Need help coping with flight related stress

[Spencer Wright]

I am leaving for WDW in 12 days, and am always fine being away from home, and secure that my house and cats are well cared for. I do not have any issue with flying, and am excited for the trip. Normally, I'm never too anxious about anything in general, as I am pretty good at planning and taking stock of a given situation.

However, for some reason, about a week before a flight I get extremely anxious about the flight being a total disaster (i.e. delayed for a lengthy period of time, or a flight being canceled and not getting one until days later). I do not know why this is such an issue but I have this worry I'm gonna miss a huge chunk of my trip due to a flight issue. Normally I would just put up with it, but I saw several threads about how Southwest had severe issues in the past week or so due to weather, so this anxiety has started now. This includes racing heart, upset stomach, ect.

Anyone have any tips on how to cope with this? I really don't wanna be a wreak for the next couple of weeks, which also makes me a nightmare to deal with in the airport.

Or if I just need to man up and deal with any situation as it occurs than that's what I'll need to do.

 

[stephtron312]

Honestly, for me, the best way to cope with that is to plan for the absolute worst. I figure out what I'll do in case the worst possible scenario happens and I make peace with that plan. That way, if anything but that happens (and most of the time the bad stuff doesn't happen at all) I'm pleasantly surprised!

For example, I went to a music festival a few weeks ago and was terrified it was going to be rained out, so I made myself an alternate plan where I had restaurants and indoor attractions I could look forward to going to in case the festival didn't happen. The weather turned out beautiful though and now I have a list of things to visit if I'm ever in that area again!

 

[bumbershoot]

Bach's Rescue Remedy flower essence from a health food store calms my mind instantly.

And then I can sit and work out all the solutions to the fears I'm having.

 

[prprincess]

I'm a very anxious person, so I feel you. But try not to worry about what you cannot control, and concentrate on what you can. Also, think positive and always hope for the best. You may be putting all of this energy/effort into worrying for nothing! Hang in there and have a great trip!

 

[DLgal]

Are you traveling with another adult that can be "in charge", like a spouse? My husband is like you with flying anxiety. He becomes short tempered and irritable when we fly. It caused many fights and rough travel days until he admitted it was due to anxiety. What we decided to do, since *I* don't get travel anxiety, is for ME to be in charge of our travel days and basically call all the shots. He essentially defaults to being one of the kids (not literally, obviously, but you know what I mean). We get to the airport and what I say, goes. He is not allowed to argue with me or say anything really. I deal with all the stressful situations...checking the bags, managing the boarding passes, navigating the airports, and dealing with any issues that arise with the gate/ticket agents. Our last trip we had a doozy of an issue with a delayed flight due to those heat waves in Vegas (where our inbound aircraft was stuck). I ended up having to get the airline to rebook us on another carrier (at their expense), we had to collect our already checked bag, board the airport train, go to another terminal, re check in with the new airline, check the bag again, and then fly into a DIFFERENT airport than the one our car was parked at, get an Uber from LAX to Long Beach to pick up our car and drive home. We finally made it home 3 hours later than scheduled, close to 11pm. Oh, and did I mention both our kids also have Autism, so that was fun.

When the issue of the delay kept getting worse and worse, I told my husband "go sit down over there with the kids and I'll deal with it." And I did. I knew what to ask for and I got what we needed while he sat and played on his phone like the kids were doing. He was totally zen about it. When I had dealt with the gate agent, I went back to the chairs and said, okay, here is what we will be doing, gave a quick rundown of the steps and then we carried them out one by one. It was SUPER stressful, and we almost didn't make that second flight due to long, slow lines at the bag check desk. But I stayed calm so everyone else did as well.

It really does help to know your rights when flying, particularly which questions to ask when problems arise so you know what you are entitled to, as far as rebooking or compensation goes. Luckily, what we all assumed was a weather related delay was ACTUALLY a maintenance issue with our incoming plane, but they were NOT offering up that info, I had to ask point blank, and only THEN did they offer to rebook me on a partner airline. So you need to know how to play the game or you will end up screwed. Knowledge goes a long way to alleviate stress in these situations so I encourage you to learn all you can about air travel passenger rights.

