Atlantica - 01.04.2006, Page 24

22 AT L A N T I CA
Warm up your cold hotel room with do-it-yourself nichos.
If it takes a Xanax and a glass of wine to help you drum up the
courage to board a trans-Atlantic flight, you’re not alone.
Nearly 25 million Americans would prefer not to fly, about
1.4 million less than the number of hits one gets when googling
“fear of flying.” For those of you crowding into coach, it’s also
helpful to note that aviophobia strikes even the rich and famous,
from football star Dennis Bergkamp (ironic considering his
nickname, the Flying Dutchmen) to the Dalai Lama, winner of
the Nobel Peace Prize.
Some studies suggest that half the passengers on any given
flight will experience some degree of discomfort. According to
research conducted by Boeing, one in three Americans feels
some anxiety about flying or has an outright phobia.
Since the planet is approximately 71 percent water and
engineers have yet to construct a tunnel underneath any one of
the world’s five oceans, flying is a must if you have aspirations
to fill your passport with stamps from exotic locations. That is,
unless you don’t mind spending two to three weeks aboard an
ocean liner traveling from LA to Australia. Even for those not
interested in leaving their respective continents, our mobile,
fast-paced way of life requires flight.
Thankfully, help is out there. Not only are there numerous
“fear of flying” seminars available to those of us dependent
upon pharmaceuticals to fly, but there are countless companies
like Soar, Inc., which as their website reveals have been helping
clients get over their fear of flying since 1982.
Log on to Soar’s website (www.fearofflying.com) and the
site’s soft blue, gentle design is immediately relaxing. Here you
can see a photo of the company’s owner, Tom Bunn, former
commercial pilot and now-counselor. His e-mail address is
provided, as is his cell phone, allowing nervous flyers to call with
questions on a wide range of topics, like turbulence.
“First you need to know that turbulence is a problem for
people only because people think turbulence is a problem for
the airplane,” Mr. Bunn writes. “Actually the airplane couldn’t
be happier than when in turbulence. It just doesn’t bother
airplanes, only us who think it bothers airplanes.”
Mr. Bunn’s counseling sessions help explain the unknown.
They give insights into the airline industry, aeronautics, air
traffic control, and help nervous passengers realize that those
grinding, herky-jerky noises heard while taking off are nothing
to worry about.
But according to Mr. Bunn, staying relaxed about your flight
starts with leaving the house for the airport. Don’t rush, he
advises.
on the fly
UP, UP AND AWAY
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009 airmail Atlantica 306.indd 22 23.4.2006 22:21:14