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So my father is usually very brave (born a farm boy, former marine, worked a lot of blue-collar type jobs throughout life) but he has one intense fear - heights. I used to be totally fine and flew all the time, but after one turbulence-filled flight a few years back my phobia of flying kicked in. Looks like I'm more like my old man than I realized
Amtrak actually has a good passenger rail network between major cities, and you can get sleeper cabins. Yah, it'll take a couple nights but you can work on the train and sleep. It's also not very pricey.
I don't expect to have to travel much for work (I'm an attorney for a big corporate law firm but I work in a specialized regulatory group) but if they ever need me to travel to another office on the east coast (I'm in Texas) would it be career suicide to schedule a train trip? Like I said - I could work on the train and a broadband wireless card would give me full access to the internet on the trip, and I would be willing to use one of my vacation days even for the extra travel day. I'm more afraid of how this will make me look and if they would can me for this.
What would the best way to approach this be? Yes - I know my fear of flying is irrational, it is impossible for anyone to understand who doesn't have this fear - it's as if you *know* you are going to die on a plane! I do plan on eventually getting exposure therapy which is very effective at curing these phobias.
I think given 9/11 and the recent attempted attack, as well as the overshot runways stories and such in the news, it is not unreasonable to have a phobia about flying. Heck, it's hard to find anyone that doesn't have some kind of phobia, if not about flying, than other things.
I think if you are willing to work with your boss and let him/her know you fear flying but are working on the issue, then unless they are completely unreasonable they should let you go by train.
I understand your phobia. I don't fly either and neither did my aunt after she lost her husband in a plane crash. Now that is our issues, most people feel it's very safe and stats show that it is. I just prefer the control I have in my car!!
Amtrak actually has a good passenger rail network between major cities, and you can get sleeper cabins. Yah, it'll take a couple nights but you can work on the train and sleep. It's also not very pricey.
I don't expect to have to travel much for work (I'm an attorney for a big corporate law firm but I work in a specialized regulatory group) but if they ever need me to travel to another office on the east coast (I'm in Texas) would it be career suicide to schedule a train trip? Like I said - I could work on the train and a broadband wireless card would give me full access to the internet on the trip, and I would be willing to use one of my vacation days even for the extra travel day. I'm more afraid of how this will make me look and if they would can me for this.
What would the best way to approach this be? Yes - I know my fear of flying is irrational, it is impossible for anyone to understand who doesn't have this fear - it's as if you *know* you are going to die on a plane! I do plan on eventually getting exposure therapy which is very effective at curing these phobias.
I hate to fly BUT have done it as many as 50 times a year. I just make sure that I am sitting in an aisle and have a lot of stimula (books, etc.) to make the experience as pleasant as possible.
Amtrak service (especially the sleeper car) is more expensive than flying and in many cases, does not run everyday once you get away from the NE Corridor. Also, in a number of markets - Chicago, for example, it is notorious for being 3-5 hours late.
So my father is usually very brave (born a farm boy, former marine, worked a lot of blue-collar type jobs throughout life) but he has one intense fear - heights. I used to be totally fine and flew all the time, but after one turbulence-filled flight a few years back my phobia of flying kicked in. Looks like I'm more like my old man than I realized
Amtrak actually has a good passenger rail network between major cities, and you can get sleeper cabins. Yah, it'll take a couple nights but you can work on the train and sleep. It's also not very pricey.
I don't expect to have to travel much for work (I'm an attorney for a big corporate law firm but I work in a specialized regulatory group) but if they ever need me to travel to another office on the east coast (I'm in Texas) would it be career suicide to schedule a train trip? Like I said - I could work on the train and a broadband wireless card would give me full access to the internet on the trip, and I would be willing to use one of my vacation days even for the extra travel day. I'm more afraid of how this will make me look and if they would can me for this.
What would the best way to approach this be? Yes - I know my fear of flying is irrational, it is impossible for anyone to understand who doesn't have this fear - it's as if you *know* you are going to die on a plane! I do plan on eventually getting exposure therapy which is very effective at curing these phobias.
First of all, I do not think that your fear of flying is irrational. I think it is sensible. If you do not get into an airplane you do not die in an airplane (unless it falls out of the sky on you, which does happen once in a while). I do not fly. Have not flown since 1976. Will never fly again. It is not so much the fear of heights as it is the factor that I do not have control. I do not trust my life to someone else casually, like so many people do.
Anyway, to answer your question. As long as you can be at the appointed place at the appointed time, nobody should care how you get there. It is none of their business actually. I have worked in a corporate environment previously and I simply told my CEO that I do not fly. End of story. No further explanation needed.
If people press you and attempt to "explain" in detail to you how "flying is safer than driving a car, yada yada yada", just look at them very seriously in the eye and say....."I've had several close family members who have died in plane crashes". Usually this will shut people up immediately. If you want to really shut them up tell them your Mother and Grandmother died in a plane crash. I have done that in the past when someone was especially INSISTENT about it, and the look on their face was priceless. LOL
Anyway. Like I said, it's nobody's business but yours and as long as you make your meetings an appointments, screw what someone else thinks.
