Pilot Says Fear of Flying Misunderstood

During the dormant period of this blog, an airline pilot and licensed therapist, Capt Tom Bunn, came by and left a comment on this post which I think deserves an entry by itself. Below is his comment. Also watch the YouTube clip for his invaluable opinion on the cause of fear of flying and how to deal with it.

He says: "There is a great deal of misunderstanding about the cause of fear of flying. It is not caused by a bad flight; most people on a bad flight don't develop fear of flying. Difficulty with flying is caused by insufficient ability to regulate feelings when facing uncertainty.

Research since the advent of the functional MRI just eight years ago has helps us understand how the brain works. We now recognize that the ability to regulate feelings is learned and that the part of the brain that does this regulation requires stimulation of the right kind during the first two years of life. The right kind of stimulation requires a caregiver who is emphatically attuned to the infant and responds to the infants signals, rather than simply providing for the infant according to an agenda set by the caregiver.

If the child is afraid, the caregiver needs to tune into the child's fear in a way the child really knows the caregiver feels the same way. Thus the child knows he or she is not alone.

Then, the magic happens; the caregiver then lets the child know that -- though the child's fear is 100% shared -- the adult has an additional point of view, which is that it is not the end of the world; it will work out alright.

Many of us, obviously, didn't get such optimal early development. Thus, when facing uncertainty, we control our anxiety by being in control of the situation, or by having a way to out of it.

That works fairly well on the ground -- except for annoying those who regard us as control freaks. But when flying, there is uncertainty, of course. And, not being in control and not having a way out, there is no way to regulate the feelings.

Therapists try to help with CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), but anxiety can develop so rapidly that CBT techniques cannot keep up with the anxiety build-up.

Hypnosis is pretty "hit or miss". If it helps on one flight, it can fail to help on another flight.

Medications are not to be recommended -- according to the World Health Organization -- because when sedated, the passenger doesn't move around enough to protect against DVT, Deep Vein Thrombosis. If a DVT clot forms, it is a serious and potentially life-threatening problem.

Also, use of medications -- according to research -- is only helpful in very mild cases of fear of flying. In more severe cases, medications make the flight worse!"

Cheap Dubai-Malaysia Return Flights From At USD29

Malaysia Airlines is taking the low-cost flight game seriously and is offering an unbelievably low price of about USD29 for Dubai-Malaysia return flight.

Bernama reported that the Malaysian flag carrier is offering return airfares from as low as 1,070 dirhams (100 dirhams = RM95.16) to Malaysia, 1,100 dirhams to Association of South-East Asian Nations destinations and 2,000 dirhams to Australia, exclusive of taxes and surcharges.

Merina Abu Tahir, MAS regional general manager for Middle East and Africa, said the low fares and best deals had been lined up for customers to experience a five-star journey.

The tickets are available during the Malaysia Airlines Travel Fair 2009 from Apr 19 to May 5, 2009. The travel period starts from Apr 19 to June 15, 2009, and from Aug 20 to Sept 30.

Test Shows I Have "Moderate Fear" of Flying

According to a test I've taken today, my fear of flying is at "moderate" level (see table below).

A total of 4,423 people have taken the test, of whom 3,926 are fearful, including me. My score after taking the test is between 99-50, at the higher end of the moderate level.

How about you? Assess your fear, here, courtersy of the Flying Without Fear website.

Can You Blog Away Fear of Flying?

I don't know about you but in my case, blogging about my fear of flying helps to relieve some of the anxiety.

I used to fly frequently and it was during those times that I started this blog to share my experience in dealing with the fear of flying. Now that I no longer fly as often, I have also stopped blogging regularly.

As you can see in the archive, there is only one entry in the whole of 2007 and only two last year.

Fear of flying is returning

Now, I will have to fly again and the prospect of having to board an airplane is making me all jittery. There will be four flights of about two hours and 30 minutes each which I am going to take within this next 10 weeks; and even as I type this I could feel the sense of apprehension growing in me.

