Long Haul In-Flight Usage of CPAP Machine

[James @ Intus]

A CPAP user rang this morning who was going to Australia on a 24 hour flight. Not wanting to invest nearly £300 on a battery pack or BreatheX Journey (as this trip was pretty much one-off) he wanted to know whether there were any alternatives. I thought I'd share them here.

Most aircraft seats have what's called an "EmPower" connection. Check with your airline to see whether the particular airplane you will be flying with has this, or a cigarette lighter plug.

In case of EmPower

Buy this £5 converter off eBay or from an electrical shop. It has the EmPower connector on one end, then a female cigarette lighter on the other. It will balance the craft's 12-15V output to a steady 12V. Then you can buy your specific CPAP's male cigarette lighter to DC plug cord (Respironics, DeVilbiss etc.) connect the two and you should be good to go. Do let the airline's special needs department know you need power as many sockets will have been switched off. For as little as £35 you could be all set.

In case of cigarette lighter

Simply get the right cord, as linked above. The manufacturer/supplier of your CPAP will know which one you need.

If you have further long haul CPAP usage tips, please post them here.

[ChrisP]

However.....

Do not assume that all long haul aircraft have power available especially if you are traveling economy.
Earlier this year I flew to the USA and asked about getting a seat with power for my CPAP machine on medical grounds.
NO DICE!
The only way was to purchase a first class ticket.
As I am not a board member of an oil company ( or an MP ) this was out of my reach so in the end I had to purchase a BreatheX Journey travel CPAP.
Having said that the machine was great and did the job well.
It is also nice to know that should your main unit have a problem (or your mains supply) you have a back up.
Also great for camping or taking with you on trips just in case you need to stay over.
Just my tuppenneth

Chris

[DAZZBOD]

CPAP-less Night's Sleep

In a couple of weeks I am taking a long haul flight to New Zealand, I can't use my CPAP on board Singapore Airlines as they only allow 1 type, & it's not mine
So has anyone have any tips for a night of CPAP-less sleep. I can rarely sleep when travelling anyway so it looks like a good book & a crash out when I get to the hotel!

[Tigers Fan]

Melatonin

Hi DAZZBOD

To ease the consequences of a sleepless journey, buy some melatonin from the US before you go. Helps cut jet lag in half!

Tigers Fan

[PIPKIN]

Melotonin Only Work For 4hrs I Think You Will Find.

[redkez]

Sleep!

If you could cope with the tiredness, then the answer for unhelpful airlines would be to sleep without the CPAP - we'd rattle their windows!

[DAZZBOD]

Well I didn't have access to any power on my flight & I don't sleep when travelling anyway, never have been able to ..........so I took the chance, bought some anti snore spray at Heathrow & only dozed off for about an hour tops. The missus said I only made a quiet snoring sound, she couldn't hear anymore because there was someone snoring too loud 4 rows behind!

[Darth Vader]

No CPAP on Thompson flights. Battery back up machine ?

Hi. Im off to Florida next weekend on a flight with Thompson. After several lengthy and expensive phone calls Ive been told I cant use my machine on the flight as the power socket Ive used on other carriers is not powered during flight. They must have special Boeings !

Is anyone aware of a machine that has inbuilt battery backup ? As I really dont want to buy an expensive battery for one trip.

[James @ Intus]

The BreatheX Journey has been cleared for cabin use by quite a few major airlines. It's fully battery operated so no sockets needed during the flight.

Lower-grade airlines indeed take out all sorts of fancy stuff out of their planes so it's quite possible the seats just don't have what it takes to power a machine.

[Darth Vader]

No power socket / Battery power

Thanks James. On previous flights, lastly to New Zealand on Air NZ, Ive been given the seat where there is a power supply in the wall, its used for vacuum cleaners when the plane is being cleaned. This has enabled me to use my ResMed machine on mains power, however, although the socket exists on thomson planes, I was told it was disabled during flight unlike other airlines.
The ideal solution would be a machine that ran on mains power but also incorporated, say, an eight hour backup battery enabling use on planes, camping, unplanned stopovers at friends etc, and could also take over during power cuts, whereas the BreatheX, if I understand right, is battery only.

[peterscot]

Hi all.
I found an online service, that provides online check in by providing the best seats preferred by us. They send boarding pass by email and charge 9 euros/person for oneway.

flight check in online