Free Group Phone Counseling With Capt Tom Wednesday 10 PM - 11 PM Eastern Time

Note: if you have trouble getting in, try using a cellphone or different regular phone, try pressing each key longer, and try using * rather than #.



==========

The SOAR Library -- Open And Free



Articles for you on aviation and flight anxiety are at www.fearofflying.com/wordpress/

The Public Was Never In Danger



As I explained, all the drama about inspection of planes as political maneuvering. To reassure yourself of that, you may want to read a Conde Nast Traveler interview with safety expert William Voss at this link.



Voss says the FAA was originally far to lenient with Southwest. Then, when Congress put heat on the FAA about Southwest, the FAA overreacted. There was no safety rationale for what the FAA did. "From a safety perspective," Voss says, "I'm at a loss to explain the reason behind the groundings. . . . The traveling public should not feel they were flying around in time bombs. They were definitely not in danger. After all, these weren't incredibly old planes, and they are maintained on a rigid inspection schedule."



==========



Criminal Prosecution Of Budget Airline



I have said many times that with a strong pilots' union, captains are not pressured into flying unsafe planes. Here is an example. Flyglobespan, a budget airline owned by Scottish billionaire Tom Dalrymple, is the target of criminal prosecution for flying between Great Britain and New York without legally required engine instruments.



An article about this action is at this link.



==========




Consumers Reports Says Outsourcing Continues To Rise



A Consumers Reports
article at this link says more and more outsourcing is being done by the airlines.



It is my view that, when choosing an airline, it is wise to choose an airline with a pilots' union and a long track record of safe operation. Outsourcing can be done safely, but if not properly supervised and inspected by the airline conducting the outsourcing, it can undermine safety.



There are two reasons. One: mechanics who work for the airline get passes and when the mechanic or the mechanic's family flies on the airline, it is on a plane the mechanic has worked on. Self-preservation is a powerful motivator. Two: when outsourced, FAA regs do not require the work to be done by a licensed mechanic. After it is done, the work is
signed off by a licensed mechanic. By contrast, mechanics employed by
an airline must be licensed mechanics and their work must be signed off by a licensed
supervisor.



I suggest you consider, as part of your deliberating when choosing an airline, to consider -- along with an airline with a pilots' union and a long track record -- the amount of outsourcing done, and the reputation of the airline doing the outsoucing, since a better airline may supervise the outsourcing more thoroughly.



Airline maintenance outsourcing (as percentage of total expenses)



AIRLINE              2005           2006           2007 (through 3Q)



AirTran                  66%            93%            94%

America West**    76%            91%            91%

Hawaiian                80%           86%            89%

Southwest              68%            81%            85%

Alaska                    92%            80%            81%

Northwest              76%            83%            81%

US Airways*         77%            81%            80%

Frontier                  65%            79%            80%

Delta                      48%            73%            72%

Continental            69%            68%            70%

United                    63%            66%            67%

JetBlue                   68%            64%            65%

American               46%            49%            51%





==========

Videos On YouTube



Our videos are at http://youtube.com/user/CaptTomBunn.



==========

Paradoxical Familiarity With Terror



A few newsletters ago, I wrote that when clients speak of the terror they might fear on a plane, they speak of the terror as if it is something so familiar to them. I suspect this familiarity has do with with feelings we had when when abandoned when very young, such as when put to bed alone and left to "cry it out" until asleep. Researcher Alan Schore has suggested that in this situation, when a child appears to have fallen asleep, the child is not asleep, but in a state of dissociated terror.



Here is an email that resonates with that view.



Dear Captain Tom,

 

Thank you for taking the time to respond, and giving me even more to think about and internalize.  When I read your comment about the paradoxical familiarity we display when we speak of terror, boy did the alarm bells start ringing for me!  Yes, exactly - when I imagine what might be happening for others during a frightening situation, what I am really thinking about are moments of fear and abandonment in my own life. When I think empathetically of the person I feel so sorry for their terrifying experience or loss...I'm thinking of ME.

 

As always, your perspective and insight give me a whole new way of thinking about these things, so I thank you again for taking the time to share.  Please feel free to use some of the text in a newsletter as you see fit...I hope others will benefit from our exchange as much as I have.



