Inclusive design for air travel

Abstract

(Inclusive design in air travel by baird L and Dong H) This paper addresses the issue of inclusive design in air travel. Firstly the scale of the problem is defined with reference to passenger demographics, and the different stages of a typical commercial air travel. The relevant government legislation is described, with particular emphasis on the new EU Regulation that requires special assistance to be provided to any passenger who requests it. An assessment of current practices in the air travel industry indicates that existing guidelines are having little impact on design practice. Similarly, an analysis of the major stakeholders in the air travel industry illustrates that a number of different parties are involved in the design and management of a typical journey. The study identifies the needs to reduce the number of passengers who require special assistance through inclusive design. The future directions, which include empirical work, case studies and the possible development of an information tool aimed at the industry are described.