The Over-60 Flyer’s Handbook by Peggy Rourke: flying comfortably and safely after 60

Illustration of Peggy Rourke at a desk in her study, pen in hand over an open notebook.

Hello from Peggy

The airline won’t hide the rules from you. It just won’t read them out.

I’m Peggy. On my channel I talk about what a flight looks like from the crew’s side of the aisle. This handbook is the other half: what you can do about it, in order, from the day you book to the night you unpack.

Flying doesn’t change on a birthday. It changes when a knee stops liking half-mile concourses, when announcements get harder to hear, when there are five pill bottles instead of one, or when it has been fifteen years since your last flight.

For each of those there is a rule, a phone number or a habit that makes the day easier. I looked each rule up on the page of the agency that wrote it, and the handbook tells you where, so you never have to take my word for it.

Who it is for

Written for flyers over sixty, and the people who book for them.

This is for you if

Long airport walks, stairs or standing in line have become hard
You take medicine every day and worry about security and time zones
You haven’t flown in years and the airport has changed
You don’t hear announcements well, or don’t see the screens well
You book flights for a parent and want to get it right
You’d like to know what you’re owed when a flight is cancelled

It is not

Medical advice. Where a question belongs to your doctor, the handbook says so and stops
A guide to cheap fares, points or upgrades
About flights that never touch the United States. The rules in it are U.S. rules, for flights to, from or within the country
A printed book. It is a PDF you read on a screen or print at home

“I’m the passenger who requested wheelchair assistance.”From the handbook. The note in your booking does nothing until you say this to a person at the airport. Most people are never told.

Look inside

Real pages from the handbook.

Tap a page to see it bigger.

Page 5, The Whole Handbook on One Page: a table of what to do at each stage of a trip, from booking to the hotel, with the reason and the chapter. — **The one-page summary, page 5**The whole trip in thirteen lines, each with its chapter.

Page 12, Choosing Your Seat: a table comparing aisle, window and middle seats and a seat map marking exit rows, the bulkhead and aisle seats near a lavatory. — **Choosing your seat, page 12**Aisle or window, and where to look on the seat map.

Page 16, Asking for Help: six numbered steps for requesting wheelchair assistance, a sentence to say at the airport, and the short list of services that need 48 hours’ notice. — **Asking for help, page 16**How to request assistance, step by step, and what to say.

Page 43, Delays, Cancellations and Refunds: the words to ask for a refund, and a table of what nine U.S. airlines commit to in a delay they caused, from the Department of Transportation’s dashboard. — **Delays and refunds, page 43**What nine airlines commit to, from DOT’s own dashboard.

Page 58, The Checklists: tick-box lists for the day you book, two to six weeks before, and three days before. — **The checklists, page 58**Ten lists to print and tick with a pen.

What is inside

69 pages, chapter by chapter.

It opens with the whole handbook on one page (page 5) and a note on the one word that unlocks most of your rights (page 6).

Part One

Before You Book

Booking the Flightp. 9

Five choices that make the day easier. How long a connection really needs. The 24-hour rule. Airline, agent or booking site. What to do when the airline changes your flight.

Choosing Your Seatp. 12

Aisle or window, front or back, with a seat map. The federal test for exit rows. The seats you can ask for by right, and what the airline doesn’t have to give.

Asking for Help: Wheelchairs and Mobility Assistancep. 15

What the airline must do from curb to seat, between gates and to baggage claim. How to ask in six steps. The 30-minute rule. Your own walker, chair or scooter. Hearing and vision. Who the CRO is.

Part Two

Packing and Papers

Medicines and Medical Devicesp. 20

How to pack them. What TSA says about pills, liquids, cold packs, insulin pumps and CPAPs. Time zones. Taking medicine abroad. Oxygen concentrators. Pacemakers and new hips at the checkpoint.

What Goes in Which Bagp. 23

Three bags and the pouch. The battery rule. Liquids. Can you lift it? What doesn’t count as a bag. REAL ID and your papers.

Part Three

The Airport

Security Screeningp. 27

TSA Cares and how to use it. What to tell the officer, in a table. The lighter rules at 75 and older. Whether PreCheck is worth it. The checkpoint in order.

