hello, just want to know if anyone has flown with astreaus airlines?. I was on the flight AEU952 on 19.08 when we had to make an emergency landing in france after the aircrafts pressurization system failed at 36,000 ft!!!, we made an emergency decent, we have had no support from anyone and we are in an extreme state of shock, has anyone else had any dealings with them?

That sounds a simply horrendous experience. Not being a plane traveller I wouldnt know what to suggest but at the very least I'd put in a complaint to the airline's senior management and your travel agent.

Originally posted by gorgon
hello, just want to know if anyone has flown with astreaus airlines?. I was on the flight AEU952 on 19.08 when we had to make an emergency landing in france after the aircrafts pressurization system failed at 36,000 ft!!!, we made an emergency decent, we have had no support from anyone and we are in an extreme state of shock, has anyone else had any dealings with them?

Well sorry to hear about what happened to you = hope you are all ok... I would have royally **** myself in the same situation!

Welcome to the forum as well by the way :)

A colleague was on that Thomson flight out of Doncaster to Spain in May that lost cabin pressure and made an emergency landing.

It really affected her and her family - she said even the cabin crew were badly shaken.

Horrible experience.



Story here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/4554679.stm)

That sounds terrible gorgon, both the event and the fact that the airline have not tried to see you are all ok.
Welcome to SF from me too.

Originally posted by gorgon
hello, just want to know if anyone has flown with astreaus airlines?. I was on the flight AEU952 on 19.08 when we had to make an emergency landing in france after the aircrafts pressurization system failed at 36,000 ft!!!, we made an emergency decent, we have had no support from anyone and we are in an extreme state of shock, has anyone else had any dealings with them?

I think that would have killed me! Every time i step on a plane its terrifying. :sad: :blush: :shakes:

I've travel abroad at least once a year on a plane and am petrified everytime. i really don't like flying - but i make myself do it because i want to travel and see the world more than anything.

i usually have a couple of stiff drinks and then let myself be led on to the plane and i pretend its a train or something - basically i don't think about it.

once i'm in the air i'm pretty ok - but any turbulance or anything is just horrible and gets me reaching for the vodka.

if i experienced anything like you had i'm sure i would be inconsolable and not sure i would make it back on a plane :(

i'm off to italy in three weeks to see my sister who has emigrated there. basically i'm focusing on seeing her and trying not to think about the flight at all or i'm not sure i'd be able to do it :(

I'm with Mr Craig - every time I go on a plane I'm terrified for most of the time.

For Angelus - there was a radio message going round the Falklands when I was there in 82 (just after the ceasefire no medals please) it went 'remember adrenaline is brown'.

Originally posted by Lee1979
I've travel abroad at least once a year on a plane and am petrified everytime. i really don't like flying - but i make myself do it because i want to travel and see the world more than anything.

i usually have a couple of stiff drinks and then let myself be led on to the plane and i pretend its a train or something - basically i don't think about it.

once i'm in the air i'm pretty ok - but any turbulance or anything is just horrible and gets me reaching for the vodka.

if i experienced anything like you had i'm sure i would be inconsolable and not sure i would make it back on a plane :(

i'm off to italy in three weeks to see my sister who has emigrated there. basically i'm focusing on seeing her and trying not to think about the flight at all or i'm not sure i'd be able to do it :(

I cannot step on a plane without a bottle of wine in me belly :(

Big bunch of pansies!

I imagine it could have been quite scary, but traumatised?

Its not like the plane actually crashed is it? There are two ways a plane lands - safely, or nose first, 99% of the time its safely.

You do know you're more likely to die in a car, bus, train etc etc etc....

i don't worry about flying, it's never bothered me.
Although I expect that depressurisation would be a bit disconcerting.

Originally posted by floyd77
Big bunch of pansies!

I imagine it could have been quite scary, but traumatised?

Its not like the plane actually crashed is it? There are two ways a plane lands - safely, or nose first, 99% of the time its safely.

You do know you're more likely to die in a car, bus, train etc etc etc....

Well blow me, we have found our resident genius :loopy:

OK everyone, we can all be comfortable now @ 400mph and around 36,000 ft because floyd77 says that you we all pansies.

Touche - we all like a witty retort.


Now if you could just figure out how to make one

I have been on 6 flights this year and am due to take another two in november. I have never felt nervous on a flight, and there is a good reason for this.
In my work I used to repair disk drives on the data system on Aircraft flight simulators, and several times after completing the job I have been invited to have ago at flying one. I have some idea of the training that commercial pilots go through and what it must be like to fly one.
And could probably make a good fist of landing a real one!

