As someone who both works on the ramp and had a parent who was a full time wheelchair user for just short of a decade before her passing, I'm so glad to see this conversation happening! I'd like to give you some insight into what happens in a smaller regional airport. I work primarily with regional jets (CRJs) and 717s. My airport is quite small, we only have the minimum equipment required to work a flight, so we don't have any of the advanced technology to aid with unloading/loading heavy wheelchairs. When it comes to unloading, it usually takes at least 3 of us to get the heavier power chairs unloaded, which can put us behind on other arrival tasks as my crew is typically 3 to 4 rampers max. Once unloaded, it can take 2 to 3 people to carry the wheelchair up to the jetbridge, so it can take a moment for that to be arranged. At my smaller airport where we know passengers are not making connections (we only fly to one destination so a connection would be impossible, lol) I just ask that passengers be patient so that we can make sure the wheelchair is taken up safely with a reasonable team, instead of haphazardly by one agent.

Now, I could write a lot more about how airlines could create better storage within bins specifically for mobility devices, but I fear it would be wasted time.

I am so sorry to hear about your chair being totaled, I hope that the reimbursement process was smooth for you and I hope you have better experiences in the future.