don_hansen

Ok; an odd situation for you very frequent flyers.

I have serious issues with flying. I'm getting a lot better intra-europe, but the Atlantic still freaks me out more than you can imagine.

I had a flight from Newark to Copenhagen this Sunday, but had a serious anxiety attack just before boarding. That was a C-class ticket burned.

I've been stuck in Newark Hilton since then on meds, and I'm ready to try again. I'm eager to catch a plane to Europe now (SAS or Lufthansa - would you consider United safe? Read so much about their emergency landings in the Pacific) but I see the turbulence forecasts and they're are terrible over the Atlantic. I'm really afraid of what that will trigger.

I've been trying to talk to SAS about talking to a flight planner about what routes in the forthcoming days would be less turbulent. They will not help. Maybe to Stockholm or Oslo first to go more north of the storm. Crossing Greenland and Iceland also helps my nerves.

So question is - any strong-skilled aviationists here, that can tell if a SAS or Lufthansa route will go semi-un-turbulenced. I miss my family like an (even more) mad-man.

http://www.turbulenceforecast.com/atlantic.php

jjakobv84

So... if you're flying EWR to CPH and have a fear of flying I would index on having to only board one flight. Why not take the 11.30pm EWR-CPH along with a healthy dose of medication to knock you out? It's late in the day so you could wear yourself out if you plan your day well... I've flown this route many times and I can't recall any issue what so ever with turbulence.

But honestly, this probably should be moved to a different forum. I'm too rational to even engage meaningfully in this discussion. Your death risk increased exponentially by not boarding the flight and by taking a taxi to the Hilton vs. flying...

fassy

ARN or OSL vs CPH doesn't really matter.

In my expirience the flights on the northern route are usually pretty calm compared to crossing the equatorial convergence zone, e.g. Europe to South America.

My girl friend is also terrible afraid of flying and the best thing you can do:
1) Book a carrier you trust and where you feel welcome and well treated (I would choose SAS > OS > LX > LH > Nothing > UA). All major carriers are safe, UA is perfectly fine - just the attitude of the cabin crew sometimes would push me away. Same for the rest of my rating. I had only real great SK and OS crews, good LX crews and for LH it was hit and miss so far. (Note: I'm German living in Sweden).
2) Go on board first or last, tell the gate agent and tell the purser. I would actually go first well ahead of the boarding rush and before they need to prepare the cabin for taxiing.
2.1) Ask to take a peek into the cockpit during flight. If they allow it ask if you can sit there for a while, especially during mild turbulence. You will see everything is normal even though the plane is shaking a bit.
2.2) If they don't allow access to the cockpit tell them to report back to you during turbulence and get reassurance everything is fine. If they don't show up because they are busy - use the call button. Don't be shy, using it twice if you must. All FAs I ever spoke to were very happy if the were noticed upfront if there is a "nervous flyer" on board.

Doing the above over and over for about a year my girl friend has nearly overcome her fear and even started to fly alone - unthinkable two years ago.

FFlash

don_hansen, all my sympathy to you

What I try to advice here is:

1) Get someone you can trust to accompany with your flight. The most difficult part of your symptom is losing control when a situation arrives and then it is difficult to manage oneself if you are solo. There an accompanion can take care of you and calm you down and help you to keep focused on other things than wondering.

2) Tell all crew about your symptom so that no sudden panic occurs which nobody is prepared for. This is important to make others understand there is nothing wrong with you and they can help you.

3) Do not think anything related to the flight. Seek some thing to do to divert your attention, or some meditative task. Here is what your accompanion can do at best.

Hope you can manage home

Often1

There are limited routes followed on the TATL portion. Those may shift due to weather. But, they are unlikely to shift on a given day between destinations in Northern Europe. Get yourself on a non-stop flight home and do not put yourself through a connection.

nacho

I definitely don't recommend SK crew especially after my recent flight with them to PVG. I met the most rude and condescending crew in my life. I doubt that this guy would care with you press the call button.

I think UA crews are really not that bad - I met worse SK crew. Maybe because I only fly coach.

Anyway, I think the best crew I have met is SQ, CX, TG (if you are white/Thai), BA, NZ,OS, LX, UA, AF, LH, DL, TK, SK (the low rating due to a big variation of crew members, some are outstanding and some shouldn't be there in the first place), OV, Adrian, AI.

My German is also fear of flying, and she only flies when she has to. Also she flies only LH.

I doubt that any adult can see the cockpit nowadays due to securtiy reasons. My kids (only - not the parents unfortunately) were in the LH A380 cockpit at SFO a couple of years ago (before that they saw the factory in Toulouse) - they didn't see it as something bombastic, we asked them what was special about it. They said, 'the captain put on Christmas light'. They were also in TK cockpit a couple of times, again not the parents.

