Getting nervous about flight

[letsgocruz1]

We are flying in to Orlando next week, and are going to be on a very small regional jet. I have never flown before, and am having bad dreams about it...I am getting scared and just wish we were driving instead (its a 14 hr drive and just too far...its very hard on my back). Can I get some reassurance that it's all okay??? We are flying thru a Delta partner, a 2hr non-stop flight. I am just getting sick over it!

[Old CA]

I can understand your angst about flying small regional air lines--even more so if it is your first time flying. Rest easy though and be assured that even though your plane may be dwarfed in size compared to a 747 it is very safe. If it is any comfort, these small regionals are staffed by highly skilled crew very familiar with the routes they fly. I'd also suggest you let your cabin server know it is your first flight. I've witnessed these people do wonders to ease the fears of other first timers.

My local airport is predominately regional air that gets me to LAX or SFO for the majority of my transcontinental or overseas flights and I do fly them 10-12 times a year.

 

Enjoy your cruise AND your flight!

 

Ed

[sunlover5]

I understand too, as I use to be a very nervous flyer. Children live all over so I have become an experienced flyer. I have flown to Houston from Ohio, Florida from Ohio, The Twin Cities all on little jets. The one to the Twin Cities only held 20 seats for people!!! I prefer Deltas, they are comfortable and I have never had any trouble on them. Flew one this past March from Akron Canton only to Cincinnati, they had to de-ice but I wasn't nervous at all. You will be fine. The first time I had to fly to Phoenix, by myself, I talked to my doctor and he did give me 2 tablets (one for there and back) to relax me, didn't make me groggy or sleep, but I was relaxed!! You could consider that. Have a great time and good luck!!!

[DanJ]

The only suggestion I can make is to get an aisle seat. The CRJ aircraft have curved walls that can be uncomfortable for taller people. Other than that, you will be fine. Just because they are smaller doesn't mean they are less safe. The CRJ is based on the very successful Challenger series of business jets.

[greatam]

DH and I flew 24 segments in 3 days, 20 of them on small jets. AA has a special to trumpet their service out of Dallas Love Field. So for 3 days we flew DAL/Austin and DAL/San Antonio. 72,000 miles for about $500.00 each was the reason.

 

I fly a lot. Over 100,000 miles yearly for business. I don't fly the regional jets very often, due to the routes I fly. But I had a lot of fun flying those three days and I really enjoyed the ease of the RJ. Very easy to load and unload. If you sit on the side with just one seat, you will feel considerably less cramped and claustrophobic. You will not be able to take large roller bags on board-there is not enough space in the overhead for them.

 

As Old CA posted, the flight crews are very helpful and don't have NEARLY as many people to deal with as a larger jet. Please make sure you tell the flight attendant upon boarding that you have never flown and are nervous. You will be treated royally. Relax- Enjoy your flight!!! Your going on vacation.

[DanJ]

I beleive the Delta RJ's are the Canadairs with 2x2 seating, not the Embraer 1x2 that AA has. It is nice that you don't have to wait for 250 people's worth of luggage to come around the belt though.

 

What a nice way to spend a long weekend LOL. Did you read about the guy on Flyertalk last fall who used the Air Canada unlimited pass to rack up a million miles in 2 months? He's also a pilot and fit his job in there somewhere LOL.

 

We rode to the hotel in LA with our pilots, and we told the pilot that one of our party had never flown until that flight. He said "Oh, you should have said something. We would have had some fun with him" in a good natured way I'm sure LOL.

[letsgocruz1]

is an Embraer with 2x1 seating. Dh and I have seats in the 2 row section, so will decide who sits where when we get on. He's tall so I'll let him do what's most comfy for him. I am trying to get over my fears. I am sure once we board, I'll be okay.

 

I really had thought of getting a nerve tablet from the Dr..I'm that nervous! I had LASIK surgery done on my eyes last year, and they gave me a valium before the surgery...I was falling out of my chair...thats what I need to get me through this, LOL

 

We'll let the attendants know this is my first flight and hopefully they will help. I'm sure they deal with it all the time.

