Any, preferably sensible, tips on how to get over it?

ask B.A

Salty, that's no use at all

Ok..I just won't go then.....I'll stay at home while everyone else goes to Italy

ADG, that's no use at all etc etc etc........

Alchohol.

Not too much or they won't let you on.

Did you know it's statistically the safest mode of tr..................drone, drone blah blah

I am quite scared of flying, best thing to do is just get on without trying to think about it too much. I wouldn't drink as it's quite a stuffy experience and being a little drunk will make the actual trip less enjoyable. I did a 8-9 hour trip to Florida recently and I was beside myself before we got on the plane (and my old feller was doing his best to wind me up!). Failing that, neck a couple of sleeping pills when you're in the airport and pray there's no delay that will have you snoozing in departures!

The problem isn't the fear of flying, it's actually the fear of crashing, and as someone as already pointed out it's statistically the safest way to travel. You're in much greater danger every time you get into a car, but I bet you never worry about crashing as you drive along.

go the scenic route by boat but remember the quells

The more you do of something, the easier it becomes I suppose. My old girl is scared of flying and she insists on reading all the way through the flight because it takes her mind off it. It might be easier said than done but it's worth a try. Where abouts in Italy are you going Grabec?

Thank you. I know the safety statistics are promising but that doesn't seem to help....it's non-rational. Probably will resort to alcohol in the end (nothing new there, then).
We're supposed to be going to Venice, Kolley

I concur with Mr Norge.

Mrs R doesn't like flying but says that it is much easier after half a dozen bottles of lager than it is sober.

Personally I don't think of it as an aeroplane, I regard it as a pub in the sky. They even bring the drinks to your seat, which is nice.

go somewhere really high and jump off i guarentee you wont be scared after that

Try this - http://www.seat61.com/Italy.htm#Venice

Mrs Sarnia is petrified by the thought of flying so trying to sort out holidays when you live on a small rock in the English Channel is a bit taxing, especially when any holiday anywhere other than Gatwick means at least 2 flights to get there. We used this website to go to Marrakech last year though. It made the journey seem like part of the holiday rather than getting stressed waiting at a souless airport. We actually enjoyed it so much that we're taking the train home from Hong Kong in April.

If you have to fly though, I'd recommend gin. That's what's getting Mrs Sarnia to Hong Kong in the first place.

Did they make you pay for two seats

I used to be terrified - then I went on a Fear of Flying course at Manchester Airport - includes a short flight - but now I am the calmest flyer ever!!!! Even Concorde held no fear !!!!

It s well worth the money.

It's one of those things I think the more you fly the mundane it actually becomes, all that shite with the life jacket at the start doesn't help I'd rather they just told the truth "In the unlikely event of a crash this will be fook all use to you, the aircraft will hit the ground like a dart and you'll be killed instantly" "It is likely it will take your dental records to identify you and they must having been a laugh when they thought this whistle would be any use"

Sorry thats not going to help is it! If you do have a fear of flying though never fly internally in India, I swear the seatbelt sign coming on and the stewards/stewardesses returning to their seats is the cue for 75% of the plane to make a mobile call! On one flight I heard someone get a text at 20,000 feet they just don't give a fook, one of the low cost airlines has unsuccessfully applied to sell standing room only tickets on flights

Go for a short flight in a small, low-flying plane and enjoy the experience.
When I first flew I was OK, but over the years, inexplicably, it gradually got to terror proportions; I went something like 8 years without flying because of my fear.
Then one day I had no choice but to take a plane. It was from Gatwick to Le Havre. I was full of trepidation but in the end it was just a small plane that skipped over the channel. When I saw what a doddle it was I wondered what all the fuss had been about.

Now I HAVE to be next to the window to indulge in town and feature spotting. Except for transatlantic flights of course where there there are no features. Not that I've ever been on a transatlantic flight have I like.

That reminds me of one of my favourite ever Billy Connolly lines:

"A Boeing 727 crashed in Moldavia (or wherever) today with 172 people on board. Fortunately they were all wearing their seat belts."

The trouble with flying is.... there's no hard shoulder at 40,000 feet. Any other form of transport gives you a chance if the engines go tits up...I like ships.

As I said before it's not the flying that's the problem, it's the crashing.

One of the best flights I've been on was from Jersey to Guernsey. It was like flying in a mini-bus with wings, I was 2 seats behind the pilot, looking out of the right hand window, and PC was sat next to me looking out of the left hand window.

Venice is about four hours right??

Valium is the answer but don't make a pig of yourself or you'll wake up on the way back.

...especially if you're the pilot!

Those Aurigny's are proper flying - 40 year old piston engine planes, a view out the front over the pilot's shoulder, fold down bench seats, and they still let kids sit next to the pilot. When I flew up to Alderney in the summer, someone brought their dog along - it got it's own boarding pass