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Love to travel but have a horrible fear of flying? Don’t worry, I have a few airplane travel tips for long haul flights to help you overcome your fear of flying. Keep on reading and discover easy in-flight entertainment ideas, things to do on a plane to distract yourself, what to wear (including packing tips of what to bring in your carry on for optimal comfort), and much more!
For many people, traveling by plane can be the worst thing eveeeeer. The worst part of a trip BY FAR.
Fear of Flying is a common phobia that affects many flyers (frequent, or infrequent).
The way your heart skips a beat every time there is even the slightest of turbulence.
Those sweaty palms of your hands that you tirelessly need to keep rubbing against your lap to get them dry.
The constant checking of what time it is to see how much further longer you will have to endure this endless nightmare until you finally reach your destination.
I have a friend who has such bad fear of flying that she once stopped the plane just before it was about to take off, because she HAD to get out.
I have another friend who never left Brazil because he is so scared.
Cris, my boyfriend, has been to over 60 countries throughout his life, and he is terrified of flying.
While a minority of us chooses the safe side and stays put, the vast majority of people still prefer facing their fear and discovering a new part of the planet that they have always dreamed on going.
I was never exactly a ‘’scared flyer’’, but I still get some jitters every now and then with turbulence (and for some reason I always try to act cool so my seat neighbor does not notice).
I took more planes than I can account for throughout my travel life. Thankfully along the way, I started learning some travel hacks that made my journey easier.
These are very simple solutions that always work for me. I hope that if you also always feel uneasy during a flight, that these will also help you overcome your fear of flying.
Three Words to Quickly Help You Overcome Your Fear of Flying: Noise Canceling Headphones
Throughout my travel life, I started observing that what made me scared was mostly things that were inside my head.
That constant overthinking every time I heard a ‘strange noise’; that moment your heart skips a beat because you can hear the inside of the plane shaking with turbulence…
And why the hell does the motor keep making weird noises every other minute?
Basically it all comes down to noise and overthinking.
I observed this ‘’shift in fears’’ when I started using my Bose headphones to fly. Before the plane even takes off, I turn them on and the engine noises are canceled, completely blocked!
Put a nice playlist on, and enjoy your flight.
Takeaway: Headphones in general are great, but noise-canceling headphones are SAVIORS!
Netflix
Movies in a flight are amazing for two reasons: Not only do they cancel the noise of the engine, but they ALSO distract you.
But what do you do when you are taking an EasyJet flight that doesn’t provide you with in-flight entertainment?
Honestly, I don’t know if I am stupid, but I always wondered how people watched movies on their mobiles on a plane
Also, anyone else agrees that it is absurd that planes STILL don’t give free wifi to everyone on board? To me this still makes no sense!
How much better would people feel if they were connected! The distraction possibilities are endless.
Anyway, sooner or later I discovered that there is a way to download videos from Netflix on your phone!!!! (sorry if this is not new, but to me this was revolutionary and there might be others who are misinformed like me).
Takeaway
Download as many options of movies to your phone before you travel. Avoid movies that take place on a plane, as these contribute to feeling uneasy at a flight (ever noticed that no in-flight movie ever has plane scenes?).
In Vino Veritas
It is no secret that alcohol calms the nerves and my biggest friend in flights is a small bottle of red wine.
I usually buy it just before boarding the flight (keep in mind that they do not allow you to take more than 100 ml on your carry on when you pass control, but after that you can buy as many liters as you want).
Takeaway
Take it with you, but don’t drink it immediately. Wait for those moments of turbulence and you take a sip, and you will see how immediately calming it is.
I find that red wine works best for me.
Avoid Drinking Caffeinated Drinks
It goes without saying that caffeine increases level of anxiety. With that in mind, if you feel usually nervous in flights, why would you increase that feeling on unease by drinking a Coca Cola? Even, worse, a coffee??
Go back to step 3 and drink another gulp of your red wine.
Takeaway
Not a fan of wine? Any other alcohol should work just the same. I just find red wine has a great relaxing effect.
Podcasts
This one is actually a new one to my list because I have just recently become such a fool for podcast and I have to say I am completely addicted to it.
I’ve added this item to the list especially because last weekend I had a work trip and had to take a few flights.
As usual, I had downloaded all my Big Bang Theory and Modern Family episodes to my mobile’s Netflix app firsthand (I LOVE these short quick relaxing comedies) and I had a pretty decent selection to choose from within the plane.
Last minute before leaving the house, I decided to download some podcasts to my iTunes list (lately I have been quite addicted to Amy Porterfield’s Online Marketing Made Easy podcast. She gives amazing tips on strategies and practical approaches to grow your outreach. I strongly recommend listening to it, even if all you need is a boost in your marketing strategy motivation).
Anyway, during the flight I tested out listening to podcasts for the first time to see how well it would distract me and I was truly amazed how quick the flight went by.
I was honestly even was half hoping the flight could have been a bit longer, because I was so hooked in the podcast that I didn’t want to interrupt it to leave the plane.
To top it all, not only was I super distracted from the moment the plane took off to the moment it landed, but I also learned a heck of a ton of strategies and was ready to apply them all to my own blog plan.
Takeaway
When time is money, such as for people like me who are trying to create a blog, while still managing a 9-5, this usage of my time was extremely valuable to me.
Understand how Airplanes Work
Lastly, it helps understanding the basics of planes and that turbulence are not at all as dangerous as you think.
According to Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) detailed a report on the aviation industry which said that in average there are 102,465 flights EVERY DAY!!
Takeaway
The moment you see in numbers how many flights are taking off every second from every corner of the world you start and realize how much safer than you thought flying actually is.
Keep in mind that flying is one of the safest means of transportation ever!!
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