Unspoken Rule of Air Travel

[JohnK]

My whole aversion to the window, is lack of access to the aisle. Due to my fear of flying, I don't like the feeling of being "trapped in". ALL of my QF flights over the past 10 odd years have been DOM and Trans Tasman J so there is always 2-2-2 at least! Row 1 left side aisle is ALWAYS my seat of choice. I have not taken a window seat blocked by another seat since I was a teenager.

Is it fear of flying or claustrophobia? For me 1mg of Xanax, sometimes 2mg, does the trick.

 

[bossreggie]

Is it fear of flying or claustrophobia? For me 1mg of Xanax, sometimes 2mg, does the trick.

It is definitely a fear of flying. I hate the whole experience of being ON the aircraft. However when I am on a plane I can't stand the thought of being blocked in. If an aisle seat were not available I would not fly on that particular flight.

I might have to try the Xanax... Usually I take a big dose of Scotch!

 

[JohnK]

It is definitely a fear of flying. I hate the whole experience of being ON the aircraft. However when I am on a plane I can't stand the thought of being blocked in. If an aisle seat were not available I would not fly on that particular flight.

For me it is the claustrophobia that leads to a sub-conscious fear of flying. Sometimes I start to feel the anxiety build up before a flight to the point where I start to hyper ventilate if I have not taken Xanax. So usually I will take the Xanax when I leave home for the airport. Occasionally I have forgotten to take Xanax until late in the boarding process and I have felt fine but still take the Xanax in case the anxiety starts. If the hyper ventilating starts it can take at least 2mg of Xanax and a lot of stress before I can relax.

I have discussed this with my GP and he agrees that I should take 1mg of Xanax before each flight as a preventative measure for anxiety attacks, if there is such a thing. Anything to make my flights more comfortable as I love flying....

 

[NYCguy]

For me it is the claustrophobia that leads to a sub-conscious fear of flying. Sometimes I start to feel the anxiety build up before a flight to the point where I start to hyper ventilate if I have not taken Xanax. So usually I will take the Xanax when I leave home for the airport. Occasionally I have forgotten to take Xanax until late in the boarding process and I have felt fine but still take the Xanax in case the anxiety starts. If the hyper ventilating starts it can take at least 2mg of Xanax and a lot of stress before I can relax.

I have discussed this with my GP and he agrees that I should take 1mg of Xanax before each flight as a preventative measure for anxiety attacks, if there is such a thing. Anything to make my flights more comfortable as I love flying....

Some sessions with a psychologist who specialises in cognitive behavioural therapy would probably be useful in this case. It really does work.

 

[medhead]

medhead, you're a sick puppy!

.... and he is very good at it :!:

I didn't realise you knew me that well :shock:

 

[medhead]

It is definitely a fear of flying. I hate the whole experience of being ON the aircraft. However when I am on a plane I can't stand the thought of being blocked in. If an aisle seat were not available I would not fly on that particular flight.

I might have to try the Xanax... Usually I take a big dose of Scotch!

Just like my wife, she treats her fear of flying by only travelling in J. of course it takes me all year to get the points required for the tickets, so that helps her fear of flying as well.

I must be a bad husband for not buying J seats with cash.

 

[kamchatsky]

Just like my wife, she treats her fear of flying by only travelling in J. of course it takes me all year to get the points required for the tickets, so that helps her fear of flying as well.

I must be a bad husband for not buying J seats with cash.

Me too, no way to pay for J. Always with points. Not that my wife has fear of flying/claustrophobias

 

[bossreggie]

Just like my wife, she treats her fear of flying by only travelling in J. of course it takes me all year to get the points required for the tickets, so that helps her fear of flying as well

Spare a thought for me.... ALL my travel is paid for with cash.

I do have heaps of points..... Now that any seat awards get SC's and points I may use some.

 

[serfty]

Just like my wife, she treats her fear of flying by only travelling in J. of course it takes me all year to get the points required for the tickets, so that helps her fear of flying as well.

