Delta is developing a new first-of-its-kind airline seat that allows wheelchair users to stay in their chairs. Take a look.

Taylor RainsJun 1, 2023, 15:53 IST

A UK-based consortium has created a cabin concept that allows wheelchair users to use their own chair when flying on airlines.Air 4

UK-based consortium Air 4 All has partnered with Delta Flight Products to create a cabin concept that allows wheelchair users to fly in their own chairs.
The design involves removing the back cushion and flipping up the seat to accommodate a wheelchair.

Delta Air Lines subsidiary Delta Flight Products has teamed up with UK-based consortium Air 4 All to introduce a new cabin seat option for wheelchair users.

Currently, powered wheelchair users have to use an airline-provided wheelchair when traversing airports and boarding aircraft. After being transferred from chair to chair and rolled down the jetbridge, they will be transferred one more time into a seat.

Their personal chair is checked by the airline and typically put into the cargo hold, and there have been many instances of carriers damaging and breaking the mobility devices — many of which are worth thousands and specifically tailored to the user.

In 2022 alone, 11,389 wheelchairs were mishandled by US airlines, according to the US Department of Transportation's February 2023 Air Travel Consumer Report.

Because of the risks, Delta and Air 4 All want to squash the current practice with a product that would allow passengers with reduced mobility (PRM) to stay in their chairs for the entire curb-to-curb journey.

A working prototype will be officially debuted at the Aircraft Interiors Expo on June 6, but the seat still would need to be certified and tested before making its way to a plane cabin. Take a look at the design.

Air 4 All is made up of British design studio PriestmanGoode, consultancy Flying Disabled, wheelchair manufacturer Sunrise Medical, and cabin certification company SWS Certification…

Airplane flying over trees.Gergitek Gergi tavan/Shutterstock

Air 4 All is made up of British design studio PriestmanGoode, consultancy Flying Disabled, wheelchair manufacturer Sunrise Medical, and cabin certification company SWS Certification…

…meaning the partnership has taken input from several parties to create the design — particularly from the disabled community.

Robert Alexander/Getty Images

According to an Air 4 All, the patented seat has several pieces that allow it to convert into a wheelchair-accessible position.

Air 4 All

This includes removing the back cushion and flipping up the seat. The passenger's wheelchair can then be backed into the space and securely attached.

Air 4 All

The company says the design does not eliminate seat perks and will still offer passengers access to a headrest, center console tray tables, and a cocktail table.

Air 4 All

"Offering equal access to comfort, safety, and dignity for all passengers has always been our objective for Air 4 All," PriestmanGoode director Daniel MacInnes said in a press release.

Air 4 All

"Offering equal access to comfort, safety, and dignity for all passengers has always been our objective for Air 4 All," PriestmanGoode director Daniel MacInnes said in a press release.

The design — which was shortlisted for the 2022 Crystal Cabin Awards — is also multi-purpose. According to Air 4 All, it can be used by a non-wheelchair user if there is not a PRM traveler onboard.

Air 4 All

The design — which was shortlisted for the 2022 Crystal Cabin Awards — is also multi-purpose. According to Air 4 All, it can be used by a non-wheelchair user if there is not a PRM traveler onboard.

And, it doesn't require any change to current cabin configurations.

Air 4 All

Flying Disabled founder Chris Wood explained in 2021 that "the biggest barrier in the past has been that giving greater space to passengers in wheelchairs would have reduced seat count and resulted in a loss of revenue for airlines."

Interior of an airplane.Getty Images

Flying Disabled founder Chris Wood explained in 2021 that "the biggest barrier in the past has been that giving greater space to passengers in wheelchairs would have reduced seat count and resulted in a loss of revenue for airlines."

However, he said the Air 4 All system addresses this issue by not intruding on other seats and allowing carriers to maintain their look and brand.

A UK-based consortium has created a cabin concept that allows wheelchair users to use their own chair when flying on airlines.Air 4

"Air 4 All will facilitate a smoother boarding and disembarking experience for PRMs and will also significantly reduce the number of wheelchairs that are damaged through poor handling," Wood said.

Air 4 All

"Air 4 All will facilitate a smoother boarding and disembarking experience for PRMs and will also significantly reduce the number of wheelchairs that are damaged through poor handling," Wood said.

The company hopes the seat will be well-received by the disabled community, who have actively been telling their stories about airlines destroying their mobility devices.

Writer Allegra Keys (pictured) modeled in an adaptive fashion show at New York Fashion Week. On her Alaska Airlines flight to the event, her wheelchair was severely damaged.IMAXTree for Genentech ; Allegra Keys

The company hopes the seat will be well-received by the disabled community, who have actively been telling their stories about airlines destroying their mobility devices.

"If you treat the wheelchair as an extension of a person, there's no way it would be destroyed," Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) — who uses a wheelchair — told Insider in 2021.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

"If you treat the wheelchair as an extension of a person, there's no way it would be destroyed," Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) — who uses a wheelchair — told Insider in 2021.

A North Carolina couple renovated a crumbling 118-year-old manor with an attached chapel in 11 weeks. Finishing touches were being made on the day of their wedding — see how they did it.

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Delta is developing a new first-of-its-kind airline seat that allows wheelchair users to stay in their chairs. Take a look.

Air 4 All is made up of British design studio PriestmanGoode, consultancy Flying Disabled, wheelchair manufacturer Sunrise Medical, and cabin certification company SWS Certification…

…meaning the partnership has taken input from several parties to create the design — particularly from the disabled community.

According to an Air 4 All, the patented seat has several pieces that allow it to convert into a wheelchair-accessible position.

This includes removing the back cushion and flipping up the seat. The passenger's wheelchair can then be backed into the space and securely attached.

The company says the design does not eliminate seat perks and will still offer passengers access to a headrest, center console tray tables, and a cocktail table.

"Offering equal access to comfort, safety, and dignity for all passengers has always been our objective for Air 4 All," PriestmanGoode director Daniel MacInnes said in a press release.

The design — which was shortlisted for the 2022 Crystal Cabin Awards — is also multi-purpose. According to Air 4 All, it can be used by a non-wheelchair user if there is not a PRM traveler onboard.

And, it doesn't require any change to current cabin configurations.

Flying Disabled founder Chris Wood explained in 2021 that "the biggest barrier in the past has been that giving greater space to passengers in wheelchairs would have reduced seat count and resulted in a loss of revenue for airlines."

However, he said the Air 4 All system addresses this issue by not intruding on other seats and allowing carriers to maintain their look and brand.

"Air 4 All will facilitate a smoother boarding and disembarking experience for PRMs and will also significantly reduce the number of wheelchairs that are damaged through poor handling," Wood said.

The company hopes the seat will be well-received by the disabled community, who have actively been telling their stories about airlines destroying their mobility devices.

"If you treat the wheelchair as an extension of a person, there's no way it would be destroyed," Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) — who uses a wheelchair — told Insider in 2021.