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Afraid of flying!


redsox

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Hey everyone, I am going on vacation for the next 3 weeks and I am really looking forward to it. The one thing I am NOT looking forward to is the flying. I have to admit that I am scared of flying - so scared that I have avoided flying for about 2 and a half years. Even the slightest of turbulence sets something off and all the bad things start going through my head. I have been checking the weather for the past week to make sure that the day I am flying is a sunny day.

I will be leaving this coming Wednesday and the flight time is about 19 hours (with 3 hours gap in between - a halt at Paris). Do any of you guys have some suggestions to overcome this phobia I am having? I don't want to be scared to death for 22 hours! Thanks.

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The only thing I like to keep in mind is that the chances of you dying in a plane crash are significantly lower then the chances in any other mode of transportation, including walking. Also, I know the airline I flew on Finnair, has never had a crash in 40 years of existence.

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For long flights, do whatever you can to be distracted. I flew to South Africa two years ago and I watched every movie they had available on demand. On the way back they had all the same movies so I watched them again. If you don't want to do that, just try and sleep for as long as possible. When I went to India a couple years ago, I slept for the entire flight from London to Mumbai, I fell asleep before we took off and woke up after we landed, I missed the whole flight.

However the flight goes, I hope you have fun, where are you headed for?

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For long flights, do whatever you can to be distracted. I flew to South Africa two years ago and I watched every movie they had available on demand. On the way back they had all the same movies so I watched them again. If you don't want to do that, just try and sleep for as long as possible. When I went to India a couple years ago, I slept for the entire flight from London to Mumbai, I fell asleep before we took off and woke up after we landed, I missed the whole flight.

However the flight goes, I hope you have fun, where are you headed for?

I am actually headed for Madras and will be staying there for about a week then I head off to Bombay. I had always flown in Lufthansa but this time we had a better deal with Air France.

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The only thing I like to keep in mind is that the chances of you dying in a plane crash are significantly lower then the chances in any other mode of transportation, including walking. Also, I know the airline I flew on Finnair, has never had a crash in 40 years of existence.

That's the kind of mentality I take with me but once I am inside the plane and its taking off, I just get back that fear. I am flying in Air France. The last time I flew, I had to hold a lady's hand sitting next to me - and I had no idea I was doing that. Hopefully this time will be different.

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meh i dont have a fear of flying so i dont really think i can help you much only thing i really do to avoid the flying trip is no sleep at all the day before yor trip so while yours on the plane you can sleep but im talking about a 7 hour trp yours is 19 so idk, I mean iv been on a plane at night and we were in a cloud were lightning was going off liek every 3 seconds and for some reason i wasnt scared.

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meh i dont have a fear of flying so i dont really think i can help you much only thing i really do to avoid the flying trip is no sleep at all the day before yor trip so while yours on the plane you can sleep but im talking about a 7 hour trp yours is 19 so idk, I mean iv been on a plane at night and we were in a cloud were lightning was going off liek every 3 seconds and for some reason i wasnt scared.

You know I might do that. I may wait until the last minute to pack up everything and probably find something to do that way I can sleep, atleast for the first part of the flight.

Are you going to take a connection flight in Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport?

Thats right man. We have about roughly a 3 hour stop before we board the plane.

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Thats right man. We have about roughly a 3 hour stop before we board the plane.

You are a lucky guy, I have bad experiences in that airport (DONT EVER MAKE A 1 HOUR STOP THERE) :headache:

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You are a lucky guy, I have bad experiences in that airport (DONT EVER MAKE A 1 HOUR STOP THERE) :headache:

Really? This is the first time we are flying in Air France. We had always flown in Lufthansa (stops at Frankfurt) but decided to go with Air France this time around because we are able to get a decent deal.

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I always have a fear of flying because of one reason and one reason only.

I am not in control.

When I walk, I can always stop walking. When I'm driving, I can always stop the car and get off. When I'm on the train, I can always get off at the next stop. I can't get off a plane when it's in the air.

I mean I've started to get comfortable enough to try and get on a plane again, I mean I've went to JFK a few times to drop people off, but it's a start!

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I know. To be confined in one area for nearly 8-9 hours is really something especially when stopping the plane and getting off for a few minutes is really not in your hands.

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I am actually headed for Madras and will be staying there for about a week then I head off to Bombay. I had always flown in Lufthansa but this time we had a better deal with Air France.

