Question for frequent flyers

S

Shirley

Well-known Member
I am going to take a flight for the first time. I am woefully ignorant about what to expect. I know that many of you are frequent flyers. A friend told me to be sure to chew gum but we went on to other things. I didn't think to ask her when. Do you chew gum to equalize the air pressure in your ears? If so, do I need only to chew it at take off and landing? Any other advice will be greatly appreciated.
 

Take off and landing. That's when the pressure in your ears change and can cause pain......but most people don't get pain, just a change in pressure that can be relieved by swallowing or even just opening your mouth wide. If you have a cold or anything like that, it's good to take an antihistamine before your flight as it's harder to equalize the pressure.
 
Do what jujube says. Relax and enjoy the flight.

The pilot doesn't want anything bad to happen because it's his OWN life he's thinking about too.

It's safer then riding/ driving your car.
 

Shirley really it's not common these days to get ear pain on take off and landing due to pressure, sometime your ears might pop if you climb quite steeply after take off or land quite quickly but it's not usually painful. Years ago when it was more common to suffer some discomfort cabin crew used to hand out Barley sugar sweets before take-off for people to crunch on which helped to prevent any discomfort, but they don't do that any more ..at least not on the airlines I have flown with in the last 20 years. That said if you do have existing problems with your ears (as one of my sisters' does)...either blow your nose hard if you feel the pressure building up, or crunch a hard sweet (candy) and it'll be fine..but most of all don't worry at all...it's a great experience and you shouldn't suffer at all.

Incidentally where are you going?..I don't actually recall you asking our permission on here to take leave of this forum.. :D;)
 
I'm flying to Seattle then driving to Canada. I bought myself a laptop for Christmas so I won't have internet withdrawals. :lol:
 
Way down south. I could be wrong about the time. I'll get back to you on that one.
 
Shirley, like Falcon says "relax and enjoy your flight". Now flying in these modern aircraft is a piece of cake. I spent almost three years flying one a week between San Diego and Dallas. You'll love it.
 
I don't fly often, but when I have I didn't have any issues with ear pain or anything else. I did have gum on me just in case. Nowadays, having some disinfectant wipes on hand is a good idea, lots of germs on planes. Like others have said, just relax and enjoy. Here's a video of a couple of gals on their first flight ever.

 
Think of it as a calming massage. :love_heart: I hope you have good weather and an uneventful flight Shirley. :)
 
One more thing......IF your ears get clogged up, pinch your nostrils together with your fingers, close your lips and BLOW ! That usually clears things up.

We used to do that climbing to (say) 20,000 feet.
 
Do you prefer the aisle seat or the window seat Annie..I absolutely hate being stuck in the middle..so I usually take the window seat but that's a pain if you've got to get past anyone next to you who might be sleeping and you want to go to the loo desperately lol..and then the aisle seat while handy for getting up easily means that you keep getting bumped by people walking down the aisle, and you can't see much out of the window..and you have to keep getting up to allow those next to you to go to the loo or get something out of the overheard storage...it's a no win situation unless you book all three seats for yourself.. :D:D but definitely the middle seat is the worst
 
hollydolly said:
Do you prefer the aisle seat or the window seat Annie..I absolutely hate being stuck in the middle..so I usually take the window seat but that's a pain if you've got to get past anyone next to you who might be sleeping and you want to go to the loo desperately lol..and then the aisle seat while handy for getting up easily means that you keep getting bumped by people walking down the aisle, and you can't see much out of the window..and you have to keep getting up to allow those next to you to go to the loo or get something out of the overheard storage...it's a no win situation unless you book all three seats for yourself.. :D:D but definitely the middle seat is the worst
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I HATE the middle seat! I always choose the aisle when we book so I can jump up anytime I like. If it's one with rows of two seats - generally near the back of the big planes - then I get aisle, hubby gets window like he likes. A few times we've been lucky enough to get our own rows, or each of us get our own row. That's best. Except for business class. That's ideal. I need the lottery.
 
Yes sometimes we get our own row especially if we fly out of season...and I agree I'd love to fly business class one day..it'll never happen probably, but I could dream.. :D
 
Being a former pilot for 32 years with United, I can maybe add a little something here. First, when the Flight Attendants (F/A's) close the doors, the pilot will pressurize the cabin. This saves the passengers from a number of environmental disorders and even your brain playing games with you. Without pressurization, the passengers and crew would probably experience Hypoxia and other disorders like decompression sickness almost the same as is experienced by deep sea divers when surfacing too quickly. Everyone here is right, you should drink plenty of water. This will prevent jet lag. The air in the planes are dry, but clean, despite what you have heard. The air is continuously filtered and has been known to be as high as 95% free of pollutants that can cause disease. I would steer clear of alcohol. When you are able, get up out of your seat, walk up and down the aisle to prevent clots from forming. You are going on a long flight and inactivity is a bad thing. At the very least, wiggle your toes and stretch while seated. Flying south to north and vice versa, you may cross the jet stream and when going through the clouds, there will probably be some turbulence, which is no big deal, just uncomfortable to some passengers. The plane will normally make some strange sounds to you. This is nothing to get excited about. The landing gear coming up and then going down is the one that scares most first-time flyers. Flaps being extended and retracted also makes strange sounds to new flyers. If you see the F/A's up and walking around the cabin during the flight, all is well.

Like most others have already said, flying is safer than being on the road. If you are really excited about this first time trip, you may want to see your doctor and get a tranquilizer, but do not drink alcohol with it and as I already said, don't drink alcohol anyway. Sit back relax and enjoy the trip and the experience. Flying is a beautiful thing. If headphones or earbuds are available, put them on and listen to some nice music, or watch the in flight news and movie, if available on your flight, or you may wish to take a pair along. You may even get lucky and sit next to someone that likes to share in some light conversation. And last but not least, if anything is making you uncomfortable or you are feeling anxious, tell the F/A. They have been trained to help you.

Happy Landing.
 
Excellent post Oldman I was hoping you'd come along and put Shirley's mind at rest and I'm sure you have now....but now I just want you to tell me how to get an affordable ticket to fly business class? :lofl:
 
hollydolly said:
Excellent post Oldman I was hoping you'd come along and put Shirley's mind at rest and I'm sure you have now....but now I just want you to tell me how to get an affordable ticket to fly business class? :lofl:
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Yeah, I get asked this a lot. Airlines just aren't as friendly as they once were when it comes to purchasing tickets. Don't get me wrong, flying is still a good bargain for what the customer is paying. It is usually best to buy tickets during sales, even BC and FC. My wife and I fly "coach" for free, but for a nominal charge, we can upgrade. I generally recommend getting an airline credit card. If you do not have a United card, right now, they have a great deal on a card that gives you 50,000 miles with two free club passes. Use the miles to upgrade your coach ticket. It's like a freebie. After your one year anniversary is up, cancel the card to avoid paying the yearly fee. That's what works for a lot of us.
 
hollydolly said:
Yes sometimes we get our own row especially if we fly out of season...and I agree I'd love to fly business class one day..it'll never happen probably, but I could dream.. :D
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We've upgraded several times on Emirates and it's pure heaven. But their airmiles expire after 3 years and we can't earn enough miles any more to upgrade even as much as we fly with them. Last time was 2 years ago to Uganda.

First time we flew business was coming back home Jan 1 or 2 from Michigan and we were transferring in NC. They were overbooked and wanted people to give up their seats till the next day in exchange for $400 cash each ticket, a hotel for the night, meals, and a seat on business class. Emm...you bet! It was US Airways so wasn't anywhere near as nice as Emirates, but still very good.
 

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