The Gate and Boardingp. 30

Three things to do at the gate desk. Preboarding, and the sentence that gets it. When your bag is tagged at the gate. One sentence for the crew at the door. The private briefing.

Part Four

In the Air

What the Crew Can and Cannot Dop. 33

What they must help with if you have a disability, and what they aren’t required to do. Your bag in the bin. If you feel ill. Two alcohol rules. How to ask so that you get a yes.

Comfort on Long Flightsp. 36

What CDC says about blood clots, with the signs to know. Water, coffee and wine. What to wear. Sleeping. Jet lag. A long flight hour by hour.

Safety Without Fussp. 39

FAA’s own list for passengers. Counting rows with your hand. Seat belts and shoes. Leaving in a hurry. Phones and batteries.

Part Five

When Things Go Wrong

Delays, Cancellations and Refundsp. 42

When you are owed a refund, and the trap that loses it. What nine airlines commit to when they cause the delay. Stuck on the airplane: the limits.

Bumping, Missed Connections and Bagsp. 45

What you’re owed if you are bumped, in dollars. A missed connection, step by step. A missing suitcase: what to file, what is paid, and the limits.

How to Complain and Get Resultsp. 48

Three steps in order. The dates that matter. What to write down at the time. A model letter.

Part Six

After You Land

The Hotel Roomp. 51

The first five minutes in a new room. What the U.S. Fire Administration says about exits. The luggage rack. The door. Before you sleep.

Flying Abroadp. 54

Where Medicare stops. Insurance questions to ask. Papers. Which U.S. rules travel with you and which don’t. Coming home through customs.

Part Seven

Checklists and Pages to Print

The Checklistsp. 58

Ten lists: booking day, the weeks before, three days before, packing, the night before, the airport, on board, if it goes wrong, the hotel room, coming home.

What to Say, All in One Placep. 61

Twenty-nine short scripts for the phone, the airport, the airplane and the bad day.

Pages to Fill Inp. 64

My Trip Sheet, My Medicine List, and the numbers and websites.

At the back

Where It All Came From

52 numbered sourcesp. 67

Every chapter ends with the numbers of the sources it used, and the list gives each web address.

Where the rules come from

Every rule has the page it came from.

Airline rules change, and the internet is full of confident advice that was true in 2019. So each rule, number and phone number in the handbook was read on the official page in November 2026, and each chapter ends with its sources.

Where the advice is only mine, such as how long I’d leave for a connection, the handbook says so. And where an official site wouldn’t open, I left the fact out and said that too.

Illustration of an airport gate area in the early morning, with a small navy suitcase beside a row of seats and an airplane at the jet bridge outside.

Department of TransportationAssistance, seats, refunds, bumping, bags, tarmac delays, complaints, and the federal regulations behind them.
TSA and FAAMedicines and devices at the checkpoint, TSA Cares, ID, batteries, exit rows, oxygen machines, cabin safety.
CDC, Medicare and othersBlood clots, jet lag and medicine abroad. Medicare outside the U.S. Hotel fire safety from the U.S. Fire Administration. Bed bugs from EPA.

How it works

Pay once. The handbook opens. It stays in your email.

You pay
One time, through Gumroad, the shop that handles the sale. There is nothing to cancel later.
The handbook opens
Right after you pay, you get a button to your files. Tap it and the PDF opens on the phone, tablet or computer in your hand.
It stays in your email
Gumroad also emails you the same link. Keep that email and you can get the files back any time, on any device.

Not good with computers?

You don’t have to be. If you can open an email, you can open this handbook. There is nothing to install. Phones, tablets and computers all open a PDF on their own.

To print the checklists, open the white print version and print pages 58 to 66. If you get stuck, hand your phone and the Gumroad email to anybody you trust with a phone.

The offer

One payment, and it’s all digital.

The Over-60 Flyer’s Handbook

Digital PDF

The handbook69 pages, US Letter. Seven parts, 18 chapters, a one-page summary at the front.
Print versionThe same 69 pages on white, for your own printer.
Ten checklists and 29 scriptsWhat to do and what to say, from booking day to coming home.
Two pages to fill inMy Trip Sheet and My Medicine List.
52 official sourcesListed with their web addresses, chapter by chapter.

