ALT White male with black hat, grey hoodie, dark pants, and beard in wheelchair catching a football with hands outstretched. Background is faded and consists of other individuals watching the man catch the football. In the bottom righthand corner it reads: “Abilities Expo (logo).” In black writing: “New York Metro. May 2-4, 2025, New Jersey Convention & Expo Center.”

ALT Pictured from left to right: Christopher Wood MBE (Founder and Director of Flying Disabled), John Morris (Founder of WheelchairTravel.org), Duncan Jackson (President of FlightPath3D), Walt Fluharty (Board Member and Aviation Advisory Committee for All Wheels Up), Mary Doyle (Accessible Aviation Consultant and Inclusion Trainer at Rocket Girl Coaching), Xavier Mascarell (Customer Accessibility Strategy Manager for Responsible Business at British Airways), and Daniel Murphy (Vice President of Product, Programs, and Innovation for Delta Flight Products). All speakers are on a black stage during a session at AIX.

ALT American Flag positioned in upper lefthand of image with blue faded layout over entire image. In white writing in the center of the image, “April is, Paralyzed Veterans Across America Month, Honoring all who served”. Three white stars are positioned between the words.

ALT Two males at the 2024 All Wheel’s Up Global Forum in conversation while the male on the left of the image holds a white sign with black and orange writing reading, “We love to talk about accessible air travel!”. The AWU logo in orange with white writing is at the bottom of the sign.

ALT In order from left to right on image: Michele Erwin (founder), Blake Emery (board member), and Fey from Statuesque Events (AWU Global Forum planner) stand in front of a brown wall at Microsoft with the Microsoft logo on it.

ALT Image of 2025 New Year’s Eve graphic with an orange background and blue fireworks surrounding “2025” written in white above the white All Wheels Up logo.

ALT Image of quote from the U.S. DOT that reads “An estimated 5.5 million Americans use a wheelchair, and many encounter barriers when it comes to air travel. DOT data shows that for every 100 wheelchairs or scooters transported on domestic flights at least one is damaged, delayed, or lost.” with “-U.S. DOT” written below and “U.S. Secretary of Transportation” written below that with the All Wheels Up logo below.

ALT Image of Michele Erwin and Dave Stevens at our 2024 Global Forum.

ALT Image of our 2024 Global Forum attendees taking notes and clapping after a presentation.

ALT Image of our 2024 Global Forum Attendees listening to Polly Trottenburg give her speech with her name written on the screen behind her.

ALT Image of an article from the U.S. Department of Transportation with the headline reading “Secretary Buttigieg Announces Sweeping Protections for Airline Passengers with Disabilities”

ALT Image of quote by Secretary Pete Buttigieg that reads “No other form of transportation- trains, buses, boats- requires you to give up your mobility device when you board. The same ought to be true of airlines. So, in the months and years ahead, we plan to record a new rule that will allow passengers to stay in them wheelchairs when they fly. We know this won’t happen overnight, but it is a goal we have to work to fulfill” with “-Secretary Pete Buttigieg” written below and “U.S. Secretary of Transportation” written below that with the All Wheels Up logo below.

ALT A view from the audience with “Symposium on Accessibility in International Civil Aviation” written on the screens on either side of the stage.

ALT Image of Michele Erwin and Roberto Castiglioni.

ALT Image of Michele Erwin with Zachary Leibovitz.

ALT Image of the All Wheels Up board smiling at our 2024 Global Forum on Accessibility.

ALT Image of the IACO Symposium graphic with an orange background and headline that reads “IACO Symposium on Accessibility and International Civil Aviation” followed by blue dots with the words “Our very own Michele Erwin will be speaking at the IACO symposium taking place in just a few days from December 2nd - 3rd at the IACO Headquarters in Montréal, Canada” followed by a blue border and the words “Sign Up Today to Attend!!” written inside.

ALT Image of a quote from Travel Noire that reads “According to a DOT spokesperson, the FAA has not identified any major issues with installing wheelchair restraint systems in aircraft cabins.” followed by “Travel Noire” with the All Wheels Up logo below, surrounded by tiny white flying airplanes.

ALT Image of Delta Airlines design for a wheelchair accessible spot on planes with the wheelchair on the asile towards the front of the plane.

ALT Image of all the wheelchair users at our 2024 Global Forum in a circle discussing areas of potential improvement for getting wheelchairs on planes.

ALT Announcement reading “The FAA has been conducting and supporting research on integrating wheelchairs in the aircraft cabin for a couple of years. This includes investigating impact performance of wheelchairs designed to an industry standard used for other modes of transportation and developing process to install wheel chair tie down systems into aircraft. Currently we have not identified any major issues to installation, and mitigations for any minor issues are being developed. We anticipate being able to make a recommendation on installing the tie down systems by the end of 2025 and from there it would take an airline or another group to request the approval and begin modifying the cabin interior layout to accommodate a wheelchair in the cabin. It is anticipated that DOT would start rulemaking early 2026 to require wheelchairs be accommodated in the cabin. There are still some operational pieces that need to be discussed with the FAA and possibly need to request an exemption for use.”

ALT Image of Fight or Flight Article with the headline “All Wheels up Advocates for dignified, accessible air travel for wheelchair users” surrounded by an orange border.