 

[Spencer Wright]

Are you traveling with another adult that can be "in charge", like a spouse? My husband is like you with flying anxiety. He becomes short tempered and irritable when we fly. It caused many fights and rough travel days until he admitted it was due to anxiety. What we decided to do, since *I* don't get travel anxiety, is for ME to be in charge of our travel days and basically call all the shots. He essentially defaults to being one of the kids (not literally, obviously, but you know what I mean). We get to the airport and what I say, goes. He is not allowed to argue with me or say anything really. I deal with all the stressful situations...checking the bags, managing the boarding passes, navigating the airports, and dealing with any issues that arise with the gate/ticket agents. Our last trip we had a doozy of an issue with a delayed flight due to those heat waves in Vegas (where our inbound aircraft was stuck). I ended up having to get the airline to rebook us on another carrier (at their expense), we had to collect our already checked bag, board the airport train, go to another terminal, re check in with the new airline, check the bag again, and then fly into a DIFFERENT airport than the one our car was parked at, get an Uber from LAX to Long Beach to pick up our car and drive home. We finally made it home 3 hours later than scheduled, close to 11pm. Oh, and did I mention both our kids also have Autism, so that was fun.

When the issue of the delay kept getting worse and worse, I told my husband "go sit down over there with the kids and I'll deal with it." And I did. I knew what to ask for and I got what we needed while he sat and played on his phone like the kids were doing. He was totally zen about it. When I had dealt with the gate agent, I went back to the chairs and said, okay, here is what we will be doing, gave a quick rundown of the steps and then we carried them out one by one. It was SUPER stressful, and we almost didn't make that second flight due to long, slow lines at the bag check desk. But I stayed calm so everyone else did as well.

It really does help to know your rights when flying, particularly which questions to ask when problems arise so you know what you are entitled to, as far as rebooking or compensation goes. Luckily, what we all assumed was a weather related delay was ACTUALLY a maintenance issue with our incoming plane, but they were NOT offering up that info, I had to ask point blank, and only THEN did they offer to rebook me on a partner airline. So you need to know how to play the game or you will end up screwed. Knowledge goes a long way to alleviate stress in these situations so I encourage you to learn all you can about air travel passenger rights.

I really appreciate your story and couldn't help but laugh a little bit because your husband's behavior describes mine perfectly. Also, that is basically my nightmare scenario. I don't care about the way home, its the way there.

I will take your advice in regards to learning passenger rights, and essentially coming up with a plan A/B/C. I should also take stock of the fact that my situation is much easier than most peoples, in that it is myself (27) and my sister (23), and I live about 10 minutes from Philadelphia International Airport and take Lyft or a friend.

Thank You!!

 

[DLgal]

I really appreciate your story and couldn't help but laugh a little bit because your husband's behavior describes mine perfectly. Also, that is basically my nightmare scenario. I don't care about the way home, its the way there.

I will take your advice in regards to learning passenger rights, and essentially coming up with a plan A/B/C. I should also take stock of the fact that my situation is much easier than most peoples, in that it is myself (27) and my sister (23), and I live about 10 minutes from Philadelphia International Airport and take Lyft or a friend.

Thank You!!

If you are willing to spend a little bit of money annually ($39), I HIGHLY recommend the Pro version of a travel app called TripIt. This app organizes all your travel into itineraries FOR YOU by auto pulling travel confirmation emails from your email inbox. It is amazing. The Pro version goes further and provides check in reminders, flight status notifications, airport terminal maps, and in the event of delays or cancellations, gives you alternate flight options and links to airline booking engines so you can make changes or book yourself if necessary (and also gives you ammo for getting the airline to help you, as you will know which flights have space and can give THEM that into rather than them wasting time looking in their system.) This app saved me when several of my flights were cancelled from Hurricane Sandy five years ago. I was able to buy a ticket home on Jet Blue at 2am for a 6am departure and I got the last seat. I saved so much time searching for a flight by my app just telling me "this flight has a seat left." Best travel money I spend every year, this subscription.