The anxiety is now returning. It can be argued that this could be due to the fact that I have not flown for quite sometime.

But based on my experience, frequent flying will not help ease the anxiety. If one already has the fear, it will stay with the person no matter how many times you fly a week. The only thing that can help to relieve the fear is to deal with it mentally.

How to deal with the fear of flying?

I wish I could provide the answer but based on my experience in dealing with aviophobia -- a weird name for a fear -- we can help ease the tension by dealing with it head on.

My way of head-on dealing is to read extensively about the topic, learn all I can about flight safety and then discuss about it in this blog.

Sometimes, for a strange reason, I do look forward to the prospect of flying because I would then have the materials to blog about.

I guess, if you can melt the ice caps by performing searches on Google (Google has refuted this, here), then perhaps you can also blog away the fear of flying.

Boeing Delivers 6,000th 737

Boeing today celebrated the delivery of the 6,000th 737 aircraft to International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC) which will lease the 737 to Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA.

The airplane's tail features are a special decal denoting this milestone.

"We couldn't be more pleased about being part of this important milestone for the 737. With its continuous innovations, the Next-Generation 737 brings the right combination of operational and environmental performance to address the requirements of our markets," Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA's chief executive officer Bjorn Kjos said in a statement released in Seattle.

Norwegian Air Shuttle is the largest low-fare airline company in the Scandinavian region and has a route portfolio that stretches across Europe into North Africa and the Middle East.

Norwegian has 39 737s in its fleet and an additional 42 on firm order with Boeing.

"ILFC's very first Boeing delivery was a 737 and since then we've taken delivery of more than 400 of this outstanding model, re-ordering incremental airplanes dozens of times," said ILFC chairman and chief executive officer Steven F. Udvar-Hazy.

"The Next-Generation 737 is a major cornerstone to ILFC's modern, fuel-efficient and economical portfolio of more than 1,000 commercial jets," he said.

Boeing says it remains focused on continuous enhancement of the next-generation 737 family to ensure the airplane provides market-leading operational, economic and environmental performance to airlines and lessors around the world.

"It is exciting to deliver our 6,000th 737 to ILFC and Norwegian Air Shuttle, and we thank them for being among the hundreds of airlines, operators and leasing companies that have made the 737 the world's most popular jet airliner," said Mark Jenkins, vice-president and general manager of 737 Airplane Programmes.

To date, unfilled orders for the Next-Generation 737 exceed 2,200 airplanes valued at approximately US$163 billion at list prices.

More Malaysia-Singapore Low Cost Flights

Singapore and Malaysia are expanding further their bilateral air services agreement to include six more new destinations in Malaysia.

They are Ipoh, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan, Melaka, Sandakan and Tawau in addition to the existing routes covering Penang, Langkawi, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

Both countries also agreed to provide increased traffic rights to existing cities, namely Penang, Langkawi, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

All the new traffic rights will take effect from June 1, the Singapore Transport Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said transport officials from the city-state and Malaysia met here today for air services consultations and agreed to expand the bilateral air services agreement between the two neighbours.

The new agreement would allow the carriers of both countries the right to operate between Changi Airport and the six destinations, the ministry was quoted as saying by Bernama.

Singapore carriers will also have traffic rights to operate 21 weekly services to Ipoh and 14 weekly services each to Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan, Melaka, Sandakan and Tawau.

For existing routes, Singapore carriers will have increased traffic rights to operate a total of 70 services a week to Penang and 27 services a week to Langkawi.

Additionally, carriers of both countries are also allowed to operate an additional 14 weekly services between Singapore and each of the East Malaysian cities of Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

Singapore carriers operate 106 weekly services to Kuala Lumpur, 18 weekly services to Penang, six weekly services to Langkawi, 17 weekly services to Kota Kinabalu and 16 weekly services to Kuching.

Langkawi-Singapore Low-cost Flight Soon

Asia's biggest budget carrier, AirAsia, will launch Langkawi-Singapore direct flight soon.

