V-Flyer

hello again.
we are crossing the atlantic for the first time in January and was wondering if its usually a bumpy turbulent flight.
slightly nervous flyer when its bumpy.
thanks.

In my experience, it is always been fine. I've occasionally experienced some minor turbulence but nothing serious enough for the captain to force people to sit down. Hope you have a pleasant flight!

As someone who did a first flight across the pond back in June I was abit worried too, it wasn't bad though, bit bumpy in the middle but it passed within 5 minutes.

It really does vary and depends on the weather on the day as well as the flight path and height allocated by air traffic control.

People have very smooth flights and very bumpy ones but that is also personal experience - one persons smooth flight could be anothers another pax equivalent of a rollercoaster.

Remember to keep your seat belt fastened when you are sat down - it dosent have to be tight like on take off / landing.

I'll be honest - a couple of Diazepam and a bloody mary takes the edge of any bumps; please note - I'm not a doctor so seek professional advice!

someone once told me to imagine turbulence as ripples on the water if you were in a boat...doesnt bother me but MRs FB hates in and as she says 'not many boats sail at 35000 feet'

Can be a little bumpy, but as others have said, it really does vary.

The captain will make big efforts to avoid worst turbulance whereever possible, but some is unpredictable.

Best advice, alwasy keep seatbelt on when you're in your seat, if only loosely, try not to worry, those planes are strong - just look at the flight attendants, they don't blink even in rough weather and that must tell you something!

Severe turbulence is very rare.
Particularly crossing the pond, there are so many other aircraft ahead of you they have turbulence mapped out by pilot reports as well as by forecast. They avoid it!

A few minor bumps may occur - but far less than driving on UK roads - its just that an aircraft tends to rattle more than a car (people leave loose bits shut in bins just above your head)
It just sounds much more than it actually is - aircraft are really built very strongly!

Usually it's fine. I had a trip to JFK from Heathrow last week - going out minor bumps, but enough for the seat belt sign to come on for a short while - maybe 5-10 mins.

The return was worse - but we did have 180+ mph tail winds meaning a return flying time of about 5 hours 40mins. Half way across it started to get bumpy, the seat belt sign came on and it got worse over about 40 mins, but the crew weren't asked to sit down.

That has happened to me twice - once on domestic flight in South African and once returning from Orlando with Virgin.
Remember the aircraft is designed to cope with far worse turbulence that you will experience duering a normal flight.

It's the Bermuda Triangle you want to be worried about ^)

clarkeysntfc wrote:It's the Bermuda Triangle you want to be worried about ^)

yes, that was always a very dodgy song !

I must have been really unlucky on my BGI flight this year we had quite bad turbulence and the crew were asked to sit down, at the time I felt quite worried about it, but in hindsight it was fine. I did find my stomach rolling a bit but then I get like that with bumps in the road at speed.

ccarmock wrote:Usually it's fine. I had a trip to JFK from Heathrow last week - going out minor bumps, but enough for the seat belt sign to come on for a short while - maybe 5-10 mins.

The return was worse - but we did have 180+ mph tail winds meaning a return flying time of about 5 hours 40mins. Half way across it started to get bumpy, the seat belt sign came on and it got worse over about 40 mins, but the crew weren't asked to sit down.

That has happened to me twice - once on domestic flight in South African and once returning from Orlando with Virgin.
Remember the aircraft is designed to cope with far worse turbulence that you will experience duering a normal flight.

WOW thats pretty impressive

I am always scared when flying, but after so many flighs now. I have a couple of drinks and pretend i am going down a rollercoaster,when its bumpy. When its ok i just wait for the food and drinks to come around. y) The key is to relax and let go.there is nothing you can do anyway.

i have flown across the atlantic 6 times (each way) and have only had a minor bumpy patch for 5 mins on one occasion

Gosh if people class serve turbulance as the crew being asked to sit down then I have experienced serve turbulence without even realising! As Tonty says it is completely subjective. Just think of it as driving along a bumpy road- it wouldnt worry you then!

willd wrote:Gosh if people class serve turbulance as the crew being asked to sit down then I have experienced serve turbulence without even realising! As Tonty says it is completely subjective. Just think of it as driving along a bumpy road- it wouldnt worry you then!

i was on a BMI Embraer ERJ145 going in to LHR last year and all the crew (+the crew flying as pax re-positioning) said they had never experienced turbulence that bad, and most were holding on tight!

i was loving the little 49 seater rolling around in the air like a roller-coaster.

a ticket in to a theme park would have been at least double what i paid for that flight.

VS fly bigger aircraft so they are a lot smoother.

Thanks for all your comments. Fingers crossed it's an easy one then lol

yeash... got to agree. It has got a LOT better than the bad old days - they do indeed map our the worst turbulence (if any) and avoid it. Change height, change route. The days of regular rough flights are long gone.

Lucydog wrote:The key is to relax and let go.there is nothing you can do anyway.

agree with the above too - I don't like rough flights but have given up: there is nothing I can do about it so its simply pointless me being 'scared'. I feel much better now as a consequence. You may feel motion sick of course (I do) but really don't fret, it changes nothing. Shrug your shoulders and carry on!

Try and sit as far forward on the a/c as possible as it always feels worse down the back as the rear of the a/c is designed to flex to cope with any bumps.
Really nothing to worry about, just see any turbulence as speed bumps in the sky

I was on the VS62 a couple of years ago coming back from Nassau when (I believe) we hit C.A.T. (clear air turbulence) about 30 mins after take-off which caused the A/C to suddenly drop several thousand feet. Anything not fastened down (including pax and crew) where thrown around the cabin.

That was not a nice experience (but didn't put me off flying at all) and I was just glad I had my seat belt on. There where injuries on board the fight (mostly caused by pax not wearing seat-belts when they should have been) but nothing major enough to warrant going back to NAS or diverting.

Just remember the seat belt sign is put on for reason.

My seats are 3 from the back at the moment but hoping to upgrade at the airport.

bigdave wrote:My seats are 3 from the back at the moment but hoping to upgrade at the airport.

might be worth trying to move a bit further forward even if only within economy.
the further back behind the wing the bumpier it can seem.
if you want a smooth flight try to sit on the front of the wing or further forward if possible.