How Sunrise Medical Supports Air Travel Innovation for Power Wheelchair Users

The trajectory of Christopher Wood’s life was impacted by two separate flights.

Both of his adult children have motor neuron diseases, and both use power wheelchairs, which makes airline travel difficult.

First, a vacation to Mexico with his daughter in 2015 kickstarted his awareness of the inadequacies wheelchair users face while flying, and then a promise to his son fueled his later advocacy.

“My son applied for university, and I stupidly said, ‘If you get in, I will take you to the Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.’ Well, he got in,” Woods said. “The flight out there and back was grim. Now, this is not the fault of the airline, perhaps not the fault of the airport workers, but the whole system itself.

“From door to door, the system is pretty much broken.”

As founder of U.K.-based Flying Disabled, Woods has traveled globally for more than a decade, advocating for the aviation industry and governments to make commercial airlines accessible to power wheelchair users. His recent work includes Air4All, a collaboration between Platinum Equity-owned Sunrise Medical and other stakeholders, which has developed a prototype for an onboard wheelchair system.

“This project wouldn’t work without Sunrise Medical,” Woods said. “It couldn’t not have them, it’s so big to have them on board.”

The prototype is a patented aircraft seating system that enables passengers using powered wheelchairs to remain in their own chairs throughout the entire flight – including during boarding and disembarking. The idea is that the aisle seat retracts, and then the Sunrise Medical power wheelchair reverses into the space, a major innovation for power wheelchair riders.

Sunrise Medical has provided the chair for the prototype and testing on the initiative.

“We’ve basically been in a support role, helping them with any feedback they needed on what we can show about the market, about the product and about how we see the product to be fixed in the aircraft,” Sunrise Medical Power Product Director Adam Williams said.

Headquartered in Malsch, Germany, with North American headquarters in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., Sunrise Medical designs, manufactures and distributes manual wheelchairs, electric wheelchairs, mobility scooters, wheelchair seating and mobility aids as well as other home medical equipment.

When Platinum Equity acquired Sunrise Medical in 2024, the company’s active role in the development, design, manufacturing and distribution of daily living aids was an attractive aspect of the deal.

“Sunrise Medical is an innovative, global company that has been a pioneer in mobility solutions for more than 40 years,” Platinum Equity Co-President Louis Samson said when the acquisition was announced. “We believe strongly in the company’s core mission and are committed to partnering with the management team to continue investing in the development of advanced clinical solutions tailored to the individual needs of people who depend on them.”

Providing safety, dignity and comfort

Every airline and airport manages mobility assistance differently.

And disability regulations vary from country to country, only further creating barriers for wheelchair users. That’s why Sunrise Medical has partnered on multiple different initiatives across the aviation sector to improve the quality of flying.

“Sunrise’s mission is improving people’s lives, and I think we see that working closely with airlines, advocates and legislation to improve the rider’s experience,” Williams said.

“The outcome for us, ultimately is that we see more people interested in Sunrise products and we’re seen as a leader in the area of how to enable people to travel easier without the issues they face today.”

There are varying levels of requirements depending on the mobility level of users when flying.

“People in power wheelchairs tend to have more requirements and more needs. It’s more of a challenge,” Woods said. “We started with the power wheelchair because they are the ones that need it most, those where flight and air travel are impacted the hardest.”

To also improve the handling of a chair while flying, Sunrise Medical provides a free downloadable, printable travel tag to attach to the chair. The tag features a large ‘Warning’ tag to support safe handling, plus a detailed information tag, with customized versions for rear-wheel drive, mid-wheel drive and front-wheel drive powered wheelchairs.

“As a wheelchair manufacturer, we’re thinking about our product and ways to make this process easier,” Global Vice President of Product Management Brent Hatch said. “Whether it’s a folding chair or tags on how to handle the chair since we have a lot of diversity in our products.”

About 1% of wheelchairs were mishandled in 2025, which is hundreds of chairs monthly that can cost the user thousands of dollars in repairs.

“There’s a broad range of different power wheelchairs from different manufacturers and the understanding of the local airport crew on how to handle the chair, disconnect the power and safely put the product on the aircraft without damaging it is really important,” Williams said.

“Unfortunately, that’s where a lot of issues happen when the chairs get damaged.”

Sunrise Medical also collaborated with Aviation Services UK and British Healthcare Trade Associations to form a committee addressing issues in the aviation sector for those who need additional assistance.

Sunrise Medical’s products are marketed under the Quickie, RGK, Magic, JAY Zippie, Leckey, Breezy, Sterling and other proprietary brands and are sold through a network of homecare medical product dealers or distributors in more than 130 countries.

“The mission statement is improving people’s lives and if we can do that with a mechanical product, services and advocacy, it’s all a part of the mission,” Hatch said.