Hi Guys

Just looking for some information. Due to fly to new york on friday from glasgow-newark with continental airlines CO17 and i've been on the airlines website and seen we will be in a 757-200. I thought this seemed like a pretty small aircraft for the journey we are doing and assumed it would of been much bigger like a jumbo.
Also i have never flown to the states, i've flown so many times and absolutely hate it but i put my self through it around 3 times a year. I was just wondering if there any turbulence hot spots on this route from glasgow-newark and if anyone knew what route we would go? Also a little scared about the vast area of ocean we have to fly over. I got some diazepam off the doctor for my flight in september to sharm and it really helped even when we incurred a bit of turbulence i felt calmer than i have before.
I hate taking off and i know this is where most accidents happens. I feel better once im up in the air levelled off but i never relax for the whole flight. Im hoping the long haul flight will be less tedious with the extra entertainment and films to watch but i wont hold me breath.

Thanks Tamara

tamara_d,

The Boeing 757-200 is more than adequate to make the trip to and from New York. The aircraft has range to fly another 1,000 miles beyond New York from Glasgow. 757's have been crossing the Atlantic for 20 years. The aircraft are ETOPS rated for the purpose of Extended Twin engines Operations. This is a requirement for the aircraft to be maintained to a higher standard than normal in order to maintain it's ETOPS (180) status for flying over places like oceans. In order to have the range, the aircraft have fewer seats than your standard charter 757 (235), 187 I beleive. They have similar seat pitch to the economy sections found in many schedule airline jumbo jets (747's). The only difference you'll see from a passengers perspective is it's a single isle aircraft rather than a twin. I've done up to 7 hours on the 757 and it's more than up to the job. The North Atlantic can sometimes be a little turbulant, but it's nothing to worry about. I've been across the Atlantic many times and can only think of a couple of flights were there was any turbulance, more than just a few bumps. It's those on the ships below you that get the rough stuff! The flight crew will do the best they can to minimise it for the comfort of passengers. Turbulance is just a fact of flight, there's only so much that can be done to minimise it but crossing the Atlantic is normally pretty smooth. It all depends on the weather on the day really. Just keep your seat belt on losely throughout the flight and you'll be fine. The route depends on the jetstream positions, but you'll head pretty much on a direct track out of GLA across the Atlantic towards Newfoundland then down the eastern seaboard in to Newerk.

Darren

Thanks for that Dazbo, i really appreciate the information i find on this website its helped me loads.

I'm just wondering if anyone on here has been to the doctor to ask for diazepam to take before a flight? Over the last 3 years I have become completely irrationally scared of flying for no reason at all. When I went to the Dom Rep last May I was crying and shaking during take off and just couldn't relax for the entire flight and the same on the way back. I'm going to Egypt in September and i'm worried the same thing is going to happen or that i'll be worse. The very strange thing is I worked as an air hostess with XL for a year in 2007 and my fear of flying has only developed since I left that job. I used to fly every couple of days with no problem at all now i'm terrified. The thing that scares me is the noises from the engine, especially during take off and landing. I'm always convinced that something is wrong with the plane. When I went to the Dom Rep I was sat directly next to the engine so it seemed really loud. If anyone has got any experiences of diazepam i'd love to hear from you.

Laura1988,

The use of mild sedatives for the fear of flying is probably more common than you think. You obviously need to discuss it with your doctor, but many take it, even frequent fliers. Having a fear of flying is common, many people have a phobia so it's nothing to be ashamed of. As ex-cabin crew, you'll know the statistics of flying and how safe it is with the most dangerous part of a flight being the drive to and from the airport and if anything does go wrong, training levels are such that most situations are resolved quickly. Can you think of any particular reason why your fear may have started? A bad flight or experience? Or maybe not being in control of your situation now you're not crew? That is quite a common one.

One of the most common things passengers become scared of is the reduction in power after take off and associated noise. More power is required for acceleration during the take off run than once airborne and established in to the climb. For noise abatement as well, the throttles are reduced to the standard climb power, hence the throttles reduce slightly and the noise reduces. It's not the engines failing, purely a reduction in power like easing your foot off the accelerator in the car once you've got up to speed. At the same time, you often get the sensation like the aircraft is starting to descend. This is due to the climb rate reducing slightly. Because you are experiencing some g-force due to acceleration, when the nose of the aircraft drops slightly and the g-force reduces, the body makes it feel like the aircraft is falling. In fact, all that has happened, is the climb rate has reduced. During your training, you probably looked at perceptual narrowing? All of these are examples of perceptual narrowing. Because you have reduced senses when sat in an aluminium tube, ie although you can see around you, you don't know if you're going forwards, backward up or down, your other senses become hightened. That's why you'll often become more aware of aircraft movements and noises, as above. The unknown is often what causes a lot of fear.

