Emirates Airlines allows CPAP use on board but no connection to aircraft power socket

[bonum.noctem]

I'll be on a long distance flight with Emirates Airlines soon, but it will not be a pleasant travel because of this:

You must ensure that the unit is not connected to any of the aircraft power sockets

I'm not going to buy a battery pack for these few occasions, and that restriction does not make any sense. ResMes's power supply is a regular 90W AC DC converter, not any different as one that comes with a laptop. According to Traveling with your therapy equipment | ResMed:

Can my therapy device run from the 400Hz power supply on the aircraft?

Yes. Even though the rating plate on the therapy device specifies

50-60Hz, the switch mode power supply in the flow generator is compatible with the 110 volts 400Hz power supply on the aircraft.

Anyone every succeeded in convincing crew members that it is safe for use in-flight and been allowed to connect it anyway?

Looks like this will be another unpleasant flight without any real sleep.

[prodigyplace]

Here's another quote from your first link with some bolding added by me.

The device must be labelled by the manufacturer to reflect that it has been tested to meet applicable United States Federal Aviation Authority/Department Of Transportation requirements for medical portable electronic devices.

Is your machine labeled as being a PORTABLE electronic device? If not, it does not meet their requirements for use anyway.

I an not trying to trivialize the situation, but I think they expect only travel CPAP use on their fights.

[bonum.noctem]

The device must be labelled by the manufacturer to reflect that it has been tested to meet applicable United States Federal Aviation Authority/Department Of Transportation requirements for medical portable electronic devices.

Is your machine labeled as being a PORTABLE electronic device? If not, it does not meet their requirements for use anyway. I an not trying to trivialize the situation, but I think they expect only travel CPAP use on their fights.

Indeed, totally overlooked that one. Clearly someone requiring ASV for getting a good sleep is not supposed to sleep on an airplane, I'm not aware of any "portable" ASV machine. But I really think this is not meant to be understood as marked "portable" but that it is listed in the manufacturers FAA compliance letter (PDF), which it is.

[Pugsy]

Your machine is "portable"...simple as that. You can easily move it.

Use is allowed since it meets FAA standards and probably has a suitable sticker on it. So nothing stopping you from using it except the power problem.

Now the airline deciding not to supply power...totally separate issue. They get to make that decision what they want to allow power to and what they don't. Is it fair or logical...of course not but they do get to decide that.
No where in the regulations have I seen anything that says that the airline has to supply power to anything.
It stinks but it is what it is.

[chunkyfrog]

Use a cheaper carrier--spend the difference on a battery pack.

[Chilibit]

Emirates treats you nicely. Stay on Emirates, buy a battery, afterward use it as a backup at base camp. Life is too short to pound your head on a pyramid.

[palerider]

Emirates treats you nicely, unless you have a CPAP

FTFY.

[Captain_Midnight]

Among the lengthy list of thing that I choose to never do...
...fly on Emirates Airlines.
(What YOU choose is fine with me.)

[Holden4th]

I flew to the UK in April last year on Emirates. To get a good power supply I went business class. I booked a bulkhead seat for the flight across on the A380 which makes it quite private. The power socket was at the back of the seat and would not have been easy to see once the cabin lights were turned off. I had a great sleep from Brisbane to Dubai.

On the way back I was in first class and much more visible. On top of that I had to ask for a power socket adaptor. The power socket was in the front of the seat area. After four hours sleep I was woken up by a cabin crew member who said I could not use the machine without a battery. The rest of the night was quite miserable and I will never fly Emirates long haul again.

Most airlines will let you use their power supply to run your xPAP. I suggest that you cancel your Emirates booking and fly with an airline that will accommodate your medical condition.

The irony of the situation is that a portable battery of the size required to power an xPAP machine is a far bigger fire risk than running your machine through a 400Hz system.

[Julie]

It's outrageous that they woke you to tell you you couldn't use it... you plainly did it, and they could have just overlooked it the one time if they appreciated that it was medical and not for fun.

[billbolton]

Most airlines will let you use their power supply to run your xPAP.

Some will, some wont, but definitely not most will.

[sburke91]

Maybe it's just me, but I'm thinking if you have the funds to pay for business class or higher on Emirates, you can afford the $250 or so for an xPap battery. I use mine 4-6 times a year, but they've been good investments, and a nice backup too.

[chunkyfrog]

Emirates is not the only airline that discriminates against cpap users.
Any business that chooses this course deserves to be ignored--except in court.

[sburke91]

Emirates is not the only airline that discriminates against cpap users.
Any business that chooses this course deserves to be ignored--except in court.

I'm not sure I'd call this discrimination. Airplane electrical systems are tricky ecosystems, and the amperage draw from an xPAP (especially if someone fires up the heated humidifier) is significantly higher than the average laptop.

It's discrimination if they don't tell you, ahead of time, that battery power is required, then tell you you can't use, but most airlines are pretty clear:

United -- https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/tr ... ators.html
Delta -- https://www.delta.com/us/en/accessible- ... medication
American -- https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/spe ... evices.jsp
BA -- https://www.britishairways.com/jba/ba/f ... dinfo.html (Doesn't explicitly require battery power, but it's recommended, and there's a 75W limit on power draw)
Air France -- https://www.airfrance.us/US/en/common/g ... atoire.htm (Doesn't explicitly require battery power, but it's recommended, and there's a 75W limit on power draw)
Emirates -- https://www.emirates.com/english/before ... AP_Devices (they are extremely clear that you must bring your own batteries and not connect to the airline's power socket)

Many airlines also require advanced notice if you plan to use your xPAP on the plane--it's your responsibility to educate yourself on what's required and be prepared to meet those requirements.

[prodigyplace]

I notice Delta requires you have batteries to last 150% of your flight time regardless of how long you expect to use CPAP.