Thanks for the info. I wasn`t aware of that but it`s something to bear in mind. I havn`t travelled with first choice but I was asked by Thomson this year to provide a copy of my blue badge in order to use their special needs dept.

I have flown many times with Thomson, Monarch, Easyjet, & others. As I am severely disabled & can only walk about 4/5 paces I require what is neccessary in the way of assistance to board the aircraft & also a seat near to toilet.
I always notify the special needs to "Customer Services" of the airline as soon as I have booked and for the last 2/3 years I have had to send a photo copy of my blue badge.
With one exception this has always worked superbly, having said that I take my own folding wheelchair so there is no delay waiting at check-in for an airport wheelchair.

My advice is -- KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THE AIRLINE AND PROVIDE THEM WITH AS MUCH INFO AS PPOSSIBLE.

BILL H

I was just wondering what would happen if you were disabled but did not have a Blue Badge. There are plenty of disabilities where the person does not receive the higher mobility component of DLA but maybe gets the higher care component and lower mobility. They do not have a Blue Badge to show. Not all disabilities involve using a wheelchair. Just a thought. Maybe someone can advise?

The airlines and travel agents are usually happy with a letter from the doctor if you didn`t have a blue badge.

How many people that have a blue badge genuinly need seats at the front of an aircraft? Most just want the extra legroom
Just got back from a Holiday in malta, flew with BA where we had to fight for seats at the front so we could tend to our disabled son(Cerebral Palsy) Seats had been requested 11 months previous at time of booking and had been reserved for our outbound flight. On return we were allocated seats about 3 rows back, such a fuss was made by the "allegedly" disabled blue badge holder when politley asked by cabin crew to move seats. Although he could see it was impossible for us to sit anywhere else.

Maybe a 2 tier blue badge system, one badge for the bad back brigade and another one for the real disabled.

Smithy

I'm sorry that you didn't get the seating allocated to you & your son.

If I personally didn't require this seat I wouldn't dare request it. I'm a wheelchair user but not a full time user so does that make me not one of the 'real' disabled as I can walk a little?

I would gladly give up my disability if I could & travel in the planes toilets if I didn't require the seats, just because some people look more able than others doesn't mean they aren't disabled, although I do know of people who claim to be more disabled than they actually are.

And in reply to hbrac.. You can often get a blue badge without being in receipt of DLA, usually a GP's/consultants letter will suffice

Kind regards

Thanks Carole. I've learnt something here. I didn't know that.
Whilst not begrudging Smithy's son all the help to which he is entitled I have experienced discrimination (or should I say our party which includes son with Aspergers) and not just from able bodied folk. Some disabled folk have seen fit to tell us in no uncertain terms that we have no right to avail ourselves of any sort of disabled facility. Ignorance? Not all disabled people have mobility problems. There are other disabilities that are often not apparent to the onlooker. This makes things twice as difficult. I for one am very careful not to make assumptions as to whether someone is bona fide or not.

I feel strongly about disabled people getting help when needed. Both my husband and I are disabled (though to look at us we seem fine) however after even a short flight we are often unable to get out of our seats if not allocated front row seats where an extra few cm makes all the difference.
We allways book months in advance keeping the airline and travel company informed, but it does not always work out.
We have had occasions where we have been told the seats are not available only to board and find an able bodied family with small children(not babies) in them and once an elderly person with a broken arm who had booked last minute was put along with her companions in the front row over us.
We are not allowed to purchase exta legroom seats but pay to sit together as my husband and myself have to help each other and our daughter is too young to sit on her own.
We always offer our seats to anyone who seems worse off than ourselves when boarding but it does not always work both ways.
I could rant on and on but I wont as I am sure other members can add to this thread.

Hi we are travelling to mexico with thomsons and have booked the welfare seats - seats for people with disabilities due to my daughters disability - cerebral palsy has anyone had any experience of these seats with this airline. any comments gratefully recieved.

thanks

I personally have always found Thomsons to be very accommodating when I have flown with them.
When I have booked I will always rang their special requests helpline 0870 532 9509 to request wheelchair assistance, all they ask me for was my blue badge serial number & what were my limitations i.e. can I manage steps

Hope this helps & have a great holiday b4ker1

Hi Carole thanks for your advice i feel more at ease now

We flew with Thomson to Mexico this year. We were given the medical seats on a previous flight to Barbados (the aircraft they use is the same)
They are in the middle section on the first row behind the premium seats. The seats are OK but I found difficulty getting to the toilet as they are a few rows back and by the time I got there there was often a queue. I can`t stand for long periods so I had to make my way back. This year we decided to blow the budget and book premium seats. I was given front seats with loads of legroom and next to the toilets, but at a cost (£225 return). I have to say it was worth every penny to me.
I have to agree with Carole, Thomsons were really good. We were allocated an adapted room in our hotel (Riu Tequila) and had a fabulous holiday.

