Monday, 28 July 2008
Scared of Flying?
If you have a fear of flying you may find that you dread holidays rather than look forward to them. In this blog we explore some of the reasons behind flying phobias, and what can be done about them.
Up to 1 in 5 of us fear flying*, and the phobia can take various forms. Some “aviophobes” are actually frequent but reluctant fliers, others are unable to even visit an airport. Many people will face a “turning point”. For some people this is when their fear of flying stops them from taking holidays with their family or prevents them from visiting a destination they have always wanted to see. Or perhaps their dream job involves lots of flying and they want to start enjoying it rather than fearing it.
The important thing to remember is that your fear of flying is not something that you have to put up with – it can be cured. After all, most aviophobes are aware that their fear is irrational, as flying is by far the safest method of travel and the odds on being involved in an accident are minute.
There are a number of methods used for overcoming a fear of flying. These include hypnosis and counselling. Another method is courses that are run by airlines. These usually last a day, and help to overcome the fear explaining how flying actually works and removing the fear of the unknown. With the knowledge, you gain understanding and therefore feel in control.
Virgin Atlantic claim a 98% success rate on their “Flying Without Fear” course (http://www.flyingwithoutfear.info/). The course includes a talk from pilots about how they are trained, how an aircraft flies and even what all the noises mean! Later in the day there is a talk from a psychologist to help the participants explore the reasons behind their fear,
A short flight is included in the afternoon, and many participants find that their fear has already evaporated by then. The flight includes a complete commentary on everything that is happening with the plane and why turbulence is completely safe (apparently it is the aviation equivalent of speed bumps!).
People who have been cured are now finding that flying can be a very enjoyable experience and on a clear day you can see some incredible sights from your window in a way that isn’t possible by any other method. So don’t let your fear hold you back! An excellent site for tips and info is http://www.fearfreeflying.co.uk/
Once you have got your fears out of the way and are enjoying flying all over the world, don’t forget your travel insurance. 24/7 travel insurance offers single-trip cover starting from less than a fiver** and annual multi-trip cover starting from just £32.35***.
* Source: fearfreeflying.co.uk
** Premium £4.38 includes Insurance Premium Tax; based on an individual traveller aged under 55 taking out a "Standard" Single Trip policy for 3 days in Europe excluding personal possessions cover and purchased within 14 days of departure date. Cover details and prices are correct at time of going to press and are subject to change.
*** Premium £32.35 includes Insurance Premium Tax; based on an individual traveller aged under 55 taking out a "Standard" annual multi-trip policy for Europe excluding personal possessions cover. Cover details and prices are correct at time of going to press and are subject to change.
Up to 1 in 5 of us fear flying*, and the phobia can take various forms. Some “aviophobes” are actually frequent but reluctant fliers, others are unable to even visit an airport. Many people will face a “turning point”. For some people this is when their fear of flying stops them from taking holidays with their family or prevents them from visiting a destination they have always wanted to see. Or perhaps their dream job involves lots of flying and they want to start enjoying it rather than fearing it.
The important thing to remember is that your fear of flying is not something that you have to put up with – it can be cured. After all, most aviophobes are aware that their fear is irrational, as flying is by far the safest method of travel and the odds on being involved in an accident are minute.
There are a number of methods used for overcoming a fear of flying. These include hypnosis and counselling. Another method is courses that are run by airlines. These usually last a day, and help to overcome the fear explaining how flying actually works and removing the fear of the unknown. With the knowledge, you gain understanding and therefore feel in control.
Virgin Atlantic claim a 98% success rate on their “Flying Without Fear” course (http://www.flyingwithoutfear.info/). The course includes a talk from pilots about how they are trained, how an aircraft flies and even what all the noises mean! Later in the day there is a talk from a psychologist to help the participants explore the reasons behind their fear,
A short flight is included in the afternoon, and many participants find that their fear has already evaporated by then. The flight includes a complete commentary on everything that is happening with the plane and why turbulence is completely safe (apparently it is the aviation equivalent of speed bumps!).
People who have been cured are now finding that flying can be a very enjoyable experience and on a clear day you can see some incredible sights from your window in a way that isn’t possible by any other method. So don’t let your fear hold you back! An excellent site for tips and info is http://www.fearfreeflying.co.uk/
Once you have got your fears out of the way and are enjoying flying all over the world, don’t forget your travel insurance. 24/7 travel insurance offers single-trip cover starting from less than a fiver** and annual multi-trip cover starting from just £32.35***.
* Source: fearfreeflying.co.uk
** Premium £4.38 includes Insurance Premium Tax; based on an individual traveller aged under 55 taking out a "Standard" Single Trip policy for 3 days in Europe excluding personal possessions cover and purchased within 14 days of departure date. Cover details and prices are correct at time of going to press and are subject to change.
