ONE TOUGHT MOTHER

WHEELS UP

BY CHRISTINE PIACENTINO

Did you know that the Airline Industry damages approximately 10,220 wheelchairs a year? It’s an average of about 28 wheelchairs per day. My son is dependent on his power chair. He views the wheelchair as his legs. Most people don’t have to worry about their mobility being impaired when they reach their destination.

Power wheelchairs provide a sense of independence, but not all power chairs are created equal. Every chair is designed to meet a person’s specific needs and comfort. The price of comfort and ability ranges between $23K - $40k. Physically, the aid to independence is priceless.

Currently, airline travel requires wheelchairs to be broken down and tagged in detail, so the baggage handlers know where to lift them and how to get them into the cargo bay plane without being damaged or broken. Imagine breaking down your car every time you want to travel and taking it with you, hoping that each part makes it to your destination, undamaged, and goes back together quickly and easily.

There must be a better way!

I had the opportunity to discuss how airline travel can change with Michele Erwin and Alan Chaulet from the nonprofit organization “All Wheels Up.” All Wheels Up is currently the only organization in the world crash testing wheelchair tie-downs and wheelchairs for commercial flights. Michele is the President and Founder. Alan is the Chief Operating Officer and Founding Board member.

Tell us a little about yourselves?

incredible/active kids. I have a very understanding and supportive husband who understands that I have two jobs. I have a Bachelor’s degree from the Fashion Institute of technology. I currently work full time for JCPenney at the corporate office as a sourcing Business manager. My son has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). He is the reason I started All Wheels Up. My goal is to have one day All Wheels Up as my full-time career and employ experts in aviation, development, and advocacy. However, while I work a full-time job, I allocate almost all my vacation time and evenings to All Wheels Up.

All Wheels Up is a labor of love. It is a full-time job to make an impact on accessible air travel. Imagine what we could do if we were working at this 100% of the time. I started All Wheels Up when I became painfully aware that air travel is not accessible. From my own experience when traveling with my son. I thought about how my son will travel one day on his own for school or a career. Then it hit me, how are people who use wheelchairs traveling on their own now. I knew I needed to start working toward a wheelchair spot then. I asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2011, do you expect air travel to look the same as it does today in thirty years from now. That one sentence got me transferred to the director of Research & Development (R&D) at the FAA.

Alan Chaulet: I have been working on All Wheels up with Michele since 2014. I’m blessed to have found Michele, and together we’ve made an incredible team. I am battling Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and haven’t let it stop me from graduating from Bentley

University and building All Wheels

Up. I’m also quite active in the

DMD advocacy community and proudly serving on the Parent Project

Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD)

Adult Advisory Council.

When most people start a Nonprofit, it becomes overwhelming, and they give up. What’s your driving force?

Michele Erwin: Besides making flying easier for my son; and knowing that a wheelchair spot is possible in my heart and mind. Alan has been a great leader in keeping us going when I get discouraged. Working towards a wheelchair spot has been humbling. We have been laughed at and told to shut down; someone (a wheelchair user) went on a social media platform and said to the community we are frauds and not to fund our work. But the more people or organizations that kept telling us we couldn’t make a wheelchair spot happen, there were more rooting for us. That is what keeps us going. Knowing our work is why the congressionally funded Transportation Research Board (TRB)

“Did you know that the Airline Industry damages approximately 10,220 wheelchairs a year?”

study got published in September 2021. The study concluded a wheelchair spot is technically feasible. A considerable validation that the naysayers no longer have a place in the conversation.

Alan Chaulet: I’ve missed so many family vacations and weddings throughout my life, and this should not happen to anyone with a disability. There are so many unique and beautiful places worldwide that stay inaccessible because airplanes aren’t accessible, and this needs to end. We deserve to have equal access to air travel, just like what currently exists on trains, buses, and taxis.

What made you believe that you could affect change?

Michele Erwin: All Wheels Up is more than an advocacy group. We are a factbased organization. We are the ONLY not-forprofit with the sole focus of improving accessible air travel and funding research for a wheelchair spot on planes. However, we are successful in providing positive and responsible messaging. We do not blame or shame the airline industry on where we are today. We want to work with the industry. We have embarked on a mission to fund the industry’s questions. First, the industry said it was not feasible or safe. We have proven it is possible and can be safe. We are funding the following questions: the economic impact and the HOW. We are also investing a paper on why it is medically necessary for a wheelchair spot on planes. All Wheels Up recognizes the aviation industry is about safety and economics. We have approached our work with the same goals in mind. It is not just about the wheelchair users’ safety and dignity, but everyone on that plane’s safety. We know this, recognize this and work to fund the data needed to make the big decisions.

