bobbysue

After having this trip booked for almost a year, it's just two weeks away. I'm so excited. I've packed and repacked and am so eager to go. The only thing standing in the way of my great expectations is my dread of the looooong Egypt Air flight to get there. Can anyone on here reassure me that it won't be as bad as I'm expecting? I don't like to fly anyway, and from the things I've read about Egypt Air, I'm really not looking forward to that part.

bobbysue

Anyone??

Thyra

Well though we flew KLM from LA to Cairo.. we did take Egypt air internally to Abu Simbel.. the plane was in fine condition.. packed to the gils, and the attendents were nice... sorry I didn't fly them Internationally... but you know the best part is that once you are staring up at the great pyramide at Giza.. any residual "economy class" syndrome.. should be long forgotten! Bon Voyage.. I hope you will love Egypt as much as we did~!

Percy

bobbysue:

I got back from Egypt about 3 weeks ago.

I wanted to go Egypt Air and the only reason I did not was because there was not enough time for my transfer once I arrived at the New York Airport to Egypt Air.

My arrivale into New York only left me with about 1:20 hours to spare...so not enough time , my Travel Agent said.

I would have loved to go Egypt Air....yes the flight was longer ,eg. from New York to Cairo it was 10+ hours.

So I went via London England and then a 4:45 hour flight to Cairo,which in the end was longer.

The internal flights in Cairo, eg. to Luxor or to Abu Simble is like Thyra said, fully loaded , but the planes are great and HUGE.

If the Egypt Air planes are like the ones that fly internally you have nothing to worry about.

Have a nice trip...you luck lady.

And when you are standing in front of the Sphinx and Pyramids ,I can assure you that Egypt Air will not be on your mind !!!

Percy

bobbysue

Thanks, all. I hate for that tiny little 10.5-hour problem to wreck my enthusiasm.

Mimi

Dear bobbysue: I would have LOVED a 10.5 hour flight! We flew Lufthansa from NY with a layover in Frankfort. Not so bad going, but 5 hours between flights coming home...and they made us leave Cairo at 4:30 a.m.

You'll get through it, just walk around frequently to stretch your legs. And as the others have said, once you're in Egypt......it will be a distant memory.

I still dream about our trip, and we're home nearly two months. Can't wait to go back!

bobbysue

Thank you, too, Mimi. That's the way I have to look at any flight--that the end justifies the means. And I am SO looking forward to Egypt and Jordan It's just that fear that I can't help. . . The good thing is that I refuse to let it stop me.

Thyra

Dear Bobbysue.. well if it's fear that is your biggest issue then Ativan will save you.. I am a completely terrified flyer.. I mean nightmares for weeks before I fly.. my nurse friend suggested I get a prescription medication for this panic attack thing.. OMG a glass of wine (which I am sure you should never do!) and an ativan.. and I love that plane!

Percy

You know I was told by my Egyptian Tour Guide that most of the flights into Cairo arrive later at night and leave early in the morning..

this is because of the heat and the traffic... hmmmm, maybe he is right.

Percy

bobbysue

Thyra, I take Xanax for it. I guess it helps, but it doesn't make it go away. Is Ativan better? I can probably get a prescription for that if I need to.

Percy

bobysue:

Sorry to cut in on Thyra's question.

Yes you can take Ativan.

If you take Xanax it comes in a 0.25 mgm pill which is white or a 0.5 mgm pill which is orange.

However you usually need to take this with water unless you like swallowing a dry pill (I don't think you would !!)

However:
If you take Ativan ,then get the sublingual kind( the kind you just place on your tongue), because with this all you have to do is place it on your tongue and it disolves.

You might as well get a bottle of 100, unless you use it only on trips.

If you get the 0.5 mgm Ativan ,it is a very tiny round green pill.... you can use 1 or 2 or 3 pills at a time depending on your degree of anxiety at the time.

The 1.0 mgm Sublingual Ativan pill is white and it is slim and narrow like the tip of a toothpick.

Your are better to get more pills of a lower dose than less pills in a higher dose.

This is because it is always easier to add and extra dose if needed.

For example if you took 3 of the 0.5 mgm Ativan ,then you have only taken a total of 1.5 mgm....however

if you took

2 Ativans of the 1.0 mgm pill then you have taken a total 2 mgm....too much I think ,because you also want to function and be alert and not have a sedative hangover.

In any case..ask your doctor for the Sublingual Ativan...and just use it on or under your tongue....no water needed.

Like I said on the plane you can use 2 of the 0.5 mgm Ativan (little green ones) , and then add another if needed.

I do not think you will get a panic attack in the Tombs you will go inside , because you can always walk out anytime you want.

