Afraid Of Flying

I have known a number of folks who would resist to their last drawn breath, getting into an airplane. My wife's sister, a previous co-worker of mine, who willingly drove all the way from Farmington, NM, to Phoenix, rather than fly, even though the company paid the bill.

Do you know anyone, or have known someone, having such fear? Yourself, perhaps? Frank

 

I'm ok with it Frank. I try to use mind control and pretend I'm in a recliner in my own living room. Like yeah sure, there are clouds out my living room window!! I went on a long flight from LAX to Heathrow London but I had to be a big girl cause I was with my 15 year old granddaughter. I really didn't know she would be so upset on her first flight. She didn't say much but at the first take off from LAX she put a blanket over her head!! I thought "What in the heck is going on with her???" She just sat under the blanket and shook for awhile. So no way could I be chicken. Then at Heathrow for some reason which I now forget, they gave us each a $25 voucher for food or whatever in the airport and we had a 5 or 6 hour layover. I thought it'd be fun but she just wanted to go to the gate leaving for Sweden and not move. So I'm a good grandma, I sat there thinking of all the stuff we could have gotten with the $50 and stared out the windows watching planes come and go. Then when we boarded the plane I told her she was in luck we were sitting next to 2 cute young men and she made ME sit next to them and she sat in her seat with the blanket over her head again. I liked flying British Airways and I liked the food they served us. I don't recall the flight home but we've been back about 6 years now so it must have went ok. A couple years ago my granddaughter went on a 2 week tour of Europe with a group of other young people and she tells me that all went fine. My biggest fear would be to flip out and have a panic attack on a long air flight. I've flown many times around the US and so far I haven't made an ass of my self.

 

I've tried flying before so I don't really think I have a fear of flying. It's more it's my least favorite way of getting from one place to another. I'd fly again if there was an emergency with one of my family members and I had to be there right away. Now days with all the terrorist stuff going on I would have some fear that they might be on a plane I might fly on and that would not sit well with me at all. I'm an introvert too...and feel very uncomfortable being cooped up with so many people I don't know in such small spaces.

 

I spent four years in the USAF ( 1960-1964 ) and flew a lot then but haven't flown since. Not because of fear but I like driving and seeing the country. From what I've seen on the news lately flying has become such a hassle I wouldn't like that a bit.

 

I'm not afraid of flying but it is a hassle. I do fly at least 3 to 4 times a year. Used to be more.

Taking a train to Illinois or NJ would just cut into the time I have to spend with my family so I don't even consider it.

 

I very much had a fear of flying for many years ..... never could control it until the day my husband bought tickets for a trip to Hawaii. The cold sweats leading up to the date of the trip were just terrible. I was really in a panic!

Went to sleep one night about a week before going.... a dream came to me that night ... I was on the plane through take-off, flying and landing .. I felt the whole process of the trip. It was so real !!
It sounds unbelievable, but I swear it happened.
When I woke up in the morning, I was just amazed at the feelings I had just felt and 'lived thru' during the night.
I thanked the almighty up above for helping me.

I was then so ready to take the trip to Hawaii. My husband couldn't believe the transformation!
When we left, I was so excited to go .... I had to have the window seat ... looked up into the clouds and gave another Thanks.
Enjoyed every minute of that 10 day trip to the islands. Flying never bothered me after that.

 

We haven't flown anywhere since 2008. Neither of us ever had a fear of flying and we've had a couple of bumpy rides due to turbulence's.........not real bad, but a little shaky. We just have another Bud Light and relax.
I had a Supervisor/Director tell me once that flying is better than driving, especially if a person has a limited time to be where they are going. It can take hours-to-days to drive somewhere, whereas timing to get somewhere in a flight will only take hours. Yes, seeing the scenery by driving is great, but not everyone has the time to do that, especially those not yet retired.

 

I have never had a fear of flying, but these days I have lost any excitement or real enjoyment of flying, it's akin to getting on a bus, I do more than 30 flights a year so I guess it's hardly surprising. I still enjoy driving and train travel, but that is waning a bit all down to ageing I guess

 

@Terry Page , I would enjoy it if my flights in the US were as great as some of the flights you are on! Free food! Empty seats so you can stretch out, etc.

 

I'm pre TSA approved, Ken and that helps a little. Shorter security line and I don't have to take off my shoes or empty pockets or take out my little Baggie of liquids.

Yes, it's still a hassle though. A necessary evil for me if I want to see my son and youngest grandsons and other family members.

 

Ah, Illinois! Had I any significant kin remaining there (a niece whom I have not heard from in over 20 years, and that was due to her mother's death), it might be likely my carcass would be hauled back there to a final resting place. No longer likely, at all.

 

I have relatives buried at Rosehill Cemetery on Western Ave. My uncle was just laid to rest there on Monday.
That's in Chicago though, now when I fly to Illinois I visit my son in Glen Carbon and the closest airport is St.Louis, MO.

 

Took me years to pluck up the courage to fly,then we had a few holidays abroad.
But have not flown now for about 16 years.
My sister who is 80 this year has never flown, she has always been to fearful of flying.
She would go on cruises instead.

 

I asked this as an OP, because up until the age of 23, I had never set foot in an airplane. My new wife convinced we we should fly to Vegas for New Years, since we had driven there the previous July after getting married. Not terrified, but frightened, yes, I agreed. At O'hare Airport, we settled back in a United Airlines B-727, and I marvelled at the rate at which the ground "dropped away" beneath us! Later, offered coffee, my mainstay, I marvelled even further that human technological creation could have made this thing flying through the air at 600 mph, so smoothly the liquid in my cup had no ripples discernible on it's surface! I was hooked!