This follows government go-ahead recently, Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat said. "We will leave it to AirAsia to assess the situation and decide on the frequency of flights," he said.

Meanwhile, AirAsia has been voted the world's best low-cost carrier by British-based consultancy group Skytrax at the recent Aircraft Interiors Expo 2009 in Hamburg, Germany.

The Star reports that the award was conferred based on the results of the annual World Airline Survey by Skytrax, conducted between August 2008 and March this year from respondents of diverse nationalities.

AirAsia group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes was elated at AirAsia's selection.

"We have won numerous awards but this one is very special. Even though AirAsia is a low-cost carrier, it has high quality products," he said.

Burying All The Tragedy

There has been a lot of entry about air crashes in this blog, which still remains on the front page, which I want to bury.

I no longer want it visible on the front page but would not delete it either. Let it remain there to chronicle the development of this blog. One thing I would do is to quickly post a series of blog entries to make it fall off the main page.

I want to move on and if I want to ever hope of overcoming my fear of flying, it's not good to think or write or blog about each and every air crash as they happens. There are a thousand of other things about flying, other than crashing.

A Year Ago As The Crow Flies

I couldn't believe it's already over a year since I last made a promise to revamp this blog and introduce a new concept -- a concept which has been slow in coming; but it's here finally.

So, what would be the new concept of this blog? Well, let's just say it would be about aviation in general. I shall be talking about the aviation industry, with focus on safety and security as well as new technology, and at the same time still blog about my fear of flying.

I'm still afraid of flying no matter how often I fly. In September last year, I took a 7-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney. The flight was smooth except for the occasional slight turbulence; and my goodness, if not for my strong heart, I would've suffered a heart seizure during the flight.

How I hated my fear, and wished that I was as brave as others.

Back to the concept of this blog, yes, I had thought long about turning this blog into a full-fledged aviation blog and I think by now, I had a clearer picture of what should I do here.

Aviation would the a niche for this blog, which is one of several blogs authored by me. I also run a make money blog, a macro photography blog, an official blog, a blog about my struggle in learning English, another about Borneo and a personal blog.

Now that's a lot blog writing, you might say. I can tell you, it is. In a way, that has been part of the reasons why I haven't been able to update this blog since the past one year or so; I was just too busy blogging away in several of my hosted blogs.

Soon... A New Concept For This Blog

I started this blog with the title "I Believe I'm Afraid To Fly", then after receiving feedback from some of the commentators here, I changed it to "Aviophobic Anonymous".

At the outset, I intend to use this blog to chronicle my fear of flying, hence the titles. I was hoping that by writing about my flying "demon", I could come to term with it, so to speak. After months of blogging about it, I realised there's nothing much I could do to overcome the problem.
So I see no point in continuing to blog about my fear of flying. I think I've got to learn to accept the reality that I would never be able to become completely free of my fear.

So, after a five-month hiatus, I've decided to reactivate this blog and at the same time take it towards a new direction perhaps; or to its cruising altitude, if you will.

So, what would the new concept be? If you read this, you are welcome to suggest about the topics I should be blogging here. In the meantime, though, I intend to make this blog as a place to write about the aviation industry in general. I may still want to write about my fear of flying but that would not be the main subject of this blog anymore.

Now I just need to think about a new title for this blog to better reflect its new direction.

Twenty-nine Dead As Passenger Plane Catches Fire On Landing

Twenty-nine people were killed in Iran when a passenger plane caught fire after landing, reports AFP:

TEHERAN: Twenty-nine people were killed yesterday when an Iranian airliner caught fire after landing in the northeastern city of Mashhad, the civil aviation chief said, lowering earlier reports of up to 80 dead.

Talking to state television, the Civil Aviation Organisation’s Nurollah Rezai Niaraki said 29 bodies had been recovered from the plane, 43 people were injured and the rest of the 148 people on board survived unhurt.

State television had earlier said the death toll on the flight to Mashhad from the southern port city of Bandar Abbas was at least 80.