I've never taken diazepam personally, but I know several that have just to calm their nerves and make the flying experience more bearable. Just don't over-do it as it does make you drowsey and can last for quite a while.

Darren

Laura I always take 2mg of Diazepam before take off and I also have to have a couple of drinks too when I'm up in the air. I'm like you, I hate flying whereas it never used to bother me until I had kids. I get in a right state when we're taking off and that noise Daz describes as you're climbing and the engine suddenly changes noise petrifies me and I'm convinced something is going wrong. It only happened a few weeks ago on our back from Dom Rep, the engine made that strange noise and it even frightened my son who isn't scared of flying. I realise it's normal but when you have irrational thoughts you can't help but think the worse. Any way I don't get any side effects from Diazepam and it doesn't make me tired just nice and relaxed. There's no way I could fly without it and to be honest I'd rather have a few drinks too to make that long flight go much quicker. If you can go without it that's great as it's not ideal to be out of it, but I would never be able to fly without it.

Thanks so much for your reply Mdollar! I'm deffinitely going to go to the Dr before my holiday and hopefully he'll perscribe me some Diazepam. I honestly don't know what i'll do if the Dr says no!
I completely agree it's the irrational thoughts which make it so bad, i'm always absolutely convinced that something is wrong when the engine sounds change.

Laura

I to have the same problem. I have flown since i was 14 (now nearly 23) at least once a year and quite often 2 or 3 times a year. It wasnt until 2 years ago that my fear developed. I cant pin point what caused it at all. I just got on a plane and had my first ever panic attack, and if you've ever had one you know they are awful.
Ive read up on many websites and know that flying probably is the safest form of travel but i cant seem to convince myself. I went to the doctors last year before i flew to egypt and he gave me diazepam. I think it helped a little but i took it a bit too early. I would suggest one in the morning before you start your journey to the airport and then once in departures before you get on the plane. The do help but its not a miracle cure. I didnt notice a huge differance and didnt feel any different in myself. I used them for flying to new york back in november and they didnt seem to work very well however the length of the flight was fine, because it was long haul i just watched tv programmes and movies which helped take my mind off it. The worst times for me are take off and landing, i hate all the noises and strange feelings. Im due to start hypnotherapy soon for my summer holiday as ive heard a lot of good reports about it. Maybe you should do a little research and see if hypno could help you?

Tam

Hi there,

Just a little addition to Dazbo text on aircraft noise reduction after takeoff.

This is a totally normal procedure after departure, putting it simply, as on the roads we have speed limits, the sky is no exception as there are certain speed restrictions at certain altitudes, It is normal procedure to not exceed 250knots below 10,000'feet, and after takeoff aircraft can reach this speed pretty promptly, which is why the speed reduction happens, also the funny feelings you are feeling is as well as the g-force from the VS (Vertical Speed) which is being decreased i.e. nose slightly lowers for a slower ascent, and also to add to that the flaps are then reduced which makes a noise in itself.

All in all , it is a noisy phase of flight and the older aircraft are often a little more noisy than the newer generation.

Hope this helps.

Adam.

Lately the older I've become the worst and more worried I have been. Once in the air I relax and enjoy but during take off and landing I'm a nervous wreck. I've even drawn blood from hubby's hand before now as I've squeezed it so much. During take-off on Saturday I even shed a few quiet tears. Nobody saw apart from hubby thank god. I think after the 30 hour delay I had worked myself up so much I was a wreck. I'm home safe and sound though

Hi there, I've been keeping up with this thread for a while now as my fiance has a fear of flying. Unfortunately my own fears have been realised and we missed our holiday because he couldn't get on the plane

To start at the beginning, he is very claustrophobic - can't get in an elevator, train, anything enclosed. The last flight he was on he had a terrible panic attack and wanted to get off, of course he couldn't and his girlfriend at the time was no help at all (they subsequently broke up) This was 5 years ago.

When we got together he decided that it was time to face his fear and when the opportunity arose (my best friends wedding in Kenya) he agreed to come with me. We splashed out on Premium Economy seats (Virgin) thinking that the extra space and the quieter cabin would help him. We booked this in June last year, and we had until April this year to get him ready for the flight.

