Yes, one of the biggest issues on overseas flights is if you arrive at 7:00 am and people want to take a nap. You're better off just staying up all day and going to bed at a reasonable hour. You'll awake the next morning and be ready to go.
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Except don't do this. Everyone knows that failure to turn off your electronic devices leads to a 50/50 chance the plane will go down...
He was in the lucky 50%.
If you are planning on taking that cocktail, I would recommend trying it on dry land to see how bad it messes you up before trying it on a plane for the first time.
My best piece of advice is to stay calm if/when you experience turbulance. Some flights you won't feel a thing and it'll be a smooth ride the whole way. Some flights the plan may shake a bit now and then. Some flights you may experience a feeling like the plane just dropped about 5 feet in 1 second. Try to keep in mind that these are common occurrances and it doesn't mean that the plane's about to crash or can't handle the weather.
Also, shortly after takeoff and before touchdown, when you hear a loud mechanical noise that doesn't sound good. It's just retracting or extending the wheels of the plane.
There's things that if you just don't know what or how common they are that can freak you out. But honestly, you're going to be very safe so try your best not to stress or let your mind take you to the worst possible scenario that something must be going wrong.
That said, I've most often been on smaller planes (3-5 seats wide) so I'm not sure if you typically experience less turbulance on larger planes or not.
And if you are experiencing a relatively smooth flight, I do encourage you to look out the window now and then and see the clouds/coastlines/mountains/cities below you because they are amazing sights. Looking out the window while you're in clouds is not as much fun as you can't see much and that's when you experience turbulance the most often.
Also, shortly after takeoff and before touchdown, when you hear a loud mechanical noise that doesn't sound good. It's just retracting or extending the wheels of the plane.
There's things that if you just don't know what or how common they are that can freak you out. But honestly, you're going to be very safe so try your best not to stress or let your mind take you to the worst possible scenario that something must be going wrong.
That said, I've most often been on smaller planes (3-5 seats wide) so I'm not sure if you typically experience less turbulance on larger planes or not.
And if you are experiencing a relatively smooth flight, I do encourage you to look out the window now and then and see the clouds/coastlines/mountains/cities below you because they are amazing sights. Looking out the window while you're in clouds is not as much fun as you can't see much and that's when you experience turbulance the most often.
Yep if just one person turns on a cell phone, than this happens.
I considered posting this, but didn't feel like being "that guy". Thanks for proving again that I can always count on you!
Xanax and alcohol have already kicked in. I'm emotionally numb. Leaving for the airport soon, and I hope it brings you comfort that your post could be the last one I ever see.
Thanks for all the replies everybody. Some really helpful stuff in here. I really will try to enjoy the ride, but like I said, I'm really no good at heights. I just want to get to a point where the anxiety is numbed and I can actually enjoy it. With it also being the first time, it's hard to know what to expect.
Europe should be a blast. Our layovers (to and from) are in Iceland, so that should be interesting as well.
Europe should be a blast. Our layovers (to and from) are in Iceland, so that should be interesting as well.
my first (ok 2nd, Canada barely counts) international flight, I was puking as we landed in Edinburgh (next to a cute South African male nurse, good thing I was already taken cause I did NOT leave him with a good impression). Don't do that, it wasn't fun. Since you're leaving I'm not reading what everyone's already said, but get one of those neck pillows so you can sleep, not sleeping was a BIG part of why the flight sucked for me. Don't eat a ton of the food either. I am also terrified of heights but once you were in the air it was really neat to see everything. There may be turbulence, you can white knuckle the arm rest, it made me feel a little better, like I was holding that damn plane in the air, haha.
Watch a movie if you can, that's really easy to zone out to. Good luck and have fun in Europe! I promise, once you are in the air it will be ok and you may even like it. My whole family is very motion sick prone and other than the final landing (we had one layover) I was fine. Stare out the window if that happens, that seemed to help (cute nurse kept wanting to talk and that's what did me in) It was a combo of no sleep/food/smaller plane, so you're probably fine!
also, to echo what one person said, if you are motion sick prone, drinking may not be a good idea. Trying watching a movie right away first. If you're still freaking out, then maybe drink but I'm telling you, puking on a plane is NOT FUN.
D
DistrictCyclone
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And smoking is (start wagging finger) not allowed (stop wagging finger) on any Delta flight.
The only time I have ever been concerned about a flight was 3 years ago flying to San Diego for a vacation. My girlfriend, myself, and another couple were heading out there from Des Moines.