*** Premium £32.35 includes Insurance Premium Tax; based on an individual traveller aged under 55 taking out a "Standard" annual multi-trip policy for Europe excluding personal possessions cover. Cover details and prices are correct at time of going to press and are subject to change.
Labels: Flying
// posted by 24/7 Travel Insurance @ 17:42
Monday, 14 July 2008
Flying with your kids
With the summer holidays fast approaching, you may be looking forward to taking your kids on holiday but dreading the flight there. But airports and flying are a tremendous adventure for kids – in today’s age of easy flying it’s easy to forget that once upon a time it was exciting for everyone. The trick is to find the balance between them being happy and stimulated and overwhelmed or bored, and in this blog we have some tips to help turn things to your advantage.
Check in
It takes a very calm person to not get stressed out by check-in at the airport on a Saturday afternoon in the school holidays. Arrive early enough to avoid the queues and bear in mind that if you arrive late the airline may struggle to be able to seat you all together. Dress them in as bright a colour as they will tolerate so you can spot them easily amongst the crowds. Another useful tip is to write your name and mobile number on the back of their hand so you can be reunited speedily should they get lost.
Papers, please
The era of children travelling on their parent’s passports is nearly over. Children who are not already on their parent’s passport must now travel on their own documents. So if you are taking your kids abroad for the first time, you will need to obtain a passport for them. This applies to newborn babies too, and 16 and 17 year olds require their own passport even where they have previously travelled on yours. For the latest advice on passports, visit http://www.ips.gov.uk/
If you are travelling with children that are not your own – a friend of your child perhaps, or your grandchildren, it is wise to carry a letter from the child’s parents authorising you to take them out of the UK and giving consent for medical treatment to take place abroad if necessary. The letter should include the dates of the trip, the destination, and the name of the adults in whose care the child is being placed. This is because it is actually a criminal offence under the Child Abduction Act 1984 to take a child under the age of 18 out of the UK without proof of appropriate parental consent, and there have been reports of customs officials being rather heavy-handed.**
Put them in charge
Older children will thrive upon being involved in the whole adventure. Explain the airport procedures to them and give them the task of finding the check-in desk, passport control and departure gate and watching the screens for updates on their flights. They will love it and it gives useful practice for the day when – gasp – they have to do it themselves. In departures, give them a small “airport allowance” – searching for the perfect magazine or toy for the holiday will keep kids happy for a good length of time.
The dreaded D-word
Delays are every parent’s nightmare. Pack a good supply of travel games and colouring books, and a useful tip is to produce a new one from your bag just as they start to tire of the current one, rather than giving them all the goodies in one go! If conditions permit, take the kids up to the airport’s viewing gallery. Kids will watch planes taking off and landing for a surprisingly long time and it is usually much quieter than the departure lounge.
Younger children
An excellent tip for babies and toddlers is to pack a small ball. While waiting at the departure gate roll it around the floor for them to fetch and follow. Often other passengers will join in on the game. Feed them on take-off to stop ears from popping (this is much more painful for children than adults) and hopefully by the time the plane reaches the clouds they will be fast asleep!
In the air
In this era where cockpit visits are no longer allowed, flying often ceases to be interesting after take off. If you are lucky enough to be flying on a clear day, seat your child by the window – they will find the view fascinating, particularly if they can pick out landmarks. The in-flight magazine will often have a map showing the routes and flight attendants are usually happy to point out roughly where the plane is!
Technology
If your child owns a handheld games console you will realise it is probably the best money you ever spent. Just make sure it’s fully charged!
An excellent website for further tips, and a variety of items to make the family holiday go with a swing is http://www.travellingwithchildren.co.uk/. You may also find our previous blogs on Motion Sickness and Great games for journeys useful for your trip.
Insurance
Don’t overlook the importance of travel insurance in the excitement of going away. 24/7 travel insurance offers cover for a week in Europe for a family from just £14.00*, leaving you plenty of money for those colouring books!
*Premium £14.00 includes Insurance Premium Tax based on 2 adults under 55 and their two accompanying children aged under 18 taking out a Standard single-trip policy for 7 days in Europe and travelling within 14 days of purchase and excluding personal possessions cover. Cover details and prices are correct at time of going to press and are subject to change.
**Gill Charlton, Telegraph Travel, 7th September 2007
Check in
It takes a very calm person to not get stressed out by check-in at the airport on a Saturday afternoon in the school holidays. Arrive early enough to avoid the queues and bear in mind that if you arrive late the airline may struggle to be able to seat you all together. Dress them in as bright a colour as they will tolerate so you can spot them easily amongst the crowds. Another useful tip is to write your name and mobile number on the back of their hand so you can be reunited speedily should they get lost.
