Never Flown & Nervous.
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I am 47 and have never been outside Australia. We are planning a trip later this year to France & Italy. If I manage to get the guts to go I have decided I must fly QANTAS & it must be premium economy. I think I would feel to claustrophobic in economy.
Here are my main concerns:
a. what do you do on a plane for 22 hours ? I think that could drive me batty.
b. I think (unreasonably) I prefer to fly during the day so the pilot can see what he is doing. Stupid I know.
c I know premium economy is probably not worth it but I am doing this for my mental health.
d. Some say its better to break up the trip like stopping in Singapore over night and then resuming the next day. Others say just get it over with. Any thoughts ?
Honestly, I would love to travel just once and to experience other countries. I have read and downloaded stuff for scared flyers (eg from Virgin). I guess a lot of people dont love flying but see it as a means to a rewarding end.
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a.) thats what we all try to figure out ! read a book, watch some movies, just take some earplugs and sleep.
b.) interesting is it ok if i laugh Can be done but you may find it better to sleep at night.
c.) yes it can be good to break a trip up and besides Hong Kong or Singapore make easy, safe, fun places to visit.
Location: New York, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, in that order.
Member of: UA GK 2MM, AF Pt, ANA Di, QF PS
Posts: 572
Re: Never Flown & Nervous
Good on you for taking the plunge after such a long time. I must say a Europe trip is a pretty hard-core start to your flying experience, but you'll be fine. Keep in mind that millions of people fly billions of miles every single day, and that 'incidents' are very rare.
In answer to your questions:
1. What to do for 22 hours - well, get a window seat, I spend quite a bit of time gazing out of the window, even if it's just at the tops of clouds. Otherwise I fiddle with my laptop, watch a movie sometimes, or get to reading the book or report that I have been meaning to get to. If you're flying premium Y on QF, you'll have their whole IFE system to keep you occupied.
2. By the time a Pilot is promoted to Captain on a large airliner, they have more than adequate skills at using instruments to fly without the assistance of sunlight. Besides which, for most of the flight, it's computers pointing the aircraft in the right direction, using instructions entered by the flight crew.
3. Premium Y looks more comfortable than 'economy' Y. You should travel in the best cabin you can afford.
4. As Evan said, Hong Kong and Singapore are very safe, easy places to stop for a day on two in either/each direction. Since you've made the effort to get out and see some of the world, make the most of the opportunity.
It may also help if you stop watching TV shows like "Air Crash Investigation", and familiarise yourself with just how unlikely you are to be involved in a fatal plane crash - the odds are about 1:11 000 000, as opposed to 1:5000 of being involved in a fatal car accident, possibly on the way to the airport to catch your flight.
Enjoy your trip!
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a. Since you plan to fly Premium Economy, enjoy the food, wine & service as much as possible. This will assist in distracting you. Pretend you are in a nice restaurant and this may ease you nerves.
Also, if you have a hobbie that you can bring along do so.
My hobby is photography and generally I take photos of everything (drives my wife mad at times) on the plane (heck what else can I do). Maybe even start a travel diary for your trip.
Also take advantage of the movie & music selection on board.
I am 47 and have never been outside Australia. We are planning a trip later this year to France & Italy. If I manage to get the guts to go I have decided I must fly QANTAS & it must be premium economy. I think I would feel to claustrophobic in economy.
You cannot do all the trip on Qantas, you will need another airline from UK/DE to get to France or Italy
Given the price of premium economy with QF and your not liking flying, to see whether an airline such as Gulf/Etihad/Emirates has a business class fare that will be within budget. They are good airlines and should be able to reduce your flying time; rather than flying all the way to UK and all the way back to Italy, may be able to just go to somewhere like Dubai and continue without a circuitous routing
Quote:
Originally Posted by agent009
a. what do you do on a plane for 22 hours ? I think that could drive me batty.
eat and get bored. If you have a laptop, plug it in and watch DVDs is a way of passing time. Better (imo) than relying on what the airline IFE is offering plus doesn't get interrupted with announcements such as "we are going to be passing through flogging duty free"
Quote:
Originally Posted by agent009
b. I think (unreasonably) I prefer to fly during the day so the pilot can see what he is doing. Stupid I know.
Flying during the day is definitely my choice; I avoid night flights where I can like the plague. Flying QF to Europe by day can be done if you fly to Hong Kong, overnight in Hong Kong and then fly to UK and then to France/Italy
Quote:
Originally Posted by agent009
c I know premium economy is probably not worth it but I am doing this for my mental health.
If you can afford it premium economy, business and 1st are all worth it
Quote:
Originally Posted by agent009
d. Some say its better to break up the trip like stopping in Singapore over night and then resuming the next day. Others say just get it over with. Any thoughts ?
I prefer a break, it gets v tedious. Also, if you want to travel by day, you will almost certainly have to
I would suggest that you might be better going for an aisle seat; if you are anxious about being in a plane, being able to get about and move when you want to may be beneficial rather than being hemmed in
Member of: AA Exec Plat; QF LTG; PC Plat; HHonors Gold
Posts: 10,055
Re: Never Flown & Nervous
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Noble
You cannot do all the trip on Qantas, you will need another airline from UK/DE to get to France or Italy
In this cvase it may be worth flying with Qantas to Frankfurt and then using a Eurail pass to get around Europe. Trains quite effective transport through Germany, France and down into Italy. Buy a First Class Eurail pass before leaving Australia and the journey can be both cost effective and comfortable.
is it ok if i laugh 
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