Is it weird that I've never been on an aeroplane?

[WhatAPickle11]

I'm 35 and I've never been on an aeroplane. I'm probably in the minority on this but I've been wondering lately if it's quite unusual.

There are a few factors for why I haven't been on an aeroplane. My mum has a fear of heights so as a child our holidays were always by car, coach, ferry or train.

Then when I was 18, I developed an anxiety and panic disorder which made me quite poorly. This went into my 20s. As I got better, I developed my career, learnt to drive, bought my first home and caught up on the social life I'd missed out on before.

I then met my now DH and we started trying for a baby pretty quick into the relationship. 4 and a half years on, we now have two children and have moved house so that's kept us busy.

I'm not scared of flying and I hope I will get to experience it in my lifetime, albeit it could be with my children's first experience of flying too. It's just opportunity and timing. The only other countries I've been to are France, Holland and Belgium. So I'm definitely not a 'travelled' person. Equally I'm still very thankful for the lovely holidays I have had and I don't feel like I've massively missed out really. But if I say to anyone that I haven't been in an aeroplane, they're often really surprised.

Anyone else?

I don't think its weird but it is unusual.
But I wouldn't give it a second thought it's completely understandable and I'm sure there are many others like you.
I never went on a plane as a child, rare family holidays were at UK caravan parks.
Then I had 7-8 years of flying abroad in my late teens mid twenties. Then I had DC ,bought a house and was back to UK holidays or driving to France, only restarted flying abroad 5-6 years ago.
So timings and individual circumstances definitely are a factor.
Plenty of time yet to experience going in a plane, and tbh I find the whole airport thing increasingly stressful ( security, baggage restrictions, covid paperwork) although its lovely once you are actually on the plane!

Not weird but a bit unusual. You don't have to her an aeroplane to have a holiday though. For the first years with DTs we always drove to France as we could pack up all their shite and the dog too.

Did transatlantic when they were three, nearly sent me over the edge so we went back to France.

I don’t think it’s weird, there are means of travelling without going on a plane. I haven’t been on a plane for 15 years and reducing plane travel should be being encouraged anyway (especially private jets).

Our daughter is ten and never been on a plane either.

25% of Brits have never been on a plane, so it's not particularly weird.

I'd be happy to never go on one again, I hate the things.

My mother died (aged 60) last year having never been on one.
My dad (divorced from my mother) flew for the first time aged 40.
I know quite a few people, come to think of it, that have never flown or even been abroad. But I do come from a very low income (benefits) background.

I only went on a plane for the first time at age 23. I flew with work to Detroit for my first flight! I had. I had no idea how the seatbelts worked so had to ask for help to undo it. 🤦🏻‍♀️
Similar childhood, we always drove on holiday/took ferries/train etc. my parents couldn't afford flights for all of us.
it was pretty unusual I'd say even then, 20 years ago but now in the era of cheap flights it's probably even more so. But it's just one of those things! I absolutely love flying now

It is unusual. I'm in my 50s and first time on plane was about 40years ago for a school trip or 2. Then holidays were UK or train/ferry to Europe. Till I was 18 and then I was on aeroplanes about 5 times a year (long haul) for several years.

Now live somewhere where it is either ferry or plane to get anywhere. So in normal years on a plane once a month.

I'd say book a holiday somewhere by plane and you'll see how tedious it is!

I was over 30 before I flew anywhere, it wasn't something we did when I was a child and I couldn't afford holidays as a younger adult.

I don't know if the 25% figure is accurate, but it could well be. There will be plenty of people who haven't flown due to cost, disability/health conditions or choosing alternative travel, eg travelling to Europe by train or car is much more accessible to people close to London so they might do that instead.

It's probably more unusual to travel long haul multiple times a year, especially when you were a child than it is/was to have never flown at all.

