Special assistance
Accessible travel
We're dedicated to providing a positive travel experience for all customers. You can request special assistance when making or managing your reservation online or call us if you have special requests. A coordinator will contact you before your trip to make sure everything’s ready.
Request special assistance online
When you book or manage your trip online, choose 'Add special assistance' on the passenger details page. There you can:
- Request wheelchair service
- State if you're traveling with your own mobility device
- Request individual assistance if you have a hearing, vision, cognitive or developmental disability
- State if you’re traveling with a service animal. Keep in mind, notice and approval is required at least 48 hours before your flight.
Send your request online
Submit a special assistance request
Call Special Assistance
To make accessibility arrangements, call us for help.
Wheelchair assistance at the airport
Wheelchair service is available if you need it:
- To and from your gate
- Between gates for connecting flights
- To baggage claim
We recommend that you request wheelchair assistance in advance, by selecting 'Add special assistance' when booking or managing your trip online.
You can also let a team member at the airport know on the day of travel that you need wheelchair assistance.
Hearing assistance
Let a gate agent or flight attendant know if you need help hearing important flight updates. Also, open captioning for safety videos is available.
If you don’t need assistance at the airport, we still ask that you let us know if you’re deaf or hard of hearing so that we can make sure you receive an in-flight safety briefing and any important flight updates.
Vision assistance
If you need help checking in or getting to your gate, please tell a ticket counter agent. You can also request a courtesy wheelchair, arm assistance or directions when you book or at the airport. Also, braille safety cards are available on board your flight.
If you don’t need assistance at the airport, we still ask that you let us know if you’re blind or have low vision so that we can make sure you receive an in-flight safety briefing and any important flight updates.
Cognitive and developmental assistance
We can help customers with cognitive and developmental disabilities get on and off the plane and get to a connecting flight.
When deciding whether your loved one should travel alone, consider:
- Will they need continuous care or help with personal care?
- Are they able to understand and respond to the safety briefing and any instructions from the flight crew?
- If their flight is canceled or delayed, will they be able to spend a night in the airport or a hotel unsupervised?
Customers who need personal or continuous care or who are unable to follow safety instructions must travel with a safety assistant.
Special seating
We’ll do our best to secure the most comfortable and usable seats based on your needs. Please choose seats when you book or call Reservations for help booking the best seat for your needs, especially if you:
- Plan to travel with a safety assistant or someone to help you during the flight
- Can’t move over a fixed armrest
- Are traveling with a service animal
- Have a fixed or immobilized leg
- Need extra space
Customers who need special assistance can ask to board early at the gate.
Extra space during travel
If a customer needs extra space outside a single seat to travel safely, another seat is required. We encourage customers to address all seating needs when booking.
- When you call to book, Reservations will make sure you get 2 adjacent seats at the same rate.
- If you didn’t book an extra seat in advance, ask an airport agent to find out if 2 adjacent seats are available.
- You may be offered a seat in a higher class of service that may provide more space; in this case, you’ll be responsible for the fare difference.
- If accommodations can’t be made on your original flight, you can buy seats on a different flight at the same price as your original seats.
Information for senior travelers
Here are some tips to make your trip easier:
- Early boarding is available if you need more time or assistance boarding. You must identify yourself to the gate agent to request early boarding.
- Wheelchair assistance is available to help with long distances at the airport.
- If you have vision or hearing limitations, let a team member know in the airport or on the plane so that we can make sure you receive inflight safety instructions.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) site has more information on airport assistance.
Find helpful information if your trip includes 1 or more flights with our partner airlines.
The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) is a law that makes it illegal for airlines to discriminate against passengers because of their disability. The Department of Transportation is responsible for enforcing the ACAA, which applies to all flights to, from, or within the United States.
You can get a copy of Part 382 from the Department of Transportation by:
- Calling the hotline for air travelers with disabilities at 800-778-4838 or 800-455-9880 (TTY)
- Calling the Aviation Consumer Protection Division at 202-366-2220 or 202-366-0511 (TTY)
- Writing to the Air Consumer Protection Division, C-75, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., West Building, Room W96-432, Washington, DC 20590
- Visiting the Aviation Consumer Protection Division website
Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights
This Bill of Rights describes the fundamental rights of air travelers with disabilities under the Air Carrier Access Act and its implementing regulation, 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 382.