That is up to your company but it is much more expensive then flying most of the time and takes days more.
Flying is very safe there has not been a Major Airline crash since November 2001 in the US. Remember the years where major airline crashes happened 2-3 times a year. Those days are gone, planes are safer then ever, pilots are trained better then ever. Look at the US Airways ditching into the hudson or the American Airlines overrun in Kingston Jamaica. Everyone survived. Flight Crews were trained well at their jobs and the planes were built to handle the situation.
As for why turbulance made your fear of flying come back I am not sure. Turbulance is a very normal part of any flight just like a bumpy road when driving in your car. It is not dangerous at all and does not cause any damage to the airplane. Even severe turbulance where the plane drops 500ft in a few seconds is not dangerous to the aircraft.
Flying Airlines in the US and Canada is extremely safe. You wont find a mode of transportation with a better safety record anywhere in the world. I suggest seeing a doctor about your fear or what I always tell people take some flying lessons. Once you fly in a small plane and learn about flying you will see that it is not as bad as you think.
Hope this helps
First of all, I do not think that your fear of flying is irrational. I think it is sensible. If you do not get into an airplane you do not die in an airplane (unless it falls out of the sky on you, which does happen once in a while). I do not fly. Have not flown since 1976. Will never fly again. It is not so much the fear of heights as it is the factor that I do not have control. I do not trust my life to someone else casually, like so many people do.
Anyway, to answer your question. As long as you can be at the appointed place at the appointed time, nobody should care how you get there. It is none of their business actually. I have worked in a corporate environment previously and I simply told my CEO that I do not fly. End of story. No further explanation needed.
If people press you and attempt to "explain" in detail to you how "flying is safer than driving a car, yada yada yada", just look at them very seriously in the eye and say....."I've had several close family members who have died in plane crashes". Usually this will shut people up immediately. If you want to really shut them up tell them your Mother and Grandmother died in a plane crash. I have done that in the past when someone was especially INSISTENT about it, and the look on their face was priceless. LOL
Anyway. Like I said, it's nobody's business but yours and as long as you make your meetings an appointments, screw what someone else thinks.
20yrsinBranson
I agree it is not an irrational fear but to say that you had friends or family that died in a crash! Thats terrible how could you say something or would want to say something like that.
Also with the control factor I understand what you mean so many people have this as one of the reasons they do not like to fly. But airline pilots are trained professionals. Being an airline pilot requires some of the most training any job in the world has. After being a Doctor I can not think of any other job in the world that requires more training. Also there is no job in the world that has the regualtions that flying a commercial airliner has.
I agree it is not an irrational fear but to say that you had friends or family that died in a crash! Thats terrible how could you say something or would want to say something like that.
Also with the control factor I understand what you mean so many people have this as one of the reasons they do not like to fly. But airline pilots are trained professionals. Being an airline pilot requires some of the most training any job in the world has. After being a Doctor I can not think of any other job in the world that requires more training. Also there is no job in the world that has the regualtions that flying a commercial airliner has.
I was married to a pilot for nine years. He told me stories that would make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Not to mention the fact that *anyone* can have a heart attack, aneurysm, stroke, other medical emergency without any previous condition or prior warning. I am not willing to trust my life to ANYBODY, I don't care if they are pilots *and* doctors. LOL
As for telling them that a relative died in a plane crash. It shuts people up fast. Everyone touts the statistics about air safety when in fact those statistics have been skewed to favor air line travel. As another poster mentioned that there has not been a major air crash in this country since 2001, well, all that says to me is....."we're way overdue". Any person who is familiar with aviation will tell you that when it comes to major crashes it is not "IF" but "WHEN" and it WILL HAPPEN again. I'm not gonna be there when it does.
Air travel is safer. Air travel gets a bad rap because when something goes wrong, its major news for weeks or years. usually they talk about how many died. With trains you have a less chance of death but a very high chance of injury. There are more passenger train accidents each year than airplane accident in a decade. You have less control in a train than in an airplane. You are placing your trust in the engineer and all the people who keep that train on the right track. With air, your main threat is a human error, mechanical problem or terrorist. On train, you have the same threat but also anyone with access to the tracks as a threat. But if trains make you feel better traveling, that's really all that matter. You do what makes you feel safe and comfortable.
Air travel is safer. Air travel gets a bad rap because when something goes wrong, its major news for weeks or years. usually they talk about how many died. With trains you have a less chance of death but a very high chance of injury. There are more passenger train accidents each year than airplane accident in a decade. You have less control in a train than in an airplane. You are placing your trust in the engineer and all the people who keep that train on the right track. With air, your main threat is a human error, mechanical problem or terrorist. On train, you have the same threat but also anyone with access to the tracks as a threat. But if trains make you feel better traveling, that's really all that matter. You do what makes you feel safe and comfortable.
I have never heard of a train crash because it ran out of fuel. Want to ask John Denver about it?
20yrsinBranson
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