==========



An Email From A Minister About "Take Me Along"



I just want to write to let you know how profoundly thankful my wife and I are for your program. Let me explain.

 

We flew to Texas on Thursday morning for a marriage conference. My wife
has always had a fear of flying, but she agreed to go on this trip. She
got a prescription to help take the edge off and it didn't work. We
flew through some pretty rough turbulence and she began to have pretty
bad panic attacks. I've never seen her this terrified. In this midst of
this horrific experience she already started talking about not wanting
to take the return flight. We live 1500 miles away in PA and I thought
for sure that when we arrived safely in TX she would calm down and we
would enjoy our trip and take the return flight this morning.



Well it wasn't that simple. I am not afraid to fly and I have never
known someone truly terrified of flying so I wasn't prepared for what
happened. My wife was so afraid that she really pushed for us to either
rent a car and drive all the way back to PA immediately so that we
could make it back in time or take a bus. She had many panic attacks
during our trip and we had several intense conversations over the 2
days we were there. I really began to think that we weren't going to
actually get on our scheduled return flight. I had no idea that fear
could cause someone to think that something so irrational is totally
rational.



Anyway, I woke up this morning to my wife having another panic attack
because she had been on the internet looking at a turbulence forecast
on the weather channel website. I really thought she wasn't going to
get on the plane. As she was in the shower I began looking for the
turbulence forecast so I could better interpret it for her and calm
her. I couldn't find the one she was on so I googled one. The one that
I clicked on had an ad for your site. I clicked on it and bought only
the "Take Me Along" MP3 and put it on our iPod.



She listened to it starting in the airport gate and over and over again
throughout the flight. It was amazing to see the absolute change in her
response to flying. We hit some pretty heavy turbulence and she got
through with amazing calmness. I could not believe this was the same
person I flew down with and spent 2 days trying to get to calm down.
When we arrived at BWI airport and began the trip home to PA, all she
could do was talk about what you said everything means and how safe it
is to fly through turbulence. It was almost as if she was trying to
calm my fears about it and I don't even fear it.

 

All she needed to get through it was to understand what everything
means from a person who is qualified to bring the understanding of air
travel. I asked her if she would ever fly again and I was shocked to
hear that she would. But only if I buy the whole mp3 program from you
for her to listen to whenever that time comes to fly again.

 

We can't begin to thank you enough. I was so desperate this morning for
anything and I believe God led me to your site. Thank you for taking
the time to do this valuable work.



==========


You, Too, Can Fix The Flying Problem Now

Get started with the program that works. SOAR was established in 1982 because no programs existed which could help people with moderate to severe difficulties. Even today, no other program offers help that is effective except for mild difficulties. No matter how difficult flying is for you, we can help.



Full Length Course



We have the full length SOAR Video Course on 11 DVDs and we have the accelerated FastTrack course. The full length course provides the maximum help possible. More info.

FastTrack



FastTrack is for you if you have a flight coming up soon, even tomorrow! It includes three hours of the most important video clips from the full length course. More FastTrack info.

Get started now. The SOAR FastTrack program can be on your computer's screen in two minutes.

• Fast Track is inexpensive.
  


• Fast Track gives you the most help possible in the shortest time.
  


• A twenty-minute private session and unlimited group counseling sessions are included.
  
  


• What you pay for Fast Track is 100% transferable to the complete SOAR Course DVD or CD.

iPod Or Other Media Players

Complete a compact (about five hours) version of the SOAR Course on the go. Download it to your computer. Play it on your computer, iPod or other media player. More info.

Which To Choose

If you are unsure which is best for you, please call me at 877 332-7359 so we can talk it over. You will feel better as soon as you decide to act.

We are always here to help. As you go through the program, call or email whenever you have a question or a concern.

=========

Do You Own A Web Site?

If you own a web site, consider becoming a SOAR affiliate. Place a SOAR ad on your website and earn a commission on sales the ad generates. Interested? See this web page.

==========

One Of The Best Sites



AirSafe.com is run by Dr. Todd Curtis, PhD., a former airline safety analyst with Boeing. Todd thoroughly analyzes safety data and presents statistics on his web site which can help you choose an airline wisely.



Todd will be happy to send you information of aviation safety. Subscribe to his service at www.airsafe.com/services/subscribe.htm and you will receive tips such as carry on baggage advice.



==========