Allen Carr - The Easy Way to Enjoy Flying

THE EASY WAY TO ENJOY FLYING

The common thread running through Allen Carrs work is the removal of fear. Indeed, his genius lies in eliminating the phobias and anxieties which prevent people from being able to enjoy life to the full, as his bestselling books Allen Carrs Easy Way to Stop Smoking, The Only Way to Stop Smoking Permanently, Allen Carrs Easyweigh to Lose Weight, How to Stop Your Child Smoking, and now The Easy Way to Enjoy Flying, vividly demonstrate.

A successful accountant, Allen Carrs hundred-cigarettes-a-day addiction was driving him to despair until, in 1983, after countless failed attempts to quit, he finally discovered what the world had been waiting for the Easy Way to Stop Smoking. He has now built a network of clinics that span the globe and has a phenomenal reputation for success in helping smokers to quit. His books have been published in over twenty languages and video, audio and CD-ROM versions of his method are also available.

Tens of thousands of people have attended Allen Carrs clinics where, with a success rate of over 90 per cent, he guarantees that you will find it easy to quit smoking or your money back. A full list of clinics appears in the back of this book. Should you require any assistance do not hesitate to contact your nearest therapist. Weight control sessions are now offered at a selection of these clinics. A full corporate service is also available enabling companies to implement no-smoking policies simply and effectively. All correspondence and enquiries about ALLEN CARRS BOOKS, VIDEOS, AUDIO TAPES AND CD-ROMS should be addressed to the London Clinic.

The Easyway to Enjoy Flying

Allen Carr

This edition published in 2012 by Arcturus Publishing Limited

26/27 Bickels Yard, 151153 Bermondsey Street

London SE1 3HA

Design copyright 2000 Arcturus Publishing Limited

Text copyright 2000 Allen Carrs Easyway (International) Limited

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person or persons who do any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

ISBN: 978-1-84858-011-4

To Adelle Mirer, who made me aware of the millions for whom the pleasure of flying is a nightmare

CONTENTS

PREFACE

For the inclusion of a preface to this latest edition I must thank a Scandinavian reader, who requested that I update the text in the light of the tragic events of 9/11.

In chapter 16, I state that, in the 1990s, the media gave the impression that aircraft were being blown out of the sky, or attacked on the runway, more or less every day. Yet the only factual example people can remember is Lockerbie, which happened back in 1988!

Does that mean I am discounting 9/11? Not at all, but like most people who had never visited New York, my impression of the Manhattan skyline was initially based on films like King Kong, where the Empire State building figured prominently. When I was lucky enough to visit the Big Apple for the first time, the World Trade Centre was so out of proportion with the rest of the skyline that it made the Empire State building look like a Lego structure. My romantic impressions were shattered.

But even if the deaths caused by 9/11 could be put down solely to flying, it would still be statistically the safest form of travel. The truth, however, is that the great majority of those deaths were not attributable to being in an aeroplane that happened to collide with a skyscraper, but to being in a skyscraper that happened to be hit by an aeroplane.

Literally millions of people have a fear of flying. But I wonder whether similar numbers persistently fear that the tall building they go to work in each day will be struck by an aeroplane.

I have made several flights since 9/11. It is true that Ive been subjected to greater scrutiny. Has this annoyed me? On the contrary, it merely increases my feeling of security, to the point where I feel safer than if I were travelling by car, boat or train. After all, terrorism could strike against any form of transport.

In truth 9/11 hasnt altered any of the principles upon which this book is based. On the contrary, an airport is better designed and equipped to prevent terrorism than practically anywhere else.

The simple fact is that statistically you are far safer sitting in an aeroplane, whether it be on the ground, taking off or landing or cruising at 30,000 feet than being in your own garden. And Ive never met a single person who didnt enter their garden with anything other than a feeling of pleasure.

Of course you could pop out of your back door worrying whether a roof-tile is going to land on your head or a plane is going to drop out of the sky. Why dont we worry about that? Because the odds against it happening are so remote as to be almost non-existent.

Fear of flying is based on the way we have been falsely programmed from birth. Such conditioning led me to spend most of my life dreading the mere thought of flying, desperately trying to avoid it and sitting knuckles clenched and nervous throughout flights whenever I was unable to do so. Like me, the vast majority of people who suffer from this are ashamed to admit it because they know that flying is incredibly safe statistically.

But once the ignorance on which these fears are based is removed, so are the fears. It is rather like seeing a tiger in your garden. Youd be stupid not to be terrified. If you then realised it was merely a cardboard cut-out, youd be equally stupid to fear it and, the fact is, your fear would vanish upon this new understanding of the situation.

When I was afraid to fly, it mattered not one jot how many people tried to convince me that it was statistically the safest form of travel. I couldnt dispute the statistics, but to me flying was a real tiger and I felt terrified.

Once I understood it was merely a paper tiger, my fear of flying instantly transformed into a genuine pleasure. And the extra security that has resulted from the tragedy of 9/11 has merely served to increase rather than detract from that pleasure.

Allen Carr, 2006

INTRODUCTION

I was a 60-a-day confirmed smoker for over 20 years. Like most heavy smokers Id made several attempts to quit. In the early days I tried willpower. It didnt take long to discover that I had none. On later attempts I tried acupuncture, hypnosis, nicotine gum and patches. They all seemed to work for a limited period. It wasnt that I was climbing the wall, but I could never lose that feeling of being a smoker who was no longer allowed to smoke. Like most ex-smokers, at certain times the craving for a cigarette became irresistible and I was soon back on 60 a day.

Id heard about Allen Carr. Id seen him on television and I even knew a couple of people who had successfully stopped after attending one of his clinics. In fact my husband had bought me one of his books. I feel stupid now that I didnt bother to read it there and then, but Im very sceptical; I already knew that smoking was killing me and costing me a fortune. Stopping wasnt my problem. I could stop smoking but I couldnt see how a book could remove that feeling of losing a crutch and a friend.

Some three years later, while searching for some other object, I came across the book again. Id already given up even trying to give up, so why I started to read it, I do not know. I was riveted. I wasnt reading about Allen Carrs experiences but my own autobiography. When I completed the book I smoked my final cigarette and I have never had the slightest desire to smoke another.