TIPS FOR NERVOUS FLYERS (FROM A PILOT)

My uncle is a retired commercial airline pilot and he would always say, "the most dangerous part of my job is the drive to the airport". That was always reassuring to me, when flying.

I don’t know why... but this pilot really made me feel so much better!!!! Thank you!!!

Thanks man. I just wish that when turbulence does get bad that the pilots would come on the speaker and tell us that everything will be ok. Sometimes they do and I appreciate that. But they dont always. Even if they are lying it would be nice to hear. Great hair BTW

1 in 11 million vs.1 in 103...my First flight is Tomorrow!!😆👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿🙌🏿 Thanks for helping with this decades old anxiety!!

a lot of airlines offer courses against fear of flying .. i took one such course with my national carrier 10yrs ago, and i am cured .. u see the ins and outs of flying, u visit the plane on the ground including the cockpit, u talk to the pilots, atc ppl and flight attendants and u learn about the structural aspects of planes, oh and at the end we got to take a short back and forth real flight, where we applied the coping techniques we learned .. i am now a very happy flyer !

Me watching docens of videos on this topic. When I heard "we can fly with one engine" a huge weight lifted off my back.

I used to be a very nervous flyer. It wasn’t until I found out I was playing basketball, weekly, with a few pilots that I gradually became less and less nervous. I always tell myself, “those pilots showed up every week for basketball” For turbulence I always just quickly close my eyes and visualize that I’m on a road trip and i hit some bumps on the highway. That always works for me.

Thank you. Your attitude alone in the video made me feel safer. I wish the pilots would just take a few minutes to talk to us on the plane and explain this at the start of the flight, I think it would make everyone feel safer.

Thanks so much for this video. One of our daughters was literally panicking and crying every time we had to fly which made holiday travel a nightmare. I sent her the video and she loved it. The calm, easy, comforting advice from a pilot resonated with her. We flew in June on a domestic to Gold Coast Australia and she now says she loves flying. Thank you 🙏 - luv your posts!

Honestly, knowing that I can talk to the flight attendants helps a lot. I've flown regularly since I was a little kid but these days I have panic attacks and cry. I always thought talking to a flight attendant would bother them. Maybe I'll try that next time. Thank you.

The “dah dun” just scared the sh!t out of me

I have a lot of anxiety about flying, even though, I’ve never done it before. Your video really helped me see flying in a different light! Thank you!

The precious smile of this man was good enough for me to not fear flying anymore

I've been flying since I was a child. My first flight was in early 1970's on Continental Airlines from LAX to New Orleans on a DC-10. We took off and we had to make an emergency landing back into LAX due to a flight control issue according to my very nervous mom. We went out over ocean dumped fuel and landed back safely. That was my first and only flight on a DC-10 and last time every flying Continental Airlines per my mothers orders every time I fly until Continental demise 10 years or so ago. Next flight was in 1974 on a United DC 8 or 9., I don't remember where flight originated from, but we landed into LAX and I was able to sit up with pilots and flight engineer upon landing as I was traveling alone and was about 9 yeas old. I was hooked on planes from that day forward. Nothing like that today would happen in a cockpit allowing anyone to have that experience. Love love aviation and larger aircraft. Miss 747's Queen of the Skies greatly. Will be heading to France from LAX to CDG to NCE for a two month stay later this year. Will be flying Air France 777-300ER into CDG and most likely an Airbus A321 into NCE. May I also suggest for nervous flyers to sit in isle seat or near emergency exit. Trust, the flight crew are more than qualified to evacuate a plane quickly, no matter the size of plane if all passengers follow rules, just try to stay calm. Leave all your stuff behind, it's replaceable. Just slip your phone/passport into your pocket. Do not take any type of sedative as this can be a disaster if you pass out before you depart and that will obviously ruin that day of travel for sure. I witnessed this first hand years back as someone on my flight took something that did not agree with them and had to be carried off plane. Not sure what became of the person. Don't drink too much either. Elevation of 35,000 feet one may feel the effects of alcohol very different than when on land, just look at some youTube videos of drunk passengers, not pretty. Wear comfortable clothes and leave jewelry, high heels, etc. at home or in your luggage, and packing light will greatly improve stress levels to a minimum upon arrival for your trip going through security. I always arrive for domestic flights 3 hours ahead and will eat, grab a drink, watch the planes land and depart, and people watch. International flights I arrive 5 hours early, clear security. I will then treat myself and whoever I'm traveling with a nice afternoon lunch in one of the upscale restaurants. I like to sit near the wings so I can see the plane is configured for take off and landing. There are many redundencies in the cockpit to alert pilots if something is not configured correctly, but it just give me peace of mind when I travel. I also check flight status before leaving my home to make sure if there's any gate change or flight delays. Most times airlines will contact you via text or email, but just check before ordering your Uber or other means of travel to airport. Another tip I have found that works for me is I travel with 1 backpack for all my personal stuff, laptop, phone, passport and medications and 1 carryon with clothes, that's it. Makes it sooo much easier.  Also rolling your clothes up into the shape of small logs greatly improves getting more into your bag. If you forget something at home, you can always buy upon arrival at local stores, remember this is 2022, not 1912. I also prefer departing from LAX in mid afternoon to arrive  around 10 am into Europe this way you stay awake and can help with jet lag. I try to sleep on flights and I always say I don't but my travel buds remind me of my snoring. Premium economy is another huge benefit on long flights, a must for me now. Happy Travels. Global Entry another huge benefit for the cost.

I would just be happy if I am just scared. Its hard for me even weeks before, I start to shake so badly just thinking about it. But thanks for the tips. I just want to say that its not easy to be there for people like me and I really appreciate when the crew helps you and speak explaining whats going on. I was once suffering in silence in the airplane and turning white when one person of the crew took me to the cockpit to meet the pilots, they said to me that we will have turbulence and watching them so calm... I almost even noticed! You as a pilot if you have the chance to speak even in the turbulence to chill the people, I promise you that makes a lot of difference. Thank you so much for the time that you dedicated to this video. :)

After one particularly rough flight, my wife declared when we landed we were not catching our connection. Instead we were renting a car and driving home, 1,000 miles and about 14 hours of driving. I wish I had the odds you laid out in this video to share with her. I talked her out of the driving plans...we flew and had a smooth wonderful flight and were to our destination in under two hours.

I have a flight in two days that i have to take and i suffer from severe anxiety and honestly hearing this helped a lot thank you 🥺

I want to tell you how much I appreciate your you tube videos on flying. I am lucky enough at 67 yrs old to be able to travel with my daughter and her family, something I never dreamed I could do at my age. we will be flying to Hawaii this fall and I will listen to your soothing voice over and over again telling me that everything will be fine and there’s no reason to worry. Thank you for this! I’m able to build memories with my grandkids every time I step foot thru a plane door

This helped me.....I actually started taking flying lessons in a small Cessna. The great thing about that was that if I had enough, I could tell my instructor, let's go in. So I felt in control. The other thing is that it helped desensitize a little from the bumps. And then knowing how planes fly made me feel better. I'm back to being scared so I'm planning some flight lessons again this summer. There should be an airline devoted to terrified passengers and then I bet everyone would really feel comfortable.

Thank you for this video. I've been nervous to fly since my early 20's. While I do not let my fear keep me from traveling, I find it difficult to look forward to an upcoming trip until my feet are on the ground. I recently returned from a trip to Portugal and Spain and all of the flights, including the short one from Porto to Seville, were relatively smooth. I'll remember your tips and the recent smooth travel on my next trip.