International travel is miserable for everyone. Why not have places to nap, even shower in the airport? Why not redesign planes so we don’t have to be strapped into our seats like criminals for hours at a time? There have got to be safe ways for passengers to stand up, walk around, and lie down for a few hours while in flight. My last two international flights, for which I paid a few extra hundred dollars for “comfort,” I was seated next to an obese woman who was clearly even more uncomfortable than I was and a little dog whose owner had some psychological issue. I had hoped to travel well into my seventies, but the airlines are testing my stamina with their dreadful, unimaginative, downright inhumane “service.”
28
Where do I find the "youth suit"?
24
The escalator speeds are too fast for people with vision and balance issues. A redesign that has a longer flat surface to step on before the escalator ascends or descends would help Deeper steps would help those pulling a bag.
16
Very much support the creepy feeling of going to slip on super polished looking floors. Also, dark colored carpets and tiles cause one to lose perspective and balance. My dream since 80, has been not to travel. It is just too much hassle, invasion of personal space and miserable seating and restrooms. The last time I flew the woman seated in front of me slid her seat all the way back and flipped her long hair all over my dinner tray. I decided no more then and there!
15
I have vision problems and experience issues traveling. In the airport the departure gates are listed on boards that are elevated and have small font. Thanks for nothing. Having checking kiosks that can be adjusted for the visually impaired would be helpful. To me after you check into the kiosk it's never obvious where to go next. I ask for help and always get it but why make it so hard. Make sure all stairwells are well lit and stairs visually defined. I like the thought of having food service etc near the gated. I've always been the nerd who has to get to the gate early. My hearing and mobility are fine so no personal comments in that but I'm sure there are plenty from others. I applaud the efforts of companies to understand the needs of the aging.
13
Stop. Just stop. I was “over 60” five years ago. I was running up mountain trails in Boulder CO a couple of days ago. Stop stereotyping older people and making them feel old and feeble.
25
@Gary: Thanks for articulating what I wanted to say. I’m tired of sweeping generalizations about age. Today I ran several miles over my lunch hour and stopped to test my core strength and balance by “box jumping” onto 20-inch stone benches. Yesterday I put in an hour and a half of strength training and HIIT at my gym. I’m 60.
8
How about the steps that some companies, like United Airlines, are taking to make travel MORE arduous, especially for seniors. In its mad obsession to make the flying public as miserable as possible as it tries every last little thing to grab your wallet, United now forces travelers at McCarran in Las Vegas to head clear over to the other side of the airport, just so some sourpuss awaiting agent can sniff at your carry-on and make sure you're not evading their $35 checked-bag charge. I'm a pretty fit 66 yr old but the last two times I've flown "the friendly skies" I only finally got to my seat, exhausted. Thanks again, corporate America ! Guess what, United beancounters, a different airline next time.
27
All of these proposed improvements to accessibility are great and will ease the challenges of navigating airports and ground transport, but what about the planes themselves? If you are unwilling or unable to pay for business class or better you are relegated to the "blood clot waiting to happen'' conditions of coach class seating. Even when I anti coagulate pre flight, as a woman of just 5'2'' and a size 10 in jeans I am cramped for space. Seat an athletic, broad shouldered man on one or both sides of me and they can't help but spread into what should be my own sliver of space. Poor hygiene and/or manners along with bulging carry ons serve to further encroach upon my allotted space and erode an already absurdly deteriorated travel experience. When weather, mechanical, and/or overbooking mistakes coalesce to protract an already arduous journey is it any wonder that I choose the comforts of home, virtual scenic rides and runs via my Peloton bike and Tread over air travel? Certainly the richness of new cities are missed (I traveled a good bit in my youth) but at 55 with a heightened risk of blood clot formation and rapidly declining tolerance of inconvenience, discomfort, and unnecessary hassle, home looks better and better all the time.
More humane, health-minded, and reasonable in flight accommodations in coach could tempt me. I'm too practical to blow $4500 on a flight and too compromised to fly coach for more than a short hop in its current state. Am I the only one?
29
As an older person I have begun to notice articles like this one. It’s mildly amusing — the boomers are making it happen! There are so many of them, they make an impact we octogenarians couldn’t.
The changes are welcome. I still travel a lot.
13
For hotels in Europe, I would like to see showers that do not have excessively slippery floors -- seems most of them do, and there is never anything to grab onto should you slip in them!
8
It’s really getting to be a problem. I fly every week and now there’s a line of at least 6-8 wheelchairs waiting to board every time. Modern planes are tight conditions and what would these folks do in an emergency? If they can’t walk on board then how do they get out in an emergency? It’s a death sentence the way planes are designed now.
15
Although I am in the over 55 category, I am a seasoned traveler so I read this article with my mother in mind. What makes her nervous is not the flying itself but finding her way through the airport. So focus on the basics, make it easy for her to find security and her gate and make it easy for her to find baggage claim. Once on the plane, having announcements appear in large font text on the screen would help those who are hard of hearing (unfortunately, some airlines have done away with seat back screens).