Niaraki also said that since the flight crew survived the crash, a better understanding on the cause of the accident would surface.

Previously, state media reported that the Russian-made Tupolev 154 skidded off the runway and crashed into the nearby barriers, leaving gaping holes in the fuselage.

The incident was the latest tragedy to hit Iran’s aviation industry, whose fleet is made up largely of Soviet or old Western planes owing to the US sanctions imposed after the Islamic revolution in 1979.

According to figures published in the Iranian media and not counting yesterday’s accident, more than 1,460 people were killed in 17 air crashes in the past 25 years, including an Iranian plane shot down over the Gulf by a US warship in 1988.

The first television pictures showed the plane, owned by the Iran Airtours carrier, lying flat without its wheels on the outskirts of the airport, with one huge hole burned out in the centre of the fuselage.

An Iranian civil aviation official was quoted in the media as saying the plane did not ask for an emergency landing before the accident. — AFP

NBC Regrets Emmy Award Airing Of "Mock Plane Crash" Sketch

NBC has finally owned up to its "blunder" and expressed regret over the airing of Emmy Awards comedy that include a mock plane crash. The Associated Press, via Toronto Sun reports:

NBC expressed regret yesterday for an Emmy Awards comedy skit that included a mock plane crash and aired on the network the evening of a fatal Kentucky jetliner accident.

"Our hearts and prayers go out to the many families who lost loved ones in the plane crash in Kentucky on Sunday, and to the entire community that has suffered this terrible loss," NBC said in a statement the day after the ceremony.

"In no way would we ever want to make light of this terrible tragedy," NBC said. "The filmed opening during the Emmy telecast was meant to spoof some of television's most well-known scenes. The timing was unfortunate, and we regret any unintentional pain it may have caused."

The pre-recorded skit was broadcast as part of the live Emmy ceremony just hours after a commuter jet crashed into a field and burst into flames, killing 49 people.

Criticism of the sequence appeared on websites Sunday night, including the Los Angeles Times', with a columnist for the paper calling it "cringe-inducing" and "of questionable taste."

Those of you who have seen the sketch, what do you think? Do you think it was that bad? I actually watched it last night and thought that it was quite funny. I didn't realise there was an air crash, though. I might've seen it in different light had I known about the air crash.

Sometimes When I Look At The Clouds...

Sometimes when I look at dark clouds closing in from all directions, I can feel my heart pounding. I guess my brain was in turmoil trying to make sense of what the eyes transmitted for it to interprete. This is not a good day to fly, it could be telling the heart. And so the heart pounded in protest.

But why on earth am I worried about the dark clouds when my flight is still weeks away? It's irrational, this fear of flying. Too irrational to comprenend!

Shhh... Don't Tell The Children

Sometimes I wish I had the ignorance of a child who can't think of nothing else except to enjoy a flight, no matter how rough it might be. I still remember my first flight; about how excited I was with the prospect of being high up there among the clouds -- something I had long wished for.

It's a different story now -- I wish I could avoid a flight but that seems impossible simply because it has become a necessity to fly every now and then because the job requires me to do so.

Which brings me to the subject of whether it is proper to discuss about aviophobia within the earshot of the children. But my guess is, we'd better not. Let the children enjoy the flight for as long as they could -- for a lifetime if possible -- and never to be bothered by all the worries of an aviophobic.

And because of that I think I had made mistakes by talking infront of the children about how afraid I was during a particularly rough flight. I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have tainted the ignorance of a child about the possibility of a flight being in danger.

I am now worried that I had unwittingly cultivated the fear of flying on the child concerned who had just discovered how exciting it is to be flying.

I guess I had better check my mouth and while I was at it, check my fear as well.

Bad English Costs The Lives Of Over 1,500 People

Bad English can be as deadly as a live bomb placed on an aircraft. According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), over 1,500 air crew and passengers lost their lives in accidents because of the lack of proficiency in Aeronautical English on the part of the airlines crew.

