Jennifer Stuart asked for advice on how to conquer her aversion to flying so she could visit the Caribbean.

First, buy your ticket to the Caribbean. Now you're committed. Next, learn a relaxation technique: I learnt this at ante-natal classes, though there are numerous books and tapes available.This should relax you physically during the flight, but there may still be terror in your head, so fill your head with something else; find a really good book, ie one that you have been meaning to read for years, or one that has been strongly recommended by friends who know what you like. Start reading as soon as you have heard the safety announcement. Ensure, at check-in, that you are very close to an emergency exit point. Carry a hip flask. The difficult times are take-off and touch-down; in between, you realise after a while that you're still alive, and the anxiety recedes.Tell yourself it is not irrational to have an aversion to flying. These strategies worked for me, after years of avoiding flying.

Morag Williamson

The only way to conquer a fear is by confronting it - the more you avoid it the worse it gets. The trouble with flying is you don't have many chances to "get used to it" by building up your confidence and having small practise runs. I believe there are special training trips on offer, try one of the airports or airlines. My experience is that when you actually get on the plane, while you might not actually enjoy it, it doesn't seem half so bad as when you were lying in bed anticipating how awful it was going to be. David John

• One-day Fear of Flying courses are organised by Aviatours, Pinewoods, Eglinton Road, Tilford, Surrey GU10 2DH (01252 793250) and cost £189.

This week's question

I hope to go on holiday this summer, but don't want to travel as a female on my own. Who can I contact or which group can I join that organises packages for single people such as myself who feel happier and more secure travelling as part of a group. Amina Claasen

• If you have a question or advice, please send it to: Ask a fellow traveller, The Guardian, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER. Or email: ask.a.fellow.traveller@theguardian.com. We will publish the answers as soon as we can. We cannot answer questions we do not publish.