Sorry to hijack you question Thyra.

Percy

Thyra

No worries Percy, I work in marketing not a clue about medicine. I've never taken xanax so I don't know how it compares to ativan.. I do know that Ativan is particularly effective on my panic attacks. You should ask your doctor..But before I discovered this medicine I would be nearly in tears every time I boarded a plane.. then spent the entire time cold sweating and shaking... the only downside to the ativan is that I don't like to take it for short flights.. I wasn't on ativan for my flight to Abu simbel for example and I nearly had heart failure every time the door to the loo opened and it made a rushing noise....

Percy

Hi Thyra

I can sympathize with your about Panic Attacks.

I took Ativan with me on my Egypt flight but only used it for the over the ocean long flight ,so I could try to sleep.

I did not use it for the flight to Luxor or from Aswan to Abu Simble as the flight was too short and I would have had to use the Ativan about a 1/2 hour before boarding.

I thought I might need it for going inside the Tombs ,but I was okay there because I knew I could walk out anytime I felt like.

The reason I told bobbysue to get the lower dose and add if need is because both Ativan and Xanax have a 12 to 14 hour half life .....so if you take too much at one time you can get a sedative hangover ,just when you want to be alert and enjoy your sight seeing ( eg, like the Pyramids).

Half life works like this:

If you take Ativan ...it takes your body 12-14 hours to clear out HALF of the dose you took.

Then another 12-14 hours to clear out HALF of the remain HALF .

Then another 12-14 hours to clear out HALF of what is remaining and so on and so on until it is all gone.

So when I have to use Ativan I pace the dose, so I am clear headed and yet not anxious !!! Talk about walking the line !!!

Goodnight
I enjoy your comments to others, you are very helpful to people on Fodors.

Percy

bobbysue

You all have been a big help to me. I don't really need anything on short flights anymore. I'm much better than I used to be. But I'm going to take one or the other for that long flight. Either that OR some wine. But for that length flight, I'll probably do the pill.

carolsong

Hi, My sisters and their husbands and my husband took the Grand Circle Trip in
late May. It was a trip of a lifetime.
Seeing all the sites in Cairo and the cruise for a week on the Nile. We flew
on Egypt Air out of JFK. It was a 10 and
a half hour trip but the plane was a 777
and wide bodied so we were able to walk
around. I just got back from a flight from Spokane WA to LAX to visit my new
great grandaughter for a week. It was a
2 1/2 direct flight. It seemed so short
compared to the trip to and from from Cairo. Have a great trip. We were frighten about the attacks just before our trip but the security was just great. We felt so secure. Carol

doug_stallings

Bobbysue, I took the nonstop on Egypt Air to Cairo, and our flight arrived on time, so it was a rather pleasant experience all around. You'll have about 3 movies if you want to watch them (though no individual seatback screens), relatively decent food, and the regular cramped seating. I took a Lunesta and slept for about 5 hours, which helped pass the time (I didn't sleep on the way back, and it was more like 12 hours, which was a long flight).

My flight was particularly bumpy on the way over, which made sleeping difficult, but the service and plane were both good.

Percy

Hi carolsong:

I remember the help you gave me withthe questions I had before I left ofr Egypt.
Thank You.

I wanted to o Egypt Air but could not do it for lack of time for transfers in New York.

However, British Airways was terrifc and they had good movies and good food and the Movie Monitor was in the seatback screen style which was great.

Most important of all, the seat were not cramped...lots of leg room .

As others have mentioned once you get to Cairo and start seeing all htose lovely Temples and Museums and doing the Nile cruise, you will not even think about how you got there.!

Have a nice trip
Percy

NDesco

You must be getting excited, Bobbysue. I know I am and my OAT trip isn't until Dec. 30. (I hope you'll be doing a report before then.)
Suggestion for long airflights. I take one lorazepam (I think that's the generic for Lunesta). It doesn't have the longlasting effect of Xanax, but it relaxes me enough to be able to doze off. On top of that, I stuff earplugs in my ears, put a headset on which I tune into the plane's classical music, and put blinders on. That way, I have the best possible environment for resting.
One more thing. I do take a sinutab,(and repeat it before we land) not only because sometimes I get that terrible head pain while the plane descends, but also because it allows me to go many hours before I need the go to the bathroom (sorry for any indelicacy). When you are trying to sleep and have taken a pill to help, you don't want to have to get up in the middle of the flight and then not be able to relax again! (I hydrate myself once the flight is almost over.)

sheilahale

We are on the 12/18 OAT departure for Jordan, and will join the group departing on 12/23 for Egypt. Is there anyone else reading this thread that will be in the same group?