“When they get off the plane at the end of the day, there are tears of emotion. You hear things like: ‘I’m a different woman – thank you very much, I can go visit my grandchildren in Australia’.
Captain Steve Allright speaks about British Airways’ Flying With Confidence programme, for which he is director and presenter.
He has been flying for 33 years, 25 of which as a training captain. As a pilot, he has spent 18,000 hours in the air, and another 6,000 hours in the simulator, training and testing other pilots. And he brings all that experience to a one-day course to build confidence in anxious pilots.
Commercial aviation is safer than ever: no scheduled passenger planes were involved in fatal crashes last year.
Yet Captain Allright says: “All the research shows that one in four people have some form of fear of flying, and one in twelve have significant difficulties. So there are literally millions of people around the world who have this fear.”
The downsides of aviation anxiety are clear. People may decide to drive instead of flying, significantly increasing the risks to their safety. Or perhaps they simply don’t travel, cutting themselves off from family, business opportunities and experiences abroad. Airlines obviously lose sales if people are afraid to use their services.
In 1986, two British Airways pilots decided to tackle ‘aerophobia’. Their initial work evolved into Flying With Confidence, which now offers online courses. But the basics remain the same: a one-day course that culminates in a short flight for the participants.
The one-day course consists of three parts, says Captain Allright.
“The morning session is a pilot presentation covering all aspects of commercial aviation, especially turbulence.
“After taking the course for over thirty years, we know what people need to know – and what drives them. That is why we discuss this in detail.
“We start with pilot selection, training and testing. It’s something I’m very passionate about. I describe that this is the result of two years of intensive training and what it entails, and I describe it in detail.
“People come up to me afterwards and say, ‘I had no idea how much training pilots had’.”
“The afternoon session is with a psychotherapist, sometimes a clinical psychologist. These professionals help people understand what is going on in their minds and bodies. They help them understand adrenaline – fight or flight – and why they have shallow breathing, sweaty palms and a racing heart.” Anxious passengers learn techniques to break that cycle.
The highlight of the day is a short ’round trip’ flight on board a standard British Airways Airbus A320 aircraft. The journey takes approximately 45 minutes and returns to the same airport. This eliminates the concerns that a one-way flight might have because passengers know they have to take a return flight. The vast majority of course participants will join the flight; Flying with Confidence has a 98 percent success rate.
“One of the reasons the course works is because the people who come want to get better. They just need the tools, the knowledge and the psychological techniques to help them get better,” said Captain Allright.
“The reason me and my amazing team are participating is because we love to travel. We love flying. In the introduction we say that we hope that a little of this will come across to people during the day. It is a very big, wonderful world that you can enjoy.”
Captain Allright is usually accompanied on flights by his wife and daughter, demonstrating to anxious flyers his absolute confidence in the safety of a BA flight.
“It’s a bit of a family affair for us because they enjoy helping people on the trail,” he says.
“I usually sit in the cockpit as an extra pilot and provide a running commentary on all the sounds and sensations from the moment we push back and start the engines. People seem to find that extremely useful.”
Over the past decades, more than 50,000 people have benefited from the Flying With Confidence course. But many more people – perhaps 17 million in Britain – are reluctant fliers, with turbulence a serious concern.
“Our motto is: ‘Turbulence is uncomfortable, but not dangerous,’” says Captain Allright.
“I actually have them repeat that with their eyes closed, because that’s the truth. That’s one of the 100 percent reassurances I can give.
“We have the oceans, which are liquid, and we have something called the atmosphere between the planet and space, which is full of air. And that’s where planes fly – in the atmosphere, a bit like a submarine in the ocean.
‘You fly, if you like, through a very thin jelly when you’re in an airplane. All turbulence is caused by changes in wind speed and/or direction.
‘Know with 100 percent certainty that the plane will not explode even in the heaviest turbulence. That never happens in modern airplanes.
“Turbulence is a normal part of flying. There’s a big, swirling atmosphere that sometimes creates just a few small ripples, and it’s completely safe. We understand it’s uncomfortable, and I’m not asking people to love it overnight.”
For many participants, leaving the flight represents a life-changing moment, says Captain Allright.
“I hear a lot of people say, ‘I wish I had done this years ago – I wasted so much of my life.’
‘I say, ‘Well, it doesn’t matter, you’ve done it now and you have the freedom to enjoy it for the rest of your life. Enjoy traveling. As you well know, this is just one of the most beautiful things we can all be blessed with.
“It’s incredibly satisfying to make such a change in people’s lives in one day.”
The next one-day Flying With Confidence course takes place on Saturday 23 March at London Heathrow and costs £395. There are only a few places left. More courses will take place in 2024. On British Airways long-haul aircraft, video options include a 20-minute video recording Fly with confidence film presented by Captain Steve Allright.
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