6
Airlines need to provide travelers about accessibility issues
upon arrival at the destination point. Many airports in Italy for example do not have a Sky bridge - you have to go down a flight of stairs to get off the plane and then take step UP over 12 inches to
board a shuttle bus which takes you to the terminal.
I know a lot of people who simply don't travel because the airlines
tell them that they "don't know" about what lies ahead.
Charles De Gaulle is another airport that has accessibility issues.
But Ireland ? Ireland is accessible to almost everyone.
6
It’s not the hi tech stuff that I look for ( as an over 60 frequent airline traveler). Just courteous TSA and other people. It is a big rush and at times stressful deal to get across the country. I am not moving as fast as I did 20 years ago and I feel rushed and sometimes confused at all the changes to the whole air travel process from what I experienced in the. 70’s and 80 ‘s. Over all the no smoking ( so no choking on smoke) is the best. What about less noise?
10
Thank you for including a travel article on people with disabilities. The "special systems that transmit announcements directly to the telecoil receiver in a user’s hearing device, allowing those with hearing aids to more easily understand announcements at the gate" for a non-disability article is called an induction loop which is the same system now available in NYC's taxis, subway information booths, museums, and theaters.
I am the person who led the induction loop initiative with Delta after submitting comments at the DOT's request. The airports are not adding them; Delta is. Airports around the world have loops yet America's airports do not. Why?
Michigan had two loops for years, and somehow, no one seemed to know outside the state or even in Detroit. Museums in Detroit do not have induction loops.
Delta started in Atlanta, then Detroit and now Rochester. But the other airlines to the best of my knowledge haven't followed suit, and it is not clear why they haven't nor why the DOT hasn't mandated induction loops in airports. My comments to the DOT are: https://janiceslintz.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/16-0203-dotairport.pdf and https://janiceslintz.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/exa-loopsinairports.pdf
8
Dubai's Intl airport offers a private contractor who provides cart service from an arrivals gate for transfers - which can be a long way away in this airport - to baggage then to ground transportation - all for a small fee. They can also take you to either their own desk or an airline desk if needed. Some airlines - Luftansa for one - provide it for seniors or with First Class tickets.
1
1. Closed captioning on TV has been available for quite a while.
Now, nowadays every gate seems to have a digital display screen, listing flight information, names of passengers waiting for standby or for upgrades, and of course, ads.
Why can't the gate announcements be displayed on these monitors?
2. I'm sure you have seen the statement from the airlines: you have to be able to lift your carry-on into the overhead bin. So if If I have a shoulder problem tough luck? Nice accommodation of the handicapped.
13
And good luck if you’re young and not tall enough or lack the upper body strength to press 10kg straight up in the air! Those overheads are clearly designed by men, for men, with tall women allowed.
11
So many comments claiming this is an ageist exercise on the part of the architects, and they needed to simply interview older and less able bodied people to gain insight into their challenges. Why can’t they do both? I’m sure they have taken input from elderly and disabled people as they design. What they can gain, however, from the experience of limiting their physical abilities like this is equally if not more important: empathy via first-hand knowledge. The attempt at experiencing the world, however clumsily, as others do can only improve our understanding and desire to do right by people who move through the world differently than ourselves. Walking a mile in another’s shoes should be applauded, not criticized.
11
European Airports have a built in system that can accommodate seniors with or without disabilities. Go to the Service counter usually beside an entrance and ask for assistance. It’s free, friendly and very very efficient. You will be looked after if that’s what you want till you get onto your flight and also at your arrival airport.
Have experienced this in London, Edinburgh, Geneva, Frankfurt, Paris. North American airports can learn a few tips from their European cousins. !
29
I am planning a trip which I could not do without using my wheelchair. I also must travel with an aide to assist me. But in each hotel when I ask for an accessible room, primarily for the bathroom, I'm told that all such rooms have only one bed. This is a problem as my aide and I do not sleep together. I assume it is for making the room more navigable with a wheelchair. We need more conventional rooms with accessible bathrooms. A bench, grab bars, hand help showerhead... Once I'm inside the room I walk with care, and really need to shower. Grab bars do not get in the way of of the more able-bodied.
17
We travel as much as possible, using all our Vacation Time Off and designated " fun money ". We're both now 60, and reasonably fit and mostly healthy. The best advice I can give: arrive earlier and allow a cushion for delays or cancellations. Never, ever agree to a connecting flight in less than an hour from the scheduled landing of your starting point.
And it's very true that the delays and cancellations, especially from Weather, build up and worsen as the day wears on. Take direct OR non-stop Flights, If at all possible. It's definitely worth it. Always treat the gate agents with respect, and be polite. We've been upgraded for free, from being polite and dressing well. We also received free vouchers for volunteering to give up our seats. Once, we got two 500 hundred Dollars vouchers, and were booked on the next flight, for free. Only two hours delay, and it was on my Birthday. Best Birthday EVER !!!
Bon Voyage.
