fear of flying in commercial jet?

[GrimGrinninAnna]

You are not alone! I'm a travel journalist and every time we taxi the runway I feel like I'm going to loose my cookies.

That being said, I do enjoy a nice drink the minute I arrive at my seat, bring a magazine with consuming articles to loose myself in, and try to stare straight ahead if I don't have one.

Also, I may get a lot of flack for this, but I try to imagine everything that could possibly go wrong. Every crash landing, every scenerio, and devise a way (in my head at least) to get through it. Dilusional? Yes. Does it help me arrive at my destination? You bet.

 

[bgraham34]

I have a fear of the last 30 mins or so. Not a fear maybe but I always get sick, usually dizzy, from the going back and forth and up and down motion. My fears are more waiting at the airport wondering if the flight will ever take off.

 

[AndreainNY]

I HATE to fly - a deep rooted hatred. The minute I get on a plane, I am positive that I am going to die. And it has only gotten worse since I have had kids. The only thing that has helped me is Xanax. I take the lowest dose made (20 mg), so I am not so loopy that I cannot take care of my kids, but it takes that horrid panic away. I still don't enjoy flying, but I can now look at it as a method to a destination - that's all. And trying to keep 3 kids entertained on a 3 hour flight also helps distract me!

 

[RiversideBunny]

Take sky diving lessons.
After that, staying inside the airplane will seem like a piece of cake.

Ride Rock'nRoller Coaster a lot. It's like flying an F16 in the dark.

I once met a B52 bomber pilot who felt uneasy on commercial airplanes because he was not in control.

Good luck.
:king:

 

[hrcollectibles]

I took my first ever plane flight in 06 to Milwaukee.. I was fearful but handled it much better than a friend of mine who came along ( i won a trip from a local radio station) After that first time I love flying (even though I have only done it once since then).. I feel safer flying than I do driving

 

[T-1MILLION]

I know I am late in the topic here but I do have a large fear of flying as well. I have a flight booked in 15 days to head up north. I am not afraid to drive three hours to central FL from where I am where I need to take I4(the deadliest road in the United States) but when I book a flight I already start to get nervous. I don't know if it is a secruity Terroism thing more than just my fear of errors, but both sure don't help.

Although I feel I usually come down once I get to the point where the plane is in the air and everyone is calm and getting drinks. I am still nervous, but stabalized by that time.

So glad I don't need to fly to go to the parks.


On another side note. You can put me on just about any size coaster out there and I am fine.

-Preston

 

[righttrack]

I used to have a fear of flying, but ultimately business travel cured me. It takes time and experience to know what to expect. Just expect a bumpy ride, expect the plane to twist and turn, because it isn't a complete straight line to your destination, right?

Most important. Talk. Talk to your travel mates, and if you are alone, make friends with your neighbor. They are likely bored and would like some converstation. I've made some nice friends on flights, and even changed dinner plans to hang with them afterwards. Bottom line, normal activities, normal talk, drink, eat, use the bathroom. All of these things help to relax you.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

I just flew ALONE for the first time last week to Philidelphia for Freedoms Foundation,a youth leadership conference with a emphasis on American History.I honnestly thought that I would be scared out of my wits-I was, but if you just take your mind off rhe fact that you nare flying and just enjoy the view(request the window if you are OK with that) it's actually a pretty good experience.

 

[Nic4Mick]

I'm not scared of flying, but I really don't like turbulence. On a pretty bumpy flight once I was getting quite panicky, and a friend told me her trick was to pretend she was on a simulator. So I looked straight ahead, not out the window and imagined I was on Star Tours (since I was on my way to WDW!) and I calmed down. Strange advice but it worked!

 

[elizs77]

My dad used to work internationally, and he often took some crazy little planes into some crazy little underdeveloped areas. He told me that whenever things get rough or doesn't sound right, he always looks at the flight attendant. If the flight attendant doesn't look concerned, then everything's okay.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

My dad used to work internationally, and he often took some crazy little planes into some crazy little underdeveloped areas. He told me that whenever things get rough or doesn't sound right, he always looks at the flight attendant. If the flight attendant doesn't look concerned, then everything's okay.

