Hey everyone,
I am in Barcelona, Spain this week with ten Wheelchair Travel readers, eight of whom are taking part in their first group trip with me! We are having a wonderful time and I look forward to sharing stories from our accessible adventure after returning to the United States.
I had intended for this email to be a traditional Wheelchair Travel Newsletter, but it has morphed into a reflection on the connections between some of my recent travels and a series of past experiences. I hope you will enjoy it.
Salt Lake City
Last month, I traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, not to write about travel, but to meet with Robin Wearley of ADAPTS and to attend a conference on disability ministry and inclusion within the Catholic Church.
John Morris
While this is not a website focused on religion, I believe that disability advocacy is important everywhere, including in our faith communities. The conference was well-intentioned and I met many wonderful people there, but I could not help but recognize a resemblance to many of the travel industry conferences that I attend — presentations on accessibility, delivered primarily by nondisabled speakers.
The truth is, disability representation is an uphill battle everywhere and, even with a conference like this one, two major barriers are in play — cost and the accessibility of travel. The $350+ conference registration fee was not insignificant, nor was the cost of round-trip airfare and multiple nights spent in a hotel. Add to that the fears and frustrations experienced by many disabled people when traveling by air, and it's no surprise that disability turnout was low at a primarily in-person conference. Still, the Church itself could have done a better job in ensuring that the subjects of this conference — Disabled Catholics — were better represented. "Nothing about us without us," right?
I will keep showing up where others cannot, but I long for the day when disabled people are the represented majority in places where our community is being discussed.
Memory: The most-read article in Wheelchair Travel's history
After the coronavirus pandemic halted my travels in 2020, I spent more than seven months grounded and was excited to resume my travels in late October 2020 with a trip to Rapid City, South Dakota. That trip never happened due to a discriminatory policy enacted by American Airlines (long since rescinded), which I documented in the following article:
John Morris
That article was read by nearly two million people, making it the most-read article in the history of this website. That story, and the subsequent battle to restore access to air travel for power wheelchair users, came to mind as I returned to Salt Lake City. SLC was one of the first destinations I traveled to after breaking my 2020 Covid lockdown, and I was only able to make that trip by removing the 50-pound batteries from my wheelchair.
John Morris
Thankfully, for the vast majority of power wheelchair users, the updated wheelchair weight limits on American Airlines no longer force significant wheelchair disassembly.
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Redemption in Tallahassee?
During Labor Day weekend, Stevie and I traveled to Tallahassee, Florida to kick-off the college football season, where my Florida State Seminoles hosted the Alabama Crimson Tide. According to the betting lines, Alabama was favored by 13.5 points, but the 'Noles surprised the nation with a dominant victory, 31-17.
The win was a sweet redemption following the dreadful 2024 season. Beating the team that had stolen our spot in the 2023 College Football Playoffs made the result so much sweeter — and reminded me of this article that I wrote in December 2023:
John Morris
Sports may not be your thing, but I encourage you to read the article — some might think my comparison is a stretch, but I stand by my words and think it captures well the raw emotions experienced in the face of wrongdoing (whether in college football or in the denials of equal access for disabled people). Let me know what you think!
And yes, you heard it here first — the Florida State Seminoles will be among the 12 teams represented in this year's College Football Playoff. Book it!
Advocacy: My travel last month was focused on advocating for greater accessibility in travel
I previously shared that I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to moderate a panel at the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress in late August, and you can read about my experience there in the previous newsletter, Wheelchair Travel Newsletter: On the Road to Advocate for Accessible Travel.
While in Atlanta, I also toured the headquarters of Delta Flight Products, where I met with their team and learned more about the certification progress for the Air4All Wheelchair Securement Space for Airplanes. The big takeaway: The DFP team is fully committed to the Air4All product, but the product's FAA certification cannot move forward until an airline customer selects an aircraft on which to certify it.
Multiple carriers are interested in the Air4All solution, and I was told that the launch customer may not be Delta Air Lines. The team would not share any clues about which carriers have shown interest, but they remain optimistic in the product's future.
After my meetings with DFP and at the ITS World Congress, I traveled to Washington, D.C. to address the National Council on Disability on the subject of accessible ground transportation. You can watch the NCD meeting and my comments in the video below:
The advisory work of the National Council on Disability is critical to advancing new legislation and regulations that impact disabled people in the United States, and I appreciated the invitation to share my perspective.
Preview: March 2026 Wheelchair Travel Group Trip to Greece
Leading Wheelchair Travel Group Trips throughout the year is the highlight of my work, and one of my most popular tours introduces travelers to Greece. Next year, I will take my fourth group to Greece and I hope you will join me!
The Wheelchair Travel Group Trip to Greece is scheduled to take place from March 20-30, 2026! An incredible mix of experiences will reveal Greek history, art, culture and gastronomy on what is a truly memorable accessible tour.
The complete tour itinerary will be released on Monday, September 22 at 10:00 a.m. ET (New York time) exclusively to paid members of this newsletter. Paid members will have a private booking window of 48 hours. If spaces remain, bookings will be opened to free subscribers on Wednesday, September 24.
If you would like to be among the first to receive this trip opportunity and future information about accessible group tours, please upgrade your subscription in advance of the tour release.
Final Thoughts
Before departing for Greece, I celebrated my birthday with Stevie and Robert. Baking is one of Robert's hobbies, and he crafted a delicious chocolate cake to celebrate this increasingly old man.
In the next newsletter, I will recap my trip to Spain and share details about my upcoming travel schedule, which includes a group tour to Greece and speaking engagements at accessible travel conferences in Turin, Italy and Sunriver, Oregon next month. Stevie and Robert will join me on stage during the latter trip, and I am excited to share that with you all.
All the best,
— John Morris