I've been to India three times, and I'm going again (maybe) next year or year after. My entire family is there. I've always flown British Airways though. Stop in London and then connect. I here that Lufthansa is usually a good flight, my cousins always take that when they come to Canada. I don't really know much about Air France, never flown on it. It can't be worse than Air Canada though ;) Sorry if I'm not much help, I'm kind of the opposite of you, I love flying, the longer the flight the better for me. :) Anyways, I hope all goes well with you. Have you been to India before?

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Thanks man. Yeah, I have been to India about 4-5 times. My last trip was about 2 and a half years ago - visited nearly every major attraction from the Taj Mahal to Kanyakumari. We are mainly going for our grandpa as he wants to see his old village and the school/college he studied in, and visit some of his old friends.

I love it there, though many of my Indian friends don't see it that way. There are so many attractions to see that its really amazing. The Queen's necklace was really amazing to see when I was in Bombay in my last trip. There are so many historic places that I want to visit. I really am looking forward to that.

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I always have a fear of flying because of one reason and one reason only.

I am not in control.

When I walk, I can always stop walking. When I'm driving, I can always stop the car and get off. When I'm on the train, I can always get off at the next stop. I can't get off a plane when it's in the air.

I mean I've started to get comfortable enough to try and get on a plane again, I mean I've went to JFK a few times to drop people off, but it's a start!

I think trains are more dangerous than planes, especially Amtrak, what if your getting off the next stop on the train and the train derails, your not in control then are ya. :shock:

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Lufthansa is a good airline to fly with. Flew with them to Boston from Gothenburgh through Frankfurt last summer. Really good on-board service!

Never travelled with Finnair or British Airways but they've made a good name for themselves on the European market. For all the Swede's I talk to and sell 'em airline tickets to Asia (mostly Bangkok), they always ask for either Finnair or Thai and that says a lot. We don't have BA stationed in Gothenburgh but they fly from Stockholm and from what I hear from both clients and co-workers, they provide good service.

When I went to NYC in 2004, I flew Air France and to be honest, I won't do it again anytime soon. Not that it was anything wrong during the flight or anything but I felt that the on flight service was a bit lame pls the fact that the cabin crew from my flight from NYC to Paris didn't speak english. When we boarded the plane at JFK, there was a big sign that said "on todays flight, we speak the following languages: French, German and Italian". I could hardly order a coke on the plane :chin:

As for you being scared of flying, I can only tell you what the other guys have said so far - think about the odds of something happening.

I've got a quote for you from one of the greatest swedish movies ever made that's about some people going on a vacation to the Canaries. One of the characters has a fear of flying and goes to a specialist to talk about it. The "doctor" tells the person to sit down, relax, spead his arms out like they're the wings of the plane, close his eyes and keep telling himself "I can fly, I'm not afraid, I can fly, I'm not afraid". I'm not saying that you should do this while on the plane but it wouldn't hurt to try though :wink:

To round things off, a friend of mine is really scared of flying so everytime she's about to do so, she takes a muscle relaxing pill that almost wipes her out so she can sleep for like 3-4 hours straight :)

Good luck!

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Thanks a lot Totte. I really loved the service I received when I flew in Lufthansa. Hopefully I will have a good experience with Air France. I had flown in Delta once and I have to say that is the worst flight. The service was horrible. They were all out of soft drinks half way into the flight time! And they messed up our meal. Not to mention the stewardess being a little rude.

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Thanks a lot Totte. I really loved the service I received when I flew in Lufthansa. Hopefully I will have a good experience with Air France. I had flown in Delta once and I have to say that is the worst flight. The service was horrible. They were all out of soft drinks half way into the flight time! And they messed up our meal. Not to mention the stewardess being a little rude.

Not to be rude or anything to you guys but on the European market, american airlines like DL, AA, US, UA etc. have a really bad reputation both among customers and travel agents. They're known to have crappy service on board and they're not at all helpful if you need to adjust something with the reservation (agent). The only american airline I keep hearing good ravings about is Continental :)

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Hey, only Alitalia sucks? Never fly with Alitalia! Lufthansa is great (Yeah, Totte i've been to Sweden a couple of years ago and it was beatiful)

From what I've heard, Alitalia needs to be sold in order to survive but the other airlines that have been said to be interested (Air France and Iberia), they've deciced to draw back their bids due to unknown reasons.

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I'm 12 and I've been on a plane 10 times. I had that fear the first few times I was on it, but I've been on them so many times that I have lost the fear. I love video games, so I bring along my DS and my case of like 25 games and I usually play for most of the flight.

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