Alan Chaulet: Michele and I knew it

would be possible for disabled passengers to ultimately fly from the safety and comfort of their wheelchair if someone proved it was possible. No one else was working on making Airplanes Accessible. People called us crazy for years, and we nearly shut down multiple times. Still, little by little, the airline industry and government embraced our work and realized this is needed change.

My work with Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), and Jett Foundation showed me how to build a nonprofit. I learned how they operate, how to make advocacy effective, and how to work with industry. I learned so much from them, just like Michele has in Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) advocacy, and that gave us both tremendous vision on what we wanted All Wheels Up to be.

What are your greatest strengths or superpowers?

Michele Erwin: My superpower is my tenacity (not taking no for an answer). nobody could give me reason enough to stop

Alan Chaulet:

Dedication and Determination. We could have shut down so many times over the years. Still, my dedication and determination kept me working hard and believing our work would make travel dramatically easier for the disability community.

What were your Eureka moments while performing crash testing?

Michele Erwin: I had two Eureka moments. The first was when I realized no organization had taken on the airline industry to create a wheelchair spot as a project or platform. I knew I needed to take this project on. The second was that wheelchair securement systems proved to pass 20G crash testing. Airplane seats are

“Power wheelchairs provide a sense of independence, but not all power chairs are created equal.”

Mindustry to create a wheelchair spot as a project or platform. I knew I needed to take this project on. The second was that wheelchair securement systems proved to pass 20G crash testing. Airplane seats are crash tested at 16G.

Alan Chaulet: The most significant eureka moment was when we started realizing this could become a reality.

What is “All Wheels Up” most outstanding achievement to date?

Michele Erwin: AWU has had so many Outstanding Achievements, but to list our top three: 1) Funding and conducting the first-ever crash test of wheelchairs and wheelchair securement systems at an FAA-approved testing facility for our proof of concept with positive results in 2016. This one achievement is why any original equipment manufacturers, design firms; wheelchair manufacturers; or wheelchair tie-down manufacturers today can create specific spaces and safe locking systems for wheelchairs on planes.

2) Being a part of the Technical Review Board (TRB) study

3) Our Fly Safe Today Program - Providing Education slings and Adults CARES Harnesses for free to the community. While we work for a solution for tomorrow - we are also making sure the WC community can fly safely today.

Alan Chaulet: When the TRB Feasibility study was released and said there are no engineering or design challenges that making traveling from your wheelchair not possible. I’ve had some people say that sitting in their wheelchair while flying is something way off in the future. When do you think this would become a reality?

Michele Erwin and Alan Chaulet: Going back to our responsible messaging - All Wheels Up will not mislead the wheelchair community. All Wheels Up will not/ cannot put a timeline on a project that is so grossly underfunded. Additionally,

safety is paramount. We need to have respect not just for the R&D process, but more importantly, the certification process.

We need to recognize that the lack of accessible air travel is not just a systemic issue with the airlines. Large corporations and advocacy groups have a part in the injustice. In comparison, platform of accessible air travel. None have funded research for a wheelchair spot. If a project of this magnitude expects to be only financed by the wheelchair community’s donations, it is systemic issue. The Wheelchair community should not be alone in funding to change injustice.

What advice do you have for disabled travelers?

Michele Erwin:

1) Know your rights! 2) A good trip starts with research and planning; - coordinate with the airlines on your travel plans and specific needs. The airlines suggest contacting them at a minimum of 48 hours in advance. However, I do recommend more time than that if you can. 3) You are your best advocate. If an issue does arise - PLEASE issue a complaint with the Department of Transportation (DOT). Without documenting the problems, change cannot happen. By registering the situation and becoming a statistic can help make the change.

Alan Chaulet:

Educate yourself on everything. Know what to expect when boarding and exiting the airplane. Know what transportation you will need. Understand how accessible the hotel room andbathroom will be and what places you will be visiting on your trip. Determine what equipment you will need to use and what to do if something goes wrong at any point. Traveling with a disability is very intimidating, but there’s so much great advice from disabled travelers out there and resources you can access. Traveling around the world is possible for us too.