Use of CPAP on the A380 in suites

[Aussiesqguy]

Greetings to all on this excellent forum!

I'm flying SIN - SYD in March on the A380 in suites on an overnight flight, and would like to use my CPAP machine during flight

The SQ website says that usage of CPAP is allowed on their flights, but only with a battery pack powering the CPAP unit. This would be a pain in the neck and, if possible, I'd like to connect to the onboard power upply

I did a simple google search, and read posts in other forums indicating that many airlines allow CPAP users to connect to the onboard power supply, but some don't

My (brand new) machine has a "flight mode" option, and in that degraded mode, it draws no more than 75 watts. I would, of course, select flight mode if I used the machine on board

Has anybody had CPAP experiences on SQ that they'd like to share?

[MAN Flyer]

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is CPAP ?

[SMK77]

Wikipedia is your friend:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPAP

[SINFJ]

Greetings to all on this excellent forum!

I'm flying SIN - SYD in March on the A380 in suites on an overnight flight, and would like to use my CPAP machine during flight

The SQ website says that usage of CPAP is allowed on their flights, but only with a battery pack powering the CPAP unit. This would be a pain in the neck and, if possible, I'd like to connect to the onboard power upply

I did a simple google search, and read posts in other forums indicating that many airlines allow CPAP users to connect to the onboard power supply, but some don't

My (brand new) machine has a "flight mode" option, and in that degraded mode, it draws no more than 75 watts. I would, of course, select flight mode if I used the machine on board

Has anybody had CPAP experiences on SQ that they'd like to share?

Always good to call SQ.

I am a good boy, I use my CPAP with a battery pack, but then I am in Y, so the concern was not to have my cable connected to the in seat power and possibly trip others

[inix]

I would suggest that you bring your battery with you. You could try not to use the battery, but there were occasions that stuff I bought to plug to the onboard power supply just does not work.

I don't know whats the reason, but if its a medical device that you pretty much depend on, I would not take the risk. Even calling SQ might not help as the call center guys might not know whats going on..

[SQfan2010]

Please let us know what happens! I'm in the same situation in a few days.

In general, if I'm asleep in suites and have the doors closed, would anyone even know I'm using CPAP plugged into the seat?

[MAN Flyer]

Wikipedia is your friend:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPAP

While good for many things, never trust everything you read on Wikipedia.

[Aussiesqguy]

As a follow up to my original post, I telephoned SIA a few weeks ago and enquired about the use of the CPAP machine whilst onboard the aircraft.

Last week I received a telephone call from SIA confirming that it could be used onboard, and via the onboard electricity supply, which they would confirm for me by email. This was their email response:


"Dear Mr ......,

Referring to our our telephone call regarding the usage of a CPAP machine onboard your flight with Singapore Airlines on 17 March, you are more than welcome to bring your CPAP machine and use our onboard power supply.

I would like to re confirm with you that the device cannot be used when the aircraft is taking off and when landing, it can only be used in cruise altitude. Please note that at times our cabin crew may request passengers to switch off their medical device and for this reason we also cannot guarantee an uninterrupted supply of power.

Mr ......, should you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us on 13 10 11 or advise us in reply to this email.

We thank you for choosing Singapore Airlines and look forward to welcoming you onboard"

Interestingly, the SIA officer who phoned me said that it had been their policy "for a couple of years now" to allow CPAP usage via the onboard electricity supply, despite the fact that their website states that they must only be powered by battery. He was unsure why their published position would be battery only when his policy guidelines told him otherwise

Hope that this is of some help to fellow CPAP users

[backdoc]

Change in CPAP policy

HEADS-UP: CPAP procedures on SQ have recently changed.

I'm flying from Los Angeles to Seoul to Singapore to Thailand on March 7th and chose Singapore Airlines, in part, because of my previous easy experience with them regarding use of my CPAP during the long flights. On a hunch I sent the airline an email along with my Booking Reference Number to see if they require approval of me and/or my machine for use on board.

Their website https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/u...l-information/ says the following:

"All continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) models can be used on board our flights.

For use during flight, your device must fit under the seat in front of you. If your device is unable to fit under the seat, you may not use it during your flight but you can still carry it on board where it will be stored in the overhead baggage compartment.

Additional restrictions apply if your machine is powered by lithium batteries. Please refer to the general restrictions of the Carriage of Lithium Batteries.

We may not be able to provide inflight power supply on all your flights with us, so your POC device or CPAP machine must use a gel or dry battery that can power it for at least 150% of the flight time. For instance, if your flight is 10 hours long, please have a battery supply of 15 hours."

I got a call from Singapore Airlines today to tell me that the rules had recently changed and that I needed to get a doctor's note saying that I would be using my CPAP onboard and to send them a photograph of my machine so that they could verify that it was FAA approved. With regard to battery the caller reiterated to bring battery power to equal 150% of the flight time, also there are rules for Lithium Ion batteries and to look them up online. The caller also suggested to get to the airport early so that someone from the airline could verify that the machine was FAA approved.

Nowhere that I could find in the Singapore Airlines online CPAP information suggests that a normal CPAP user would require a doctor's note so there will be people that have problems at checkin and may not be able to fly.


Steve

As a follow up to my original post, I telephoned SIA a few weeks ago and enquired about the use of the CPAP machine whilst onboard the aircraft.

Last week I received a telephone call from SIA confirming that it could be used onboard, and via the onboard electricity supply, which they would confirm for me by email. This was their email response:


"Dear Mr ......,

Referring to our our telephone call regarding the usage of a CPAP machine onboard your flight with Singapore Airlines on 17 March, you are more than welcome to bring your CPAP machine and use our onboard power supply.

I would like to re confirm with you that the device cannot be used when the aircraft is taking off and when landing, it can only be used in cruise altitude. Please note that at times our cabin crew may request passengers to switch off their medical device and for this reason we also cannot guarantee an uninterrupted supply of power.

Mr ......, should you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us on 13 10 11 or advise us in reply to this email.

We thank you for choosing Singapore Airlines and look forward to welcoming you onboard"

Interestingly, the SIA officer who phoned me said that it had been their policy "for a couple of years now" to allow CPAP usage via the onboard electricity supply, despite the fact that their website states that they must only be powered by battery. He was unsure why their published position would be battery only when his policy guidelines told him otherwise

Hope that this is of some help to fellow CPAP users