Flying with Qantas and cpap

[KatieW]

I recently flew to Australia, economy class, and asked about using my cpap during the flight. Qantas is very accommodating. I filled out their form (available on their website), emailed to them, and the Special Needs person phoned me (from Melbourne to Arizona) to explain their policy. In economy, there are only 2 seats that have electrical outlets that can run a cpap. On the Airbus, they are the window seats, row 85. When I arrived for check-in, they confirmed that I had a cpap seat, and called the flight attendant to make sure it was ready for me. It was a 15 hour flight, and I was pleased to get 7 hours good sleep.

Coming home was even better, they called my name and pre-boarded me and my husband. The engineer asked me to plug in the cpap to make sure it worked ok. I didn't use the humidifer, so took some saline nasal spray, and used it before sleep.

The electrical outlet was for U.S. plugs, and they provided an Australian adapter for me, which I didn't need. It was directly overhead, and I was able to put the cpap on the empty seat beside me. I brought an eye mask and earplugs, and a small flashlight to find things in the dark. For the cruise, our travel agent ordered distilled water, and it was in our cabin on arrival. We had been told to bring an extension cord, so were prepared. There were both U.S. and Australian outlets, though we did need converters for our hotel stays

By the way, we had a wonderful trip--4 days in Sydney, then a Holland America Cruise for 14 days to Melbourne, Hobart, then to New Zealand, ending in Auckland. I love Aussies and Kiwis.....so friendly, helpful and genuinely welcoming to tourists.

[HoseCrusher]

Hello Katie Good to hear you had a great time.

It is also good to know that the airlines (some of them at least) are taking care of their passengers.