I must be a bad husband for not buying J seats with cash.

My wife is a nervous flyer as well. Last week on LAX to AKL the seat belt signs were on for most of the flight due to the vestiges of a large Cyclone. 1A/1K combination no good - the plane simply shook most of the way with a few random lurches for good measure.

(FWIW, all but one of nine segments segment were purchased in why, with planning for upgrades, we flew AKL-LAX-BOS-MIA-DFW-SEA-LAX-AKL in either J or F)

 

[medhead]

Spare a thought for me.... ALL my travel is paid for with cash.

I do have heaps of points..... Now that any seat awards get SC's and points I may use some.

I hear ya - even if my cahs is only buying y seats. I'm pretty happy with the any seat award earning situation. But it has completely changed my mind about ditching my direct earn QF cards for a platinum amex. I'll need all the points i can get if i want to have some J seats on my weekly commute

My wife is a nervous flyer as well. Last week on LAX to AKL the seat belt signs were on for most of the flight due to the vestiges of a large Cyclone. 1A/1K combination no good - the plane simply shook most of the way with a few random lurches for good measure.

(FWIW, all but one of nine segments segment were purchased in why, with planning for upgrades, we flew AKL-LAX-BOS-MIA-DFW-SEA-LAX-AKL in either J or F)

Nice work on the upgrades. Being only a PS I wouldn't dare hope for such upgrades. I hate to think what SWMBO would make of your LAX-AKL flight.

 

[JohnK]

Spare a thought for me.... ALL my travel is paid for with cash.

Spare a thought for me.... All my travel is paid on credit and then I have to find the cash to pay for it.... Hang on that is part of the reason I am in financial trouble....

I do have heaps of points..... Now that any seat awards get SC's and points I may use some.

I have some points but not enough. I am madly saving for another RTW award in economy.

(FWIW, all but one of nine segments segment were purchased in why, with planning for upgrades, we flew AKL-LAX-BOS-MIA-DFW-SEA-LAX-AKL in either J or F)

Life of luxury.

 

[Flying Fox]

Just like my wife, she treats her fear of flying by only travelling in J. of course it takes me all year to get the points required for the tickets, so that helps her fear of flying as well.

I have a fear of flying in Y

Unfortunately my company only flys me in Y.

 

[serfty]

OT:

... Nice work on the upgrades. Being only a PS I wouldn't dare hope for such upgrades. I hate to think what SWMBO would make of your LAX-AKL flight.

Actually, only one upgrade was on Qantas.

The rest were confirmed with seats selected well before travel commenced (AA using AAdvantage miles and a kindly donated eVIP/SWU, AirNZ using Airbucks)

As for SWMBO, she did not make of it very well at all - has declared she no longer want's to be booked on 12 hours flights! LAX via NRT anyone? :shock

 

[Bang4Buck]

"Dude"

A clear signal that I've spent too much time hanging around Americans.

Unless the sun is streaming through the window and annoying me..... I don't give a toss whether the shade is up, down or half way between. If your head is blocking the window, that will do just as well as the shade.... Just keep it there. I'm not interested in looking out the window at all.

Given the possibility that my head is too big, I guess that wouldn't be a problem.

As I stated in my earlier post.... I would ASK the passenger seated there.....

And I guess realistically (if I were stuck in a 2*3*2) I would oblige, especially if said person mentioned anything about a fear of flying. Best of luck with your travels.

 

[purplegez]

For me it is the claustrophobia that leads to a sub-conscious fear of flying. Sometimes I start to feel the anxiety build up before a flight to the point where I start to hyper ventilate if I have not taken Xanax. So usually I will take the Xanax when I leave home for the airport. Occasionally I have forgotten to take Xanax until late in the boarding process and I have felt fine but still take the Xanax in case the anxiety starts. If the hyper ventilating starts it can take at least 2mg of Xanax and a lot of stress before I can relax.

I have discussed this with my GP and he agrees that I should take 1mg of Xanax before each flight as a preventative measure for anxiety attacks, if there is such a thing. Anything to make my flights more comfortable as I love flying....

