I’ve been on two go arounds. The first was at Santa Maria County Airport in CA in a puddle jumper when there was a dog on the runway. The other was on a heavy flying into MSP when ATC left a plane on the runway. Uneventful after the go around.
As a former cabin crew, I absolutely loved this! Your way of explaining technical details with calm and clarity is such a gift, I can only imagine how reassuring this must be for nervous flyers. Reading your breakdowns brought me right back to my own crew days, except now I’m living the “flying with a toddler” version of aviation life ✈️ Please keep writing these, the aviation theme is one of my favorite corners of Substack, and it’s such a joy to see a pilot’s perspective alongside it.
Having never had any anxiety while flying, this summer I had an actual aborted landing where we "touched" (with a big bump) and then quickly climbed and circled. Pilot explained they had chosen not to complete the landing as not enough room on the runway (I don't remember his exact words). The bump was alarming, but we all settled down quickly and waited for the second attempt! I did wonder if that was straightforward pilot error or if something technical happened that we weren't told about.
This is great. I laughed at the taxi part because my son has asked me why we do “laps” around the airport before parking. I told him it is basically rush hour traffic with wings. Glad you are giving nervous flyers the inside scoop. It really does help calm the ride.
As a pediatric ICU nurse, I used that analogy often with my families. I would tell them to watch my face- if it looks like things are getting bad in your child’s room, but my face looks calm and under control (just like the flight attendants do on the plane, even if there’s turbulence) then just sit tight.
Of course, I would be explaining things as they happened in real time but a lot of times, that helped families to stay a little calmer when things looked chaotic in the room .
Thank you for your reply. We just had to fly to Massachusetts a few weeks ago for the funeral of my youngest sister, and I was glad I had been reading your sub stack posts.
I fly a lot around the world and I know certain airports are so huge that one will endure long periods taxiing to and from the gate. Istanbul Airport is terrible for this reason. I try to avoid Turkish Airlines but sometimes, it’s the most convenient. Busy airports like Heathrow, another one to avoid, will keep you waiting on the ground or circling around for eternity. Amsterdam isn’t bad but when the wind is strong from a certain direction, the landings can be bumpy and you end up on a runway farthest from the gates. My favorite airport is Athens: small, efficient, good weather most of the time.
As for Tokyo, Haneda is way better than Narita. It’s a smaller airport, so you don’t have these long waits or endless circling. Of course, another strategy when going to Japan, is to choose to arrive in one of the small regional airports like Hiroshima and Fukuoka.
Great observations, Esme! You’re spot on, airport size and layout can really shape the experience. I agree Haneda beats Narita hands down. Regional airports are often underrated too less chaos, quicker in and out!
I’ve been on two go arounds. The first was at Santa Maria County Airport in CA in a puddle jumper when there was a dog on the runway. The other was on a heavy flying into MSP when ATC left a plane on the runway. Uneventful after the go around.
As a former cabin crew, I absolutely loved this! Your way of explaining technical details with calm and clarity is such a gift, I can only imagine how reassuring this must be for nervous flyers. Reading your breakdowns brought me right back to my own crew days, except now I’m living the “flying with a toddler” version of aviation life ✈️ Please keep writing these, the aviation theme is one of my favorite corners of Substack, and it’s such a joy to see a pilot’s perspective alongside it.
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Having never had any anxiety while flying, this summer I had an actual aborted landing where we "touched" (with a big bump) and then quickly climbed and circled. Pilot explained they had chosen not to complete the landing as not enough room on the runway (I don't remember his exact words). The bump was alarming, but we all settled down quickly and waited for the second attempt! I did wonder if that was straightforward pilot error or if something technical happened that we weren't told about.
Another interesting post Nick. Especially the point about doing laps!
Thanks Janice!
This is great. I laughed at the taxi part because my son has asked me why we do “laps” around the airport before parking. I told him it is basically rush hour traffic with wings. Glad you are giving nervous flyers the inside scoop. It really does help calm the ride.
So when is it OK to suspect something bad? I try to watch the flight attendants’ faces.
Honestly, almost never. Flight attendants are trained to stay calm even in real emergencies, so if they look relaxed, you can be too.
As a pediatric ICU nurse, I used that analogy often with my families. I would tell them to watch my face- if it looks like things are getting bad in your child’s room, but my face looks calm and under control (just like the flight attendants do on the plane, even if there’s turbulence) then just sit tight.
Of course, I would be explaining things as they happened in real time but a lot of times, that helped families to stay a little calmer when things looked chaotic in the room .
Thank you for your reply. We just had to fly to Massachusetts a few weeks ago for the funeral of my youngest sister, and I was glad I had been reading your sub stack posts.
Thank you so much! 🙏🏻
I fly a lot around the world and I know certain airports are so huge that one will endure long periods taxiing to and from the gate. Istanbul Airport is terrible for this reason. I try to avoid Turkish Airlines but sometimes, it’s the most convenient. Busy airports like Heathrow, another one to avoid, will keep you waiting on the ground or circling around for eternity. Amsterdam isn’t bad but when the wind is strong from a certain direction, the landings can be bumpy and you end up on a runway farthest from the gates. My favorite airport is Athens: small, efficient, good weather most of the time.
As for Tokyo, Haneda is way better than Narita. It’s a smaller airport, so you don’t have these long waits or endless circling. Of course, another strategy when going to Japan, is to choose to arrive in one of the small regional airports like Hiroshima and Fukuoka.
Great observations, Esme! You’re spot on, airport size and layout can really shape the experience. I agree Haneda beats Narita hands down. Regional airports are often underrated too less chaos, quicker in and out!