17
@Phyliss Dalmatian - great tips
4
This is an area where otherwise intrusive but versatile electronics can help with a few classic problems. It is almost impossible to design any public address system for large spaces that isn’t ‘muddy’ as the speakers introduce time delays, so any airport should be able to transmit text to phones and also have frequent text displays that mirror what the speakers are saying. As hearing aids pass the era of crazy expensive ripoffs and become better integrated with other devices, similar intelligibility problems will lessen.
Moving walkways could be improved for everyone with just a little better entry and exit design. Even I could solve that one. Planes themselves are not likely going to get better for anyone in any respect, but seat assignment could be tailored to human need. Mumbling, bored attendants and glassed-in officials obviously can be augmented with visual aids, but personally, I think they all deserve to have somewhat better jobs. And so forth.
4
@Marat1784 Texts sent to a phone is great if everyone uses a phone. I'm retired and only turn my phone on when I want to use it. After hearing some CEO tell Congress that my phone sends info 14 times per minute to headquarters tracking my very move and daily spam calls in Mandarin from a U.S. hotel chain, I got tired and turned it off.
I hate texting on phones and anyone that knows me knows to either use email or leave a message on my phone.
I just talked to two neighbors my age and older. The one refuses to learn yet another type of phone. She and I remember public phone lines and phone booths that accepted nickels. Her eyesight is poor and she has no interest in even learning the smartphone. And like me, she keeps the phone off because she was tired of getting auto-messages everyday in Mandarin from corporations. The young landlady sends people texts about building business on phone and she never sees them. I got the text saying it was okay to reenter the building after the fire alarm went off sometime around 1 a.m. when I turned on my phone and it started beeping and vibrating.
I'm not going to get on any kind of moving walkway. I won't even go near an escalator due to balance issues. Mom and grandpa were the same way.
You have some great ideas but there are lots of old farts like me who got tired of going from vinyl to cassettes to 8-track to CD only to hear kids scream for vinyl again. Neither Siri nor Alexa will ever be allowed in my home:)
7
We're the ones that have the time and the resources to travel. I'm retired now but when I worked I had to cram in as much as I could during weekends and the occassional week off. I missed a lot because I had to decide what I wanted to see - most - and aim for that. My kids used to say "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego" because they never knew when they'd get a text or email from me on the weekend saying - I'm in (fill in the city) today, going (here) tomorrow, back on Sunday night.
I've retired over a year ago to the ATL area. Haven't been anywhere. The thought of just the ATL airport, the traffic, the complexities of parking, getting from your car to the terminals, dragging luggage aboard the bus etc. has stopped me many times. And I'm not handicapped. I'd love if there was parking at public transportation where I could safely leave my car and take the bus from there. I guess I could Uber as there's no public transportation where I live. Before on my vacation it wasn't unusual for me to fly from DC to California or Seattle, spend time there, take a train to Chicago, spend some days there, then take an overnight train back to DC. But mpmw the idea of all that hustling, starting with the airport, booking hotels, running to catch flights, well...
Ironic at the time that I can be gone as long as I want, as many places as I can afford, I'm traveling less.
11
Let me start by saying that I am 80 years and have been travelling for 50 years. Only last year did I have to confront the reality of my age--in an airport in Paris.
My experience was only positive. My mobility problems were evident; at once I was directed to an area that provided good seating and an assurance of trolley service to the departure gate. At the gate there was comfortable seating for people needing assistance. We had accommodation from the departure area to the plane and wheelchair service at landing.
I am grateful that I can access services that make it possible for me to continue my love of travelling.
20
Donald P. Hoover (not a young man, I looked him up) says, they “must consider the disabilities related to aging and keep them in mind when designing and creating anything associated with the guest experience,” DISABILITIES?? How about just changes, for most of us. We are only 'disabled' as compared to a 25 y.o. We are different, not disabled.
26
How extraordinarily patronizing and demeaning. How shortsighted at best and how ageist at worst.
Guess who is the most knowledgeable about requirements of ageing bodies. Guess who's best able to explain and interpret those needs. Older people, that's who. Older people who are already making mental and physical adaptations to changing circumstances.
Older people who are perfectly capable of talking for themselves.
Not some kid temporarily lugging around a 30-pound suit. Geez.
60
@Nereid
Thank you! Yes, older. No, not disabled. No marketing kitsch needed. Sweet gig, wearing the suit, but I’m willing to bet that there are many of us 50+ individuals who’d be willing to walk that same walk and report in with more statistical integrity and reliabilityny. I’m struggling not to guffaw at the concept that an experience including wearing goggles, gloves, weighted shoes, etc., can in any way mimic or represent the natural aging process. Geez, is right!
10
As a regular traveler whether by cruise ship or land package a Jacuzzi bathtub with safety features for easy and safe entry and exit is mandatory. Showers can be slippery and dangerous if you have any kind of a balance problem. (I do). Jacuzzi is a bonus feature.
3
In some restrooms the towels or air dryer are several steps from the sinks. If you’re walking with a cane your choice is to leave your cane and hobble the distance, or use your cane and have a wet handle for a while, especially if the handle is covered in a sponge-like material. It’s probably not great if you’re managing your own wheelchair either.
