Haycomp Customer Testimonials

For over 17 years Haycomp staff have designed and manufactured high quality patient lifting hoists for use in hospitals and other care institutions. Because of our expertise in mechanical patient handling the Eagle hoists were developed and proved successful in providing a safe and efficient way of transferring specials needs passengers PRM’s (Passengers with Reduced Mobility) from a wheelchair to their aircraft seat.

The hoists provide a significant advance in accessible air travel for passengers requiring a fully supported transfer. The Eagles are highly regarded by both staff and passengers.

The Eagle is a much safer, more comfortable and dignified way of boarding a plan if you usually need to be lifted on.

Toby Mildon – London, UK

Safety and dignity are of the essence when a person has to fully rely on the help from others to go about his or her life; Like the proverbial magic wand, Eagle Hoist gives passengers with severe mobility impairments and their helpers a safe and dignified boarding experience. I think every airline and airport around the world should offer an Eagle Hoist as a boarding option.

Roberto Castiglioni
Accessible Air Travel Advisor
Member | Access to Air Travel Advisory Group – UK Civil Aviation Authority

In 2013 I had given up on flying ever again after a few bad experiences being taken from my wheelchair to and from the aircraft seats, until I heard about the Eagle 2 Lifter in July 2015. I was amazed when I first tested the Eagle, the sling was put around me in the wheelchair I was lifted out of the wheelchair seat and was in the aircraft seat in a matter of minutes. I’m tall and heavy so manual handling is not a pleasant experience where the Eagle is one comfortable lift from your wheelchair to your seat in the aircraft. Now before I start to look at a holiday I first see what airport has the Eagle in the country we want to visit. I just wish that every airport would give their disabled passengers a choice by having the Eagle available to use.

Liam Dwyer – London, UK

Being carried by the Eagle Passenger Lifter felt much more secure, much more organized, so much more caring and way more comfortable, as long as it is done right! The great thing about the Eagle 2 is that the operator can spend more time talking and putting me at ease about the process instead of the mess I continuously face at the gate each time I am getting on or off a flight.

Ebrahim Alkandari – Kuwait

Travel is one of the greatest challenges people who use wheelchairs face. Like many others who use power wheelchairs for mobility, I find airline travel particularly challenging. The Eagle Lift has transformed my travel experience, providing a method of transferring from my wheelchair to the aircraft seat that is safe, comfortable and dignified. At the same time the airlines that have adopted the Eagle Lift, led by Qantas, have seen a dramatic reduction in workplace injuries for staff who assist people who need full assistance boarding the aircraft. This is a win-win for everyone, and I will always travel with an airline that uses the Eagle Lift in preference to one that doesn’t. I look forward to the day when all airlines adopt this wonderful device.

Mark Bagshaw – Sydney, Australia

In 2015, in order to leave no stone unturned in trying to find a solution for a profoundly disabled client, I sourced John’s company and came to know of, and about, Eagle Lift. That was the beginning of quite an amazing exercise, which not only resulted in a perfect solution for my client, but also a campaign directed towards the major airlines, and airports of the world to have them procure Eagle Lifts for use by passengers who otherwise could not travel.

John McGuinness is an outstanding individual with an excellent mix of ingenuity, compassion, and the doggedness required to get his product in front of the right people, almost all of whom are in locations all over the world.

Eagle Lift is an amazing product – relatively inexpensive and straight forward to operate, (after expert training by John), yet it genuinely changes the lives of those who use it, by enabling (otherwise denied) access to air travel.

Anne Rogers

Managing Director

WINGS AWAY TRAVEL & CRUISELAND

My name is Kim Jago; I am 41 years old, have Spinal Muscular Atrophy and live in Melbourne Australia.

Firstly, I would like to say as a young women rarely went on a holiday however if I did it was only ever domestically throughout Australia and that was because the Eagle Lift was readily available however as I am getting older and my disability is deteriorating I knew it was time to start seeing the World before it became impossible.

All I ever wanted to do was go to the most Magical place in the World “Disneyland”, so off I went to Los Angeles. This dream was possible because the Eagle Lift was available.