I LOVE flying, definitely do not have a fear of it but I DO suffer from claustrophobia (crowded places, lifts etc. ) and most inconveniently when everyone stands up in the aisle when the seatbelt sign has been switched off and the door of the plane has not yet been opened - (on my last flight back to Perth that was a 15 minute wait, the stairs were not immediately available as they were being used by another plane).

How do I cope with my particular phobia? I have many distraction techniques that I employ when needed. I am the woman seen doing crossword puzzles as everyone else queues to disembark or else I count backwards from 500 in 3's. If I am seated too far back, and also in a window seat, I occasionally resort to 1 valium tablet 1/2 hour before the plane lands. Then all is well.

I used to be much worse but, strangely, taking up rock climbing 7 years ago, as a sport, has cured me of a lot of my anxiety attacks!

 

[JohnK]

How do I cope with my particular phobia? I have many distraction techniques that I employ when needed. I am the woman seen doing crossword puzzles as everyone else queues to disembark or else I count backwards from 500 in 3's. If I am seated too far back, and also in a window seat, I occasionally resort to 1 valium tablet 1/2 hour before the plane lands. Then all is well.

I used to take the 5mg Valium tablets as well but have not looked back since my GP recommended 1mg Xanax as it is quicker acting and much more effective.

I used to be much worse but, strangely, taking up rock climbing 7 years ago, as a sport, has cured me of a lot of my anxiety attacks!

It is great that you can just get out and participate.

Some people seem to think there is an easy solution to our type of problems. There isn't. I have suffered from panic attacks and anxiety attacks for the past 17 years. No amount of learning proper breathing techniques is going to help these disorders. When I wake up in the morning and I cannot breathe trying to relax does not help. The worst is when the panic/anxiety attacks last for 2-3 days. No amount of Valium/Xanax helps....

 

[rhjames]

Yes, I had no problem farting in 1A/K.

Same for me (don't like 1A - too difficult to get to the luggage locker). I've had no problem in 1st class, but a few in other classes where people are closer.

A trip to Fiji last week reminded me of another of my hates. People who push the carry on size past reasonable limits. They struggle to carry the bag down the isle, then they struggles to fit into storage. In economy, there's limited space as it is. I'd like to see carry on limits enforced.

I'm all for taking carry on only - I do it myself often, even on international trips, but I stay within the limits.

 

[anat0l]

A trip to Fiji last week reminded me of another of my hates. People who push the carry on size past reasonable limits. They struggle to carry the bag down the isle, then they struggles to fit into storage. In economy, there's limited space as it is. I'd like to see carry on limits enforced.

I'm all for taking carry on only - I do it myself often, even on international trips, but I stay within the limits.

I have an odd hunch about how airlines actually anticipate hand luggage storage. And it gets worse with narrow bodies compared to wide bodies.

Let's be realistic: let's say we take a QF (or DJ) 737-800 and assume that it is completely full. That is, every single seat is filled in both Y and J (or in the case of DJ, Y and Y+). Let's say every single passenger has one regulation size rollerboard cabin luggage (assumed to be near or at the stated limits) and optionally one small item (handbag, thin laptop bag, a shopping bag etc.). (AFAICT and IIRC, for QF this is OK because QF allows 2 pieces per pax on domestic flights, whilst DJ allow 1 piece per pax but can also take a "small item" (like a handbag) which does not count towards the allowance).

Do you really think the overhead lockers can accommodate one rollerboard for all of the pax on that aircraft? I think not! So how to airlines really decide and model the allowance of each pax and how much overhead locker space is required? Of course, it is probably reasonable to assume that not every pax will carry a rollerboard with them. Oh wait, unless you travel in LOTFAP...

 

[QF WP]

Just found this story mentioned on another FF site (related to this thread).

Should this story (with photo) have meant that the pax should have bought 2 seats....

 

[JohnK]

That photo was posted on AFF recently.

Very sad indeed....