Shortest Flight

danm14

I wonder could someone here tell me what the shortest flight is. I have a very severe fear of flight, and I want to take a very short flight to somewhere to try and overcome it. The flight must originate in Ireland (North or South) and there must be a way to get home by ferry or land in case I hate the flight.

I don't care in the slightest where the flight goes to, how much it costs, what kind of plane, facilities onboard the plane, etc as I am flying only to try to overcome the fear, tourism will not even be a second thought.

Thank you.

oakshade

Aer Lingus Regional fly between Dublin and Kerry (I believe). No ferry required.
Best of luck.

crosstownk

Dublin to Donegal. www.flybe.com

There should be a good few land transport option to Dublin and other parts from Letterkenny. Hopefully you won't need them.

Best of luck.

Jawgap

I'd advise not taking a regional flight - take a Ryanair 737 to Liverpool or Manchester then train to Holyhead and ferry home.

highlydebased

Dublin to Liverpool. Hardly 30 min.

18MonthsaSlave

Isle of Man. Lovely place.

Tenger

Jawgap wrote: »

I'd advise not taking a regional flight - take a Ryanair 737 to Liverpool or Manchester then train to Holyhead and ferry home.

I would second this if its a fear of flying issue. The props will be a lot louder and with lower cruise levels may encounter more turbulence enroute.

Simon Gruber Says

Think about doing an introductory flying lesson. I know a couple of people who had a bad fear of flying and after working up the nerve to give it a go, it helped them a lot.

Jawgap

Tenger wrote: »

I would second this if its a fear of flying issue. The props will be a lot louder and with lower cruise levels may encounter more turbulence enroute.

I didn't want to mention that!!

Can you take the Aer Lingus A330 from Dublin to Shannon any more? I remember you could when they were using the 747.

Telecaster58

Not helpful to a fearful flyer

Mint Sauce

Belfast to Edinburgh, not even 45 minutes. Bus/Ferry home.

Jawgap

Telecaster58 wrote: »

SNIP

idiot

Chris_5339762

Dublin to Liverpool is the shortest we have, get the bus into Liverpool town center and have lunch, then go to Holyhead (a lovely drive or railway trip) and get the ferry back as a foot passenger.

Would make for a cracking day out. Or, do it the other way, ferry to Holyhead then fly BACK from Liverpool. That way, you have to do the flight to get home, rather than being able to chicken out of it if its the first leg. Might force you to do it a little more.

notharrypotter

Aer Arran.
Connemara to any one of the Arran Islands.
Ten minutes flying.
30 each way.
Very basic aeroplane but very scenic.

rushfan

Not helpful to the OP. Just because you laugh doesn't make it funny. or more importantly. relevant to the discussion.

Idbatterim

if you are trying to get over a fear of flying, the regional propeller planes are more claustrophobic and noisier, I would go with a 737 to liverpool as suggested... the funny thing is, it will likely be cheaper to fly return to the uk with ryanair, than it will be to take an internal flight...

lord lucan

Telecaster58 wrote: »

I would imagine that a very short flight might be one that crashes just after take-off. (sorry, couldn't resist)

Hilarious stuff,the nervous op will really appreciate that. Any more quips like that will be infracted.

lord lucan

rushfan wrote: »

How about Dublin Airport to Baldonnel? ? I'm sure that the Aer Corps will facilitate you. Tell them you're in Fianna Fail.

Keep it constructive or don't bother posting at all.

danm14

lord lucan wrote: »

Hilarious stuff,the nervous op will really appreciate that. Any more quips like that will be infracted.

I have a sense of humour myself, it didn't bother me at all

danm14

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Dublin to Liverpool is the shortest we have, get the bus into Liverpool town center and have lunch, then go to Holyhead (a lovely drive or railway trip) and get the ferry back as a foot passenger.

Would make for a cracking day out. Or, do it the other way, ferry to Holyhead then fly BACK from Liverpool. That way, you have to do the flight to get home, rather than being able to chicken out of it if its the first leg. Might force you to do it a little more.

This might be the best idea as I will be going to Liverpool in the new year anyway on the ferry from Belfast.

W1ll1s

Go Jet not Prop, if there is any turbulence around=the bigger the better.
World’s shortest commercial flight takes place between two Orkney Islands, Westray and Papa Westray, just north of Scotland, separated by a distance of only 1.7 miles=47seconds.............But it is a prop-job. Good luck.

PukkaStukka

OP, if you can get someone to travel with you who isn't a nervous flyer will also help. When I was younger I was really afraid of flying, now I absolutely love it. I hope you conquer those fears and enjoy it for the wonderful thing it is!

Fabio

Bring a friend who enjoys and is knowledgable about flying. If on an internal flight explain to the cabin crew that you are a little nervy, they'll look after you on the less busy flights. Ryanair may not as they'll be busy but the trade-off is that their 737s are quicker and bigger and are not as noisy as the turbo-props. Although the 737 does tend to land hard.

Keep us updated on how ya do!

Chuck Aaron

danm14 wrote: »

I wonder could someone here tell me what the shortest flight is. I have a very severe fear of flight, and I want to take a very short flight to somewhere to try and overcome it.

Pop over to Weston Airport and book a 30 minute flight with a Flight School there.

No need to mention names as a quick Google will bring up the information required.

There's both a Fixed Wing (Plane) & Helicopter F.T.O (Flight Training Organisation) there and trying a short flight with them could really help.

G'luck.

folbotcar

Not taking the p but I know a few people who did a parachute (tandem) jump who were scared of flying. Having the parachute and an expert skydiver to operate it seemed to be reassuring. It seems jumping out of a plane felt safer than landing in one.