 

[Spencer Wright]

If you are willing to spend a little bit of money annually ($39), I HIGHLY recommend the Pro version of a travel app called TripIt. This app organizes all your travel into itineraries FOR YOU by auto pulling travel confirmation emails from your email inbox. It is amazing. The Pro version goes further and provides check in reminders, flight status notifications, airport terminal maps, and in the event of delays or cancellations, gives you alternate flight options and links to airline booking engines so you can make changes or book yourself if necessary (and also gives you ammo for getting the airline to help you, as you will know which flights have space and can give THEM that into rather than them wasting time looking in their system.) This app saved me when several of my flights were cancelled from Hurricane Sandy five years ago. I was able to buy a ticket home on Jet Blue at 2am for a 6am departure and I got the last seat. I saved so much time searching for a flight by my app just telling me "this flight has a seat left." Best travel money I spend every year, this subscription.

If I have any issue I'll def turn to this, Thanks!!

 

[nkereina]

Think of the worst possible scenario and what action you would take in that scenario. Then you will feel prepared. Where are you flying from? I fly from Buffalo and I know that even if my flight is delayed, it shouldn't be too long before I can get on another flight as Buffalo to MCO is a frequent route. At worst, I might miss a day or two. Of course that sucks, but travel insurance will at least help with the financial impact of that.

 

[Spencer Wright]

Think of the worst possible scenario and what action you would take in that scenario. Then you will feel prepared. Where are you flying from? I fly from Buffalo and I know that even if my flight is delayed, it shouldn't be too long before I can get on another flight as Buffalo to MCO is a frequent route. At worst, I might miss a day or two. Of course that sucks, but travel insurance will at least help with the financial impact of that.

Lots of great tips! I'm flying out of Philadelphia so the worst case would be flying out Saturday morning. I have a noon flight on a Friday. There's probably a flight at least every hour to Orlando between all the airlines, so that's something to keep in mind.

 

[LadyBeBop]

It really does help to know your rights when flying, particularly which questions to ask when problems arise so you know what you are entitled to, as far as rebooking or compensation goes. Luckily, what we all assumed was a weather related delay was ACTUALLY a maintenance issue with our incoming plane, but they were NOT offering up that info, I had to ask point blank, and only THEN did they offer to rebook me on a partner airline. So you need to know how to play the game or you will end up screwed. Knowledge goes a long way to alleviate stress in these situations so I encourage you to learn all you can about air travel passenger rights.

This!!! They did not want to tell you it was a maintenance issue. While airlines try to help on weather-related issues, they don't have to do that much. Maintenance issues, airlines have to pay for meals and a hotel room if necessary.

 

[Kaytie]

Lots of great tips! I'm flying out of Philadelphia so the worst case would be flying out Saturday morning. I have a noon flight on a Friday. There's probably a flight at least every hour to Orlando between all the airlines, so that's something to keep in mind.

How difficult would it be for you to get to EWR, JFK, or LGA if necessary?

 

[FCDub]

Best advice is just be flexible and go with the flow. Weather will happen, mechanical issues will happen. Air travel is stressful enough, so control what you can control, have a contingency plan in case things go sideways and try to stay calm.

 

[kandb]

You sound like me. I have been checking flights daily from Newark to MCO because they have had sooooo many delays and even a few or more cancelled flights a week. The flight we are taking was delayed 9 hours the other day. Ours is a midday flight. The next time we fly I will book the first flight out in the morning, even though it's rough getting up at 3am, it's worth it not to wait half the day to see if your flight is late and if that flight happens to get cancelled, the likelihood is greater of getting another flight that same day.

 

[hsmamato2]

Best advice is just be flexible and go with the flow. Weather will happen, mechanical issues will happen. Air travel is stressful enough, so control what you can control, have a contingency plan in case things go sideways and try to stay calm.

And bring enough to occupy yourself in case of delays....snacks, a drink, a good book,charger for your phone (and an extra just in case) that way even if you're delayed etc, you can relax and enjoy the wait with a good book (at least that's what I do)