Specifically ... Southwest Airlines

Lyn · Post by **Lyn** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 3:28 pm

Has anybody had any problems flying SW Airlines with their cpap?

Lyn

Moogy · Post by **Moogy** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 3:53 pm

I flew Southwest last month, and I had no problems EXCEPT that the flight was very full, so it was a pain finding a good spot for my BiPAP bag. I had foolishly packed it in a wheeled suitcase to make it easier to carry, and that made it too large to fit under the seat. I was counting on a half-empty plane, in which case the bag would have easily fit sideways under two seats.

At the end of the trip, a stewardess dumped it into the aisle when she was "helping" me get it out of the overhead bin! No damage, but I was feeling pretty anxious.

So be sure your bag can fit under the seat, and if not, be sure you have it well padded for any minor abuse it might encounter in the overheads. Make sure you can handle everything without help, because on SW, you don't always get a lot of help. Then again, that is true on most airlines these days.

Moogy

Arkanoid · Post by **Arkanoid** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 8:06 pm

I just flew to Orlando on Southwest and had no problems at all. Granted I got into section A and boarded near the front of the line. All in all, it seemed to go well. I hope the trip home goes as well.

him downstairs · Post by **him downstairs** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 10:23 pm

I flew Southwest about 7-8 times in the last couple months, and I had no problems whatsoever.

birdiebaby · Post by **birdiebaby** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 6:27 pm

Lyn,

It sounds like you have had problems with Southwest? What has your experience been?

Lyn · Post by **Lyn** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 6:45 pm

birdiebaby wrote:Lyn,

It sounds like you have had problems with Southwest? What has your experience been?

No, no problems. I fly Southwest every spring to spend a couple weeks visiting my brother in Las Vegas. This will be my first flight with my cpap, so I was just wondering what to expect.

Lyn

RestInSeattle · Post by **RestInSeattle** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 8:22 pm

Should be OK. I only had one flight where a flight attendant tried to have me check it.

I repeated what I had learned online, that I was allowed one carry on item "and" my medical support equipment. Exercise your right and you should be just fine.

Tash · Post by **Tash** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 3:06 pm

I just went to Las Vegas last week and flew Southwest both ways - no problems at all. It was my first time traveling with APAP and I had all my extra info (RX, copy of the rules re: carryons and medical equipment) with me, but didn't have to use any of it. It was reassuring to have it, however.

Hope you have better weather in Vegas than we did - it was windy/cold for the first two days of our four day trip.

Happy travels!

Tash

njy · Post by **njy** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 3:13 pm

I have flown multiple airlines since I have been using my cpap,no problems with any of them. The most recent trip had me with a laptop backpack, a proxima projector AND the cpap. Just said that the one was medical equipment and on I went.

Nancy

Lyn · Post by **Lyn** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 4:23 pm

Tash wrote:I just went to Las Vegas last week and flew Southwest both ways - no problems at all. It was my first time traveling with APAP and I had all my extra info (RX, copy of the rules re: carryons and medical equipment) with me, but didn't have to use any of it. It was reassuring to have it, however.

Hope you have better weather in Vegas than we did - it was windy/cold for the first two days of our four day trip.

I was going to take a letter of medical necessity, but the Sleep Dr refused to send me one ... said I wouldn't need one. I had pretty much already decided to change doctors. Guess that just made the decision final.

As far as the weather, I've gone to Vegas for 2 weeks sometime between the middle of April and the middle of May since 2000. So far there's only been, maybe, three days like that. The rest of the time it's been great!

Lyn

Titrator · Post by **Titrator** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 3:53 pm

I flew Southwest yesterday and I had no issues. When I went through the security checkpoint, the guard said, " I am going to have to look through your cpap". She knew what it was called before I said it was a cpap. A feather in the TSA's cap as far as I am concerned.

Ted

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP

laurel · Post by **laurel** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 6:54 pm

I flew with my CPAP not long ago and it was interesting to see the differences in TSA folks depending on who you got. Most do recognize CPAPs, some want to look through them (and rub a special bit of paper on them), others just let them go on through the x-ray machine and on through without a search. I commented on this to the TSA guy who was giving mine a thorough look and he said "they're all supposed to be looked at" and admitted that not every TSA person seemed to do it (the way they're supposed to).

I saw someone carrying a CPAP bag just like mine through the airport and was tempted to remark on it, but figured not everyone is as into talking about their sleep apnea and gear as we are here!

njy · Post by **njy** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 8:25 pm

I forgot the funny part of my most recent trip with the "brick." As I was going through security scanners the gentleman in front of me got shuffled around along with his stuff. I got through and went to the end to gather up my stuff inbetween my computer and proxima were TWO identical cpap bags. Neither of them had identifers on t hem... yes, including mine. Took a minute to figure out which was which. Next time it gets a great big bow on it.

So my advise -- mark your bag.

Nancy

laurel · Post by **laurel** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 8:49 pm

Ha! I can easily picture that.

I need to buy a nice bright luggage tag for my CPAP bag. I wonder if anyone makes luggage tags that actually say "Medical Equipment" somewhere on them in a bright stylish way? Could be cool.

As more and more people finally get diagnosed and treated, I'm sure we're going to be seeing more and more xPAPs at airports and if we use the regular bags for them, there will be many that look alike.

Of course I'm loving this trend of smaller and smaller xPAPs, maybe we'll get to the point where it's easy enough to fit them into one's "regular" carry-on bag.

NeNeen · Post by **NeNeen** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 1:15 pm

When I flew SW not only did I carry-on a portable concentrator and my cpap (which did not count) but I also carried on my pc and my overnight bag. One more thing in addition to the free 2 checked bags if you have a bag that is nothing but medical supplies like me (bp meter, extra test strips, pen needles, extra meds, nebulizer, ortho shoes, nasal pillows, etc) and you tell them it is all medical supplied it goes for free even on AA.

I was on a month long vacation and carried a week supply of meds and insulin on board and checked the rest. I found a small insulated bag that I put my two types of insulin in and put that in as well. Everything worked out great.

Specifically ... Southwest Airlines

Specifically ... Southwest Airlines

SW was fine

Re: Specifically ... Southwest Airlines

Mask

Mask