But taking a jet to Liverpool might be better as a first flight. Soon you'll realise how truly boring airline flying is.

circular flexing

BA are running a nervous flyers course in Dublin next March

http://flyingwithconfidence.com/courses/booking?booking%5Bcourse_id%5D=89&booking%5Bcourse_type%5D=primary

Courses look interesting

http://flyingwithconfidence.com/courses

rushfan

rushfan wrote:

Not helpful to the OP. Just because you laugh doesn't make it funny. or more importantly. relevant to the discussion.

Was just a sarcastic jab at a brutal political party, didn't actually laugh at any point.

pm.

I also hate flying but the good folk here have helped me overcome ( almost ) my fear. dont get a prop get the ryanair to liverpool and book your seats to the front of the plane its a smother flight and not as noisy. you also dont really notice the plane when its vertical.

best of luck with it

Beano

Ex-nervous flyer here. I have to third (or fourth) the dublin to liverpool suggestion. You will be descending into liverpool before you even know it. Leave the props until you are comfortable with jets. Though i do find them more fun now i'm comfortable with flying.

crosstownk

I posted the Dublin - Donegal suggestion earlier. On reflection I think the folks suggesting the jet to Liverpool are right - bigger aircraft, higher altitude, faster, smoother.

Once again, best of luck.

L1011

notharrypotter wrote: »

Aer Arran.
Connemara to any one of the Arran Islands.
Ten minutes flying.
30 each way.
Very basic aeroplane but very scenic.

I really wouldn't suggest going in a single pilot 8 pax plane as a first flight for someone nervous

Liverpool or Manchester on Ryanair or Aer Lingus - make sure its got a three digit flight number if Aer Lingus to Manchester - and you've the option of SailRail back if you can't get back on.

Strumms

Jawgap wrote: »

I'd advise not taking a regional flight - take a Ryanair 737 to Liverpool or Manchester then train to Holyhead and ferry home.

This is the best advice. I've done DUB - MAN in 35-40 minutes. Best of luck with it.

knucklehead6

circular flexing wrote: »

BA are running a nervous flyers course in Dublin next March

http://flyingwithconfidence.com/courses/booking?booking%5Bcourse_id%5D=89&booking%5Bcourse_type%5D=primary

Courses look interesting

http://flyingwithconfidence.com/courses

This would be the one I'd go for if I had a fear of flying.

People who are there to help you through the day rather than flight and cabin crew who are there to get you to your destination as quickly and efficently as possible.

And that is in no way a dig or shot at flight and cabin crew, but if someone is a nervous flyer and wants to try to overcome that fear then why not do it with a crew who are expecting a cabin of nervous passengers?

LXFlyer

knucklehead6 wrote: »

This would be the one I'd go for if I had a fear of flying.

People who are there to help you through the day rather than flight and cabin crew who are there to get you to your destination as quickly and efficently as possible.

And that is in no way a dig or shot at flight and cabin crew, but if someone is a nervous flyer and wants to try to overcome that fear then why not do it with a crew who are expecting a cabin of nervous passengers?

Reading the course information, I think one of the best features of this is a third pilot on the flight deck giving an explanation of what's going on to the passengers, together with the morning and afternoon sessions on the ground.


It would be well worth trying out OP - shame it's not until March.

Growler!!!

knucklehead6 wrote: »

People who are there to help you through the day rather than flight and cabin crew who are there to get you to your destination as quickly and efficently as possible.

SAFELY:D get you there safely. The rest falls in line after that:)

pastorbarrett

Hi OP,

Similar flight phobic here. I think it's great you're going to book a flight - avoidance really only exacerbates fear, and while providing temporary relief, ultimately makes us feel a lot worse in the long run.

I can wholeheartedly recommend a book by Capt. Keith Godfrey on the subject. It provides very clear and concise knowledge on the physics and mechanics involved in flight, as well as a section where he answers even the most outlandish questions from phobics like ourselves ('what's stopping the wings from falling off?' etc) In short, knowledge really is power here.

http://www.amazon.com/Without-Fear-Keith-Godfrey-Alison/dp/1849531102

There's also sections on emotional regulation (e.g. learning to become aware of physical and emotional changes your body may undergo in fearful circumstances, learning to regulate and check thought patterns vs reality and so on).

Was the book a panacea for me? No. But it did open up a natural curiosity and yearning to learn more, which has considerably improved my flight experiences. Hell, I even visit this forum too much now

I've also heard/read really good things about the SOAR fear of flying course (download, but pricey). From a glance, it seems fairly definitive and perhaps worth it if fear may be deemed extreme.

http://www.fearofflying.com/

If cash is tight, check out Youtube, some good resources there. The video linked below may be dated and vaguely cheesy, but I found it useful in the run-up to a flight recently:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DifdEyRuCv0

I'm also aware of, but have not been a customer of, http://www.flyfearless.ie/. Perhaps may be of interest to you.

As a last thought, and continuing the theme of knowledge is very much power here, just check out how these pilots deal with a seemingly worst case scenario for us phobics (God knows how much of a field day the Daily Fail and similar would have with such a story )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEf35NtlBLg

Spoiler: with utter professionalism, calm etc.

Good luck, OP.

knucklehead6

Growler!!! wrote: »

SAFELY:D get you there safely. The rest falls in line after that:)

Fair point...

if i was in an argumentative mood i'd counter that that the safety aspect is purely a case of self preservation that the crew want to get home themselves at night time too! :pac:

Growler!!!

knucklehead6 wrote: »

Fair point...

if i was in an argumentative mood i'd counter that that the safety aspect is purely a case of self preservation that the crew want to get home themselves at night time too! :pac:

Shush, don't let the travelling public know that:pac: