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Blue Islands has welcomed the third cohort of 2022 on its latest Freedom to Fly course; the free course seeks to help those inhibited by the surprisingly common fear of flying, by combining technical insights, with behavioural change training and culminating in an experience flight around the islands.
Rob Veron, CEO Blue Islands said, “We are so proud of everyone who has attended our Freedom to Fly courses in Jersey and Guernsey this year. If we can help participants overcome these anxieties and make a difference to their lives through the opportunities that travel brings, we have played our part.
“We have seen some amazing transformations, including two individuals who hadn’t flown for over 40 years who, having successfully completed the two-day course, and taken our short experience flight, were off to book their first holidays in many years! There are participants who can now holiday together with their families and others that can enjoy their worklife by travelling on business again.”
The two-day course, provided free by Blue Islands, comprises of three main elements. Firstly, the airline’s training pilots provide a comprehensive insight to the aviation environment including the people and the training they receive, the technical performance of the aircraft and the behind-the-scenes activity that takes place in this highly regulated industry.
Behavioural change specialist Mo Bury leads the second part of the course which teaches attendees to change how they think about flying and therefore their mental, emotional and physical response to it. Finally, attendees are invited to take a 30 minute experience flight around the islands on a Blue Islands ATR aircraft to put learnings into practice.
Mo Bury, a behavioural change specialist at Momentum Training said, “Everyone experiences fear differently so we provide the tools and techniques to change how attendees think and feel about the flight which they can tailor for their own needs. This, together with answers to all of their questions around how safe they are on an aircraft, the impact of weather and crosswind landings, enables wonderful transformations which we love to see. It’s so rewarding to read the feedback from those who attend who go on to book trips away and even send us postcards!”
The airline will be offering further courses later in the year, to register your interest, see:
https://www.blueislands.com/f2f
Example of quotes from attendees (with permission):
Melloney Bond:
“I feel very privileged to have been included in such a special group and it was very moving to see how life changing it was for us all.”
Kirsty Ogilvie:
“I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to you and the entire team for the most enjoyable and informative course this weekend. The fact that we were all not only on the flight but smiling and content was just amazing!
“I have been too scared to book anything until now but fuelled with confidence and inspired by others who have done the same, I plan to do another short trip in 2 weeks time!
“Thank you a million times over. Being so scared is such a horrible thing to go through. It makes what should be an enjoyable event quite traumatic, hence so many avoid it in the end.”
Daren O’Toole:
“I haven't been on a plane in over 40 years due to a pathological fear of flying. This weekend, I've been on the Blue Islands Freedom to Fly course culminating in a 20-minute flight around the island.
“A massive thank you to Blue Islands and Mo our Change Coach for one of the most amazing experiences ever. I recommend this to anyone who has problems with flying.”
