Ex-fighter pilot and taxi driver Ted Striker (Robert Hays) became traumatized during the War, leading to a pathological fear of flying. As a result, he is unable to hold a responsible job. His wartime girlfriend, Elaine Dickinson (Julie Hagerty), now a flight attendant, leaves him. Striker nervously boards a Boeing 707 from Los Angeles to Chicago on which she is serving, hoping to win her back, but she rebuffs him.