$27One payment. Everything is digital. Nothing ships.

Launch price. Ends soon.

Available soon

Instant download through Gumroad, also emailed.

Cover of The Trip Checklist Pack, a digital PDF of printable sheets.

Or the handbook with the pack

Handbook + The Trip Checklist Pack, $37

Seventeen sheets in large type on white pages, one job to a page, made to be printed and carried. You choose this option at checkout.

Trip Planner, Assistance Log and a back-timing sheet for getting to the gate
Medicine List and a dose schedule for the journey
Packing lists for three bags
Twelve cards to cut out: for the airline, the gate agent, TSA, the crew and your wallet
Delay, missing-bag and complaint sheets
A hotel room card, and a sheet for whoever stays home

Available soon

19 pages. Digital PDF.

30-day guarantee

Read it, plan a trip with it. If it’s not for you, ask for your money back within 30 days of buying, through your Gumroad receipt.

Sheet 6 of The Trip Checklist Pack: packing lists for the pouch and the under-seat bag.

Sheet 10 of The Trip Checklist Pack: six cards to cut out and hand over when asking for help.

Sheet 12 of The Trip Checklist Pack: a delay and cancellation sheet with a decision to tick and a table to fill in.

Three sheets from the pack. Tap to see them bigger.

A note from Peggy

I can’t promise you an easy flight. Weather happens, gates change, and some days the wheelchair is late. What a handbook can do is make sure you know what you asked for, who to say it to, and what you’re owed when it goes wrong.

You don’t have to read it all. Read the one page at the front, fill in the Trip Sheet and the Medicine List, and print the checklists. That alone will put you ahead of most of the people in the boarding line.

And say hello at the door.

Peggy Rourke

Questions

Before you buy

Is this a printed book?

No. It is a digital book, a PDF file, and nothing ships to your house. The picture at the top shows it as a book because that is how it reads, but what you get is files.

You can print it yourself. A print version on white pages comes with it.

Will it open on my phone?

Yes. iPhones, Android phones, tablets and computers all open a PDF with nothing to install. If the type looks small, spread two fingers on the page. The contents page has working links: tap a chapter to jump to it.

I can’t find my download.

Look in your email for a message from Gumroad. Search for the word Gumroad, and check the junk or spam folder too. If you have more than one email address, check the one you typed when you paid.

The link in that email takes you back to your files as many times as you need.

Is this medical or legal advice?

No. It is general information. It tells you what the airlines, TSA, FAA, DOT and CDC say, and where they say it. Whether you are fit to fly, and what to do about your own medicines, are questions for your doctor or pharmacist, and the handbook sends you there.

I don’t use a wheelchair. Is it still for me?

Yes. Three chapters are about assistance. The rest is for anyone: booking, seats, packing, medicines, security, comfort, delays, refunds, bags and hotels. And you may find, as many people do, that the help covers more than you thought, such as a cart for a long concourse or boarding early when you need more time.

I live outside the United States.

The rules in the handbook are U.S. rules. They apply to flights within the United States and to flights to or from it. If you never fly to, from or within the U.S., much of it won’t apply to you.

How current is it?

The rules were read on the official pages in November 2026. Rules and airline promises change, which is why every chapter lists its sources. Before a trip that depends on a rule, open the page and check.

Do I need the Trip Checklist Pack?

No. The handbook has its own ten checklists and two fill-in pages. The pack is for people who like paper: seventeen larger sheets, one job to a page, with cards to cut out. If you want it, choose the $37 option at checkout.

Is there a monthly charge?

No. You pay once. Nothing renews and there is nothing to cancel.

Will the price go up?

Yes. $27 is the launch price, and it ends soon.

What if it isn’t for me?

You have a 30-day guarantee. Ask for your money back within 30 days of buying, through your Gumroad receipt.

Questions and refunds are handled through your Gumroad receipt.

Fly comfortably and safely after sixty, and know what to ask for.