Meeting passenger needs is a priority for every airline. Airchair was developed in 2007 to help airlines match a key regulatory and social requirement to a passenger’s needs.
The safe, easy transfer of passengers with reduced mobility to their aircraft seat and helping them to move around the aircraft during a flight, in a dignified way, is essential to inclusive flying.
A Modern Approach
Historically, on-board wheelchairs were cumbersome and heavy with little thought applied to passenger comfort and experience.
The founder of Airchair has combined his engineering experience with his knowledge of those with reduced mobility and combined these skills to produce this neat, light weight and easy to manoeuvre aircraft wheelchair.
The entire design focuses on efficiency and passenger comfort. It is lightweight but remarkably strong, incorporates a unique retracting back support and can be folded small enough that it can be stored in an overhead locker or dog box.
To support the cleaning regimes now being practiced by the airlines, Airchair’s frame has an antimicrobial finish to reduce the spread of infection.
A Dual Rationale
The priority is to offer practical, comfortable support to airline passengers with reduced mobility. However, airlines are under pressure to provide the ultimate experience, but at minimum cost and consider their environmental impact too.
Airchair is designed to meet all these requirements but its most attractive feature to airlines is its weight. Airchair only weighs 6kg/13lb therefore not adding unnecessary weight to a flight. Because it is lightweight, it is easy for the Cabin Crew to store in an overhead locker.
Additonally, although it is lightweight, it is robust and therefore easy to wheel around the confines of an aircraft. Once an airline has seen Airchair, they want it on-board. But don’t take our word for it – read our customer’s feedback:
“Norwegian are very happy with the Airchair. We take great pride in providing safe and comfortable travel for all of our passengers…”
“Not only is the wheelchair itself remarkably easy to assemble and use, Airchair is a fantastic supplier to work with; always receptive to new ideas and helping us customise the optimum solution…”
History of The Airchair
In 2007 Brian Richards, Airchair’s designer, had a casual conversation with Virgin Airlines about the inadequacy of on-board wheelchairs. They expressed their concerns that the products available at the time would not meet the growing requirements from passengers and wouldn’t help airlines meet their social or environmental obligations.
This casual conversation inspired him to develop a product that would solve these concerns. Consequently Brian used his experience as an Aircraft Engineer combined with his experience of caring for people with disabilities and designed the first Airchair. This first product was similar to the product sold today but was black and not as lightweight.
Gradually, over the years, Brian worked to source even lighter materials and perfected the design to what it is today, producing two different sizes – 14″ or 15″ widths. He also decided that the standard Airchair should be blue – representing the sky.
Brian made the critical decision several year’s ago, to focus only on the design and manufacture of an on-board wheelchair. He felt bringing on other products to support the Airchair would detract from its simplicity. We design and manufacture one product – The Airchair – but we do it exceptionally well and produce a quality product that surpasses most other products available.
Testimony to this are the 100 airlines around the world who have the Airchair on-board. Most customers purchase the standard product but those airlines requiring large quantities (25+), often choose to have their logos on the back rest or even ask for the Airchair to be supplied in the airline’s corporate colours.