[Source: The Australian]

All 189 member states of ICAO are required to meet these new English proficiency standards by March 2008.

Aviphobic people like us would like to welcome the initiative by the ICAO and call for transparency in the process of assessing the Aeronautical English-proficiency of airlines crew around the world. Further read, here!

And another thing, those with my level of English proficiency need not apply for any jobs in the aviation industry, particularly those that are related to flight safety, however remote the relation that job with safety might be!

Mass Murder "Plane Bomb" Plot Foiled

British authorities said it has folied a "mass murder" plot by blowing up several aircraft flying over the Atlantic Ocean to the US. Reuters via The Star today:

LONDON (Reuters) - British police arrested 24 people in overnight raids and said on Thursday they had foiled a plot to commit "mass murder" by blowing up several aircraft flying over the Atlantic Ocean to the United States.

Tough new security measures brought chaos to airports on both sides of the Atlantic in what U.S. President George W. Bush described as a stark reminder his country was at "war with Islamic fascists".

Airports were in near chaos as departure halls were jammed with people, waiting as airlines cancelled flights and trying to sort out their bags as hand luggage and liquids were banned from flights and passengers with babies were made to publicly taste their food.

Meanwhile, Bernama reported that Malaysia Airlines flights to London will operate as scheduled.

Airlines Tighten Cabin Baggage Rules After London's "Plane Bomb" Scare

Airlines in the region have tightened screenings on cabin baggages, banning liquids in cabins except for a few items such as milk and medications in the wake of a "mass murder" plane bomb plot uncovered in the United Kingdom yesterday.

The plotters were said to be planning to carry the components of the bombs, including liquid explosive ingredients and detonating devices, disguised as beverages, electronic devices or other common objects. According to Singapore Airlines, items that are allowed in cabins on flights from the United Kingdom are:

Pocket-size wallets and pocket-size purses plus contents (for example money, credit cards, identity cards etc (not handbags)

Travel documents essential for the journey (for example passports and travel tickets)

Prescription medicines and medical items sufficient and essential for the flight (eg. diabetic kit), except in liquid form unless verified as authentic

Spectacles and sunglasses, without cases

Contact lens holders, without bottles of solution

For those travelling with an infant: baby food, milk (the contents of each bottle must be tasted by the accompanying passenger) and sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight (nappies, wipes, creams and nappy disposal bags)

Female sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight, if unboxed (eg. tampons, pads, towels and wipes)

Tissues (unboxed) and/or handkerchiefs

Keys (but no electrical key fobs)

All passengers must be hand searched, and their footwear and all the items they are carrying must be X-ray screened.

For flights to and from the United States:

Baby formula, breast milk or juice for a small child or infant;

Prescription medicines bearing the name that matches that of the passenger’s ticket;

Insulin and other essential non-prescription medicines

No liquids or gels apart from those listed above, and including drinks or items purchased at the airport can be taken on board the aircraft. Beverages, shampoo, suntan lotions, creams, toothpaste, hair gel and other items of a similar consistency are not permitted in the cabin. These items must be carried in checked baggage.

The latest scare is not good. Not good at all for people with aviophobic like me.

Thai New Airport Has 29 "High Risk" Areas

Thai's soon-to-be open ultra-modern airport has many high risk areas, says ICAO. Via People's Daily Online:

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has questioned the readiness of Thailand's new Suvarnabhumi airport for its official opening slated on Sept 28, citing "high risk" areas in a report sent to Thai aviation authority, media in Bangkok said Friday.

The ICAO report, based on its information collected and observations made between June and early July, identifies 29 high- risk areas, or about one-third of the 93 items on its checklist, while 43 others are rated as medium-risk and the rest low-risk, according to Thai newspaper Bangkok Post, which quoted the ICAO report sent to Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT), an agency under the Transport Ministry overseeing international airports, including Suvarnabhumi.

Among the high-risk items identified are the "airfield visual aides" including taxiway, apron and airside road signs, lights and markings.

