Most Airlines Accommodate Oxygen Needs

Q. My doctors tell me that I can no longer fly unless I have oxygen available. How do I alert an airline to my special needs?

A. Most domestic airlines that provide what is known as supplemental oxygen need 48 hours’ notice, although some say they will try to accommodate passengers who give less notice. But beyond mere notification, airlines generally require a letter from a doctor declaring that the passenger is in stable health and can fly and stating how many liters per minute of oxygen are needed.

Some airlines offer a limited choice of rates of oxygen flow. So if a doctor calls for, say, six liters per minute and an airline’s equipment provides only two or four liters per minute, the passenger - depending on the doctor’s assessment - may have to take another airline.

A change of plane is best avoided since it may entail the expense of an additional unit or units of oxygen.

When taking an airline that charges for oxygen per flight coupon, which is a ticket for a segment of a flight, the rate remains the same no matter how much oxygen is used. Not so if the rate is per tank, which can get to be quite costly.

Here are the charges and the flow rates for oxygen provided by some major airlines. The flow rate is given in liters per minute.

American: $50 a tank or bottle. Flow rate: two or four; at the four-liter rate, it lasts three hours.

Continental: $50 per segment. Flow rate: depends on passenger need.

Delta: $50 minimum charge, which covers two bottles; $25 for each additional bottle. Flow rate: two to eight. A passenger requiring four liters a minute would need two bottles, and they would last a total of 1 hour 14 minutes.

Northwest: $75 per flight coupon. Flow rate: two to eight.

TWA: $75 per leg, which covers two bottles; $35 for each additional bottle. Flow rate: two or four; at the four-liter rate, one bottle lasts 40 or 45 minutes.

United: $50 per coupon, one to eight.

USAir: $50 per unit. Flow rate: two, four or six; at the four-liter rate, it lasts 106 minutes.

A travel agent should be told to issue the minimum number of flight coupons. For example, Northwest’s Flight 882 from La Guardia to Tampa, which stops in Detroit, requires only a single coupon. If, however, an agent writes a coupon for each leg of the trip, there is a $75 oxygen charge for each coupon.

Among the brochures available about supplemental oxygen is the American Association for Respiratory Care’s “Traveling With Oxygen,” updated last year. It covers trips by plane as well as by ship, train and bus, and is available free from the association, 11030 Ables Lane, Dallas, Tex. 75229; (214) 243-2272, fax, (214) 484-2720.

Another brochure, narrower in scope, is “Airline Travel With Oxygen” by Gail Livingstone, an American Lung Association volunteer who has used supplemental oxygen for 12 years. It is available free from the American Lung Association of Washington, 2625 Third Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121; (800) 732-9339 or (206) 441-5100, fax (206) 441-3277.