Thanks to the person who designed airport restrooms without doors. Heavy doors are a real pain for folks with assistive devices.
13
Directional signs in most U.S. airports are poorly thought out, haphazard, and confusing to anyone of any age.
29
Just please have more carts going to and from gates. After check-in, standing in TSA lines (pre-check or not), and then having to walk all that distance in crowds is just debilitating. Or at least emphasize that everyone walk to their right so you don't have to bob and weave to avoid being run over.
12
My wife and I, in our 70's, enjoy road travel. As major brand hotels renovate we notice that bathtubs are being eliminated and replaced with showers only. Many people are uncomfortable in showers for a number of reasons including balance/mobility issues, vision or even a respiratory condition. We look for mid to upscale properties that still provide a tub but they are tougher to find each year.
Bathroom lighting, at the sink, is often inadequate. We don't need "mood" lighting; we need to see!
12
This can only make things easier!
After 9/11 a lot of public places took away benches and trash bins.
One thing I noticed at a conference in Canada was a lack of grab bars in the bath/shower--different laws up there.
What is also difficult are extremely delayed flights. At Phoenix airport--and probably at others, you cannot "keep" a wheelchair once you've reached a gate, a restaurant, etc. So if you want to move again, you have to call for a new wheelchair and pay another tip to get wheeled to a bathroom, a restaurant, a gate change, etc.
7
This is wonderful! My mind immediately jumped to when I travelled while pregnant -- also not an easy task. You're carrying around a lot of extra weight (straining the ligaments around your stomach painfully with each step); your fingers are stiff and numb from inflammation; your feet are swollen in your shoes; you're CONSTANTLY hungry; and the fog of "mommy brain" is slowly creeping in. Making air travel and hotel stays more comfortable for pregnant women would also be greatly appreciated!
8
Who wants to travel on anything but their own terms? Mass transportation is terrible for all ages. It simply gets worse as you age. If I could choose my method of transportation, I would have a private jet, a private train, and a private car with and without a hired driver. I'd choose according to my mood and destination.
Unfortunately, that's not life. Mass transit centers are designed to be accommodating to as many people as possible. However, mass transits primary purpose is to make you not be there. That's the entire point. When things are working right, you shouldn't need a seat before boarding. Consider that a mission statement.
5
I am a woman of a certain age. I could have told you, with very little cost, where to have bathrooms, seats, and a designated location where you could call or stop a traveling cart to take you the three miles to the baggage claim. Money could also be saved by not having many people in uniforms that are supposed to be able to tell you things as you traipse through the airport terminals, but have no idea about anything to help you. At Kennedy Airport International Arrivals, the first bathrooms are at least a mile away from the certain gates, and you do not have to be an older person to want that to change.
33
I have a favorite hotel in London that has grab bars that are so reassuring for older adults. It does make it so much easier to get in and out of the tub if for no other reason. The peace of mind knowing these are available are priceless.
11
Or you can hire older designers who no doubt have sharp, creative minds.
51
The worst by far is the TSA
At 80 years, every bone is aging standing for 40 Minutes in the Denver airport, with NO place to seat down.
Young whippersnappers are whisked through the first class only passenger lines.
Something is very wrong.
The burden of 9/11 was supposed to be shared equally by all Americans
That a Federal Agency assists in NOT treating all Americans equal when it comes to National security is a disgrace
25
@Edmund
I hope it is not misplaced pride that prevents you from ordering a wheelchair? What a difference it makes not to arrive at the destination utterly exhausted. Try it.
6
A BWI TSA agent blew up at my spouse when he couldn't hear her mumbling face into the podium about putting his passport on the reader. (He'd never had to scanned his passport before.) She was incredibly rude to him. TSA is front line for airport nonsense and agents need to have training to speak clearly and face the customer. We were pressed for time so I didn't get her name. She should've been fired.
41
@raftriver
Same thing here at PDX. In the noisy security screening line, a TSA worker shouted something at me. I said "Pardon me?" He again yelled over the surrounding din. Another worker took my arm and performed a body search in full view of the other passengers. It was incredibly embarrassing. Thankfully, I no longer fly.
4
We need "family" restrooms in every concourse because many disabled men and women need to be accompanied by their spouse. My spouse cannot fit in the airplane restroom with his walker or wheelchair, so it is essential to have time to reach a family restroom between flights.
33
This simulation is absurd! Ask an older traveler or a group of them to write this,
tell all what it’s really like and provide constructive suggestions. Lord knows there are enough 60 travelers to describe their experiences. Just silly.
57
Greater use of contrasting colors is a must. Paint the tops of curbs a bright, reflective white. Better yet, get rid of them, curbs contribute to falls, a gentle ramp would be much better. On devices subtle variation of the primary color makes the device difficult to use. Again a contrast color is needed. In the bathrooms mount the toilet paper holders higher so the paper doesn't drag on the floor. Stop treating travelers with disabilities as second class citizens, my 92 year old mom's money is just as green as the next. Please don't ask if my mom and I wouldn't mind waiting until all the passengers have deplaned, we have connections as well. Airports need more assistants with wheelchairs and then be prepared to leave the wheelchair with a family member so the person with disabilities doesn't have remain at the gate. The list is endless for airports. Hotels need to have more rooms with showers instead of tubs to facilitate use of wheelchairs.