Papers, please
The era of children travelling on their parent’s passports is nearly over. Children who are not already on their parent’s passport must now travel on their own documents. So if you are taking your kids abroad for the first time, you will need to obtain a passport for them. This applies to newborn babies too, and 16 and 17 year olds require their own passport even where they have previously travelled on yours. For the latest advice on passports, visit http://www.ips.gov.uk/
If you are travelling with children that are not your own – a friend of your child perhaps, or your grandchildren, it is wise to carry a letter from the child’s parents authorising you to take them out of the UK and giving consent for medical treatment to take place abroad if necessary. The letter should include the dates of the trip, the destination, and the name of the adults in whose care the child is being placed. This is because it is actually a criminal offence under the Child Abduction Act 1984 to take a child under the age of 18 out of the UK without proof of appropriate parental consent, and there have been reports of customs officials being rather heavy-handed.**
Put them in charge
Older children will thrive upon being involved in the whole adventure. Explain the airport procedures to them and give them the task of finding the check-in desk, passport control and departure gate and watching the screens for updates on their flights. They will love it and it gives useful practice for the day when – gasp – they have to do it themselves. In departures, give them a small “airport allowance” – searching for the perfect magazine or toy for the holiday will keep kids happy for a good length of time.
The dreaded D-word
Delays are every parent’s nightmare. Pack a good supply of travel games and colouring books, and a useful tip is to produce a new one from your bag just as they start to tire of the current one, rather than giving them all the goodies in one go! If conditions permit, take the kids up to the airport’s viewing gallery. Kids will watch planes taking off and landing for a surprisingly long time and it is usually much quieter than the departure lounge.
Younger children
An excellent tip for babies and toddlers is to pack a small ball. While waiting at the departure gate roll it around the floor for them to fetch and follow. Often other passengers will join in on the game. Feed them on take-off to stop ears from popping (this is much more painful for children than adults) and hopefully by the time the plane reaches the clouds they will be fast asleep!
In the air
In this era where cockpit visits are no longer allowed, flying often ceases to be interesting after take off. If you are lucky enough to be flying on a clear day, seat your child by the window – they will find the view fascinating, particularly if they can pick out landmarks. The in-flight magazine will often have a map showing the routes and flight attendants are usually happy to point out roughly where the plane is!
Technology
If your child owns a handheld games console you will realise it is probably the best money you ever spent. Just make sure it’s fully charged!
An excellent website for further tips, and a variety of items to make the family holiday go with a swing is http://www.travellingwithchildren.co.uk/. You may also find our previous blogs on Motion Sickness and Great games for journeys useful for your trip.
Insurance
Don’t overlook the importance of travel insurance in the excitement of going away. 24/7 travel insurance offers cover for a week in Europe for a family from just £14.00*, leaving you plenty of money for those colouring books!
*Premium £14.00 includes Insurance Premium Tax based on 2 adults under 55 and their two accompanying children aged under 18 taking out a Standard single-trip policy for 7 days in Europe and travelling within 14 days of purchase and excluding personal possessions cover. Cover details and prices are correct at time of going to press and are subject to change.
**Gill Charlton, Telegraph Travel, 7th September 2007
Labels: Flying
// posted by 24/7 Travel Insurance @ 10:41
Monday, 22 October 2007
Flying – tricks of the trade!
Most of us know an annoyingly smug person who manages to wangle an upgrade on every flight they take. Every wondered how they do it? For this blog we spoke to some frequent flyers, flight attendants and passenger agents to find out a few sneaky tips.
Voluntary Deferral of Boarding
Airlines usually sell several more seats than the aircraft actually has. This is because a certain number of passengers fail to show up for the flight and the airline therefore makes a greater profit. Usually the airline gets away with it but there are occasions when too many people check in. They then have to start bumping people off the flight, which makes passengers stroppy…unless you volunteer to give up your seat.
If you are a “Voluntary Deferral of Boarding (VDB)” passenger and you are required to give up your seat you can get some incredible freebies. Air New Zealand operate one flight to Auckland per day. If you agree to fly the following day they have been known to offer a free Air New Zealand flight to anywhere in the world to be used at a later date, a night at a five-star hotel and £500 cash! Often there are signs up at check-in asking for people to agree to VDB but if not, it may be worth mentioning it to the check-in agent. Yours might be the only seat needed.
But this is just the standard offer, and this is where some passengers begin to play the game. If you have not volunteered for VDB but want to give it a go, eavesdrop on conversations between the passenger agents when you reach the gate. If you hear snippets like “way overbooked” or “I need another count” or “late check-ins” it could be that they need some seats given up. In order to avoid them forcibly ejecting passengers you may be able to haggle the package on offer. One passenger on British Midland managed to wangle five free flights and £300 cash in return for taking the next flight instead – which was only three hours later!