Failure to address them could lead to unsafe ground operations which "may contribute to an aircraft incident or accident", the report says.

But Thailand aviation authority said it will go ahead with the plan to open the airport as acheduled.

Configured For Landing

Aviophobia and Stage Fright

Do you think there is a co-relation between the fear of flying and the fear of public speaking? That people who are aviophobic are also afraid of speaking in front of audience?

Could be, could be not. Perhaps someone should conduct a study on this. Maybe if we can cure the stage fright, we can also cure the fear of flying in the process.

My Life With Aviophobia... (1)

If you are afraid to fly, I sincerely hope you can overcome it because I know for a fact, aviophobia is not something easy to deal with.

I've been afraid of flying ever since I took my first flight. That was in 1985 and imagine the difficulties I had to endure each time I need to fly -- each and every flight during the 21 years or so, or an average of 15 flights a year since then.

There were times, especially during a particularly rough flight, that I wished I could tell the pilot to just land to the nearest airport and wait for the weather to clear before continuing with the flight. There were even times when I had wished that aircraft was never invented.

That is how "chronic" is my fear of flying but according to what I've read, there were many others whose phobia were even more profound than mine.

I can only hope they would be able to overcome the fear in whatever ways that work.

Plane With 200 Passengers Crashes in Rusia, Over 150 Feared Dead

Oh no! Another plane crash! From Reuters, via NZHerald.

Plane with 200 passengers crashes in Russia
Sunday July 9, 2006

LONDON - More than 150 people are feared dead after a plane with 200 people on board crashed in Russia today, news agencies reported.

The Interfax agency reported that the Airbus A-310 passenger plane on a flight from Moscow to Irkutsk was carrying 192 passengers and eight crew members when it crashed in Irkutsk.

The agency said that the plane crashed during the final approach to Irkutsk, where it overran the runway, hit a concrete fence, crashed into a building and caught fire.

AP news agency quoted Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova as saying 43 people had been taken to a hospital and another 10 had managed to escape but that most of the other passengers were feared dead.

"The aircraft veered off the runway on landing. It was travelling at a terrific speed," Andrianova said.

The plane hit a concrete barrier, collapsing the front section of the aircraft, she said. It then burst into flames.

It took five emergency services more than two hours to extinguish the flames, Andrianova said.

-- REUTERS

Flying On June 18-21

Will be flying out of base this June 18 and return four days later. The last time I took a flight was in early January this year. So it a six-month interval between the last and my next flight.

I don't feel any apprehension. It's just a short flight away -- 50 minutes at the most. I just hope that the weather will be fine during those period.

On the other hand, I am actually thrilled by the prospect of taking to the air again!

This does not mean I have overcame my Aviophobia. Let's see...

Lightning Strikes Plane Carrying Kennedy

Via the Associated Press, May 13:

BOSTON – A plane carrying U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy from western Massachusetts to his home on the coast was struck by lightning and had to be diverted to New Haven, Conn., his spokeswoman said.

The eight-seat Cessna Citation 550 plane lost all electrical power, including communications, and the pilot had to fly the plane manually, according to spokeswoman Melissa Wagoner. No one was hurt.

The Democrat had just delivered the commencement address at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams and was on his way to his Cape Cod home when the plane was struck around 4 p.m., she said.

The jet landed safely at New Haven at 4:11 p.m., said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Arlene Murray. A report was filed with the agency, which will look into the incident, she said.

Kennedy planned to stay in Connecticut overnight because he was scheduled to return to western Massachusetts on Sunday to deliver a commencement address at Springfield College, Wagoner said.

Hmm... so a plane can still fly even after losing all its electrical power.

If I Am Super Rich...

I'd be flying around the world in one of these...

Embraer Legacy Executive Jet


Gulfstream Executive Jet
But I am not even rich... let alone super!

Flying Low

I've not been flying much nowadays and that worries me. The last time I took a flight was in January onboard AirAsia from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah to Senai, Johor Bahru.