Hi jax thanks for the info we tried for premium but sold out told us to try a week before we travel. Was there decent leg room with the medical seats

cheers

There is certainly more than you would get if you had a seat in front of you. There is a partition in front of the seats. There are four seats accross the middle and I sat in the aisle seat on the right. I hope you get your premium upgrade. When we went they upgraded a few people to premium because it wasn`t full. The best seats are the three middle seats in the front of the premium cabin. There is loads of room in front of you and it`s very near the toilet. Most people want window seats so these were still available when we booked (which was only 12 weeks before we went)

This post has raised just the arguments that i battle with daily.
Having Crohn's disease (IBD) i carefully plan all journeys to allow access to toilets wether in town, on a train or a plane (which i now try to avoid as my stomache blows up considerably with air pressure change).
Unfortunately as already stated if you appear to not have a seen physical disabilty the ignorant brigade can be very very hurtful, this applies to professional bodies as well as the public.
Its almost impossible for us to gain a blue badge due to the wording of "being able to walk", i have written to my MP our Crohn's association has taken the case to parliament, it will be a slow long process to be recognised even with all the DDA rulings.
I do think there should be several levels of blue badge, i'm not after parking for free but just being able to stop for 10-15 minutes without the threat of parking fines/clamping when needing a fast dash to any toilet.
Some of my fellow sufferers who have been fortunate to have been allocated a blue badge have been sworn at/screamed at in car parks as to "wheres theyre wheel chair" & been reduced to tears.

You can see how much this posting has got my grey matter going, we all have differing needs & often wish we had a physical disabilty rather than a hidden one.

Sorry for the rant
Just to make anyone aware whenever i travel on a train (theres hopefully always a toilet, which you dont have when in your own car), i ring customer services & get a seat allocated near to a toilet.
Same applies to whenever i have travelled by plane, but a tip is DO NOT go for the front seats option as these are always the busiest toilets.
I always opt for mid plane seats next to those toilets.
Luckily we carry a "cant wait card" that can be shown to anyone that we need the toilet as a matter of urgency!!

Phew this turned into war n peace
Dave

I have just returned from what I can only describe as the "flights to hell and back" with Austrian Airlines. After making reservations for my wife & myself through Airmiles I requested 1. any assistance in boarding ie Ambulift. 2. seats near to door & also near to toilets. 3. assistance where nec at the airports (not much required as I take my own collapsible wheelchair).
I was informed a few hours later in a call from Airmiles that everything was listed and I was number 1 priority. My problems are spinal & I can only walk 5-10 paces depending on the state of my problem on the day.
This was the reality of the situation we were met with:- Feb 28th Heathrow to Vienna, bridge boarding to aircraft door - front 10 rows business class, only other toilet at rear of plane, had to struggle full length of plane. Next leg of journey Vienna to Varna Bulgaria - smaller aircraft and impossible to use ambulift, had to go up 5 steps into aircraft - toilet so small that even if you were able bodied you would finish up disabled - only used once.

Our return flights on March 7th followed a similar pattern and it took 24 hours after the outbound flights & also after the inward for the pain to subside to normal. I also refrained from eating or drinking for about 5-6 hours beforehand to ensure I did not need toilet
Having travelled to many places with many airlines, and ALWAYS making prior arrangments re seating etc this was by far the worst experience I have ever had and as far as I am concerned These were the first flights I had ever made with Austrian Airlines and they were definitely the LAST.
I should add that whilst in Bulgaria everbody helped if needed (not very often) once we left the airport.

Roll on May when we go with Thomson again who are usually brilliant (hope I am not tempting fate)

Wilrac

I have read the reviews above. I have been informed by a Thomson Travel Agent that Thomson have changed their policy regarding allocating welfare seats on a plane at the start of this year. My elderly mother and aunt (82 and 84) who both hold blue badges are not entitled to welfare seats as mobility is not an ailment!! I find this totally appalling and unacceptable. The agents have informed me that they have questioned this directly with the Welfare team 3 times now and have told me there is nothing more they can do.

Being cynical, I would suggest that the "welfare" seats are seats with more room -and Thomson can charge extra for them!! So they are going to minimse the number of reasons that force them to hold them for medical reasons.

There has never been any guarantee that a request for so-called 'welfare' or 'medical' seats would be met but especially so if no other form of passenger assistance was requested. What exactly was requested in the way of assistance from their customer support team? I think that in some ways my elderly disabled mother would agree with the Thomson staff - her limited mobility is not an ailment in itself, it is a consequence of her severe arthritis which is an ailment. We've never had her requests for assistance refused - sometimes we've been seated in extra legroom seats near to the entrance door of the aircraft but at other times we have been given ordinary seats further up the aircraft but with extra assistance to help her reach them. Overall she prefers a seat close to the toilets so she can minimise how far she has to walk once on the aircraft - few large aircraft actually have seats that are both near the entrance door and the toilets unless you pay to go in the premium or business class cabins.