32
One way to level the playing field for all elders or disabled is to ask to be met at the curb/gate with a wheelchair. Someone will push the chair, going first at the security gate, to the departure gate, you will be given priority boarding, and the exact same treatment on deplaning.
You ask for the chair when you order your ticket.
21
More moving walks required. Changing terminals to continue to non-stop destination a minor form of torture-esp. with tight connection times.
9
Getting onto those moving conveyor systems is difficult, though. Even when young, they can cause people to stumble, lose their balance. It must be that much worse for older people or those who have vertigo issues.
12
@joannd1
The moving walkways are tempting to use, as they eliminate steps; however, I'm terrified when I have to coordinate stepping off them onto the stationary terminal floor. The walkways are quite fast.
15
@joannd1 Easier said then done when helping a 92 year old get around on airport.
6
I am very fit 68 years old, and a still-employed gerontological researcher. I am delighted to see all of the cranky comments below about the need to engage real older adults in this type of adaptation as well as the comments that everyone could use help at most of our nation's airports.
One reason to include a sample of actual older adults is to understand that there is variability among those "over age 60." Reducing everyone over age 60 to an "average" set of adaptions is simple ageism. I have found the lack of adaptation to women to be more impactful. For example, the design of overhead bins requires height and upper body strength. The folding headrests on some airplane seats are not for someone short like me. The seating in airports is uniform, for the most part. What about some variations so that you can find a comfortable seat for your size? Most airports have failed to catch up with the research that shows that bathrooms should allow for the fact that women take longer there because of their clothing.
I am well-aware that men are also disadvantaged. I try to give the 6 foot 4 inch man next to me in the middle seat as much of my foot space as I can. I cannot even imagine being a tall, broad man using the typical airplane lavatory.
In sum, there is a lot more that needs to be fixed in the airport than this article implies.
76
Well, at least it’s a start and opening a dialogue on an important issue. Airports and travel are so different today. Back in the 70s and 80s, airports weren’t crowded. Passengers boarded and disembarked with ease and speed. No one was pushing. Men often wore sport jackets and women dressed up as well. It was an exciting experience. It really was. Now, as a near-70 year old, I approach it with dread.
36
With air travel's disproportionate impact on climate change, maybe airports should be made more difficult for everyone to navigate.
We all pretend we care but nothing gives.
7
I don't know how much that "age simulation suit" cost, but here's a thought: why not use/hire some experiential designers who are in the age cohort you're focusing on?
85
Someone should share this with Newark Airport -- where they have removed ALL the moving walkways in Terminal C and replaced them with revenue-generating concessions.
You have to walk and walk and walk to get to some of those gates. If you can hail one of those motorized vehicles, you can get a lift -- but don't forget to tip them!
10
@MDF
I am terrorized by moving walkways, escalators. I am disabled and am afriad that when I get on I will land on my fanny and when i get off I will miss the secure "land".
In the past I have walked up and down 6 flights of stairs to get the Queens subways in NYC. Maybe now they have elevators? Nine flights at the Smith 9th Street station in Brooklyn.
I had never asked for a wheel chair in the airport until I got to the Philadelphia Airport. I nearly fainted getting to customs. From then on I have asked for wonderful wheelchair service.
I have never missed a connection even when there was only 1 1/2 hours to get off a European flight at JFK pick up luggage, go through customs and change terminal for a national flight.
Once in Denver I landed at gate 2 and had to leave at gte 96!!
I tip these people from 5$ up because they are always courteous, helpful, and I am sure they don't make a decent wage.
14
At airport concessions, who decided to make the wall-mounted menu fonts so small and poorly contrasting that I always need to squint? I don't need a work of art up there, I just want to know my choices.
34
Not all older people are "disabled". Getting around airports and other travel venues can be difficult for all (think about young children).
Older people with intact memory can actually remember when commercial enterprises like airports, airlines, and hotels actually tried to serve customer needs and wants.
Many of the improvements described in this article will be of value to all travelers, and are simply in the service of catering to things desired by customers. What a strange concept in the 21st century.
48
Brighter light available in hotels so we can see! Maybe a dim/ bright setting. And I bet my walking fitness level is better at 63 than that of younger couch potatoes that never exercise. But my vision is certainly less acute.
19
Night lights in hotel bathrooms! Would benefit everyone.
I'm surprised nobody mentioned the need to train flight attendants and airport announcers to speak slowly and clearly. They may have made the same announcement hundreds of times, but travelers need to know what they're saying.
62
@kek
I was on a flight recently where the female announcer was so fast and lazy in her speech that nobody could understand her, to the point where we all laughed in exasperation (but of course, she didn't get it).