And believe me they are some of the most professional and highly trained people you could ever imagine, and short of a wing falling off, they can land the aircraft with no engines, with burst tyres and in a gale.

The re-training and testing is done every 6 months. And it is so stressful for them that health and safety rules state that they only have to fly a simulator for a maximum of 2 hours.

The thoroughness of this training is severe, and involves lectures and simulation of many problems and faults. Be assured that your Captain and co-pilot are capable of solving any problem, and you can trust them, and there is really nothing to be nervous about..

Statistically you are many million times more likely to be hurt on the car drive to the airport. Much less than winning the lottery jackpot, and how many times have you won that?

oh i know its complete nonsense to be scared of flying. i know i'm more likely to die in a car/crossing the road etc etc etc.

doesn't stop me from being scared though.

people are scared of spiders, open spaces, closed spaces etc all completely irrational too but thats just human nature isn't it?

not fair to take the p*** :nono: :rant:

Sure, that is all very true, but the problem I have with flying, probably a few others also is linked to anxiety, not falling out of the sky.

I suffer similar side effects on underground train systems also.

It's a phobia, completely irrational really :(

Ok ok - I wasnt intending to take the urine, i understand that it could be an un-nerving experience - but hardly traumatising!

Everyone seemed to be getting a bit carried away with the whole flying experience, it shouldnt be scary - sorry if my teasing offended, I'll try mocking next time!:hihi: (kidding!)

ok then your forgiven floyd77 ! for now.......

but it still is really that bad. surely there is something you are scared of ?

lol, no harm done, just thought that you were pointing out the obvious chap.

99% landing safely is way off the mark really.

Flying is much safer than that.

its good to know that most people think they would be scared, in reply to floyd, do you have kids?, ever tried telling them at 36k feet that they are not going to die..... we feel so strange, i suppose its shock,my ears are knackered looks as though the airline are just sending us a letter to say sorry..., but there was a fault with the pressurization valve, whos at fault, the airline, the engineers? its been almost a week and we have yet to hear anything through from them, i want to know why the valve failed, sorry but this is going to become an obsession

Originally posted by gorgon
its good to know that most people think they would be scared, in reply to floyd, do you have kids?, ever tried telling them at 36k feet that they are not going to die..... we feel so strange, i suppose its shock,my ears are knackered looks as though the airline are just sending us a letter to say sorry..., but there was a fault with the pressurization valve, whos at fault, the airline, the engineers? its been almost a week and we have yet to hear anything through from them, i want to know why the valve failed, sorry but this is going to become an obsession

things happen, it doesn't always have to be someones fault.

I dont, but if I did I probably would tell them they weren't going to die. They can hardly prove me wrong. Its not like there was actually any chance of anyone dieing (although you may not have known that at the time)

Things do go wrong on planes sometimes, but air pressure is hardly likely to bring down a plane - I understand it must have been very scary, but everyone is ok, you're all on terra firma now, your ears will get better - get onto injurylawyers4you or something if you're not happy with an apology.

Dont let it put you off flying!

I have been in small planes, in the back of beyond, when the circumstances have give cause for me to be thankful when I finally walked off in one piece.

One example would be the stupid fool of a pilot who thought he could cut corners.
8 -seater plane. Not a long flight. Should have been less than an hour. Roughly sea level to sea level, but we have to cross a mountain ridge of just over 4,000 feet.
Standard procedure was to take off, spiral to 5,000 ft and head off at that altitude. Once clear of the mountains, descend to our destination.

Oh, no. Our blind fool chooses to take off towards the mountains and just start a steady climb en-route.
This would be fine in clear sunlight, but it was overcast and the patchy cloud soon closes all around us.
On at least three occasions we had to take evasive action when the hill appeared out of the cloud to our right or left.
Those of us passengers that knew the score were quite concerned, as was the pilot by this time.
We also find out that his GPS was not working, nor were his radio direction finders/compass. We just kept our eyes flicking between the windows and the altimeter.

After we reach 5,000 feet and we know that we are safe he kept on what he assumed was the heading to take us over the sea (no hills) for another 30 minutes (still in cloud).
We then started a slow spiral down and eventually emerged from the cloud at around 1,000 feet and found ourselves over the sea and no coastline in sight.

My large scale tourist map then becomes the only map available and all passengers engage in the discussion of which way our coastline should be! Based on wave movements we agree upon what turns out to be the right way.
We then have another "discussion" as to where along the coast we were relative to our destination (left or right)!

Again, my map became the tool for decision and we found our way home after a journey of over two hours!!

