Greatam and others welcome

[klfrodo]

Round trip

Seattle to Djibouti then back.

 

Let's assume you have to be in Djibouti by next Tuesday.

Your FF plan is with AS for accumulating miles purposes only. (partners are AA, DL, AF, KLM, Korean Air, Cathay Pacific, a couple others).

Business class is out of the question. I'm not high enough on the totem pole.

 

Which route would you take?

[FlyerTalker]

Well, AF serves CDG-JIB, but only once a week. I would give up on FF miles for the whole trip and look to getting to either Nairobi or Istanbul with one of the earning carriers, then take Kenya or Turkish the last leg. You could easily make NBO via AMS daily (DL-KL). Overnight in NBO, the KQ the next morning.

 

Have not done availability or price searches -- seems your work wants you there, so I don't think the price will be the same imperative as it would be for many of our posters.

[Zach1213]

When flying in to more obscure places like JIB, you can't be too picky.

 

I really do think your best bet, if you're hell bent on using miles, is to get as far as you can on miles, give yourself a buffer (perhaps a Bruce Buffer or a Michael Buffer) of an overnight, and have a separate purchased ticket in to JIB. If you can get as far as Addis Ababa or Nairobi, that's probably best...but I have no $$$ figures to back that up.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Zach1213

[klfrodo]

When flying in to more obscure places like JIB, you can't be too picky.

 

I really do think your best bet, if you're hell bent on using miles, is to get as far as you can on miles, give yourself a buffer (perhaps a Bruce Buffer or a Michael Buffer) of an overnight, and have a separate purchased ticket in to JIB. If you can get as far as Addis Ababa or Nairobi, that's probably best...but I have no $$$ figures to back that up.

 

Not interested in using miles, only earning miles where possible. As stated earlier, this is a business trip.

 

Thanks for the response though

[Zach1213]

Not interested in using miles, only earning miles where possible. As stated earlier, this is a business trip.

 

Thanks for the response though

 

My apologies, I misread. Not feeling too well this morning.

[Gardyloo]

Quickly open a US Airways FF account, then take any Star carrier (UA, LH, TK, ET etc.) to get to Addis then JIB. Your US miles will become AAdvantage miles later this year, redeemable on Alaska and Oneworld going forward.

 

You could also take Emirates to ADD (SEA-DXB-ADD) and buy a separate ticket on ET for the short hop.

[greatam]

All the military contractors (and there are getting to be more and more going to Djibouti) are flying through the Middle East to get to Djibouti. Take your pick of airlines-Emirates, Etihad (use their bus transfer to Dubai-its free), Qatar, even Gulf Air has been used. Also Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian and Egypt Air (although I personally will not fly through Cairo). And I don't like the overnight in Nairobi either but that is just my choice.

 

Gardyloo's suggestion, although probably not the cheapest, would be the easiest and fastest out of SEA. LOTS of miles that can be credited to AS directly other than the short hop. Otherwise, you could open a Qantas account and have all Emirates miles go to your Qantas account to be used for OneWorld flights.

 

Most of the rest of them you will have to get to JFK or ORD to connect. And depending on which airline you take onward, could be one or two more connections.

 

I would give serious consideration to the Emirates flight. LOOOONG flight from SEA to DXB but in the long run, it is the shortest, most direct route.

Edited January 9, 2014 by greatam

[klfrodo]

Thanks for everyones input.

 

I have a follow up

 

I've learned so much from most of you. One thing I learned is that some countries are very restrictive as to what meds are allowed into their country.

 

Does someone have a link or suggestion regarding Djibouti?

 

I may be 56 years old, but I'm still too cute for prison. :D

Edited January 10, 2014 by klfrodo

[Zach1213]

Thanks for everyones input.

 

I have a follow up

 

I've learned so much from most of you. One thing I learned is that some countries are very restrictive as to what meds are allowed into their country.

 

Does someone have a link or suggestion regarding Djibouti?

 

I may be 56 years old, but I'm still too cute for prison. :D

 

Honestly, the best bet may be to contact the Embassy of Djibouti in Washington DC. You should be able to Google the contact info.