 

I am so glad someone mentioned that there will be much less luggage on the carousel...hadn't thought of that, but that's definitely a plus, along with the fact that the pilots are used to flying those flights alot..I am already feeling better. Thank you everyone; you don't know how much I appreciate the kindness!! :)

[Casshew]

Here is a cool video of how planes are assembled. :)

 

http://*****.com/n3c4u

[greatam]

Here is a cool video of how planes are assembled. :)

 

http://*****.com/n3c4u

 

That's a pretty neat little video. But do ya really want to fly on a plane with 500+ passengers? Food for thought!!!

[greatam]

What a nice way to spend a long weekend LOL. Did you read about the guy on Flyertalk last fall who used the Air Canada unlimited pass to rack up a million miles in 2 months? He's also a pilot and fit his job in there somewhere LOL.

 

 

Actually, it was a lot of fun. Met quite a few people. DH got to PLT again. We stayed at the Radisson DAL, which coincidentally is the hotel AA uses. So we rode back and forth to the airport with the flight crews all three days.

 

Missed the AC million mile rack up. But love the bargains. Fiji and Iceland were two we got in on. DH went to Iceland with his buddies, most who had never left the US before. We took our 70yo neighbor to Fiji. She had only been to Mexico. Flew quite a few of the US $2.00 fares. And booked three days at Tokyo Hilton for $2.00. But took Expedia up on the voucher instead.

 

It's getting really vicious on the AA board again. Everyone is fighting over the EXP challenge (which is really not a challenge-just a status match from UA). Thank goodness, I fly enough to maintain EXP and don't have to worry about all that stuff. Cheers!!!

[Casshew]

That's a pretty neat little video. But do ya really want to fly on a plane with 500+ passengers? Food for thought!!!

 

I thought there was 850 pax on those 380s

 

:D

[hdawson]

Before flying on an Embraer Regional Jet, I suggest reading Gulliver's Travels. It will prepare you for what to expect.

[DonLou]

letsgocruz1,

I was also nervous the first time I flew one of these small jets. It was scary especially when you get inside and see how cramped it is. But one of the amazing things I experienced is how we took off so effortlessly. And once we got to cruising altitiude, it was so quiet and smooth. I think the word "zip" comes to mind when I think of that flight. It was like a sports car in the sky. I loved it. So I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. Enjoy your ride!

[greatam]

I thought there was 850 pax on those 380s

 

:D

 

Depends on airline and configuration. Below is from Singapore Air newsletter. First 380 lands at Heathrow on May 18. They did the initial test flight yesterday.

New air travel experience

 

Passengers can expect luxury to take on new meaning with the SIA A380. The landmark aircraft will begin service on the Kangaroo route, plying the skies between London, Singapore and Sydney. The SIA A380 will seat less than 500 passengers in a three-class configuration, although Airbus had designed it to accommodate 555 seats. This translates into a more spacious and luxurious travel experience on the SIA super-jumbo aircraft. The First and Raffles Class products in particular will set new standards in aviation travel and will be distinctly different to what is available today . It promises to be a remarkable experience; we are looking forward to it, too.

[Casshew]

Depends on airline and configuration.

 

I guess it does

 

Thirty-three people suffered minor injuries Sunday during a crucial evacuation drill for the new Airbus A380 superjumbo jet.

 

One man broke his leg and 32 other people suffered minor injuries during the exercise in which 853 people and 20 crew members from airline

 

Lufthansa AG exited the plane on slides in a darkened hangar.

Aviation authorities mandate specific evacuation times for jet models, and the drill was a critical test for the jet, which will be the world's largest passenger model when it begins commercial service.

 

The double-deck A380 the largest passenger plane in the world can hold as many as 873 people, including crew.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/BusinessTravel/wireStory?id=1770803 :D

[Globaliser]

They did the initial test flight yesterday.

Actually, the 380's been in flight test for just over a year now - the first flight was on 27 April 2005, or possibly just before (I'm taking this date from video files on my computer).

 

The aircraft used for the evacuation test was fitted with a special high density configuration so that they could get the maximum 873 people on board. The aircraft can't be certified for more than they have successfully done the evacuation test for. But no airline has announced plans for anything like this sort of density, and most are going for a number either side of 500.