The pilot was a wreck when we got there and was unable to continue with the next leg of his schedule. Maybe just as well!

I thank you all for your input today, I am flying in the morning so all your words have been a great comfort to me. :confused:

Going anywhere nice?

to be honest flying doesnt really bother me that much , its just the taking off and landing what freaks me out once im in the air im happy

i was slightly worried on my last flight tho , the flight attendent was sat across from me and when the plane took off and landed she was terrified it hardly makes a person feel confident if the persons in charge of a flight are scared

Originally posted by floyd77
I dont, but if I did I probably would tell them they weren't going to die. They can hardly prove me wrong. Its not like there was actually any chance of anyone dieing (although you may not have known that at the time)

Things do go wrong on planes sometimes, but air pressure is hardly likely to bring down a plane - I understand it must have been very scary, but everyone is ok, you're all on terra firma now, your ears will get better - get onto injurylawyers4you or something if you're not happy with an apology.

Dont let it put you off flying!

maybe you should take more notice of the news.
the recent greek accident was down to pressure and oxygen supply.

Originally posted by owdlad
I thank you all for your input today, I am flying in the morning so all your words have been a great comfort to me. :confused:

lol ooooooooops !

Originally posted by Cyclone
maybe you should take more notice of the news.
the recent greek accident was down to pressure and oxygen supply.

Maybe you should smart arse

Reuters:
A spokesman for the European Aviation Safety Agency, Daniel Holtgen, based in Cologne, Germany, said the cause of the crash was likely to be a combination of factors:

"It is highly unlikely that the loss of cabin pressure alone would cause such an incident. There would have to be other contributing factors."

Originally posted by owdlad
I thank you all for your input today, I am flying in the morning so all your words have been a great comfort to me. :confused:
Owdlad, sit at the back mate.
Planes never reverse into skyscrapers, mountains etc :thumbsup:

Originally posted by Don_Kiddick
Planes never reverse into skyscrapers, mountains etc :thumbsup:

Oi.. that's my air safety line... always sit at the back etc. :D

Originally posted by Don_Kiddick
Owdlad, sit at the back mate.
Planes never reverse into skyscrapers, mountains etc :thumbsup:


I sit at the pointy end Don, the last thing I need when it pops into a mountain is for the other survivors to look at and think FOOD :gag:

Originally posted by Tony
Oi.. that's my air safety line... always sit at the back etc. :D Ha Haaar! (http://assoc.wanadoo.fr/kwik-e-simpsons/wallpapers/nelson-preview.gif) :hihi:

Hi I just saw that you were also in the same astreaus emergency decent and emergency landing - have you managed to get over it ok? I know two years down the line and we are still trying to fight againt post trumatic stress following the incident. Can you please contact me ASAP my email is dave@the-brand.org Many thanks.

oh i know its complete nonsense to be scared of flying. i know i'm more likely to die in a car/crossing the road etc etc etc.

Actually it isn't complete nonsense. There's a fundamental difference between air travel and most other forms. A car stays attached to the ground, which is its natural position. A ship floats on the water, which is ITS natural position. An aeroplane does not naturally float 36,000 feet above the ground - effort has to be put in to get it there, and if the effort fails, the plane crashes. Anything "unnatural" in this sense is inherently more scary, even though from a statistical point of view the plane is far the safest way to travel.

As for me, I love flying, and I have no trouble with landing - it's taking off that gives me the heebie-jeebies. Once we're 10,000 feet up I'm fine.

TheBrand, don't worry about it too much.

Failure of the pressurisation systems shouldn't be a major safety concern because the crew will simply descend to a level where it's comfortable for the passengers. Loads of unpressurised aeroplanes fly around all the time up to around 10,000' without oxygen, pressurisation or anything fancy.

There is less oxygen the higher you go and the rapid descent was to get you down to a level where there is plenty of oxygen to prevent any discomfort or potential hypoxia. Obviously it can be frightening because it's unusual, but for 99.9% of people it's not going to do much more than make your ears pop. Kiddies and old people might get a bit of ear discomfort but its not damaging.

A precautionary landing isn't the same as an emergency landing and it should be obvious why there are all sorts of reasons that the crew would want to put down into a nearby airport, but that doesn't mean that you were ever in any danger.

You don't need counselling, and you certainly don't need compensation. You'll be fine - just put into perspective what was obviously a very unnerving experience. . :)

I have been on 6 flights this year and am due to take another two in november. I have never felt nervous on a flight, and there is a good reason for this.
In my work I used to repair disk drives on the data system on Aircraft flight simulators, and several times after completing the job I have been invited to have ago at flying one. I have some idea of the training that commercial pilots go through and what it must be like to fly one.
And could probably make a good fist of landing a real one!

