MrSoft

Yes, I know it's a bit of a potty request but here goes.

A friend who is a profoundly nervous flyer asked me for help. It's her first time flying long-haul, LHR-JFK and she is pretty anxious about the whole thing. To help things out a little I upgraded her WTP to CW and she'll be on the 747 UD.

Anyway from chatting with her, it seems that the seat of her terror is primarily in "not knowing what's going on". It's really quite interesting. For instance, she is actually relieved when she notices the descent is starting; without these event 'cues' then she worries that the pilot may be lost, they have forgotten where they're going etc. So instead of enjoying the cruise, she sits there getting frantic with worry.

Equally she also takes a lot of comfort in memorising the sequence of crew activities from (say) the outbound flight, and then taking satisfaction when she sees the same things happening on the return leg, in line with her expectation.

So my question is, do you think it's possible that BA (perhaps one of our helpful forum insiders) might share privately with me a copy of the basic crew tasklist for this flight, together with timings etc.? That way I could brief her on what to expect during the flight. I don't actually know if such a timed schedule exists, but it seems logical that it might. Equally I would understand if sharing such info with a member of the public was categorised as a security risk.

Anyone out there able to help? She'll be on the 747 Upper Deck in CW, on BA115 which is a 14:50 departure.

DWFI

I mean, I doubt there is a timeline of any kind. Sure the crew have duties and there is an order and maybe there are even deadlines (i.e. have this done by X time) but a timeline...?

In the beginning of the flight obviously there is a lot of activity - predeparture beverages, newspapers, washbags. Announcements. Once the door is closed, cross check and the safety demo. Cabin is tidied up before takeoff.

After takeoff the preparation of meals begins, menus distributed and orders taken. IFE turned on. First tray is served, then mains are served, then desserts / cheese. After meal service is completed, lights are generally dimmed. Water bottles distributed. Crew then does a duty free service.

About 1.5 hours before landing the 2nd meal service is done, generally the afternoon tea on the LHR-JFK run. After that is all cleared away, generally it's at T-40 (announcement made). Crew is obviously busy closing everything down. At T-20, seatbelt sign goes on, crew does final cabin checks, IFE is turned off.

Obviously I can't relate to the anxiety issues but it would probably be helpful to explain all of the technology that obviously ensures the captain simply can't "get lost" or "take a wrong turn".

Jaimito Cartero

Perhaps some sort of sedative for your friend?

KenJohn

The cabin crew mainly take care of the pax comfort and safety. Nothing to do with flying the plane.

It would be better to try and focus on a book rather nervously watching what the cabin crew do. It's the natural instinct but make one think more about the flight.

ColdWalker

I would encourage your friend to let the crew know. There is a lot they can do to reassure, whether it be a friendly smile or stopping by to explain what's going on and what's coming up.

There will be a crew member along with some wise words shortly I'm sure.

This may be helpful, and I am sure people could add to it:

http://v-flyer.com/forum/index.php?f...rb_v=viewtopic

UKTraveller4Fun

While I am not crew so could be completly wrong my observation of flying the same route several times is there does not really be a set timeline to follow.

Different crews seem to do things in different orders and even the beeps and annoucements for crews to start serving and also be seated can vary depending on the captain and obviously the conditions.

My concern would be even if there was a list there is nothing to say the crew follow it exactly and this might cause more concern for your friend if they did things unexpected or not in the order on the list, they might start to think there was an issue!

The only thing that seems a constant is the captain making an announcement 40 mins to land that the crew will prepare and then 20 mins to go seatbelts on, but even this has been different on occasions with once a captain saying 25 mins to land you have 5 mins to get ready!!

T8191

I know this may sound a bit trite, but a TATL is easy. Basically head west, and after about 6 hours ask for radar vectors. America is so big you can't miss it.

But I do have sympathy. I still regard such flights as a miracle of modern science, and it's no wonder some people find it a little 'mystical'.

Can I help you

I would think that she would want to know what is happening from a flight crew perspective, I am not sure she would find it helpful knowing the cabin crew duties.
I am sure one of the flight crew members will be able to help.

KLflyerRalph

"Trust the professionals"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEPeDhkrSzY&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rNwB...feature=relmfu

MrSoft

Thanks everybody!

Hmmm, if as some have noted the timings are not set in stone then I think the strategy needs care.

Yes, she always takes a sedative (usually valium), however her goal is to make progress in overcoming the fear of flying without having to be completely zombied out from the whole experience. Particularly now she gets to experience business class for the first time, she is focusing on having a positive time and actually enjoying it - if that can be done.

I explained all that flight deck stuff to her too ( . . . well, maybe not all of it ). However, it just so happens her 'thing' is to take comfort from the actions of the cabin crew. Of course, if 'reading a book' cured her phobia I am sure she would already be doing that. As per my understanding, this person is looking for outside cues which reassure her that nothing has gone wrong.

Good point about talking to the crew - she is in 60A and it seems that being physically closer to the pilots is helpful.

Thanks again.

CreativeBill

Just a question, in 60A, will she be ok flying "backwards"? I personally love it, but there can be quite different sensations during take off and landing than she may be used to.

And you may want to warn her that the flight crew sometimes wander out through the door mid flight.

My mother is a nervous flyer and I have the scars from having her nails embedded in my arm to prove it .

LTN Phobia

British Airways Flying with Confidence course sounds like the best option to be honest. It should be better than micro-managing one's fears by trying to know the crew routine or being drugged up.

http://flyingwithconfidence.com/cour...ring-your-fear

I have not needed it, but I believe it is an excellent course.

Knowing the routine will probably not help much because any deviation (which would be pretty normal thing to occur) will merely feed her fears. What she also needs is observing lots of other non-fussed passengers. Not really the easiest thing to do in the UD, and if there is an element of claustrophobia in her fear of flying, she might be better off in the LD.

MNManInKen

As I understand it, there are specific programmes out there to help people deal with fear of flying. I would suggest it's a better move to get professional support rather than to try and make up your own therapy.

I doubt very much you would get access to detailed flight plans etc, probably a security angle to that too...

With regard to on board service, while the broad set of events is comparable between flights, no two flights are exactly the same and timings tends to vary a bit. So, your approach might make things even worse if the service does not exactly go as on the sheet.

Would she not be better of on the MD, where she can observe more people all being unphased by it all?

MrSoft

Sorry CreativeBill - I mean 60B, forward facing on LH side. I agree, going backwards would be a bit adventurous!

TeamStorm

Could I suggest that is the worst thing she could do !

I am a GGL who just 5 years ago was so scared of flying I broke down in Gatwick airport and couldn't get on a flight.

Crew timings and what they do seems to vary from flight to flight - expecting it to be the same risks causing anxiety where none is needed.

I would suggest (almost mandate) the BA Fear of Flying course which is fantastic and far more useful than constantly waiting for the crew to do what you think they should do next - breaking the flight down into anxious wait after anxious wait, an ironically waiting for something that will have nothing to do with the safety of the flight !

Happy to share anything by PM as someone who has gone from fear of flying to hundreds of thousands of miles a year

Ed