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More About The Clinic

The clinic is held over two consecutive weekends near the SeaTac airport.  The clinic is a combination of classroom learning and activities that will build your knowledge of the airline industry, specifically focused on the safety of the aviation system.  In addition, you will get to hear from a clinical psychologist who will help you understand your fear a bit better and give you tools to help you control your fearful thoughts and feelings.

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You will be surrounded by people who feel the same way that you do.  The bonds that are created will help you continue to work through your fear long into the future!  As well as your fellow students, you will have a staff of highly experienced pilots, flight attendants and past fearful flyers who have conquered their fears and have been on hundreds of flights between them!

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Please note that the clinic is not intended to be a replacement for therapy.  There will be about three hours of psychological discussions included with a lot of knowledge about how airplanes fly, the redundancy built in to keep you safe, how pilots and flight attendants are trained, maintenance practices (including a trip to the Alaska Maintenance Hangar!) and air traffic control.

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Below you will see a sample agenda of our clinic.  If you are unsure if this is the right clinic for you, please reach out to us prior to registering for the clinic and one of our staff members will be happy to talk to you about how we can help you.

Sample Agenda

Saturday, Day 1

8:30am-4:30pm

  • Go Around:  Staff introduces themselves and students share their story, including how their fear began and how it manifests for them today

  • Psychology 101:  Basic emotions, clinical goals for phobia

  • Facts of Flight:  Understand the basic physics of flight and how airplanes cannot fall from the sky, presented by Alaska Captain Larry Freer

  • Graduate presentation:  Learn about the journey of one of our past graduates, how they've progressed in conquering their fear and any tips they have to help you move forward in your own journey

  • Psychology of Panic:  The basics of panic and how to move through it

  • Flight Safety:  Learn how airplanes and pilots keep you safe through redundant systems and best practices, presented by Alaska First Officer Bob Hood

  • Go Around:  Check in with how you're feeling after your first day

Sunday, Day 2

8:30am-4:30pm

  • Anatomy and Physiology of Phobia and Panic:  Learn more about how fear becomes a phobia and how these phobias are treated and managed

  • Seattle Tower Air Traffic Control:  Experienced air traffic controllers will talk to you about their job and how they keep all airplanes safe every day

  • Weather and Turbulence:  Learn how the weather impacts flight, how the system keeps you safe in case of weather and understand the impacts of turbulence on planes (hint: it's never dangerous to the plane), presented by Captain Larry Freer

  • Dispatch:  Go visit the Alaska Dispatch center to understand the people planning your flights and keeping you safe along the entire journey

  • Meet the Pilots:  Learn more about how pilots are trained, how they are tested on their knowledge and health, presented by Captain Larry Freer

  • Graduate presentation:  Learn from another graduate about their journey to conquering their fear

  • Go Around:  Check in with how you're feeling after the first weekend

Saturday, Day 3

8:00am-4:30pm

  • Alaska Maintenance Hangar:  Hear from Alaska maintenance professionals about maintenance practices and then go into the hangar to get on a plane, walk around it, sit in the cockpit and learn by getting up close and personal with an actual 737

  • Airline Operations:  Learn more about how airlines are managed to ensure their entire operation is run safely, presented by First Officer Bob Hood

  • Flight Attendants:  Hear from our wonderful flight attendants about their job training and everything they have on board to ensure you will be safe (they spend very little time in training learning how to serve drinks!)

  • Go Around:  Check in with how you're feeling heading into the graduation flight.  Additional details about the logistics for the flight day

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Sunday, Day 4

8:15am-5:00pm

  • Breathe and go around:  Relax and breath to get your baseline down so you can be ready for the flight

  • Graduation Flight:  Go to the airport and through security then take the flight to and from our destination

  • Graduation dinner:  Gather with the class to celebrate your successful flight!

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