Panic Flying

My wife was in the Manchester airport disaster she flies now you be fine x

JT said:

Won't that require me fly tons more?

Not necessarily - I don't earn any of my points / miles by paying for flights.

They can be earned in all sorts of other ways. For example, I put a lot of my spending through airline credit cards, which I then pay off in full each time. Points can also be earned (instead of cashback) on all sorts of online or even in-store shopping.

There's more info about the various earning / collection options with a couple of schemes here:

• British Airways Avios
• Virgin Atlantic

Just over two weeks ago, flying out for a holiday in Menorca, I had a 'funny turn' in the airport. It was very like a diabetic hypoglycaemic episode, but was probably linked to the lurking bronchitis I was developing, unknown at the time to me. So I was avoiding queues for my family using my sunflower lanyard and eventually being checked out by the airport paramedic team, who checked pulse, BP and blood glucose. I was given the green light to board and was whisked at high speed in a wheelchair direct to the aircraft door. Almost worth the feeling ill, to get such an unusual, for me, and fast boarding experience.

Hi JT,

Firstly, well done for managing a flight

When I fly, I am generally flying to somewhere I know and with my parents - mainly to see my brother in Montreal, Canada - but I fly to Boston, MA first and me and my parents drive up from there.

Before I go to the airport - although my parents generally book a hotel the night before - so we're not travelling at 'stupid' o'clock or rushing to get there and getting stuck in traffic - I also read through everything with Mum and triple make sure that I have got everything I need - and with things like medications etc. (I am on a lot), I make sure they can be seen in alphabetical order, and with the most current prescription I have, and in all the right boxes - I take my empty 'dosset' boxes with me so I can sort them when I get to the hotel after the flight - and then do the same on the return trip.

I am generally OK, once I am actually in the air and can concentrate on something like a film or reading my Kindle, but I am a complete bundle of nerves until just after take off and just before the plane descends to land.

In the actual terminal, during the baggage drop off and security checks, I get very nervous just standing in the cues waiting to get to the desks. I think it's the waiting in an already 'tense' atmosphere and crowded queues that doesn't help. Thankfully, I can 'mask' quite well, so as not to make the security suspicious, but I also have started wearing Loop Earplugs and they do help tone down all the sounds around me.

My Mum has disabilities herself, she has started using priority booking so she is able to get a wheelchair down to the security desks and again to the actual gate number itself. She also makes sure that she books one of the airport lounges, so it's not such a stress on me as well - I can just relax and chill out with my Kindle and Loops (these are a newly welcomed godsend to me), plus it makes it nice for my parents as well.

For the plane trip, I make sure I have some fruit sweets to hand and my 'weighted' cat toy (one you can actually heat up in the microwave - like a wheat bag), is sitting on my lap (can't and won't fly without her - despite me being in my late 30's). When the plane is about to take off, I just tense my hands on the arm-rests and don't relax until the in-flight entertainment comes on, or I am allowed to switch on my Kindle - then I can just lose myself until the plane starts descending - and then read the same in reverse lol.

I've only flown ONCE on my own - and that was when my parents went to Australia and I was flying directly to Montreal to spend a few days with my brother. I used the same techniques as above, but I also explained to the cabin crew that I was a nervous flyer, and they were really understanding and made sure I was doing OK, on both journeys.

Sorry, this has turned into a very long post - but I do hope this has helped you JT.

Mweekie xx

First class where available has always been better and more civilised 

If I had the money, I’d have a chauffeur driven limousine, with people to carry my luggage, exclusive access to the first class terminal onto my private jet just like any other celebrity, private immigration, security and customs with a glass of champagne (Dom Perignon) on arrival and with Petrossian Beluga Caviar Canapés, making flying from Manchester to Dublin a breeze 

Panic flying!

Is that when you depart for a quick spin around the circuit of an aerodrome 45 miles away form yoru house in your own tiny little open cockpit aeroplane and as you achieve take off speed your airspeed indicator does odd things, and you realise that due to the ADD component of your makeup, you forgot to fit the bloody pitot tube and now have no reliable alitimeter or airspeed indicator...

How is one to land an aeroplane (that you only have about 2 or 3 previous flights in, without these essential instruments? You have no previous experience as such to draw on in order to do a "seat of your pants" landing..

BTW, am I the only qualified pilot in this Community?

It's a boring story otherwise, after all, I'm here telling it... (AND the aeroplane was reuseable too, it was a "great" landing!)

Essentially the deal with "money" is that to obtain and hold enough to be "comfortable" you HAVE TO LIE ABOUT THE MONEY at some point. 

As far as I can determine from the persepcitve of my own, and others observed and related experiences, this is a universal truth.

People in well rewarded jobs complain just as much about their wages, (sometimes more!), as people who are working for zero hours contracts.

