Afraid to FLY program - can any FTers help?
 

Ok, presumably "afraid to fly" doesn't apply to any FTers. Our only fear is an upgrade won't clear or MQMs won't post.

Despite all the talk of spilled fuel, metal fatigue, uncontained engine failure, sleeping traffic controllers, drinking pilots, and the ever-present threat of terrorism, those of us who fly so frequently know it's the safest way to travel.

Many of us have visited the Tech Ops center and learned about their obsession with safety. We've been through a sampler of FA training, know how to manually inflate escape slides, and how to jettison the tail cone to get out the back of a MadDog. All but a few of us actually love to travel by air with it's proven safety record.

But a friend has asked me if Delta, or anybody, still offers a program for people afraid to fly, preferably in the NYC area (because if he could fly anywhere else he wouldn't need the program.) Apparently such a program was offered many years ago.

For many aviaphobes (I just made that up) it's the confinement and the loss of control. My response is if there's trouble I would rather have the trained pilot control the aircraft than try it myself (although in the simulator it's fun.)

I've tried to convince my friend that travel by air is safer than crossing Tenth Ave in NYC, which he is NOT afraid to do -- but I am. Of course, running with scissors is safer than crossing Tenth Ave in NYC but I digress.

I'll make a few calls to the DL folks we met in ATL and ask around, but perhaps somebody on FT knows if a "fear of flying" program is still offered.

Buy you and your friend refundable tickets

Go to DTW Skyclub.

Fill a chalice with liquor.

Feed your friend the chalice.

Baby steps to the Fountain in the middle.

Baby steps to the Tram.

Baby steps to the Gate.

Baby steps to the Breezeway.

If friend freaks out at any stage, stop and try again a few days later.

If friend makes it this far.....

STOP. It's too expensive a fare.

Try again with a cheaper nonrefundable fare.

(Disclaimer:
Not psychiatric or medical advice. For entertainment value only. Drink responsibly. Don't drink and drive.)

If you google "fear of flying programs nyc" you'll find a wealth of information, including this NY Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/24/he...gy/24fear.html

The article refers to aviophobia, so your made up term was right on the mark!

20 MG valium and a few liquor drinks and said friend won't be afraid of flying....even on an Airbus:)

the graduate
 

A long time ago I participated in a Fearful Flyer program offered by USAirways. I was a fearful flyer as were all of the other people in the group. We were charged $200 for the program which lasted about eight sessions and culminated with a flight from DCA to the vacinity of Virginia Beach and back. The former fearful flyers were dancing in the aisles.
I was amazed at how quickly the fearfulness evaporated. The program for my group was a great success. Our leader told us that most of us had other problems that flying had merely brought to the service. The "other" problems were relatively easy to address for each of us.
A few years later I learned that the program was no longer being offered by USAirways. I had been very lucky. I will always be greatful to USAirways for what they did for me.
Keep looking.

I am ok with flying but I am afraid of the Delta Award calendar. Is there a program for folks afraid to book award travel? ;)

Yes. I will be starting the Adopt-a-SkyMiles program. This will allow folks who are afraid of booking award travel to be liberated from their fear by transferring all of their miles to those who are not afraid of booking award travel. :)

:-::p:-:

Sadly, I have a very good friend, actually, my best friend who I met in college, who is not only afraid to fly (although he would deny it), but who refuses to acknowledge the fact, and who arranges his life to ensure that he never has to deal with aviation. He always has "perfectly reasonable excuses" why any mode of transportation (driving, train, stagecoach, hitchhiking, not going), is more rational than flying. The few times he has gotten on a plane and flown, he's come back to recount what a horrible experience the entire flight has been, from the drive to the airport, to exiting baggage claim.

His latest excuse is that, since he has taken up astronomy as a hobby and has a newborn son, he needs to travel with telescopes and baby gear where ever he goes, which necessitates travel in a rather large SUV (for three people?!) I will grant that I would not want to trust tens of thousands of dollars of delicate optical equipment to Delta baggage handlers, although I don't understand why so much astronomy equipment must accompany him everywhere!

Just as there are people who believe the earth is flat and man never went to the moon, there are some people who are not meant to travel by plane.

By the way, I gave him and his wife two round-trip BusinessElite tickets to Europe as a gift when they got married. This was back in the day when BusinessElite tickets cost 80K SkyMiles a piece. Of course, with the changes in the program, I now have an unlimited lien against my SkyMiles account, should he ever get over his stupid fear of flying :(

My wife was completely terrified of flying until recently.

While it may seem counter-intuitive, what worked for us was to schedule an introductory flight lesson at a local general-aviation airport. The CFI (certified flight instructor) will take some time to explain how planes work, then take him/her up in a plane for a one hour flight. The knowledge of how the aircraft works, with the opportunity to see that it can't be made to drop out of the sky like a brick is strong medicine.

I am sorry to hear of the fearful flyers. In fact feel bad for anyone who is that severely constrained by their own psych issues :( . Though I applaud the airline doing something about it (and $200 for all of that listed seems very fair).

How about hypnotherapy?

On a different note, many FT friends seem to have an allergy to / fear of FOs. I assume the medical term is therefore Phophobia ...? ;)

Already taken...irrational fear of Vietnamese soup.

Oh, it's not a fear or allergy. They're sickly and diseased, which is why they have their own boarding zone--so we don't have to bump elbows on our way down the jetway.

I still have a little fear of flying. Every couple weeks or so, while on a plane, I'll realize the only thing between me and the ground is a little piece of metal and tens of thousands of feet. Or that I cannot see what is directly in front of the plane, but for all I know, we are about to slam into a mountain or a farm animal that is floating ala The Wizard of Oz.

Two things helped me get over this.

First, I learned how an airplane works. It's not floating in the sky, as I previously believed. Understanding how the plane stays in the sky helps me get over the occasional panic attack.

Second, I remind myself that the trained pilot who doesn't have a death wish can see in front of the plane, and has information about everything that's going on in the airspace, so the fact I cannot see in front of the plane shouldn't be worrisome.

Planes don't fall from the sky. Plane accidents are big news because they don't happen often. The pilot wouldn't have his job if he didn't know how to fly the plane.

Exactly... and I'll be another one to admit that I don't like turbulence even though I pretty much know exactly what's happening. I've also been told by one FA that they were amazed at my calmness during one really bad storm on a prop from JAX to TPA. I just sat there and closed my eyes and pretended that I was at an amusement park and this was a surprise ride where you never knew what was going to happen... I even surprised myself on that one how little the storm bothered me.

I was lucky to be the only passenger on a flight years ago and way before 9/11. After takeoff, the pilot left me stand in the doorway and put the speaker on so that I could hear all ATC communications (I believe that United still has a channel where you can do this) throughout the flight... The flight was pretty smooth, but the pilot did show me some maneuvers as well as let me decide how we were going to come into Dayton (gradual or dive type descent)... Since I love dive type descents (on non bumpy days), I chose that one... That trip is one of the most memorable flights that I've ever had and I learned so much.

Since then, I've been dating a man who was a structural engineer for one of the major aircraft firms and did stress testing on planes. Before he retired I got to visit some of the sites and had permission to see planes being built and stress tested... That became another eye opener on what these planes can take.

Good for you on trying to help your friend... Hopefully your friend can get over this fear.