How does your CPAP travel by air

[PollCat]

I've flown for years with my cpaps, both for pleasure and the job. As for transporting it, I use a backpack with a medical ID tag on it: pack contains all my meds along with the cpap and accessories. The biggest issue is the cpap's battery shows up as a solid dark object on the scanners. So, even if the machine itself passes muster, the battery gets a "cleaning" every time.

[OMyMyOHellYes]

Last time I carried it on no problem. I'm thinking about getting a hard case so I can check it without worrying about it.

I worry less about abuse and breakage than I do loss of checked baggage.

In years of heavy business travel, I have had several occasions where my checked baggage didn't arrive at the same place at the same time as I did. Usually showed up on a later flight or maybe the next day, delivered to my office, hotel, or home.

Worst one was a trip to rural Venezuela where we flew to Caracas out of Miami, then took a local flight east to Barcelona/Puerto la Cruz, then a four hour jeep ride out through the jungle to get to the village where we were going.

A large US airline that I will not name - but the name rhymes with "Hamerican" - failed to get my bag on the plane to Caracas. I got there, no bag. The agent for the airline that rhymes with "Hamerican" says no worries - it will probably be in on tomorrow's flight. They would get it to me .... Next day, call and call to the US offices of that unnamed airline that rhymes with "Hamerican" trying to get them to find my stuff. Called the next day. They no find my bag. Lather-rinse-repeat. Call the next day. Two days later, somebody at that unnamed airline that rhymes with "Hamerican" finds my bag sitting on the ramp at some place like Chicago - hey, I guess "Chicago" and "Caracas" both start with "C" .... anyway, on the fourth day, it is sent to Miami where it will be put on the flight to Caracas the next day. And you think then they will get it to Barcelona/Puerto la Cruz and then on to a jeep to me out in the jungle? Oh, No. That unnamed airline that rhymes with "Hamerican" - they say their responsibility ends when my bag gets to Caracas. I will be able to pick it up at the airport there. So that meant another 8 hours of round trip jeep ride through the jungle and another round trip plane ticket back and forth to Caracas. That would be a long time to go without your CPAP even if it was in a WMD-proof Pelican Case or a Halliburton Zero.

Another time I had a colleague on a NON-STOP flight into New York LaGarbage Airport where that same unnamed airline that rhymes with "Hamerican" lost her bag and she NEVER EVER EVER saw it again. Unlike the village in Venezuela, she could at least she could get more stuff in New York. Weeks or months later they sent her a check that I doubt covered her loss - they told her something like "Hey, some treaty or CAA rule from decades ago limits our liability for lost luggage."

OMM

[OMyMyOHellYes]

Follow up - from the website NOLO Law for All - Legal Topics > Personal Finance > Travel > Air Travel and Airline Passenger Rights FAQ

Question:
"Am I entitled to compensation from the airline if my baggage is lost or damaged?"

Answer:
"The airlines' treatment of baggage is a constant source of passenger complaints. At some point, nearly every airline passenger has waited for what seemed like an eternity for his or her baggage to show up on the baggage carousel.

"To be fair, most of the time baggage does arrive in good shape on the same flight that you were on. When your luggage is damaged, delayed or lost, however, the results can be disastrous. The best way to protect yourself from the most serious losses is to follow one simple rule: Never put anything valuable or irreplaceable (such as jewelry), or that you might urgently need (such as medications), in checked baggage. [emphasis added - OMM] While the airlines may compensate you for lost baggage, the compensation will rarely cover the actual cost of expensive items or your inconvenience.

"If your baggage is lost or destroyed, the compensation that the airline owes you depends on whether you were flying on a domestic or international flight.

"Domestic flights. An airline can limit the amount it must pay if baggage is lost, damaged or delayed to $2,500 per passenger. You can get around this limit by declaring at check-in a higher value for the baggage, up to the airline's maximum. If you declare a higher value, the airline will charge you a fee based on a percentage of the declared value. The airline then becomes liable up to the declared value if it loses, damages or delays delivery of the baggage, unless the airline can prove that the actual loss was lower than the declared value.

"International flights. The Warsaw Convention provides the rules that determine the liability for lost, delayed or damaged baggage. Unfortunately, these rules will not work to your advantage. Damages are calculated based on the weight of the baggage, regardless of the real value of the baggage or its contents. The Warsaw Convention states that the value for lost or damaged baggage is $400 per passenger for unchecked baggage and $9.07 per pound (or $20 per kilogram) for checked baggage. If your bag was weighed before the flight, then the value is determined by multiplying the weight of the bag times $9.07. For example, a 20-pound bag would be valued at $181.40. If your bags were not weighed, the airline will generally assume that all of your bags weighed a total of 70 pounds, and will reimburse you $634.90."