It was the first time I'd ever heard anyone (a 60-something woman attempting to understand this attendant's exit row 'instructions') pointedly tell an attendant to SLOW DOWN.
Surely the other attendants on the plane could have said something to this idiot sooner - it was really unbelievable.
10
@kek I live in an international port city and hear about a dozen languages every time I leave the house. Every one seems to have quite a thick accent and the only time I understand clearly is if its one of those automated computer generated announcements. The lady hired for the public transportation system has a midwest accent and she is about the only person in the city I can understand clearly. If I tell someone I can't understand them they get offended and tell me that there is nothing wrong with their English.
2
Let’s not forget that the main purpose of a hotel rom is to get a good night’s sleep. Better quality beds that are routinely replaced would be a great asset for all, but especially for those who suffer any form of discomfort.
7
As a 65 year old frequent traveler, I have another suggestion: train airport personnel to show respect for older travelers who might need a bit more assistance as they navigate chaotic airports and crowded airplanes. I’ve seen ground personnel be dismissive and often rude when a senior traveler asks a question.
66
@NYCtoMalibu
I am an older person, who flies infrequently. When I do fly, I get confused about what it is I am supposed to do in the airport, particularly around the security procedures. Officials bark out instructions which I cannot always hear, and even when I do hear them, I am not always sure what they are instructing me to do. This occurs in a seemingly chaotic environment where the impatient people behind me are angry if I impede the forward rush by asking a question or moving too slowly. It is stressful. I am not frail or disabled in my everyday life, but airline travel makes me feel uncertain and incompetent.
68
@Madeline Conant
Don't let them intimidate you. Move slowly, stay organized, and ignore anyone behind you. If an official tries to rush you, tell them you can't speed up and they'll have to slow down for you. At the end of the security conveyor belt, stop and organize all your stuff. Ask for assistance carrying things to a bench. Sit there and put everything away where it belongs. Breathe. Slowly. Gather your strength.
13
@NYCtoMalibu I am happy to turn to the person next to me/behind me in the security line bins and say with a loud voice and a big smile, “Please feel free to go around me!”
7
I'm 71 and, fortunately, still have good mobility and eyesight. What I lack however, is normal hearing. I've a severe loss of the middle to high frequencies and wear very expensive hearing aids to help compensate. My disability is invisible. Even if one notices my hearing aids, the degree of loss is unknown. So I'm pleased to know that research is being done by the young decision makers about how poor hearing might affect a traveler's experience and safety. Sure, the researcher could just ask me, or one of my peers. But from my own experience in trying to explain to others, simply telling them isn't the same as them knowing.
Young people are making most of society's decisions so, I say, bravo that some want to know what I really need.
30
At least in the airport at Detroit, it is absolutely true about fewer food concessions in concourse B/C. When we transferred there recently, we were so focused on getting from concourse A to B/C that we didn’t realize most of the food concessions were in A. And there was no way we were going to turn around with our luggage to go back to A. We did find some food near our gate, but we are still likely to seek out our gate first before we find food when flying.
27
Many hospitals have long had colored strips on the floors to guide you to departments. The same thing could be done in airports. How about headsets for the hard of hearing like those used at museums? They would only carry announcements not the dreaded musik. Think about how people will get that last 20 or so feet after they have put their walker aside. Consider a special lane in the walkways between the gate and terminal for those with walkers, kind of like an HOV lane on the freeway.
The Boomers are now entering their elderly years and a whole bunch of things are going to have to change.
16
I, for one, would love to see hotels put in a grab bar in the shower stall. Yes, I'm a senior but I have slipped while young in the shower. Fortunately, no hurt took place, but those grab bars are immensely reassuring while I shower and get soap in my eyes and am flailing around in an unfamiliar place.
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Perhaps they should skip the age simulation suit, and just hire an older worker who can't find a job because of their age.
205
I'd appreciate three marked lanes in each direction on the airport concourses...one for those who are moving, one for those who stop as so many don't move to the side before stopping, and one for the vehicles and maintenance staff. Its very hard to make a connection sometimes just because of the obstacle course.
12
In addition to airport design, airlines need to assign connecting gates that are not miles from the arrival gate. Long distances between the gates maneuvering other obvious, anxious travelers are treacherous for anyone and especially the elderly dragging while encumbered with a carry-on wheelie.
Why not use an older person for the simulation?
41
Does the air industry want to help older flyers?
Do what the cruise industry does. At the cruise port insert a food intravenous line in one arm and a booze intravenous line in the other and have a comfortable room and bed and all the food you can eat and great entertainment and beautiful views of the ocean all within a five/ten minute walk.
4
@Paul ha ha. Your comment--especially the third sentence is beyond patronizing--kind of nasty.
I know many people in their 20s and 30s who would love a booze IV line, and cruises to the Bahamas for the 20th time.
I walked my way through the world when I was young and see no reason to stop now that I'm in my 60s.
