irfan23

I've never been nervous, and count myself fortunate on that score. But I have my own rituals too, one of which is tapping on the outside as I enter. and while some people are described as C&E Catholics, I'm better described as a T&L one (Take-off and landing): 3 Hail Mary's and 1 Our Father. Can't shake a Catholic school upbringing, no matter how hard one tries. Also have a St Christopher's card in my wallet at all times.

Also, OP, I love the 777. I love its power and its sounds. You'll like it too. Best of luck.

tinytraveller

I agree that the airside busses can sometimes be the scariest bit, I landed in the lap of an elderly gentleman when the bus driver at BKK slammed the brakes on!

The "nose wheel abuse" is definitely scary though and is one of the things I like least about take off. That and the shaking of the aircraft. I'm also pretty sure we had tail strike on take off on a flight to ATL as there was a very loud bang as we took off, that scared the living daylights out of me!

Thanks for the advice and words of comfort from those of you who are more experienced flyers than I. Apart from the scary parts I am actually looking forward to travelling on my own and being master (well mistress) of my own destiny. (Now to get myself onto the lounge meet up thread to see if there is anyone around on the 24th sept willing to take pity on a lowly blue with no desire to spend too much time with the unwashed masses!! )

LTN Phobia

Those nose wheel abuse noises are thankfully harmless to you (although it may be costing a bit of extra in maintenance costs...), and likely the bang was not a tailstrike, or most likely they would have returned to land. Shaking on take-off is also basically harmless (unless there is something wrong with the plane, but with reputable carriers, that's extremely unlikely). If you hear lots of rattling on take-off, it's also normally completely harmless as well - lots of rattling noise usually comes from the galley and the cabin, rather than the 'essential bits of the plane'.

That is not to say I don't take your fear seriously though. As mentioned, I used to be really scared of flying, and I am still working on a very good friend of mine's fear of flying (who started off as being much more fearful than you sound like, but we're slowly getting there and she is starting to cope much better).

At the most scary parts of the flight for you, it's useful to plan the the pleasant things to do at the destination, and all the housework you will have to deal with when you get home (<== this is the really, really scary part of being away for me, i.e. the all mighty mess my husband has made that I have to deal with). Distraction is a very good thing.

Rexy52

I would suggest half a Valium tablet before flying, another half after take-off if you're still feeling nervous (also helps with getting some sleep on a longer flight). Obviously you need to have these prescribed by your GP. I also find noise-cancelling headphones like Bose Quiet Comfort make a big difference on a long-haul flight - you don't realise how noisy an aircraft cabin is (whatever class you're flying) and a noisy environment definitely creates fatigue. Arriving more relaxed and less stressed then creates a virtuous circle for future flights.

NWIFlyer

If ever you find yourself in the Puget Sound area north of Seattle, you could do worse than go on the Boeing tour at their Everett factory. Aside from the sheer scale of the thing (the biggest factory in the world, by all accounts), you can't help but be impressed by the control that's exhibited over the build of every aircraft. Most importantly for your nerves, they also tell you that the acceptance test for a 747 is that it will fly on just a single engine. Now if a big bird like that can manage it, a 777 certainly can.

BA6501

IIRC the A380 is also designed to fly on 1 engine.

pinkcat

I just couldnt get on the flippin plane, I was near screaming in a static display at Duxford and couldnt pick anyone up at the airport because I couldnt bear to be near anyone who had been on a plane, some of it was about breathing so it could have been claustrophobia but I was well used to lifts and underground trains.
It was a family joke, not so funny when the whole family were squished in a sleeper cabin in the bowels of a ferry to Europe, then it was "all my fault"

tinytraveller

Thanks everyone for your reassurance and tips, esp LTN for reassuring me about the suspected tail strike. Distraction may well help and as I've got 24hrs of downtime in NYC following my conference in Philly that gives me something nice to think of. May get some Valium or similar on standby, thankfully Mr TT is a surgeon so I can avoid a trip to the gp (he has his uses).

The Boeing tour sounds good but unfortunately most of my trips to the US are East Coast so I'm unlikely to get over there anytime soon.

origin

Just shut your eyes and relax my dear. Please tell the crew they have seen it all before.

Jimmie76

BonBonnie I've got a friend who was going to NYC with her boyfriend (later to be her husband) and his parents for some Christmas shopping a few years ago. She was (and still is) a very nervous flyer and was at the point of not going the day before because of nerves. She even offered to let me go instead which she thought might be quite fun when I pitched up at LHR met her prospective in-laws and said I'd upgraded my ticket to CW and so would see them in NYC, I was now off to the lounge . I suggested back again in a humorous way that she might not be quite so worried if she was sitting in F or CW, and she did find this funny.

The 777 is very safe and I will happily fly on one of them. I don't do things that aren't very safe and I have absolutely no problems at all with flying on any of the aircraft that I've ever flown on, I wouldn't have done it if I didn't. I'll be getting on a 10 seater plane (9 pax and the pilot) in just over a week and I again have no problems with doing that, and indeed I've flown in a four seater and not only felt but also was perfectly safe.

If you are nervous about getting on board just think that everyone who works on onboard will have been flying for years with no problems and they wouldn't do it if it wasn't safe. In fact if you think about it BA wouldn't be allowed to provide a dangerous workplace for their staff, so therefore if it's safe for the staff it will be safe for passengers. Yes the 747 looks nicer and has the lovely upper deck, and no staff walking through the F cabin, but the 777 only gets rubbished on here because of the cabin layout not the safety.

If it helps, you might like to try a tip that someone once told me to help with something I don't like. Promise yourself something that you want as a reward for getting on board, be it a piece of jewelery, a clothes shopping spree, 20kg of chocolate etc. Whatever it is have a picture of it with you and focus on that when you board, not the fact that you are boarding the plane. Think of how much you want this reward and how great it will feel to have it.

I hope this helps and you have a great time.

BizFlyin

Just did this tour and absolutely loved it! Highly suggested!

BonBonnie

Sorry for the lateness in replying, computer problems (!), but just to say thank you again to everyone who responded, you have all helped alot ^

Can I just ask one more question though please, going back to the 777 Heathrow incident, I'm assuming the issue with the engines was rectified?

Thank you again

origin

Its was ice that formed. This has been understood and dealt with. Once they found the error it was very quickly fixed and everything running how it should be.

The 777 is a very safe plane.

Have a great flight.

BonBonnie

Fantastic, thank you

origin

For what its worth all the changes they needed to make happened before the 1 January 2011. So there are no planes flying that havent been upgraded or changed.

Also as you are aware of this accident this was the only one that BA have had to write off in the whole 12 years its been flying.