Love Traveling But Loathe Flying? Tips and Tricks for the Fearful Flyer!

With the annual Hubby/Wifey (and baby on the way) adventure planned, payed, and (partially) packed for, there is only one thing left to do…(gulp)…FLY!

Yikes! Up up and away!
Yikes! Up up and away!

I have traveled on air planes since I was less than three years old. I used to find it thrilling, however after a few maintenance issues and troubling flight misadventures, flying seems now to be a necessary evil that I must overcome every few months! To make matters worse, dear hubby is not to keen on flying himself. We are a pretty sight to be seen right before boarding time I am afraid!

I can’t be the only one out there with a semi-irrational fear of flying!? Being the teacher that I am, I firmly believe that knowledge is power, so naturally I have turned to the web to gain some tips/tools/and strategies to combat my case of cold feet when it comes to flight.

1. Budget Travel: Cockpit Confidential: Insider Secrets and Tips From and Airline Pilot 

2. Budget Travel: Fear of Flying?

3. Budget Travel: Does Knowing More About Planes Help, or Is Ignorance Bliss?

4. Budget Travel: The Strange Rituals Things People Do to Beat The Fear of Flying.

5. Budget Travel: Ten Tips to Combat Flight Anxiety

 

What I learned:

  • 25% of travelers claim to have a fear of flying.
  • I feel better about myself knowing that the editor in chief of Budget Travel Magazine herself is fearful of flying!
  • If you find yourself in turbulence, close your eyes and imagine you are on the back of school bus driving down a dirt road.
  • Bring a photo or guide book of your destination and focus on the end result!
  • If you are really scared your are going to freak out mid-flight, let your flight attendant know your a little fearful at the very beginning of the flight, not when you start to go ape…
  • PRAY!!!! (You should probably be doing this already…We all should be doing a lot more of this I am afraid…)

And if all of these tips don’t work….there is always Valium!

The count down is on…Seattle on Saturday and Alaska on Sunday!

http://depts.washington.edu/biowww/pages/seattle.shtml
http://depts.washington.edu/biowww/pages/seattle.shtml