Our flight from DSM to Denver was early around 6:45am. They get everyone through security and boarded on the plane and things started going bad from there. The pilot comes on the mic and explains that they are having an issue with the flight computers. He explained that they have 3 computers on the plain keeping track of all the systems including navigation. The problem was that 2 of the computers showed that our plane was sitting at the gate but the third computer showed that the plane was 5 miles away from the gate. Normally as long as 2 of the computers are giving accurate info they will go with those 2 computers and exclude the info from the 3rd but since this one was so far off they didn't want us to risk having any issues. So they were on the horn with United's maintenance group out in San Francisco trying to troubleshoot the problem and the pilot had opened the cockpit window to talk to the maintenance guys down below on the ground. They end up powering down the plane completely which if anyone has experienced this it is very dark and it gets very hot very quickly with no air movement. This was early June so it was warm anyway so they passed out water and had people close their window shades. An elderly gentleman nearly fainted and had to be attended to. Finally after approximately 30 minutes they power the plane back up. We have now been sitting on this plane for over an hour. The pilot comes back on the mic to tell us that they think they have cleared up the computer issue and that we would be ready for departure in 15 minutes and that he would update us. Another 45 minutes goes by and the pilot gets back on the mic... this time with a bit of laughter. He explains that he had opened the cockpit window to talk to the maintenance guys below the plane who were working on the computer issue. During that time the locking mechanism on the cockpit window had been triggered and now the window was stuck open and the pilot could not get it to unlock so that he could close it. He was embarrassed to have to explain that situation. Another 45 minutes goes by at this point we were still sitting at the gate in Des Moines while our connecting flight out of Denver had already taken off for San Diego. They finally get the window to unlock, got it closed, and secured it so we were able to get on our way to Denver. The thoughts were definitely running through my head that if this ******* pilot can't even figure out how to operate the cockpit window properly the chances of us making it to Denver in 1 piece was slim to none. That entire experience sucked.
In hindsight it does bring a very specific question to mind... I wonder if Clones21 was a pilot for United Airlines around 3 years ago flying out of Des Moines to Denver around 6:45am?
Our flight from DSM to Denver was early around 6:45am. They get everyone through security and boarded on the plane and things started going bad from there. The pilot comes on the mic and explains that they are having an issue with the flight computers. He explained that they have 3 computers on the plain keeping track of all the systems including navigation. The problem was that 2 of the computers showed that our plane was sitting at the gate but the third computer showed that the plane was 5 miles away from the gate. Normally as long as 2 of the computers are giving accurate info they will go with those 2 computers and exclude the info from the 3rd but since this one was so far off they didn't want us to risk having any issues. So they were on the horn with United's maintenance group out in San Francisco trying to troubleshoot the problem and the pilot had opened the cockpit window to talk to the maintenance guys down below on the ground. They end up powering down the plane completely which if anyone has experienced this it is very dark and it gets very hot very quickly with no air movement. This was early June so it was warm anyway so they passed out water and had people close their window shades. An elderly gentleman nearly fainted and had to be attended to. Finally after approximately 30 minutes they power the plane back up. We have now been sitting on this plane for over an hour. The pilot comes back on the mic to tell us that they think they have cleared up the computer issue and that we would be ready for departure in 15 minutes and that he would update us. Another 45 minutes goes by and the pilot gets back on the mic... this time with a bit of laughter. He explains that he had opened the cockpit window to talk to the maintenance guys below the plane who were working on the computer issue. During that time the locking mechanism on the cockpit window had been triggered and now the window was stuck open and the pilot could not get it to unlock so that he could close it. He was embarrassed to have to explain that situation. Another 45 minutes goes by at this point we were still sitting at the gate in Des Moines while our connecting flight out of Denver had already taken off for San Diego. They finally get the window to unlock, got it closed, and secured it so we were able to get on our way to Denver. The thoughts were definitely running through my head that if this ******* pilot can't even figure out how to operate the cockpit window properly the chances of us making it to Denver in 1 piece was slim to none. That entire experience sucked.
In hindsight it does bring a very specific question to mind... I wonder if Clones21 was a pilot for United Airlines around 3 years ago flying out of Des Moines to Denver around 6:45am?
Probably too late to put my $.02 worth, but I will anyway. I'm a bit clausterphobic, and 6'3" 265. I hate heights as well. But in a plane it never bothers me. If you stay calm and just do things to take the edge off you will be fine. It's the anxiety that makes you sick. If you can control that you will be fine. Also, my trick is that if I think something sounds weird or the elevation change doesn't feel right, I just look at the attendants to see if they are acting different. If they aren't, it's normal. They are trained to know what is right and what is wrong.
Take care!
Take care!