He had over 10 sessions with a hypnotherapist and felt very positive about the upcoming flight. However positive he was feeling though, he still could not get in a lift, or on a train. We tried many other things to help get him ready and in the end resulted to getting some drugs from the doctor. He prescribed Diazapam and gave him 28 pills of 2 mg.

Fast forward to the day of the flight. There were 10 of us travelling for my friends wedding where I was bridesmaid. We got all the way to the gate, he had taken 5 pills up til now, and took another 3, but they never kicked in and he was so scared he decided he couldn't do it.

I decided not to get on either, and so I missed my best friends wedding, missed our first holiday abroad together, and lost £3,500 that we spent on the holiday
I'm posting really because I'm hoping someone has had a similar fear and can offer some advice. He is not scared of flying per se, he's not scared of turbulence, just scared that when the door is shut, he is trapped and can't get off, and the panic rises so much in him that he thinks he will die.

Can anyone recommend anything else, any other meds or anything? I'm hoping someone on here has got over a similar fear, because I love to travel so much, and the thought of having to have separate holidays for the rest of our lives is really depressing me.

shell dockley,

Sorry to hear you missed out on the holiday and wedding. If it's not an actual fear of flying but more of a claustrophobia thing, the only thing I can suggest is he goes and see's his doctor to see if he can arrange for some further hypnotherapist or counselling. There's no other sedatives or anything that I'm aware of and it's sounds as though they weren't that effective anyway.

Darren

Hi Darren, thanks for your reply, he's definitely going back to the docs to see what he advises. Some people have mentioned to me that the 2mg dose he had was very low, but the drowsy feeling these gave him actually made him feel even more out of control.

I forgot to mention he has tried counselling too a few years ago. With that and the hypnotherapy I think he was hoping for a miracle cure, but when it comes down to it, it's still him that has to step onto that plane, which is why I'm hoping there is some other (miracle) drug out there for him!

shell dockley,

For some, they just can't overcome certain fears so it could be flying isn't for him. There's always cruises but obviously more local ones departing and returning to the uk or europe so there may be alternative holidays you can look at.

Darren

Oh my goodness Shell I'm so sorry to hear you missed your friends wedding and lost all that money. I can sympathise with your fiance as I know exactly how he feels, especially when they shut the door and you're at the point of no return. I too find 2mg's of diazepam isn't strong enough when your fear is that bad, and I find myself taking 2 or 3 tablets at a time and alcohol on top of that. I know it's not ideal in case there is an emergency but I find it helps a great deal until I've taken off and up in the air cruising. Maybe if you do decide to try flying again, get him to take a stronger dose or just have a few drinks instead and do some deep breathing exercises.

Hi Mdollar, thanks for your reply. How many mgs would you say you normally take to get you on a flight? And how many do you take once on board? He had already taken 16mgs before we even got on the plane and that wasn't enough. Then he had the worry that he only had 20 pills left to see him through a 9 hour flight, another 1 hour connecting flight, and the same again for the journey home. Clearly that wouldn't have been enough and the thought of being stuck in Kenya, unable to fly home, with no other realistic option for getting home, was obviously overwhelming.

We'll have to see what the doctor says but the only way of really testing whatever he gives him, is to take another flight, and risk losing our money all over again if he still can't get on.

shell dockley,

Just a thought, in order to get him on a flight, what about a short weekend break or even a day trip to somewhere where the flight is only say 45 minutes or an hour? For example a flight to Dublin with Ryanair that should be relatively cheap? Part of the problem might be the fear of a long haul flight and stuck for 10+ hours whereas an hours flight to Dublin, to get him used to the thought of flight and that it's nothing to worry about once airbourne? I know that has helped others in the past and is exactly what happens on many fear of flying courses, they gently break you in with a short flight to prepare you for something longer. If he still can't manage it, it's not much of a loss as you can pick Ryanair flights up from 1p if you time is right!

Darren

Thanks Darren, I think that's what we're going to do. I'm currently looking up the shortest internal flight I can find! The shortest at the moment is London - Manchester which is 1 hour, but if anyone knows of a shorter flight, let me know!

shell dockley,

Does it have to be from a London Airport? LHR or LGW - MAN can be expensive as there's only really BA or Bmi. That's why I was thinking of flights to Dublin as there's plenty of frequency and you can use a low cost carrier like Ryanair or Easyjet depending where you fly from. It's 1 hour 25 minutes from LGW to DUB so not much different to Manchester, but less than half the cost depending on the deals at the time. The Channel Islands are about an hour from LGW on a turbo-prop rather than a jet. An hour is about the shortest really as it's not worth airlines operating flights less than that with the rail network.

Darren