Two years later it was a must do – travel to Hong Kong on a Cunard Cruise Ship however I need to return home, that is when I then found I had many hurdles to jump. Hong Kong did not have an Eagle Lift available to transfer me on my Qantas Aircraft in a safe, respectful and dignified manner. As you can imagine I was devastated.

I then felt obliged to fight hard for a plight I strongly believed in. Anyone who has a disability and can not transfer from their wheelchair into an Aircraft seat still has the right to see the world like anyone else. Here we have a piece of equipment ready to provide independence to someone like me and Airlines and Airports don’t see why this equipment is a must.

In my particular case, it wasn’t until I was blessed to find John McGuinness. With permission from Qantas, John flew over to Hong Kong and personally made the transfer for me to get home. The Eagle Lift ensures a Respectful, Comfortable and Safe transfer from your Wheelchair seat to the Aircraft seat.

To me John is truly one in a million, not many people would do what John did for me. I can’t thank him enough. Every Airport needs to have an Eagle Lift available to those in need. People should not have to fight for a simple right.
I with John and many others will continue to fight the world of Aviation until there is change.

Kim Jago – Melbourne, Australia.

We have used the Eagle Hoist several times now, both in the UK and USA and it made our trip so much easier. The Eagle removed the issues we usually face when travelling with our disabled
son. William was able to be lifted safely and comfortably from his wheelchair onto the plane, neither myself or my husband had to strain our backs carrying him through a narrow aisle and he was not at risk of being hurt by being carried manually. This also meant that we were able to reduce the stress we usually face when travelling as we were able to allow William to be taken to his seat whilst we were dismantling his wheelchair together (something we usually have to do alone which is extremely difficult with one person) and we were then able to split our hand luggage between us to carry on board.

Travelling with a disabled child means it is impossible to travel light and we usually have at least 6 bags which are hard to manage on your own! The Eagle was ready and waiting for us at the boarding gate, William was able to be positioned in the sling in plenty of time before the gates opened and was then transferred before the remaining passengers were boarded, it was hassle free and so much easier and less stressful than the usual manual method.

I’d like to see this equipment offered at all airports to allow us to travel more freely with him and allow him to see more of the world without the added stress of an unsafe and undignified transfer which always ruins the start of our holiday.

Laura Moore – London, UK

The Eagle lifter is my preferred means of transfer on and off aircraft as I can be wearing my business suit and I look just as good at the beginning of the day as I do at the end of the day! More importantly it makes me feel exactly the way the UN Convention rights of Persons with disabilities suggest that we should expect in any customer service interaction – it helps provide a service that is dignified, equitable and as independent as possible.

Simon Darcy Professor UTS Business School, disability advocate, traveller and lover of the good things in life!

You may remember me -we were in communication re the Eagle Hoist for my daughter for our trip to Orlando from Gatwick.
We’ve now returned from this trip and I just wanted to say how wonderful the Eagle Hoist was! Gatwick were excellent both ways as were the Fire Department in Orlando.

This hoist was simply amazing and made the transfer into her seat so much easier. Thank you for all your assistance with this amazing product!

Sharon Collins – London. UK

The Eagle Lifter II – my personal experiences.

My name is Gary Evans. I am a 51-year-old Englishman who broke his neck at C4/5 28 years ago playing rugby which has left me paralysed from virtually my shoulders down.

I first flew approximately 25 years ago to Florida from Gatwick airport not knowing what to expect when it came to embarking/disembarking an aircraft.

The first experience was quite a rude awakening finding that I was literally manhandled by lifting me on the waistband of my trousers and any other way the handling staff could manage to lift me, from my wheelchair onto an aisle chair (an extremely narrow type of wheelchair with no proper armrests or foot rest) precariously wheeled along the aisle of the plane, my legs spasming and kicking out due to the lack of support and my arms catching on the chairs etc as I was moved down the aisle of the plane and then once again manhandled across onto my aeroplane seat pretty lopsided and not really comfortable for what was then a 10 hour flight constantly having to be pushed over as I wasn’t sat straight in my seat due to the manner I was transferred.