[DariaVader]

considering I have twice retrieved my bags after short 1.5 hr flights only to have the entire contents be soaking wet - due to sitting out on the tarmac??? dropped in a swimming pool? i dunno - I will be keeping mine with me, inconvenience not withstanding.

[Seabird]

Yes, that does happen occasionally.

Last time I carried it on no problem. I'm thinking about getting a hard case so I can check it without worrying about it.

I worry less about abuse and breakage than I do loss of checked baggage.

In years of heavy business travel, I have had several occasions where my checked baggage didn't arrive at the same place at the same time as I did. Usually showed up on a later flight or maybe the next day, delivered to my office, hotel, or home.

Worst one was a trip to rural Venezuela where we flew to Caracas out of Miami, then took a local flight east to Barcelona/Puerto la Cruz, then a four hour jeep ride out through the jungle to get to the village where we were going.

A large US airline that I will not name - but the name rhymes with "Hamerican" - failed to get my bag on the plane to Caracas. I got there, no bag. The agent for the airline that rhymes with "Hamerican" says no worries - it will probably be in on tomorrow's flight. They would get it to me .... Next day, call and call to the US offices of that unnamed airline that rhymes with "Hamerican" trying to get them to find my stuff. Called the next day. They no find my bag. Lather-rinse-repeat. Call the next day. Two days later, somebody at that unnamed airline that rhymes with "Hamerican" finds my bag sitting on the ramp at some place like Chicago - hey, I guess "Chicago" and "Caracas" both start with "C" .... anyway, on the fourth day, it is sent to Miami where it will be put on the flight to Caracas the next day. And you think then they will get it to Barcelona/Puerto la Cruz and then on to a jeep to me out in the jungle? Oh, No. That unnamed airline that rhymes with "Hamerican" - they say their responsibility ends when my bag gets to Caracas. I will be able to pick it up at the airport there. So that meant another 8 hours of round trip jeep ride through the jungle and another round trip plane ticket back and forth to Caracas. That would be a long time to go without your CPAP even if it was in a WMD-proof Pelican Case or a Halliburton Zero.

Another time I had a colleague on a NON-STOP flight into New York LaGarbage Airport where that same unnamed airline that rhymes with "Hamerican" lost her bag and she NEVER EVER EVER saw it again. Unlike the village in Venezuela, she could at least she could get more stuff in New York. Weeks or months later they sent her a check that I doubt covered her loss - they told her something like "Hey, some treaty or CAA rule from decades ago limits our liability for lost luggage."

OMM

[afriedma]

I like to travel light and not check a bag, so I usually carry my blower only in a daypack, along with other stuff. My PR System One Auto blower fits nicely into my old Resmed S8 blower-only case, along with my headgear. The only thing that doesn't fit is the power supply (which I wish was integral to the unit, like my old Resmed S8). At times, I've also carried a Li-ion battery, charger and DC cable.

My problem has been that it always seems like a total crap-shoot as to whether or not the security guys decide to just let me through, or decide that I am carrying something suspicious. It is becoming less and less of an issue in the U.S., but it I had big problems in Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda) a few months ago. At one point, they wanted to confiscate my battery and battery charger.

[WSHenry]

Hi,

I fly from/to SeaTac typcially once a month.

I am a tier two frequent flyer with our Washington-based airline and get the TSA Precheck lines on most flights. I always carry my equipment and laptop on board. I have no confidence in those handling baggage, and am concerned the equipment might either be broken or go missing. I almost always get an exit aisle, so have ample legroom AND space under the seat forward of me to stash my PRS1 device.

Be aware that TSA seems to make up the rules on what must come out of bags/carry cases, and this varies greatly on the airport, time of day and "officer" who is first to examine the carry on items.

I ALWAYS pack only my machine and its accessories in the supplied bag. Its easier to unpack and then repack if required.

Safe travels to all!

[retired_guy]

How does your CPAP travel by air?

I don't let it do that. It has to stay home with me.

[bwexler]

I suppose if I threw it hard enough it would fly just fine. I am not sure of it's landing skills.

In the 4.5 years I have been using XPAP my machine and I have never been more than 10 feet above the ground except for a boat trip to Catalina Island last summer. It traveled just fine on the way there by my feet. On the way home they insisted I stow it in the luggage racks by the door. I was the only one who handled it.