And believe me they are some of the most professional and highly trained people you could ever imagine, and short of a wing falling off, they can land the aircraft with no engines, with burst tyres and in a gale.

The re-training and testing is done every 6 months. And it is so stressful for them that health and safety rules state that they only have to fly a simulator for a maximum of 2 hours.

The thoroughness of this training is severe, and involves lectures and simulation of many problems and faults. Be assured that your Captain and co-pilot are capable of solving any problem, and you can trust them, and there is really nothing to be nervous about..

Statistically you are many million times more likely to be hurt on the car drive to the airport. Much less than winning the lottery jackpot, and how many times have you won that?

Great post, even though my rational brain tells me there's nothing to worry about, the science of flying baffles me...thanks for making such a reassuring statement, hope the OP reads it too :smile:

Age 15, and flying alone for the first time in my life, and a transatlantic flight at that, I was in an emergency landing. It's pretty disturbing when you have to get into crash position, holding your head in your hands as the plane comes in to land.

30 minutes after the plane took off from Boston, the pilot announced there was some problem with the wheels and that we were going to have to circle around over the Atlantic for a few hours to get rid of fuel before landing at JFK, New York.

people around me wondered why they didn't land at Logan and instead chose JFK. They guessed it was because the emergency services might be better there.

I was OK, didn't panic at all, somewhat to my surprise, but quite a lot of people were very upset and there was plenty of sobbing the cabin as the plane came down to land. It was rough. The plane seemed to bounce on the runway before it finally stopped and the whole plane burst into grateful applause.

it took them ages to get us away again and they couldn't get it together to feed us while we were in the airport for at least 8 hours overnight.

later I heard a similar case happening in London. It was apparently a very close shave indeed, there might have been a disaster, and the pilot was hailed as a hero, according to the BBC tv news. If there was any news coverage like this in NY, then obviously we never heard or saw it, being back in the UK.

that was the most upsetting time I've been on a plane, but the most surreal was when I took a flight from Luang Prabang to Vientiane in Laos and in the middle of the flight the only pilot went out from the cabin to help the only flight attendant to serve the drinks. The door of the cabin was open, with nobody inside, and you could see the sky . . . freaky.

my cousin once flew with MIAT (Maybe It Arrives Today) Mongolian Airlines from Ulaan Baatar to Dalandzadagad (Gobi Desert) and their Tupolev almost crashed on the steppes. They made an emergency landing on the middle of nowhere. Luckily no-one was killed or injured.

Great post, even though my rational brain tells me there's nothing to worry about, the science of flying baffles me...thanks for making such a reassuring statement, hope the OP reads it too :smile:

Don't let it baffle you - here follows a completely non-scientific potted version for the uninitiated and terrified, that would have an aeronautic engineer in tears... ;)

Air is a fluid just like water.

Fish, dolphins submarine's and even people 'fly' through water, up and down and from side to side. You get forward propulsion through a tail, propeller or kicking legs, and guide yourself up and down with your fins or arms/hands.

An aeroplane has to fly. It has no choice. It cannot stop flying unless something happens to make it.. and that something just isn't going to happen on your flight.

It isn't really that bad, it is like seeing a car loom up to you when you are parked at the traffic lights, most of the time the car swerves!!!
A 'plane is a hell of a lot safer than a car, and the chances of anything drastic happening are pretty remote. I would prefer to fly from manchester to london than drive any day!

I would prefer to fly from manchester to london than drive any day!

you have your own jumbo jet then? Do you get it out if 5 Live says the traffic's a goddawful mess?

Don't let it baffle you - here follows a completely non-scientific potted version for the uninitiated and terrified, that would have an aeronautic engineer in tears... ;)

Air is a fluid just like water.

Fish, dolphins submarine's and even people 'fly' through water, up and down and from side to side. You get forward propulsion through a tail, propeller or kicking legs, and guide yourself up and down with your fins or arms/hands.

An aeroplane has to fly. It has no choice. It cannot stop flying unless something happens to make it.. and that something just isn't going to happen on your flight.

Thanks Tony, I did know all that (honest!), but it's comforting to know nonetheless that the guys n gals that actually keep this great piece of aluminium foil airborne in its treacle bath, actually know how to make it turn left, right and avoid any catastrophic manoevre events, like tipping it over! :hihi:

Yes I have flew with them. Was a nice flight, good crew etc. Can't remember off the top of my head where we flew though.