This was a very undignified and frankly pretty unsafe experience and one that could quite easily put off many people from ever flying again however my will to travel and experience other countries led me to decide that if I wanted to go on holiday that I would endure this ordeal and for the next 20 odd years, I flew 12 more times having to go through a similar procedure which got harder due to the fact that over the years I became heavier. I had managed to work out that by using one of my own slings in place underneath me it allowed me to be lifted by four people a little bit safer however that didn’t stop me being lowered on the armrest on several occasions during my transfer with the risk of causing injury to myself and still with the problem of my arms scraping against the aeroplane seats as I was moved along the aisles and also my legs spasming and kicking out and feeling like I was going to slide off of the aisle chair on many occasions.

About three years ago I saw a hoist called the Eagle lifter II on Facebook. A hoist that could transfer you safely from your wheelchair to your aeroplane seat without being manhandled or the need for transferring you to an aisle chair thus finally providing a safe and dignified way to get to your aeroplane seat. I was so impressed that I made a comment about the product and was contacted by the director of the company John McGuinness who invited me to see the hoist first-hand at the Virgin Base near Gatwick airport.

I went along to the Virgin Base and got to see the hoist and even try it on one of the dummy aeroplane set-ups Virgin have at the base. For the first time since I started flying my experience of being transferred from my wheelchair into an aeroplane seat was comfortable safe and dignified and furthermore I was left in a good position on the seat when I was lowered which I knew would make the whole journey that much more comfortable.

At that time my local airport which was Gatwick still did not have one of these hoists and I was determined to help get that changed. I was going on holiday to Florida later that year and John kindly agreed to let me use this hoist at Gatwick airport when I was leaving for my holiday and arranged for a trial of the hoist at the airport to coincide with my trip. He also arranged for one to be at Orlando airport so that I could be used to demonstrate the hoist there. I cannot stress how much easier, safer, more dignified and enjoyable this made my experience of flying. It also made the

transfers much quicker taking only about six minutes instead of the usual 20 minutes to half an hour. I am pleased to say that since then, both of the airports have decided to purchase these hoists.

It is hard to put into words the difference that this device makes to the whole flying experience not just for me but also for my family who travel with me as the experience or transferring me was usually shared by them and was extremely stressful to myself and them worrying if I was ever going to get hurt during the transfers and ending up in casualty due to an injury before I even got on holiday.

Apart from the obvious benefits to myself when it comes to improving the safety and comfort of my transfers, it is undoubtedly much safer for the people transferring me as well as I was always amazed that they were allowed to manually handle someone in such an unsafe way for so many years.

In my opinion a device like the Eagle lifter II should be available at every airport in the world to transfer severely disabled people like myself safely and with dignity.

Gary Evans – London, UK.

The Eagle Hoist has bought dignity to Julie when boarding an aircraft.
She is lowered gently into her seat. No longer is she faced with being lifted by a man with his hands under her thighs, another under her arm pits and then thrown into her seat.
Thank you so much to John the designer and all the airports and airlines for their cooperation.

Tony Clough – MBE Changing Places (16th September, 2015)

We had the desire to improve the services, accessibility and safety for our passengers with mobility limitations. Our objective was to find a solution for transfer between wheelchair and the aircraft seat. The development of the Eagle Passenger Lifter has enabled us to achieve this, whilst reducing the manual handling risks for our staff.

John Cree – Former – Manager Safety, Environment & Compliance (Qantas Airways)

For me, the Eagle Passenger Lifter has significantly reduced the risk in transferring from my wheelchair into an airline seat. In simple terms, it has reduced the number of lifts required and I no longer need an aisle chair as I can be lifted out of my chair and moved down the aisle and directly into my seat.

Maurice Corcoran AM – Qantas Passenger (Former Chairman – Australian Federation of Disability Organisations)

The travel experience of our customers with mobility impairments has been greatly enhanced, as has the well-being of our staff. The Eagle Passenger Lifter is an excellent solution!

Andrew Harrison – Former – Service Delivery Manager (Short Haul Airline, Air New Zealand Ltd)

“Personally, I think the Eagle Passenger Lifter works very well. I have used it successfully a number of times on a regular flights. It is comfortable and discreet and removes the need for an aisle chair to get up the aisle. I think the Eagle Passenger Lifter is a great appliance and an asset to any airline that adopts its use.”

Murray Cohen – Air New Zealand Passenger (has Tetraplegia)