In October 2021, PriestmanGoode announced its groundbreaking new product: the Air 4 All, a system that will revolutionise commercial air travel for passengers with limited mobility by enabling powered wheelchair users to remain in their own wheelchairs – thus avoiding seat transfers – for the duration of their journey. The Air 4 All is a collaborative project in partnership with Flying Disabled and SWS Certification (all together forming ‘the consortium’). 

This system is also revolutionary for airlines, enabling them to avoid reducing the seat count and thereby losing revenue on their commercial flights, which has been a significant challenge in making commercial flights more accessible to all up until now. 

“Air 4 All is the first system that has been developed jointly by a design agency, a certification body and with input from the disabled community. With a leading global wheelchair manufacturer as well as the subsidiary of a major airline on board to develop the product, it’s a truly collaborative project”. – Chris Wood MBE, founder of Flying Disabled

The Air 4 All is designed to facilitate the installation and attachment of powered wheelchairs to the airline seats securely, and allows for several types of wheelchairs to be certified for flying. It will also be able to interface with a wide range of airline seats, which will otherwise be able to function as regular airline seats. 

The collaborative project’s main objective is to enable people in powered wheelchairs to have equal access to safe, comfortable and dignified air travel – which is often not the case for people with reduced mobility. It doesn’t stop there: the project also has the promising aim to disrupt the air travel industry and create a new standard for the provision of accessible air travel, which it is sure to achieve. 

The system’s design is fit for a narrowbody 2+2 configuration, and to convert front row seats allowing for up to two wheelchairs per row on a single flight. The consortium is currently working with Sunrise Medical to establish which power chairs would be fit to fly as well as to create new standards fit for the most challenging disabilities. It is also currently working with a major airline subsidiary to bring the product to market.

Pictures: PriestmanGoode