[Browngirl]

PHXflyer,
Sorry, I see that I mis-wrote in my reply but I did communicate accurately with the Delta CSR on the phone. Technically my aunt does need assistance all the way to her seat – but the door-of-plane-to-seat assistance is one I can render easily. The Delta CSR asked me if she could get from the door of the plane to her seat and I told her she could, with my assistance.
My aunt does not regularly use a wheelchair. She normally requires a walker to get around. It has a small seat she can use to rest if she gets tired, but that is still not sufficient to support her in walking long distances.
Recapping the entire curbside-to-seat journey, it breaks out as follows: with my assistance, she can negotiate: entrance of plane to seat, and seat to entrance of plane . However, even with the use of a walker she cannot negotiate: curbside to gate, gate down jetway, jetway to gate, gate to curbside. The distances are simply too far and wheelchair assistance is needed. As a side bar, my personal opinion is that the pitch of the jetways and the “transition joints” (I don’t know what else to call them – they are the metal hinged pieces in the jetway) are not overly friendly to someone who needs assistance.
We gate-checked her walker so it would be available for her inside the terminal. She walked for approximately 5 minutes inside the terminal with her walker every time we landed in order to stretch her legs.