Air Travel With GoPed Kickscooter
When I travel by air my GoPed Knowped has become indispensable to me. My first modification was to add a seat. Then I made the seat a folding seat and that is when the scooter really opened the world up to me.
I have been using this configuration for years now and it works great everywhere. The GoPed is super sturdy and can stand up to day-in-day-out full scale abuse. I don’t treat it gently, I push it hard and ride it over every kind of surface imaginable. I have crashed it hard and literally drove over it with my RV and it just keeps on rolling. Quality product all the way.
Here is how I travel with it. When booking my airline ticket I indicated that I am able to walk short distances so they will not be surprised when I show up with a mobility device. Then I fold it up and put it in the car for the ride to the airport. I carry a duffle bag and a blanket to wrap around it in a Schwinn handlebar bag. I take it directly from the car to the shuttle folded.
Once I get off the shuttle I open the scooter up and ride it to the ticket counter to check in and get my duffle bag tagged. Once of the MAJOR benefits of this set-up comes at TSA security where I ride it ride up, fold it up and put it on the conveyor belt for screening. Goes right through the scanner, no problem.
Then I ride it down to the boarding gate. While waiting for the plane to board I fold the scooter up, wrap it up and bag it. My wife and I carry the bag down the walkway together, and I drop it off at the end by the door to the plane with all the scooters and baby carriers.
When we arrive at the destination I wait a few minutes after getting off the plane and they bring it to me at the end of the walkway with all the strollers and baby seats. We usually carry it out to the waiting area so as to not block other passengers and then set it back up. The bag and blanket go back in the handlebar bag and I start making my way to ground transportation. Another GREAT thing about this set-up is I can ride it on and off escalators, NO PROBLEM. I can ride it straight onto shuttle trains and always have a seat.
This scooter REALLY helps me navigate the world and be able to keep up with the people I am traveling with. With it I am mobile, almost the same as everyone else. People always stop me and ask me where I got the scooter and I tell them it is a GoPed, but I customized it. I think a lot of people could benefit from this design, it has been a solid performer for me under every condition imaginable and has changed my life.
I carry this scooter in the trunk of one car and ride it in stores, etc. I carry my CityGlide scooter modified with a folding seat in the other. I always keep one handy.