I don't even imagine UA will let ANYONE into the cockpit.

Regarding the turbulance, I think flying across the Atlantic is nothing compared to flying to and from Southeast Asia.

If I were you - I'd take a late departure and get myself a sleeping pill and sleep through the flight.

fransknorge

I had the same problems a few years ago: strong anxiety about flying (including once a panick attack during boarding). This is now getting better but I would still be anxious doing a TATL today as it is quite stormy in N Atlantic right now.

My anxiety bit lasted for more than 2 years and informing the crew at boarding was extremely helpful for me, as they spend some times checking on me and chatting with me to help me focus on something else. I was even once invited in the cockpit for landing (and this was post 9/11), so it can happen.
Having said that, the attitude of the SK crew was always bad. At best, I was not checked upon or any attempt to help me, even sympatize, was done by the crew. Twice the crew member I spoke to mocked me (one laughed at me).
I agree with the others than the best in your case is a direct EWR-CPH, which leaves SK. But do not be surprised if the attitude of the crew is not helpful.

fassy

It is up to the discretion of the Captain. Some of them bend the rules now and then. On some airlines more often than on others but I also have witnessed adult visitors(*) in the cockpit of UA flights.

Doesn't hurt to ask. I do agree that it is easier for kids than for adults in general but there are two factors which makes it more likely if you are an adult: You are an aviation enthusiast or you are afraid of flying and the crew actually cares.

I'm totally stunned why in general the idea on this forum is that SK crews are bad. I'm flying like a hundred times a year and 50 times our of that on SK metal for several years now, including 5 to 10 IC trips per year and so far I can remember one bad crew on SK on Long haul and perhaps a handful of not that great ones on European routes.

(*) without any relation to UA or its personnel.

Svantevit

I also don´t recognise this picture. I have had 5-6 IC flights yearly with SK for the last 5-6 years and I think I can remember 1 perhaps 2 bad crew members (that´s in total). Some of them might be neutral but almost never bad in my experience. And sometimes they´re really great (like my last 2 ORD-CPH flights).

Svantevit

tgj1974

Hi

Sorry to hear about your situation.

As to crew, I think in biz, most crews are nice (though I dont particularly like LH). If you can manage the intraeuropean flights better, maybe consider flying to London as that is 1h shorter.

And afterwards, maybe look into the fear of flying courses some partner of SAS does.

Good luck

CPH-Flyer

There are many ups and downs on crews on many airlines,, but any crew will pay close attention if you let them know that you are afraid of flying. I was once on Norwegian with a colleague who is afraid of flying and the crew was great at making sure she felt comfortable. I would even expect United to step up for this situation. Don't compare this situation to your normal in flight experience. But be sure to speak up and let the crew know.

UltraRant

You don't want to read this, you don't want to believe this. Because you have fear of flying and believe you will die as soon as you step on board anyway, no matter what we tell you. You know your fear is irrational as well, but still it seems to hard to overcome... So, I'll just provide you with some simple facts and the you should decide what you want to do. You're not the first person I meet who is afraid to fly: most of those know it's irrational. I'm not going to tell you that you are good: you should decide for yourself. There are still boats between the continents, too.

By not boarding the plane and taking a taxi you probably increased your chances of dying by a few thousand percent. Flying is still, apart from taking an elevator, the safest way to travel.

Look at the safety records of SK, UA and LH for TATL. They're excellent. None of those carriers have been blacklisted by the EU. This means that comply with the highest standards in the world. SAS hasn't lost a single passenger in TATL flights in the modern age of flying.

If you fly into Copenhagen as your final destination then I recommend to take a direct flight anyway. Saves you the trouble of connecting and an extra flight. It's just 7,5 hours flying time. Take a tranquilizer before you go on board and don't drink alcohol.

SAS won't help you overcome your fear of flying. Most airline crew is trained though on how to deal with passengers who are. They will assist you if you get a breakdown mid air. You can always contact a professional center who can help you overcome your fear. Those exist and some seem to book pretty decent results.

Have you ever heard of information overload? They should forbid a site about turbulence like that. It just makes people afraid. There are three kinds of lies: lies darn lies and statistics, right? Captains always take areas of turbulence into account when planning a flight: turbulence can occur at the last second, it can't be predicted days ahead. Even flying crew really wants to avoid such areas, trust me. There is no direct relation between turbulence and aviation accidents.
The same goes for the UA record on TPAC: too much information that can be taken the wrong way. Where do you read all this? The last time United lost a plane was due to Al Qaida in 2001...

oliver2002

SAS is very accomodating if you approach them correctly:

http://fearofflying74562.yuku.com/to...S#.VH78z2elLmk

LH has a special programme for pax with fear of flying: https://www.lufthansa.com/online/myp...d=2934552&l=en