My current concerns...

[nervousflyer]

Hi everyone, :)

You have always been a huge help for me whenever I fly...and as usual, my flight is 6 days away (the 4th) and I am terrified and thinking of all kinds of NEW concerns....

I am flying from Manchester UK to Chicago Ohare and then on to Denver.

1) I am scared as I am flying American Airlines and United. I was tricked because I booked my tickets BA but then my flight i found out is "British Airways operated by AA". I couldn't believe it!
I avoid AA and United like the plague!!!

What are American Airlines and United like?

Also, doesn't AA have a really bad rep for safety and maintenance? That is what I read...

2) How safe are cockpit doors? I am a "premonition" anxiety person and of course had a dream that i was flying and a flight attendant yelled "someone broke into the cockpit!" I looked it up online thinking I would find reassurance but instead I read that a 215 lb man running at 5 mph could break down the doors even though they are bullet proof! so what is the point?!?! they don't sound very secure...:(

Thanks for any advice and help on these issues...every time I get back from a trip i feel happy and accomplished but before the flight I just think "this could be the ONE...the FINAL one!"

Oh yeah that brings me to

3) we have gone so long in the US without a MAJOR crash and I cant help but think its tempting fate and the longer we go the more likely there is to be a BIG ONE. is this faulty logic or do I have a valid point????

[tusphotog]

What are American Airlines and United like?


It's been a good five or six years since I was on AA, but UA isn't bad, contrary to what some people over on Flyertalk say. I actually enjoyed my trip with them a few months ago. You get to listen to Channel 9 (cockpit communications). My mom did quite a few trips on AA this year and her biggest grip was DFW.


Also, doesn't AA have a really bad rep for safety and maintenance? That is what I read...


Not sure where you read that, but I'd get on an AA plane in a heartbeat. I'd put my family on them too, no questions asked.

How safe are cockpit doors? I looked it up online thinking I would find reassurance but instead I read that a 215 lb man running at 5 mph could break down the doors even though they are bullet proof! so what is the point?!?! they don't sound very secure...:(


I don't know about UA or AA per se, but Alaska uses a door that is very strong. I forget the exact specs, but they claimed it's bulletproof, reinforced to hold about 300 lbs. The ones on jetBlue look like they came from a tank. Here's the other problem with your theory, I can guarantee you that no passengers would let someone actually attempt more than one shot at the door. Back in 2000 (before the reinforced doors), someone tried that on a Southwest flight. He ended up leaving the plane in a body bag. Someone did that on an Alaska flight also in 2000, and was met by the first officer and the crash axe. Let's not forget that there are also armed pilots in the sky as well.

All my post-9/11 security gripes aside, the reinforcing of the flight deck doors was the best thing that happened. I still miss having the door open, especially during startup/taxi. And I know a lot of pilots that miss having more interaction with the passengers.

we have gone so long in the US without a MAJOR crash and I cant help but think its tempting fate and the longer we go the more likely there is to be a BIG ONE. is this faulty logic or do I have a valid point????

Faulty logic. Air travel is still incredibly safe compared to all other forms of transportation.

Enjoy your trip. :D

[nervousflyer]

Thanks for your response, especially about the cockpit doors! It would only be first class that actually saw someone running at the door....hopefully the people that sit there are vigilent enough to tackle the person/people......

You mentioned armed pilots...I didn't know this went ahead. Is that allowed for international flights? You'd think the necessity would be more for these flights, but you never know.

Do air marshalls fly internationally?

Thanks so much for your help. I'm feeling really terrified today....last night i could barely sleep I was tossing and turning thinking about my flights which are only 5 days away now...:cry:

[spiffyone]

I loved my trips on American and United and would not hesitate to fly them again.
For totally nonscientific reasons, my preference list of the "legacy" carriers (not including Southwest, which I like a lot, and JetBlue, which I would never fly, but not for safety reasons) goes (best to least best):
1. American
2. United
3. Northwest
4. US Airways
5. Delta
I have no idea why....probably based on my own flights, none of which have been terrible. I'm curious what other US dwellers think about this. Everyone has the ones they like and ones they don't, for different reasons.

[spiffyone]

oops forgot continental...they are 2.5, after United but before Northwest (although I love that NW has a website called www.nwa.com. I can't (http://www.nwa.com. I can't) help but think of the old school rap group from the late 80s/early 90s...

[Barb-SAN]

You mentioned armed pilots...I didn't know this went ahead. Is that allowed for international flights? You'd think the necessity would be more for these flights, but you never know.

Do air marshalls fly internationally?

Thanks so much for your help. I'm feeling really terrified today....last night i could barely sleep I was tossing and turning thinking about my flights which are only 5 days away now...:cry:

I don't know the answer to whether or not pilots are armed for international flights...perhaps you could post your question about that in Capt. Hutch's and Falcon's forums, as surely it's a topic that has been discussed among the pilots.

I do remember Capt. Ray talking about that a year or more ago, that pilots could take specialized training that they had to pay for themselves, and then could carry a gun in the cockpit. I have no idea how many pilots have done so.

Once when I was standing in a security line, I noticed a pilot go into a nearby small windowless room with a security person, and not through the regular line with the scanners. It occurred to me that might be because he had something in his flight bag that they didn't want showing up on a screen for public viewing. :cool:

As far as not being able to sleep because you are terrified, what sort of tools are you working with to calm yourself down? Have you spent any time at www.anxieties.com (http://www.anxieties.com), or Capt. Chance's online course? ;) Are you doing any physical exercise, taking a nice long walk, swimming, getting a massage, sitting in a hot tub, doing yoga, etc?

[tusphotog]

You mentioned armed pilots...I didn't know this went ahead. Is that allowed for international flights? You'd think the necessity would be more for these flights, but you never know.


I don't know the numbers and I don't think I've met a pilot yet who has a gun up front, nor have I seen one. I would assume though, that the pilots could be armed on international flights. On intra-EU or intra-Asia I don't know. I don't think they can be, but again, I could be totally wrong.


Do air marshalls fly internationally?


Yes. I'll resist posting my opinions about the FAM program at this time. :D