Travel Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for road warriors and seasoned travelers. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I am trying my best to prepare for my upcoming flight to the USA, the trip is all under control, its just the flight that I'm terrified of. I am very claustrophobic and do not even ride in elevators, I flew once locally for 1.5 hours. But my second flight will be 2 X 10 hours flights from South Africa to USA.
So please, I need to know, what it would be like, if I'll be OK on such a long flight, what can go wrong? And what do I need to be aware of.
I strongly prefer window seats, but once found myself in an aisle seat for a TransAtlantic flight. As I sat down, the man in the middle seat said "excuse me, but my son [gesturing to the window seat] is extremely claustrophobic. Is there any way you could change seats with him just for takeoff?" I couldn't believe my luck. I WANTED that window seat!
We changed places for the duration, and during the times when you aren't allowed to get up, he could at least lean out into the aisle and not have a seatback right in front of his face. He also got up and paced a lot. At the end of the flight, they thanked me again (which was crazy, so I thanked them) and apparently it had been a pretty unpleasant 8 hours, but he had got through it.
So do try to get an aisle seat. It made a big difference for him. If you end up in something else, ask those around you if you can trade and explain why. (I understand some people prefer aisle to window and might not trade, but you might luck out and meet me, or someone generous enough to trade even though they prefer the aisle.) Ask the flight crew if they can find you an aisle seat or arrange a trade with someone further away. And try to choose a flight at a time when you can sleep - nobody actually enjoys sitting on airplanes so if you can be asleep for some of it, so much the better.
First of all, long flights are Claustrophobia friendly :) most likely they will be operated using big airplanes (B777, A330, B747 ..etc). These airplanes are huge with high ceilings and wide bodies, these features will surely ease the feeling of restriction.
Anyway, being a cabin crew with a highly claustrophobic mother who couldn't even have an MRI without being drugged I have few tips (some already mentioned in other answers) that for sure will help you through this experience as it did to my mother who now flies with no problems at all:
I am sure if you were able to do your shorter flight which most probably was on smaller airplane then you will do this flight with no problems. Just remember no one actually dies from claustrophobia! and remember these two long flights are a good treatment for claustrophobia, it was proven that exposure has reduced the negative thoughts by 75% in people with claustrophobia (In vivo exposure).
Some tips that might help (of course, only you can judge if they will help your personal feelings):
As Kate says, try to get an aisle seat. This makes it easier to get up and walk around. Flight attendants generally don't mind this too much as long as you don't do it for the entire flight, don't get in their way during mealtimes etc., and don't get up when the seatbelt sign is on.
Try to get an exit seat. This is harder, but if you book a fully flexible ticket, or just ask nicely when you book or check in (you could consider telling them you are claustrophobic), this might help - generally you get much more legroom to stretch out into.
Consider paying for Business Class, Premium Economy, or something similar (depending on the airline). This again will get you more room to stretch into.
Tell the flight attendants! They are used to dealing with nervous passengers and may keep an eye out for you, check that you're OK, etc.
Bring plenty of toys to distract you. Whatever keeps you happy, indulge - junky TV and cheesy Movies are best for me (and bring those on iPads, phones, etc. - more than once I've been on a flight where the inflight entertainment is broken - very frustrating on a long trip). Bring books or magazines instead if that's your thing.
Some companies organize seminars to handle fear of flying.
Here is what Air France offers: Gestion de la peur en avion (fr), Managing fear of flying (en, courtesy of Google translation)
I'm claustrophobia just like you. Everytime I fly, I always try my best to get an aisle seat. I try to book way early and I avoid flights without available aisle seats when booking. Getting an aisle seat is my #1 criteria when booking a flight.
I had an episode of serious panic attack years ago when I was put on a plane that only seats 18 passengers. The plane was so small that I couldn't stand up straight in the airplane. (And I am only 5'5"). The plane was on the runway getting ready to take off and I had to ask them to stop the flight so that I could get out. I couldn't breathe and I thought I was going to die. They put me on a second flight that seats 27 people. It was still a small airplane but it made a huge difference and I was able to manage my claustrophobia in that one hour flight.
One tip that I can offer you is that that suffocating feeling can come from no airflow around you. So as soon as you get on the flight and get seated, (And hopefully with an aisle seat) open the air vent so that air is blowing at you. At the same time, as soon you enter the plane when the flight attendant greets you at the entrance of the plane, ask him/her to give you a cup of ice. Explain to him/her that you are claustrophobic and that cup of ice will help you manage your fear. Once you are seated, hold that cup of ice in front of your nose so you can breathe in the cool moist air. It helped me tremendously in calming down that feeling of being stuck in somewhere.
Good luck and try to focus on planing your travel experience in the US and happy thoughts during the flight.
Although I am claustrophobic, I love travel and I fly all the time. There is no way I will let it stop me from visiting all the cool places in the world. :)
Have a great trip!