Upgrades
Unfortunately there are no hard and fast rules for bagging these. The passenger agent is the one with the power and it basically comes down to who they like the look of and how busy the flight is. Don’t ask outright if you can have an upgrade or behave like you think you deserve one – it’s rude and why on earth should they give it to you? Dress smartly and be polite to the agent and strike up a rapport without being smarmy. If you are on honeymoon, drop it casually into the conversation. And definitely don’t go into a huff if you still don’t get one as the agent can still change their mind even when you are at the gate. The key is to be so cool it really doesn’t matter to you whether you are upgraded or not.
Extra Legroom
If check-in appears quiet for a long-haul flight, ask the passenger agent how full it is. You may be able to be the only passenger seated in a row of three or four seats – perfect for stretching out and a nice snooze!
Food
It is worth considering pre-booking special meals even if you don’t have specific dietary requirements. You will get your food before everyone else and as the special meals are made in smaller quantities, they are often tastier. If you have a voracious appetite don’t be afraid to ask if you can have a second meal (airlines have even been known to provide a third or fourth meal!) as there will very likely be one available which would otherwise go in the bin.
And Finally…
Regardless of whether they are cabin crew, baggage handlers or customs officers, staff at airports know each other pretty well and word gets around quickly. If you make someone’s job easy, it is quite likely they will return the favour later. One passenger volunteered to change seats to let a family sit together. Upon collecting their luggage they found it was the first bag out and it was sporting a priority tag and a security seal which usually cost £20 extra. But be warned – if you are rude to staff there may be a rubber glove in customs with your name on it!
Voluntary Deferral of Boarding
Airlines usually sell several more seats than the aircraft actually has. This is because a certain number of passengers fail to show up for the flight and the airline therefore makes a greater profit. Usually the airline gets away with it but there are occasions when too many people check in. They then have to start bumping people off the flight, which makes passengers stroppy…unless you volunteer to give up your seat.
If you are a “Voluntary Deferral of Boarding (VDB)” passenger and you are required to give up your seat you can get some incredible freebies. Air New Zealand operate one flight to Auckland per day. If you agree to fly the following day they have been known to offer a free Air New Zealand flight to anywhere in the world to be used at a later date, a night at a five-star hotel and £500 cash! Often there are signs up at check-in asking for people to agree to VDB but if not, it may be worth mentioning it to the check-in agent. Yours might be the only seat needed.
But this is just the standard offer, and this is where some passengers begin to play the game. If you have not volunteered for VDB but want to give it a go, eavesdrop on conversations between the passenger agents when you reach the gate. If you hear snippets like “way overbooked” or “I need another count” or “late check-ins” it could be that they need some seats given up. In order to avoid them forcibly ejecting passengers you may be able to haggle the package on offer. One passenger on British Midland managed to wangle five free flights and £300 cash in return for taking the next flight instead – which was only three hours later!
Upgrades
Unfortunately there are no hard and fast rules for bagging these. The passenger agent is the one with the power and it basically comes down to who they like the look of and how busy the flight is. Don’t ask outright if you can have an upgrade or behave like you think you deserve one – it’s rude and why on earth should they give it to you? Dress smartly and be polite to the agent and strike up a rapport without being smarmy. If you are on honeymoon, drop it casually into the conversation. And definitely don’t go into a huff if you still don’t get one as the agent can still change their mind even when you are at the gate. The key is to be so cool it really doesn’t matter to you whether you are upgraded or not.
Extra Legroom
If check-in appears quiet for a long-haul flight, ask the passenger agent how full it is. You may be able to be the only passenger seated in a row of three or four seats – perfect for stretching out and a nice snooze!
Food
It is worth considering pre-booking special meals even if you don’t have specific dietary requirements. You will get your food before everyone else and as the special meals are made in smaller quantities, they are often tastier. If you have a voracious appetite don’t be afraid to ask if you can have a second meal (airlines have even been known to provide a third or fourth meal!) as there will very likely be one available which would otherwise go in the bin.
And Finally…
Regardless of whether they are cabin crew, baggage handlers or customs officers, staff at airports know each other pretty well and word gets around quickly. If you make someone’s job easy, it is quite likely they will return the favour later. One passenger volunteered to change seats to let a family sit together. Upon collecting their luggage they found it was the first bag out and it was sporting a priority tag and a security seal which usually cost £20 extra. But be warned – if you are rude to staff there may be a rubber glove in customs with your name on it!
Labels: Flying
// posted by 24/7 Travel Insurance @ 15:33
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