NY to Australia - Etihad Airline

amother

Hotpink

Mon, Oct 12 2015, 7:40 pm

We have a wedding in Australia this winter that we'll be flying to. My travel agent recommended Etihad vs United because of a $430 difference in the price per ticket. I know that heimishe people fly with them, but I'm wondering about the stop in Abu Dhabi given the current violence in Eretz Yisroel... What are your thoughts with regard to A) the airline and B) a stop in Abu Dhabi

Anon because everyone IRL knows I'm doing research on this.

amother

Hotpink

Tue, Oct 13 2015, 1:04 pm

Yes. When you add up the savings from several tickets, however... Some agents offer flights through Beijing and/or Hong Kong as well. When you're talking $1200 tickets instead of $1700 tickets it's worth it to many travelers.

Scrabble123

Tue, Oct 13 2015, 1:20 pm

Ok. Just wanted to make sure that you were given that information.
I think that the questions you should ask are:

1. Have people had issues when not appearing stereotypically Jewish?
2. Have people had issues with wearing Jewish garb?
3. Have people had issues with stamps to/from Israel in their passports?

Have you spoken to your travel agent regarding your concerns?

Last edited by Scrabble123 on Tue, Oct 13 2015, 1:31 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Hotpink

Tue, Oct 13 2015, 1:30 pm

Scrabble123 wrote:

Ok. Just wanted to make sure that you were given that information.
I think that the questions you should ask are:

1. Have people had issues when not appearing stereo typically Jewish?
2. Have people had issues with wearing Jewish garb?
3. Have people had issues with stamps to/from Israel in their passports?

Have you spoken to your travel agent regarding your concerns?

Thanks, Scrabble. Appreciate your concern.

I have discussed my concerns with him. But I'd like the answers to the three questions you posted above from imamothers and not only from my travel agent.

Etky, thanks for responding. I'm very aware of Etihad's rating. I'd like to determine to what degree, if any, Abu Dhabi is an issue.

etky

Tue, Oct 13 2015, 1:33 pm

amother wrote:

All I know is that Israeli youth with foreign passports looking for cheap fares transit sometimes through Qatar on the way to the far east. I don't think that they go through Abu Dhabi though.

amother

Hotpink

Tue, Oct 13 2015, 1:42 pm

Etky, based on your knowledge Qatar is safer?

Scrabble, I'd love to hear whatever feedback you get. None of the people in our group are Israelis though several have Israel exit/entry stamps in their passports and the men all most certainly look heimishe. We don't plan on exiting the airport.

Thank you for your posts!

etky

Tue, Oct 13 2015, 1:45 pm

amother wrote:

Sorry I really have no idea - just stating what I know about Israeli travel preferences which for all I know might be a function of ticket price and not security...

Scrabble123

Tue, Oct 13 2015, 2:09 pm

Ok. I asked around and was told that a frum family stopped over in Abu Dhabi (they had an Israeli stamp in their passports) just this summer, and that the trip went well. The travel agent I asked said that in his personal opinion, he does not believe that he would be comfo.rtable selling the ticket, and that if the person was insisting on saving more money he would probably say to go with Qantas (and that they can be affordable as well). He said that if you have an Israeli passport he believes that you may need permission to enter the UAE (although this may not be true for just stopping over) and your travel agent would know more about it

Mrs Bissli

Wed, Oct 14 2015, 8:15 am

Right-o. Have anyone actually flown on Etihad? Because I have. Several occasions.

They're perfectly fine. I actually did see a few visibly frum passengers on HKG-AUH routes. It is one of few Middle-Eastern based airlines where you can actually order kosher meals (though you need longer advance notice), I got Hermolis out of London, return I think was Paris beth din or Swiss meal.

In terms of passport, I had no problem exiting airport on my non-Israeli passport with multiple Israeli stamps. Though to be honest, I find most UAE cities to be just plain urban sprawl so don't really feel a need to exit. You can book a room inside the airport by the hours (on land-side so you do have to go through immigration). Bring nosh or just have fruits if you have a longish transfer.

If it is a choice between a stop over in UAE vs Qatar, I would definitely choose the former. UAE is more open to foreigners in terms of facility and mentality while I find Qatar a bit more insular.

In addition to Abu Dhabi, Dubai is another option. In terms of flying hours, it would depend on where OP is originating from. If flying from N.America, the quickest connection is via LAX. Otherwise connecting via HKG or AUH won't make too much difference--AUH would be at most 2hours longer flight.