The weather was bad then but having been on such a flight for several times prior to the last flight, I was kind of gotten used to the turbulence.

But that was four months ago. I've been on the safe, hard ground ever since, and four months I feel is too long for my own good.

Sooner or later I would be flying again and being on a safe ground all these while, I wouldn't know what to expect the next time I fly. Would I be scared like before? Would I be treating it like any other flights I've taken?

Aircraft Toilet Cleaners

Take cover. The shit has hit the fan, or shall I say, has rained down from among the clouds?

In a story datelined Kuala Lumpur, flight attendants demanded an apology from local movie producer over a scene referring to air stewardesses as "toilet cleaners". Via The Malay Mail:

KUALA LUMPUR: The producers of local comedy film Buli Balik may find themselves staring at a lawsuit for allegedly ridiculing flight stewardesses in the recent box-office hit.

The Malaysia Airlines Flight Attendants Association (MAFAA) has taken exception to a scene in the movie where an actress refers to stewardesses as "toilet cleaners".

The allegedly offensive scene shows a female patient waiting to see a psychiatrist, played by Harith Iskandar, remarking: "Orang ni, kalau sebutnya stewardess nak mengoratlah dan tulah... pencuci toilet aja diatas tu" (This person, if you mention stewardess, he wants to tackle and such... only a toilet cleaner up there").

MAFAA secretary-general Ismail Nasamuddin A.W. Maxwell said it was unbecoming of the film's producers and director, Afdlin Shauki, to belittle the profession of a flight attendant by equating it to that of a toilet cleaner.

"It is an insult to our profession. We are not toilet cleaners. The producers and director of the movie owe us a public apology for making such disparaging remarks about our profession," said Ismail in a statement yesterday. [...]

He said it was wrong to portray such a negative image of flight attendants as certain aspects of their job were on par with those of airline pilots especially when it came to the safety of passengers, adding that they had saved the lives of many passengers during emergencies in the past.

"Many cabin crew members now are highly educated people..."

Afdlin Shauki who blogs here, replied:

Are the cabin crew association so insecure about their own profession that they have to justify that they are at par with airline pilots? in my mind they have a great profession. They get to travel, meet many people and at the same time...[Afdlin Shauki: Much Ado About Toilet Cleaning?]

Air stewards and stewardesses out there, have your say. Do you feel insulted by the remark?

Non-air stewards and stewardesses, and non-toilet cleaners out there, ponder this question: would you feel insulted if someone were to call you a toilet cleaner?

Will the real toilet cleaners out there stand up and have your voice heard?

Ah... I've Landed

Overcoming Aviophobia: A Self Help

Those who suffer from the fear of flying or aviophobia -- or aviotophobia or aerophobia -- can do a few things to minimise their fear, I recently found out.

First is to read as many aviation-related magazines as possible and not merely reading about aircraft after they had crashed. That way aviophobic people might be able to coax their sub-conscious mind into accepting the fact that there are more to a flight than air crashes. I wouldn't want to go into the details about how the mind operates. You can ask Freud about it.

Aviophobics could also do themselves a great favour by visiting aerospace show and exhibition and be awed by the sheer power, grace and agility of aircraft as they take to the sky in a gravity-defying manoeuvre.

The three pictures here show an Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft ever built, took to the sky during a flight display at the ongoing Asian Aerospace 2006 exhibition and air show in Singapore, which started yesterday till Feb 26.

The A380 was such a beauty, dancing in the sky like that. Makes me really wants to be on an A380 flight.

Heading For Asian Aerospace 2006

Isn't it strange that an aviophobic should find aeroplanes beautiful? But I do. I do find aeroplanes beautiful.

And that is why I am going to see them all at the Asian Aerospace 2006 exhibition as soon as it is open to the public. The A380 will be there, so will other aircraft -- jetfighters, business jets, turboprop military trainer, combat helicopter...also aviation technologies, and all.