Yes it is pretty unusual these days, but not weird I don't think. Apart from your anxiety disorder, your life story isn't very different to anyone else, so not really a reason to not have flown. Career progression, socialising, learning to drive, buying a house, meeting a partner, starting a family etc are things most people do and still fit in the odd flight abroad. I grew up in a single parent, disadvantaged family so we had zero holidays, although I was sent to stay with my cousin in Sheffield for a couple of weeks in the summer holidays! First time I flew I was 21.

To be honest I hate flying and try and avoid it now. We've booked a cruise this year!

@MontanaMountains yes, you're right, those are typical life things. I suppose it might have been because I was single until I met my DH and the opportunity didn't arise to go on a plane with friends.

Seems normal to me - only flew as a student while interrailing then not agin except visiting family abroad. Plenty of good UK destinations (UK holidays are NOT staycations!) abd ferries, channel tunnel etc.

It’s very very unusual indeed.

That's interesting, more than I expected. Although I guess children might be a big part of that percentage.

My uncle is the same with flying now. He worked for Ford for 40 years and in that time he had more international flights than hot dinners - India, China, Turkey, America, Germany. Constantly back and forth every few weeks. He's not been on a flight since he retired 15 years ago and doesn't want to.

I have only flown once (2 hr flight) and I'm 54. My dd is 25 and has never flown.

Just thought, my grandma didn't actually fly until she was 70! And that was to America. I wonder if that was more her generation/age though as she was born in 1926.

Unusual or a minority maybe, but nothing wrong with it. As you have noted, you have used car/ferry or train as an alternative.

Dh is 45, I'm 43, neither of us have ever flown and have no real intentions to do so. We've been to France, Belgium and Holland by ferry and are planning to drive to Italy now the dc are old enough to appreciate it. We both holidayed in the UK or France as children and choose not to fly now due partly to my phobia and partly the environmental impact. Also, neither of us are keen on hot weather so don't feel the need

I would say as a European it is fairly unusual yes.

Very weird. Was just talking about relatives who spend their money on shite yet their children have never been abroad. Bizarre

I don’t think it’s weird but I do think it’s unusual. I would imagine most people in their 30s would have been on a plane in their lives. I’m late 20s and went on a plane for the first time when I was 3.

As far as my children are concerned, I would like them to experience going on holiday on a plane with us. At the moment they're only 3 and 10 months so maybe in a couple of years when they can understand and remember it. That would be my preference anyway.

I’m in my 40’s and have never flown, my parents are late 60’s and haven’t either. Holidays weren’t something they could afford for us and sadly we are in much the same position. I had hopes to change that in 2020 but with rising costs I can’t see it happening now. DH is the same too. If I’m honest I’m not sure I even know how to book a holiday!
Financial support for school trips has broken the cycle and my young adult children are better travelled then I’ll ever be. To their credit, they still speak fondly of our occasional nights squished in a Premier Inn room eating food from Tesco!

My DH did when he was 4 and he doesn't remember any of it except the time when the place they were staying got burgled and they lost all their money. Fortunately Barclays wired everything they needed and got them on the first flight out of there.

I've never been on a plane. Or a boat. I've never left the country on any mode of transport. Guess I'm unusual, too! But in all seriousness, it's because I grew up in a highly dysfunctional family with no money (I slept on the floor because I had no bed) and couldn't afford to get passports. I'm not interested in going abroad or exploring places and I've been told by people in a seemingly condescending way how I'm 'so uninterested in exploring the world'. I've just then nodded and said "Yep!", smirked and carried on my merry way. Some people just can't get over the fact that some people have never been abroad and are simply not interested in travelling.

I am surprised that by 35 you haven't
engineered flying somewhere, just once, for the sake of it.

We rarely go on "that sort" of holiday either and so almost never fly (last time for me was 2016 and before that 2014). But because I was conscious that my children had never flown, I saved up Tesco points and used them to "buy" flights to Edinburgh for a night when they were about 10 and 8 - more because I wanted them to experience flying than because we wanted to go to Scotland - it would have been quicker by train!