 

The number of injuries during the evacuation test is about what you'd expect. There was quite recently a full evacuation for real of a pretty full 747 at Sydney. Although the jetway was connected at the time, so not everyone went down the slides, the proportion of injuries to people who did go down the slides was almost exactly the same as the proportion of injuries in the 380 evacuation test.

 

As for being on an aircraft with 500 people, it's hardly going to be noticeable if you're already used to being on a 747-400 with 350 people, which is the aircraft that accounts for the majority of my flights.

 

And that Airbus video is the bee's knees - it's a fabulous piece of work.

[leafs]

We booked our flight through a T.A. I do not really enjoy flying so booked the flight early to ensure good seats. Our seats were confirmed to us and they were in a great location.

We have just received our tickets and noticed that we have been bumped to the back of the plane.

Our T.A. said that nothing can be done now until we arrive at the airport and perhaps they can switch the seats.

I find this rather frustrating since we had such good seats to begin with.

Any ideas or suggestions to help us out?

Thanks.

[DanJ]

The A380 might have been designed for 550 or so, you can bet that once the economics of things start to play out, they will start to cram in 800+ in domestic seating configurations. How many bars and lounges do you see on a 747 anymore? LOL I've seen reports of all-coach config'd 777's with over 600 seats, and there's a regular summertime service on a 747 (not sure which variant) to Halifax and Moncton from Europe (Condor Airlines, I beleive) with well north of 500 seats.

[DanJ]

We booked our flight through a T.A. I do not really enjoy flying so booked the flight early to ensure good seats. Our seats were confirmed to us and they were in a great location.

We have just received our tickets and noticed that we have been bumped to the back of the plane.

Our T.A. said that nothing can be done now until we arrive at the airport and perhaps they can switch the seats.

I find this rather frustrating since we had such good seats to begin with.

Any ideas or suggestions to help us out?

Thanks.

 

Only thing I can suggest is checking in as early as possible and talking to the gate agent. You might be able to snag exit rows if they bump some frequent fliers up to first, but I would guess that on a long flight, the exit rows will be booked or assigned to their status members. Be nice to the gate agent, and they may actually come to you to offer you the exit row if it opens up later, like happenned to me in LAX.

[Globaliser]

The A380 might have been designed for 550 or so, you can bet that once the economics of things start to play out, they will start to cram in 800+ in domestic seating configurations. How many bars and lounges do you see on a 747 anymore? LOL I've seen reports of all-coach config'd 777's with over 600 seats, and there's a regular summertime service on a 747 (not sure which variant) to Halifax and Moncton from Europe (Condor Airlines, I beleive) with well north of 500 seats.

Actually, if you fly Virgin Atlantic you'll still see bars on board ... though only for Upper Class. :)

 

I doubt that any 777 has over 600 seats, as the certificated max for the long-body aircraft (-300) is only about 550 IIRC. And over 500 on a 747 is still pretty rare: You'll only see that on some Japanese domestics (which push the total on board to nearly 600) plus some charters.

 

So I would be pretty confident that pretty much all mainstream airlines operating the 380 will be keeping capacity down to about 550-600, if that.

[greatam]

They did the initial test flight yesterday.

 

Singapore Airlines, not Airbus testing. Sorry for not being clear. That is one UGLY paintjob.

http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/content/company_info/press_release/NE_1906.jsp

[Globaliser]

Singapore Airlines, not Airbus testing. Sorry for not being clear.

Ah, I understand.

 

Reportedly, the aircraft coming to LHR will be in LH colours.

That is one UGLY paintjob.

:D

[leafs]

Dan,

 

Thank you for advice.

 

K.

[DanJ]

I don't think that's the final paintjob on the plane. It does say in the article that the tail fin is painted with Singapore's logo, but it looks like the rest of the plane isn't painted yet.

[greatam]

I don't think that's the final paintjob on the plane. It does say in the article that the tail fin is painted with Singapore's logo, but it looks like the rest of the plane isn't painted yet.

 

DanJ

 

Don't be so serious. It was a joke. The paintjob looks like DH's 57 Nomad. Primer, Primer, Primer. Now DH wants camo primer. Would definitely be an improvement to his piece of junk.