I did the same thing on my last flight.If they are still servings drinks in turbulence-everything must be OK.My friend was laughing but it works.

 

[MAGICFLOP]

I know this is obvious, but

DONT FLY!!!!

Drive !!!!!!! :sohappy: See America (before we sell it)

 

[PhotoDave219]

I used to love to fly, but since I've had kids, I get more worried. I know you are more likely to die in a car crash, but the chances of surviving a car crash are higher than a plane crash!

Clearly you haven't flown on Oceanic 815. :lookaroun

Anyways, There were no fatal commercial crashes in the US last year. The last one that comes to mind is a Southwest jet in Chicago that ran a redlight in a snowstorm and killed someone in the car it hit. (Of course it skidded off the runway but that still counts as a fatal accident despite no one on board being killed)

 

[progroupie]

I'm quite terrified of flying. I've actually still never flown. As a kid my family's main vacation destination was Disney and we were an 8 hour drive from Orlando which wasn't obscene and it was much more economical back then than flying. So I've made it into my adult years without having ever flown. My mother is in her 50's and has never flown and it's probably her irrational fear of flying that's caused my irrational fear of flying. I'm considering taking a trip this summer that would involve flying and I'm highly considering sedatives or liquor. Or even both. If I could be unconscious for the majority of the flight I'd be much more comfortable with the idea. :snore:

 

[Miss Bell]

I found something on my last trip that helped me a ton. Normally, I am an avid reader, but during a flight, it is sometimes harder for me to concentrate, because I really do get scared. On my last trip I had recently purchased some of my favorite episodes of Friends for my video iPod. I plugged in my headphones, and watched, and laughed. The time really flew by (no pun intended.)

I think having something to take my mind off of it really does help my fear, and this worked great for me.

 

[progroupie]

I found something on my last trip that helped me a ton. Normally, I am an avid reader, but during a flight, it is sometimes harder for me to concentrate, because I really do get scared. On my last trip I had recently purchased some of my favorite episodes of Friends for my video iPod. I plugged in my headphones, and watched, and laughed. The time really flew by (no pun intended.)

I think having something to take my mind off of it really does help my fear, and this worked great for me.

That reminds me, when I was a kid and we went on long trips we had one of those giant conversion fans, there's was a spot for a small tv and we were able to watch cartoons, so when we'd ask my mother how much longer it would take us to get somewhere she'd tell us in terms of episodes, she'd say we'd be there in 4 Scooby-Doo's which really meant two hours. I feel like even as a grown up this could work for me!

 

[Disneybub]

My partner has the same fear, but every time we fly he gets more confident, I suggest you approach one of the flight attendants, explain your situation they will offer you get on the plane 1st or last(Its up to you).
I also suggest sitting towards the front of the plane, if you are at the back and you can see everyone you will only worry more, I completely understand how you are feeling, and have every sympathy, just try and relax and think of the wonderful trip you have to look forward too!! Hope it helps, x

 

[yankspy]

Some people have felt more at ease if they meet and talk to the pilot for a few minutes before the flight. You can always ask at the gate if you can do this. If you have an idea of the person whom you are entrusting your life to it can be a little more comforting. Remember, the pilot has just as much at stake as you do. My Uncle flew for United for over thirty years and I once asked him if he felt nervous having all of that responsibility. His response was that he only worried about himself. He said, "As long as I get there, everyone else will get there".:lol:

 

[YankeeMouse]

Xanax.

 

[YankeeMouse]

Also a portable DVD player. Put on Pirates of the Caribbean and before you know it, it will be time to turn it off for descent. And as I said, Xanax. I used to be petrified, and now I can actually fly without medication! Not trying to be a pill pusher, but it relaxes you if you take the smallest dosage, to the point where when you are on takeoff, you don't have the sweaty palms, fast heartbeat, etc. Your body is calm, so you kind of say to yourself, why, look at that, no fast heartbeat, no sweats, I must be calm, and it calms you.