessible lavatory. The airline also announced plans to retrofit its existing 76 A320s with the Space-Flex 2 lavatory. The airline said the process should be completed by 2018.
MedAire, a leading provider of medical and travel safety solutions for airlines and easyJet’s supplier of onboard medical kits, was instrumental in sourcing and supplying the on-board wheelchairs for the budget airline. The Air+Chair was chosen due to it being the most complaint chair on the market currently being used by airlines and airports in relation to the DPTAC (Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee) specification.
“Wherever they go and however they travel, passengers should be able to expect high quality service and supportive assistance,” easyJet Special Assistance Advisory Group (ESAAG) Chairman and former Home Secretary Lord David Blunkett said. “I am proud to say ESAAG played a front bench role in vetting and testing different aisle chairs to ensure easyJet would get a product designed to best meet the needs of customers with reduced mobility.”
The easyjet special assistance advisory group (esaag) advises easyjet on the needs of passengers requiring special assistance since 2012. The group was established by easyJet to provide the airline with strategic advice and practical guidance on the evolving needs of passengers requiring special assistance, reviewing, challenging and improving easyJet’s policies and procedures.
Reduced Mobility Rights founder Roberto Castiglioni is a member of esaag and chairs the Airport Experience sub-group.
“easyJet continues to add value to the customer experience by responding to the varied needs of its many passengers,” said Steven Bates, MD MedAire Europe. “MedAire is pleased to provide ongoing support based on our aviation experience of passengers with mobility impairments.”
Since 1985, MedAire, an International SOS company, has been a leading global provider of 24/7 in-flight medical advice; 24/7 medical and security support for crew while on duty travel; passenger fit-to-fly assessments; medical kits and equipment; crew medical training; and pre-travel medical review of MEDIF/MEDA.
Backed by two decades of in-flight medical event data, and an expert panel of aviation medical, regulatory, and operational experts, MedAire leverages their knowledge and historical data to provide airlines with the best medical kits for their aircraft.
Source: Reduced Mobility Rights
