Travel Fears and Getting Past Them

October 2, 2012 - Howie

Sara and I have been racking up and hording miles for the past 18 months and are set to go on a few trips next year. For Sara, the destination is the purpose of the trip… for me (and I bet a few of us reading) the journey is part of it. Between the two of us we’ve flown maybe 8 or so segments of international business class travel. For our three trips next year we’ll triple that!

I want to fly Lufthansa First through Frankfurt (hello first class terminal)… and Sara is all about it too because of pretzel rolls. Give that girl a basket of pretzel rolls, a comfy seat, and some entertainment; she’s all set. I also want to fly Thai First through Bangkok, get a massage and a golf cart ride. She just wants some tasty Thai food. Last, will hopefully be on Cathay First through Hong Kong. (Not to say that Singapore first wouldn’t also be amazing; which is on my list too.)

Those flights are regarded by many as some of the best flight experiences and if we get to experience even one it’ll be amazing … but what if one of the segments is on prop-job to get to an island we’re going to? Or, what if one is 11 hours on an A380 (what Sara refers to as the Titanic of the Sky) … oh, that 787 isn’t doing any better on her list either.

We’ve spoken time and time about it, and no matter what reason I try to use, I just can’t seem to get her past her fears of flying on these “untested” planes. I can get her past the prop-job flight if it is the only way to get there; but given the choice of a B747 or A340 versus a B787 or A380, she’ll always pick the former.

Now we’ve been talking more and more about it, and maybe we’re making progress… but when I’m looking at flights I’ve got to always keep it in mind. The saving grace I have is “would you rather fly 16 hours in coach or in business”? The answer will always be business/first and then I can get in with the caveat “oh, you gotta fly the big plane”.

It’s funny because she has no fear of visiting a country that we don’t speak the language… has no problem getting on a bus or train, and doing it all alone. For me, that’d be my biggest concern as I’m a bit of an organized / type A personality and like to have order, organization, and planning.

My ask to all of you is what “logic” can I use to get her to think differently? Do you have family / friends that are in the same boat? Maybe they won’t even get on a plane? What other travel fears have you helped others get through?

Oh … and we’ll be doing our applications this week to hopefully diversify our balances a little bit.

I’m thinking:

Howie
Citi AA Amex (had the visa recently)
Barclays US Air
Alaska B of A
Chase Hyatt or Fairmont card

Sara
Citi AA Amex (had the visa recently)
Citi AA Business
Barclays US Air
Alaska B of A
Chase Hyatt or Fairmont card

Thoughts / comments?

Deal of the Day

For today’s Deal of the Day TopCashback is donating $50 cash (to be deposited to your TopCashback.com account) for the best overall travel deal submitted. A great mileage run, mistake fare, partner promo, new card sign-up offer, or the special twist you figured out on a deal today. Add it to the comments section of this post (along with your First Name, Last Initial, and Airport Code) or this afternoon’s Deal of the Day post by TOMORROW at 11:59pm EDT to be eligible to win. That gives you two days to win!

schmerj

All through my teens and early 20s I LOVED flying. Then I developed a severe fear of flying. Every little change in sound convinced me that the plane was indeed about to plunge into the Atlantic (I live in Berlin and have to fly transatlantic to see family…not fun). Well after a couple years of this, I ended up on the same TATL flight with a friend of mine who happens to be an Air Force pilot. So he spent tons of time teaching me about the flaps and the slats (I love sitting over the wing) and how winglets increase fuel efficiency. Since then, I’ve started enjoying flying again!! For me, learning about the plane a) gives me something to concentrate on so I forget that I’m nervous and b) gives me the feeling that I know what’s going on – not exactly control, but I think that plays a roll here.
Al

This past churn and the one before I have been approved for personal cards. This time I did the two browser trick and got both AA cards. However, both times, I have been rejected for Citi business AA card with “multiple applications” cited as the reason. I noticed that you are attempting the same and will be curious to see if it works. I spoke to Citi reconsideration and they are not as amenable as Chase or Amex.
David C.

Radisson1 for 1 Stay One Night, Get One Night
The first 50,000 Club Carlson members to register for the
Radisson 1 for 1 promotion will be eligible for a Free Night Award
at any Radisson or Radisson Blu hotel in the US, Canada or Caribbean.
Link: https://www.radisson.com/secure/offers/5654648?campaignUrl=1for1&hotelBrandCode=RAD
Brian S

10% off British Airways bookings if you have a BA credit card by logging into your account and going to https://www.britishairways.com/travel/chase-10/execclub/_gf/en_us to book.
andrewleen

Get 100% Bonus when transferring US Airways Miles = buy 50,000 Miles for $567, which is a great deal!!

Li P.
IND
http://www.facebook.com/gino.diclemente.9 Gino DiClemente

very simple… teach her basic aviation.. on lift and drag… and what lifts the plane… the vaccuum pocket above the wing.. not the air pushing the wing up… ie the air velocity going forward creates a vacuum above wing and plane moves into that space
Gee K.

Hawaii flights $343 RT on United from Charlotte and Philadelphia, dates throughout Nov & Dec.
ralph van dyke

Is there a difference btwn Citi AA Mastercard and Citi AA Visa? I have the master card–can I apply for the Visa too?

Diamond Vargas

No difference other than the processing agency. Yes you can get both, including the signup bonus for each. I have both.

http://twitter.com/wagger9 GRAHAM A WHITLOW

very interested in you Fairmont cc applcn -what min spend did U get –is fee waived – are 2 free nites useable at Savoy, London ??

http://www.frequentflyeruniversity.com/ Frequent Flyer University

@twitter-819901436:disqus $1k min. spend in 3 months and $95 annual fee.

Sara

Thanks for the tips everyone! I broke down and let Howie book us flights that include one leg on the A380. I’m still scared but I’ve got time to get more comfortable with the idea.

I’ll likely have my doctor write me a small prescription for some sort of anxiety medicine, that’s what I did the first time I flew to Asia. It was my first really long haul flight and I was travelling by myself. I don’t love taking medication but in this case it helped. We ended up flying around the remnants of a Typhoon and the pilot warned of ‘extreme’ turbulence but I was able to sleep through most of it. If I do freak out I’m sure Howie will write about it!
Pingback: Headed to Thailand – Hopefully | Frugal Travel Guy
Jamie

I Used to be afraid to fly (after many years of loving it). I’d first say Valium. Then I would second the advice about learning more about how a plane works. I’d love to take a fear of flying course to learn from a real pilot. My husband is a physicist and once said something, slightly tongue in cheek, that I always think of which also makes me laugh. At the speeds jets go, the challenge would be keeping them on the ground, not up in the air. You could fly a house if you made it go 500 miles an hour. (not completely accurate, but funny to picture and humor can be very relaxing)
Sylvia Jordan

I remember the first time me and my boyfriend checked out a holiday destination guide for our first backpacking tour to Europe. We were so apprehensive, nervous, and full of fear. But when we actually fully engaged in our backpacking trip, we discovered those fears were unfounded. Now, we are always looking forward to our next adventures!

Travel Fears and Getting Past Them

Related Posts