I just read a California newspaper article about a certain actor who says he doesn't have a fear of flying--he just doesn't like "to be up in the air much."  Being in the fear of flying business, I immediately read between the lines and said, "Okay, he's afraid to fly."

If you're thinking I shouldn't jump to conclusions, you might be right.  It could be that he doesn't like the lack of leg room.  Or the inability to move around easily.  Or the people you have to sit with although he probably flies first class.   Yeah...you could be right.  Those are all reasons that make flying less than a pleasant experience.  But I've worked with enough fearful flyers to know that they just don't like to admit they have a fear of flying. 

I just posted a new poll on FearlessFlight.com and took down the poll that's been running for almost a year.  Almost 11,500 visitors had read the poll, but less than half chose to answer the question "How often do you fly?" The survey doesn't come right out and ask if a visitor is a fearful flyer, but hey, FearlessFlight.com is a fear of flying website so I don't think people are visiting because they want to buy a pair of shoes or find a perfect match. Only one question on the poll was an opportunity to admit to being a fearful flyer, and of the 4,922 people who participated in the poll, 17 percent responded they never fly because they're afraid. 

Twenty-three percent marked that they fly "once in a blue moon."  This question doesn't directly ask if they're afraid to fly, but once again I'm reading between the lines that they're seldom flying because they're afraid.  In the rest of the poll, 35 percent said they fly once a year, 18 percent fly once a month, and 7 percent fly just once a year.   

I invite you to participate in our newest Fearless Flight poll "What's the scariest thing about flying?"  You can choose your response from takeoffs, turbulence, landings, and cruising altitude.  I'll warn you that choosing the response "Everything about flying scares me" will definitely label you as a fearful flyer.   But this IS an anonymous survey, remember? 

I'm betting that turbulence will win the most votes. Or will it be takeoffs, landings, or cruising altitude?  And if you're like a certain actor who doesn't like to be up in the air much, the best choice might be "cruising altitude."  

So how about you?  What scares you the most about flying?