’œThis story again? It feels like Groundhog Day,’ Blaine Nickeson, AirlineReporter’s Associate Editor (and my good friend) said to me via email when I forwarded the fact that I was going to cover the arrival of the first Copper River Salmon for the eighth year in a row. He just doesn’t get it. Maybe you […]
Make sure you have a few hours free before continuing with this story. You might also want to make sure you have a few extra dollars to spend on some airline goodies! Noted AvGeek, photographer, and good friend Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren has recently decided a big chunk of his airline collection needs to go. And guys, […]
I hear from family and friends (even strangers) all the time how they no longer like flying. It is much more stressful, the respect is gone, and the golden age has long expired. For sure, air travel has changed. It has become cheaper, much safer, and yes, more annoying. It can be a challenge for even a pro to get through an economy experience with a big smile. However, if you are one who flies with some (or a lot of) anxiety, the current flying experience can be terrifying. I don”t mean the flying at 35,000 feet in the air, but the smaller worries that can add up to one big worrisome mess.Most people who meet me typically sees someone with an outgoing type A personality with little anxiety with flying. Sure, I have had quite a bit of experience, but when I was younger, it was very difficult for me — and sometimes, it still is. I would sweat, I would dry-heave, and I would fear the process of travel, but still loved flying.
I have improved my process for dealing with my anxiety, and flying has become much easier for me. I have been wanting to write a story about flying with anxiety for a while, but it seemed challenging for me to be effective with it, so it has been sitting in the ”David Story Idea Bin” (man, some of the scraps in there…) Recently, my fianc Brittany (we recently got engaged, yay us!) and I were set to fly from Seattle (SEA) to Maui (OGG) via San Fran (SFO) on United Airlines. We have been together for a while and done quite a few flying adventures. I know she has that sort of travel anxiety that I used to have, but loves to actually fly (I know, great catch right?).I thought this trip might be a good opportunity to look at how flying with anxiety can be challenging and how one can make it better. Over and over again, I kept going back to how being able to pay your way out of anxiety can be a great option for some people! What better way to do that than to fly first class? Would the extra extra cost be worth the reduction of anxiety? If so, where is that tipping point? Keep reading to see what we both found.
You might have noticed that after some down period, things have been picking back up again at AirlineReporter (well, other than the last week or so with our servers). We are publishing more stories and being more active on social media. We have a renewed motivation and vision that goes beyond what you have seen on our pages for the last decade or so.I am proud to announce that on top of still bringing you the awesome airline content you have come to expect, our brand will be expanding into some new frontiers. Over the years I have found that those who have an interest in airplanes also share similar passions with other transport related things. Our research has also found a number of other categories that you, our readers, want covered. Instead of putting everything on AirlineReporter, we have decided to create what I am calling the “Reporter Empire” where we have different sites that will cover the different niche topics. I want to take a sneak peak of what you can expect in coming in the next year or so.
Two words: dumpster fire. Not literally, but honestly I think I would rather have deal with a literal dumpster fire. Over the last two weeks, you might have noticed the site down, no new content, things going wonky, and our emails not working. If you are reading this, things are getting better — hopefully. I […]