Looking For A Last Minute Christmas Present For A Nervous Flyer? EasyJet Has Just The Gift

Christmas is fast approaching, and if you’re still searching for present ideas for friends and family, then EasyJet might have just the answer if your loved one has a debilitating fear of flying.

There’s nothing uncommon about being a little nervous of flying with around one in six people estimated to be a nervous flyer. Many people love traveling but hate flying, and some experts believe that pandemic-induced lockdowns and global travel restrictions have exasperated the issue.

A fear of flying can range from a mild dislike of turbulence to panic-inducing anxiety attacks that can make stepping onboard a plane all the impossible.

One study from the United States suggests that around 40% of the US population suffer from a fear of flying – or aviophobia to be technical. Most people manage to overcome their fear, but around 5% of people are so scared that they simply don’t fly.

Unfortunately, many aviophobia sufferers try to deal with their fear in silence, preferring to self-medicate or drink too much to take their mind off the flying experience.

Dealing with the root cause, however, might be a far better solution. And that’s where EasyJet’s successful Fearless Flyer course comes in.

Since 2012, more than 13,000 people have participated in the course, and the program boasts a success rate of 95%. Starting at just £89 for an online version of the course, it’s also one of the best-priced nervous flyer programs in the UK.

“The fearless flyer experience was one of a kind,” explained Jasmine Cross, a once nervous flyer who took part in the course in March. “From the very first online video that I watched, there were so many questions answered for me that meant I already felt way more prepared to handle the experience flight than I would normally.”

The full EasyJet package includes a two-and-a-half-hour ground course, followed by a Zoom session before participants get to take a one-hour ‘experience flight’ on an Airbus A320, which includes commentary from the Captain throughout the flight to reassure and explain everything that is happening.

Although the virtual package costs just £89, the full course, including the experience flight, will set you back £349 – a price that many people believe is worth every single penny to conquer their fear of flying. You can even take a companion with you on the experience flight for an additional £100.

EasyJet is already booking for courses running between January and March 2025, with slots available throughout the UK, including in Belfast, Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester, and Gatwick.

And it’s not just EasyJet, which has a special course for nervous flyers. British Airways runs its own Flying With Confidence course, which boasts a success rate of 98%.

Prices for the British Airways program start at £399 for a full-day in-person session, including an experience flight. There is also the option to be in a smaller group of just 10 participants, which costs £799, and a new online-only course starts from £79.99.

The British Airways ground-only course even occasionally goes international, with a session set to take part in Perth, Australia, in January 2025.