10
@Paul - you make an excellent point about immediate gratification and satiety with regard to cruises; however, the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is a miracle for the older traveler. The parking lot is manageable from the tri-state area, the facility is more clean and comfortable than any other transit hub in the region, and the personnel at check-in, customs, arrival, and baggage are invariably helpful to the particularly older crowd. It's a luxurious experience compared to the airports, subways, buses, and Penn Station. My mom won't fly or take a train but she will get on a ship leaving from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.
2
72 here. Happy, for compensation, to walk through airports, train stations, hotel rooms, motel rooms, and sports stadiums and relay my experience. No suit needed.
108
How about volunteering your time and helping seniors as a whole. Don’t be greedy
If it wasn't for age discrimination in the workplace, you could have actually had a 60 year old be the tester!
165
@Mind boggling-bingo! Age discrimination is today's Jim Crow issue in the south or discrimination against gays and women pre 1980.
It is widespread, institutionalized and accepted and ugly.
29
the age suit is ridiculous. speak to people, hear their experiences. nothing like it to get the real picture of what is appropriate and what is needed.
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@dh I'm sorry, the age suit is not ridiculous. Interviews with older users is a vital component for this experience design, but it's also extremely valuable for the designer to be able to experience it for themselves. You pick up on so many things that the user might not self report; things like the wet floors.
18
@Me And that's where careful observation is important. We don't age in one day and the 32 year old still has a 32 year old brain. A simulation suit can be one part of the toolkit, but I would put more weight on observing actual users and then asking non-leading questions about what they are doing.
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@Me
So a user in a suit experiences and notices more than a group of people who have been through this kind of experience many times?
19
If airports confronted the problems faced by all travelers, the age-related issues would mostly take care of themselves. You don't have to be 70 to have difficulty hearing gate announcements. Designing airports that treat travelers like cattle to be herded down sterile corridors punctuated by a few pieces of art in an over-priced shopping mall is the root problem. There are alternatives, such as Changi airport in Singapore. I also think of Malpensa in Milan, not because of the innovative design of the airport proper, although it is better than most. But, as you leave the terminal, you pass through a large dark room with a cooling iridescent mist that acts as cleansing experience removing the bustling disquietude of what has preceded it. For the most part, airports, along with public schools, are glaring monuments of architecture's failure to humanize functionality.
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@Roadprof "You don't have to be 70 to have difficulty hearing gate announcements." Amen to that.
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@Roadprof The concept should be extended to the aircraft, with seats that don't leave the sitter too cramped to stand without difficulty.
26
Showers instead of bathtubs and grab bars would top the list for this relatively fit 69 year old with a hip replacement (horseback riding killed my left hip after 25 years). I love to stay in 4 star hotels but the marble floors in the bathrooms are treacherous for everyone. Safety over ambiance should be the rule
60
@soprano39 and a mirror strategically located in a hotel room bathroom that has at least a 5 time magnifying function for shaving and make up application
14
It's funny that they needed to design a special suit to mimic being older, rather than just hiring an older person and listening to them.
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@Margaret
ageism is real
39
Yes, for heaven’s sake, hire someone with experience and lift your eyes from the CAD screen. I tutor architects in training and they often fail in their ability to LOOK and understand what they are seeing.
18
@Margaret I thought the same exact thing!
6
Here are my personal requests for travel friendliness:
-Hotels, put a magnifying mirror in every bathroom, and adjust the height so a shorter woman can use it.
-Amtrak, give priority to seniors and people with disabilities in putting luggage at floor level. I can't hoist my bag up over the seats, and it's demeaning to have to ask for help. Or allow bag checking on every train.
-Restaurants, take measures to sound proof. The modern industrial look so popular right now has too many hard surfaces, resulting in high decibel levels that make it hard to converse.
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@Maura. I am only in my thirties, but I completely agree with the sound level at restaurants! It is sometimes almost unbearable, and while I'm maybe more sensitive to sensory stimulus than the average person (I guess?), I'm not clinically so. I guess if you want to sit and stare at your phone: no problem. But if you actually want to talk to someone, most restaurants, bars, and even some coffee shops make that very difficult now.
47
@Maura many older people have high frequency hearing loss, and with a noisy background are unable to distinguish words. This is not fixable by hearing aids. If I go to a restaurant, which I rarely do now for that reason, I know I will understand almost nothing.
8
@kat - We were taught in college studying recording engineering that the majority of men over age 30 no longer hear frequencies above 15k (20k is the normal top for humans). A lot of emphasis was put on protecting our hearing from future loss. There is a Grammy winning engineer who teaches online and he makes quite a big deal of the fact that at age 50, he can still hear 15k.
The problem I have with large open spaces is that they do nothing to acoustically treat a room and so you get lots of reverb. And all of those voices are bouncing back and forth off of all of the hard spaces and pretty soon, it sounds like 250 people are all talking to me at the same time and my ears are trying to figure out where they are at. People think that throwing loud music over the top of that will help but it doesn't. Just throw some huge heavy curtains on the wall and a few acoustic panels here and there and it would be a world better. The loud music would not be so annoying nor would all of the talking voices. If you have any kind of music venue or recording studio you would never play loud music in a bare room with hard surfaces.
