You walk back to take your seat at 27B.
Middle seat. Near the back.
A 45 year old man is sitting in the aisle seat and you ask him to get up so you can squeeze in.
Crowded flights make you nervous...
You stow your backpack above, grab your magazine for reading and then realize that you didn’t bring any sort of pillow to rest on. Damn it all ….
You check the seatbacks and realize this is unfortunately not one of those plane seats that has the head rest wing flaps built in for leaning side to side. If you’ve used them you know… they are better than nothing. Damn it all…
You glance towards the enticing window seat, open for the time being …. Unlikely it will stay that way, it’s the most coveted seat on the plane. The last person on the plane takes the aisle seat beside you, a skater type with his headphones in and head down. This is over a 6 hour flight from New York to Los Angeles and you are exhausted but for some reason at the moment have no desire to sit still. The plane is about to take off. Damn it all…
It’s at this moment when you remember to just focus on your breathing and slow down your heart rate incrementally, breath by breath. While you may not be in charge of your surroundings, you are in charge of yourself and the way you react to them.
The man in 27C jostles your elbow as he slowly moves to take the arm rest. The young woman in the seat directly in front of you brings her seat all the way back, pushing on your extended legs. You can get through this. Focus inwards and ignore your surroundings.
This just happens to be a snippet of my thoughts from the last time I flew domestically. If you fly often and don’t love the experience, you have likely been in a similar situation.
The BIG question is …
“How can we make flying more comfortable and easier on ourselves?”
I think the best way is to introduce familiarity into your flight experience in any way possible. Things that don’t change that you can rely on when the going gets turbulent.
Whatever that may mean to you.
That may mean having some great headphones with your favorite playlist keyed up and ready. That may mean traveling with the same person on the majority of your trips or trying to sit in the same row and same seat every time you fly.
These types of things introduce familiarity and familiarity leads to less surprises and therefore a higher chance of attaining a state of true comfort.
If you fly more than twice a year, it’s important to find a rhythm to it that takes some of the unknowns out of the flying process.
Airports, terminals and flying can often be the most stressful part of your vacation or business trip. Lots of people, lots of noises, lots of interruptions.
Find your routine and stick to it. You may even find yourself enjoying the journey.
- Maria, Sky-haven Travel Team