Afraid of Flying? There's An App for That

Afraid of flying? My wife is. She is so frightened that a very short flight, from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles will send her into a panic attack. Her fear is so palpable, she gets me frightened. Well, there's an app for that.

Mental Workout, working with Virgin Atlantic and its Flying Without Fear course, (which the airline claims has a 98% success rate), has released an iPhone app to help with fear of flying.

Here are the features of the Flying Without Fear app:

• Personal video introduction by Sir Richard Branson.
• In-flight explanation video from start to finish of a flight.
• Common questions answered by General Manager of Flight Operations, David Kistruck.
• Relaxation exercises and fear therapy by Relaxation Counselor David Landau.
• Fear attack button for emergencies with breathing exercise and quick tips.
• Personalized program with daily advice and exercises, preparing you for your next flight.
• 2,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles when joining the program.

It's unclear if a simple iPhone app can take the place of a course, but Mental Workout managed to get the endorsement of Whoopie Goldberg:

"I was a sceptic. I hadn't flown in 13 years but after doing their program, I understood that while my fear was real, there were many things I didn't know or had misinformation about, which they were able to clear up. So what happened? The program works. I now fly. It's that simple."

The price is a mere $4.99, but one might wonder why it's not possible to get "validation" like when you visit a bar (for your parking), and get a refund if the app manages to get you on a Virgin Atlantic flight. On the other hand, you won't be using those miles, otherwise.