Flying · practical
Your chair in the hold.
What happens after you hand it over at the gate, how to protect it, and who’s liable if it comes back damaged.
On most flights you can use your wheelchair right up to the aircraft door, where it’s taken to be stowed in the hold and returned to you at the door on arrival. That’s the goal, and with notice it’s usually what happens. The worry is what goes on in between — and a folding carbon chair has a real advantage there.
Before you fly
- Ask for gate deliveryRequest that your chair is returned to you at the aircraft door on arrival, not at baggage claim. Ask when you notify the airline about the battery.
- Photograph it at the gateA few photos from several angles, timestamped, before you hand it over. If anything’s damaged, you’ll want the before.
- Fold it and note what’s removableA folded chair is smaller and less exposed. Take off anything that unclips — cushion, joystick if yours detaches, bag — and carry those on.
- Label it with your detailsName and contact on the chair, in case it and you end up briefly apart.
- Keep the battery documents on youNot in the folded chair heading for the hold. You may need them at the gate.
If it comes back damaged
Damage caused by an airline in transit is the airline’s responsibility, and mobility equipment is treated more seriously than ordinary baggage — carriers are generally required to repair or replace a wheelchair they damage, without applying the weight-based limits that cap normal luggage claims.
Report it before you leave the airport. Find the airline’s baggage desk, show your before photos, and get a written damage report with a reference number. A claim made from home two days later is far harder than one made at the desk with the chair in front of you.
Airline transit damage is the carrier’s liability, not a warranty matter.
This is the one kind of damage your Seraphin warranty and Care+ don’t cover, because it isn’t a fault in the chair — someone broke it. That’s a claim against the airline. We’ll help by supplying proof of the chair’s value and specifications for your claim, and by sourcing whatever part or replacement you need once it’s sorted.
Why carbon helps here
A folding carbon chair is lighter for a handler to move, smaller once folded, and has fewer exposed projections than a rigid full-size powerchair. None of that guarantees careful handling, but less mass and a tighter folded shape mean less to catch, drop or lever against. It’s a quieter argument for the format than the airline paperwork, but it’s a real one.
Airline policies change and vary by carrier, route, aircraft and destination. This is a starting point, not a substitute for confirming with your airline before you travel. Seraphin supplies your battery documentation; only the airline can approve your battery. Last reviewed July 2026.