leaving on a jet plane...or am i?

On this blog, I have previously complained about forms of transportation, like the microbus from Taba or the taxis in Cairo. But I still felt pretty good about planes, until this week. Last night (well, I suppose it was early morning, actually) I was attempting to book airfare to Israel for Passover. What a struggle.

I should note that figuring all of this out (below) took a few days, as I waited to hear back from various people and rearranged the days I was going to travel. I originally wanted to go on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, but that didn't work out at all so I settled on Tuesday during the day (which means I need to take an extra day off work). Better to be there early than to miss the seder. Throughout this whole thing, I was speaking with my family in Israel to make sure someone was available to pick me up at the airport and that I will have a place to stay if I arrive a night early. I was also coordinating with two different travel agents, since some Web sites don't list flights to Israel, and others don't exist at all (Air Sinai, I'm looking at you). I was also e-mailing with my dad to keep my parents updated on the situation. So I was juggling many options at the same time. But of course, there were several problems.

First, no one flies from Cairo to Israel in the middle of the week, apparently. There is Air Sinai, Egypt Air's "secret" offshoot which has no Web site; there are flights to Israel but you need to book them through a travel agent or in person, and they only operates a few flights a week and none of them are when I wanted to go. There's El Al, which, in addition to only having a few flights each week, mostly on weekends, is also much more expensive than you'd think (though I suppose Passover is one of their busiest times, so maybe that's fair). I finally resorted to Royal Jordanian, where I could connect via Amman. It just seems to silly to need a connection for a flight that is under two hours. Comparison-wise, this is like having a flight from New York to Boston with a layover in Westchester. But RJ does fly to Israel every day, so that's fine, and I have flown the airline before and it's all good.

But of course, it can't be that easy. The RJ Web site makes it possible for a customer to book a flight from Tel Aviv to Cairo, but not from Cairo to Tel Aviv. Why? You've obviously got flights to Israel. Why not make it possible to book these flights? So I turned to Orbitz, where they are currently acknowledging the Cairo-Tel Aviv flights, but not at the proper times. It looked like my options were: pay about $1300 for a flight that connects through Germany or France (completely ridiculous), or have an overnight layover that would give me a sleepover in the Amman airport. I eventually chose the second option, but will try and go standby on an earlier flight. If that doesn't work, I will stay overnight in an airport hotel and be in Israel really freaking early on Wednesday morning.

Anyway, it's all settled now and I have airfare, and I am really looking forward to going to Israel for Passover. I am not sure if it's for the joke potential (it's Exodus, people! Leaving Egypt for Israel on Passover? Too perfect!), or because it's just been a while since I was last there (Jerusalem in November). In any event, Passover is pretty much my favorite Jewish holiday (yes, more than Hanukkah), and I am excited. To be on the lookout for plagues and attempt to part the Red Sea. Just kidding. I really am excited!

Still, Egypt and Israel are neighbors. I've crossed the land border and it's open and fine. There is peace now. So why is still so freaking hard to get from one country to the other?! I know, I know, you all want to give me world's littlest violin right now. If finding airfare is my biggest worry, I should count myself lucky. But you know what, it's still insanely frustrating. OK, I feel better now. Rant over.