The mental sleight of hand some people manage in order to think that their lives are as bad as some others, is breathtaking to behold, (when the opportunity to make such observation occurs) to an impartial observer of human nature. 

Won't that require me fly tons more?

More realistically, we can earn and save up airline miles to redeem for seats in the more comfortable travel classes - which is what I do.

I’ve even heard actual disabled people in wheelchairs being referred to as “troublemakers” for needing help, which I’ve seen online and frankly, it’s outrageous - if that’s the attitude we are dealing with, people with hidden disabilities like autism are clearly going through the same struggles 

This is most interesting thank you.

When following links I ended up on the BA site, the only firm that seems to explain things properly.

This section is good to know: Many airports across our network also offer quiet routes or quiet spaces that provide a stress-free environment to wait in before your flight. This is particularly useful for our customers with autism or for those who suffer from anxiety. To find out more about these physical spaces we recommend you contact your airport directly.

Couldn't agree more. Someone should start a campaign

If you don't mind me asking, how does one become affluent as a retired teacher? I'll I'm ever told is there is no money in teaching

I have a love-hate relationship with flying. I am a massive aircraft geek so love the flying bit, but I get over whelmed by the airport bit. If I could jump from security to the gate I would be much better. I don't want to have to fight my way through the duty free crap and shops. Most  I want is to grab a sandwich and a drink before the flight. I hate they don't put up the gate number much earlier, and hate the lack of windows in most airports. US airports are much better for me, mush more like a bus station with gates displayed hours ahead. 

I grew up as a "military service brat" and am quite accustomed to flying. Having said this, I don't particularly enjoy small talk with strangers or having to sit in close prximity to people whiom I don't know. My way of dealing wiht this problem has been to always make sure that I have a lot of reading material with me. Reading has always been an escape from reality for me. 

As I have gotten older and more affluent than I once was, I also tend to fly business class or first class. The seats and amenities are better particularly if I'm not flying on an American carrier which for reasons unknown, tend to have inferior service as compared to British Airways or KLM.

Frankly, the “reasonable adjustments” for “hidden disabilities” like autism and air travel with any U.K. based airline  (possibly also U.K. rail travel) should be a free upgrade to the first class cabin and the first class lounge before and after  the journey - let’s face it, with all the hassle we have to deal with, we deserve it - aside from U.K. rail companies, the First Class Lounge and the Concorde Lounge with BA at Heathrow T5 and Virgin Atlantic First Class Lounge should be the starting point, along with any other airlines operating into the U.K. as the start to any journey, including Ethiad, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Air New Zealand, South African Airways and many others  

JT said:

Anyone else feel the same about flying? How do you manage it?

I have a love-hate relationship with flying. I get excited and love the "flyingness of it all", including the wonder of flight, the beautiful planes, the views from the plane window, the magic of walking onto the plane in one country and walking out of the door into an entirely different place. But I also find it scary and stressful, including for the reasons you mention.

I wear noise cancelling headphones throughout, including for listening to in-flight entertainment, but also just for reducing the noise the rest of the time. Thankfully, these days - with wireless, Bluetooth-equipped ones - I can get up and move around the plane without needing to take them off. I also often prefer to read my Kindle rather than watch the available films or programmes (I can get lost in a book more easily, and I don't enjoy watching films on a small screen,  with poor sound quality). Flights are also among the limited number of situations in which I take my GP-prescribed anti-anxiety medication (which I only use sparingly, as directed).

I haven't travelled since just before COVID hit, but I do intend to take advantage of the assistance options when I next fly. 

This NAS article offers advice for autistic adults about going on holiday, including about getting help at the airport:

NAS - Holidays – guide for autistic adults

The UK's Civil Aviation Authority also has lots of information about air travel, including how to access special assistance:

Civil Aviation Authority - Passenger and Public

If you don't already have one, you might like to buy a Hidden Disabilities sunflower card and lanyard (customised versions are also available, featuring a photo along with flagging your main areas of need):

Hidden Disabilities - Shop

Hidden Disabilities - Airports around the world

JT said:

I have Crohn's disease so much of the stress comes from potentially having to travel whilst ill.

I would contact theairline and ask them to help you get a seat near the toilets and give you an aisle seat. Tell the flight attendant you may need to go when the fasten seatbelt sigh is on if it is an emergency.

Make pre-emptive visits in the terminal and as you board to be on the safe side and it should the smallest possible window of risk but you will minimise all other factors.

I find stress is a big contributor to my need to go to the toilet urgently so maybe try to use some reliable anti-stress medication if possible, but it needs to be a type that allows you to function mentally and doesn't aggrivate the Chrons.

Sorry it this is stuff you already do but I have a habit of trying to help that can be annoying

I hear you. Been discussing train of car road trips across Europe since we got back. Don't think I shall be flying much again tbh