Traveling help for parents

[sree101]

All,

My father recently got the visitor visa, and i am planning to bring my father here. He is 69 yrs old and can't speak hindi/english (from andhra), is there any service( airlines services) avaibale to help persons who cannot navigate themself in transit stops and filling forms at the port of entry and speaking to IO at poe?? Please let me know is there is any service like that. I have verified with the travel agents, they are saying i can opt for wheelchair (coz of his age) but communication is a big prob? (there are not sure whether they will assit in filling the forms also) If anyone of you brought the parents (who has trouble communicating in english) please let me know iw will be a great help.

Thanks
Sree

[immihelp]

You can post the traveling companion ad in our classifieds section at http://www.immihelp.com/classifieds/, for free.

[krutika]

My parents flew last month by themselves. Booknig a wheelchair helps a lot.
The person operating the wheelchair will guide the travellers in transit stops, help get luggage, direct you to proper terminal and all. But English is required. Else finding a travel companion is the only other option.

[knowledgeable]

Good idea ....

... more and more people get wheel chairs just because they are not "comfortable" in language or directions, not because they are handicapped.

Is there any shame left anymore?

This causes fewer wheel chairs to be available for valid requirements and more time between availability.

How would you feel if your family member has to wait for a long time or is unable to get the service just because others have taken advantage of the same for no good reason?

Hundreds of people travel daily on international routes with no idea of any foreign language or the way any system works. They make it easily to their destination.

International air travel is very simple and easy.

[immihelp]

Knowledgeable is completely right.

I have my own long story regarding this, but I will keep it short and just post relevant details.

My young wife was traveling from India to US more than eight years ago and due to her medical condition, she was traveling in business class. She could walk a little bit and but not a lot. Otherwise, because of long walks at the airport, her condition would deterioate a lot or cause an emergency. Therefore, she came out of the airplane and waiting for the wheelchair at the Jetway. The attendant over there refused to put her in wheelchair arguing that wheelchair is only for those who can't walk and she just walked out of the plane on her own.

I had to explain the whole situation, asked him to look at her medical condition and explained that we are requesting for a genuine medical reason, we can speak fluent English and we don't need any directional help. My parents were also traveling with me at that time and we of course didn't request anything for them.

(And please don't ask questions why we were traveling from India to US if her medical condition was not good. That is a very long story.)

He continued to argue that people are misusing the wheelchair facility. After a lot of struggle, he allowed the wheelchair for her.

And this was at the Amsterdam airport.

Therefore, I kindly request everyone NOT to ask for wheelchair simply because you don't know English or can't follow the directions. Please understand that no matter from which city in India to which city in US you are travling to, there will always be other Indians in every flight who would be willing to help you at every step, including changing planes at airport, filling the forms, immigration etc. You can even ask the flight attendant to fill the forms on their behalf. And we have sample and blank rough forms on this web site. You can fill all the details in advance and ask your relatives to ask someone to just copy them to make it easier for those who want to help.

Thank you for your cooperation.

[C4us]

For older or frail people who are unable to walk long distances, many larger airports have people driving electric carts who will transport people between gates.

Many airports also have maps online and flights frequently come into the same gates or at least the same parts of the terminal. If they have a copy and an idea of where they will be going, it may be of help.

[pan30]

For older or frail people who are unable to walk long distances, many larger airports have people driving electric carts who will transport people between gates.

Many airports also have maps online and flights frequently come into the same gates or at least the same parts of the terminal. If they have a copy and an idea of where they will be going, it may be of help.

I need some suggestion. My parents are looking to visit to north america. Can anyone help me with the destination?

[pan30]

All,

My father recently got the visitor visa, and i am planning to bring my father here. He is 69 yrs old and can't speak hindi/english (from andhra), is there any service( airlines services) avaibale to help persons who cannot navigate themself in transit stops and filling forms at the port of entry and speaking to IO at poe?? Please let me know is there is any service like that. I have verified with the travel agents, they are saying i can opt for wheelchair (coz of his age) but communication is a big prob? (there are not sure whether they will assit in filling the forms also) If anyone of you brought the parents (who has trouble communicating in english) please let me know iw will be a great help.

Thanks
Sree

My parents are looking to visit Europe. Can anyone tell me where to visit?