4
Better signs for everyone and listed times between gates in large airports. I am a very athletic boomer who made a heroic run for a connection in Zurich, farthest gate to farthest gate to make a connection on the same carrier for my flight home. Thankfully I had been in the airport before so needed no time to ponder directions. And please Prague, the airport had large numbers of people lined up and waiting in stairwells for gates to open with very little time to board.
21
“…the airport has begun offering electric cart service between the airport’s light rail station and the terminal, so passengers don’t have to walk the few tenths of a mile.” Another great leap will take place when journalists examine and recognize their own linguistic biases. That “few tenths” of a mile is no great distance to a younger person with normal abilities, or to me in my early 60s. To my 90-year-old mother, it’s a painful day’s journey because of bone spurs in her heels. Characterizing it as trivial with the descriptor “few” suggests that the writer should have tried out the goggles and age suit before filing this story.
129
@Matt I also thought that sounded dismissive. Why not say "quarter of a mile"?
48
@Matt Agreed! And when you're dragging a suitcase and a carry-on, that quarter-mile seems more like a half-mile.
23
@Matt
Note well, it’s not “a few tenths.” It’s over half a mile, in a corridor that is exposed to the elements. It’s an annoyance for families with young children too. People complained about the design from the get-go, but the transit “experts” knew better.
7
Now if only the technology engineers (like software or smartphone engineers) could wear such a suit before they deal with their products.
Same with the food / vitamin / supplement / drug label makers! 4-point font is not a font; it's microfiche!
And give me back my phone keyboard so I don't have a PhD in autoincorrection!
36
Great article! I’m sure that there will be some great recommendations by readers. I’m one 70 year old who is
still in the classroom.
My wife and I will travel soon, I’m sure we will see some
new ideas appear!
6
Better designed airports would benefit everyone.
70
Age 78, last month, returning to US from trip to India, Qatar Airlines, I requested wheelchair service for Chicago OHare as my right foot was in hard cast. To my surprise, there were requests for 65 wheelchairs for that flight alone. My wheelchair assistant told me the highest number he could recall was a request for 100 chairs for a single flight. I had to provide a doctors okay to fly. Fortunate for me he knew how to navigate through baggage and customs and enabled my family members to stay with me as we negotiated the airport .
Last spring my husband and I accompanied a older cousin to Europe; she was 84 , using a wheelchair, and understood how the system worked. We traveled business class , and were able to be first in line every where we flew, at times, we were the only passengers on a transfer bus from terminal to plane. 3/4 people required to help us. , British Airways and Lufthansa.
11
This article adds to the unfortunate stereotype that people over the age of 60 are crippled by poor vision, bad joints, obesity and diminished hearing. Ms. Flores may have experienced the sad edge of aging and I hope she didn't leave the experience feeling as if she now understands what it's like to be 70. More and more of us in the upper ages are vigorous, active and fully alert. Wasn't it just a few months ago that the Times published an article documenting the effort to expose medical students to the healthy octogenarian and diffuse the stereotype they learn from their sick and disabled patients? As a fully-employed 71 year-old who climbs mountains and does the NYT crossword puzzle every morning, I wish that you would have provided a more balanced picture of the aging. Sure, accommodate those with physical challenges. But for me and my many healthy peers, give us a few flights of stairs, a long walk and stop treating us like cripples.
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@David Robbins
Yes, some seniors are healthy and vigorous. At 73, I climbed Kilimanjaro, and although my 82-year-old knees aren't what they used to be, they still get me from A to B. Sadly, many seniors aren't fit, Even sadder, many of the overweight, soon-to-be-senior couch potatoes I see in airports and everywhere else are in even worse shape than their elders. With life expectancy now so long, no one should be considered a senior until at least 70, maybe 75. Unfortunately, our society seems to be going in the opposite direction.
27
@David Robbins The article is not about seniors.... it's about accommodation. I'm 64 but have had arthritis for about 40 of those years. Running the gamut at the airport is difficult for me. I welcome these changes which will benefit seniors and people with disabilities.
87
@David Robbins I'm only 66 and I work out and do Tai Chi, however, that hasn't fixed the darned bunion on my foot for which I have had 3 surgeries. My brain still works fine, but my foot doesn't and it isn't from a lack of trying to fix it.
27
How about airport/hotel bathrooms with raised toilets and grab bars by the toilet and in showers? This would not only aid seniors but anyone dealing with joint replacement or other disabling conditions. Handrails alongside stairs are also helpful in preventing falls.
54
Before even reading past the headline of this article, my first request, if this is truly happening, is for hotel designers to put magnifying makeup/shaving mirrors and adequate ( bright) lighting in over every sink. Oh- a night-light option in bathrooms and in bedrooms. Maybe a floor light by a baseboard.
I travel a lot and these options would greatly add to my comfort, safety and ability to enjoy my hotel visits. At last somebody is listening!!
64
I now bring my own plugable night light with me. It has made a huge difference for only a few dollars.
6