I had no problem with Ambien. Talk to your doctor about it and see if they recommend. I'm also a nervous flyer and the thing about Ambien for me is: even if I don't fall asleep with it -- I don't care about anything, nothing bothers me. So bring on the turbulance, crying babies, guy snoring next to me, bad food, bad movie...
I would recommend doing a trial run of whatever you plan to take before you get on the plane.