[kenish]

I've learned so much from most of you. One thing I learned is that some countries are very restrictive as to what meds are allowed into their country.

 

A good question to be asking.

 

On this board a few years ago a family had booked a very expensive trip to the Middle East (Dubai or Saudi Arabia, IIRC). The daughter had a serious condition that required a Rx medication that was absolutely prohibited. They had to forfeit the trip and were out a lot of money. Sort of tangential to your question, but it reminded me of the thread.

[klfrodo]

A good question to be asking.

 

On this board a few years ago a family had booked a very expensive trip to the Middle East (Dubai or Saudi Arabia, IIRC). The daughter had a serious condition that required a Rx medication that was absolutely prohibited. They had to forfeit the trip and were out a lot of money. Sort of tangential to your question, but it reminded me of the thread.

 

:D

I think it was the memory of that thread that tickled the brain cell causing me to ask here. I know Greatam has tons of experience in the mideast area.

[greatam]

:D

I think it was the memory of that thread that tickled the brain cell causing me to ask here. I know Greatam has tons of experience in the mideast area.

 

Are you going to be transiting in Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, etc. etc? OR are you taking one of the European flights with transit in someplace like AMS as Flyertalker pointed out.

 

IF you are transiting through the Middle East, things like Sudafed, asthma inhalers with ephinephrine, any restricted drugs that are either opiates or anti depressants (xanax, valium, zoloft, etc. etc) are all no no's. You REALLY have to take a look at the pharmaceutical INGREDIENTS and not just a brand name or generic name because they are different worldwide. This is but one of the many lists out there but it is pretty inclusive. http://www.uaeinteract.com/travel/drug.asp.

 

I have seen the lists the US Military is giving to contractors traveling to Djibouti. They HIGHLY recommend you do not take most over the counter cold type medications other than Zicam, Emergence C, AirBorne and Alka Seltzer Plus. Most of the others have ingredients that are prohibited or are close to borderline prohibited. Blood pressure medicines, statin drugs, things that people are generally given when we get "that age" are generally OK.

 

I don't know how long you will be in Djibouti but if it is for more than a few days, I would send an overnight box to your hotel (LET THEM KNOW IN ADVANCE IT is going to be arriving) or your office/place of business with your supply of meds.

 

What is really unusual about the Middle East-MOST of the prohibited drugs ARE available in the countries. But you do have to go to a local doctor and get a prescription. It is just "importing" them INTO their country where the problems come in.

 

That family-I wrote them an email and told them how they could get the medication into Dubai (takes a doctor's prescription, certification by your State's Sec of State and the real biggie-certification by the US State Dept which could take FOREVER). OR just have enough medicine to last one day, take it before you get off the plane and IMMEDIATELY get to a doctor that treats expats (they are all over the Middle East) and get a prescription that could be filled in country if the medication was available.

 

They have a VERY efficient system in most of the Middle East (UAE, Kuwait particularly, Bahrain and Doha) for medical care. DH got the "Iraqi crud" which is an upper respiratory serious infection due to the dust. Kind of like Valley Fever in the US but not as serious generally. We had to go into Kuwait City for treatment. Except in emergencies, US Military contractors are not treated by US Military doctors. They have Base Act insurance.

 

After we found the proper hospital (we ended up at a women's basically maternity hospital the first time-the VERY British lady was having a very hard time looking at me (55+ years old) and trying to figure out why I was there. We finally got it through our heads we were at the wrong place. She kindly directed us down the street about 4 doors and we were seen immediately. They wanted a credit card or cash up front OR they would call our international insurance company but that might take some time. So we said, OK credit card (and keeping our fingers crossed it wasn't $10-15,000).

 

He was seen by a doctor within 20 minutes, we went down stairs where they had stations set up for blood drawing, chest X ray and general screening. By the time that was all done, we waited back upstairs MAYBE 30 minutes. The doctor came out, he took us into his office. He had ALL the results from the blood draw and chest X ray. Listened to Dennis' heart and chest again. Told him what was wrong and gave us a couple of prescriptions and told us what to do and not do. We asked where a pharmacy was. He gave us a quizzical look-"on the first floor just before the cashier". By the time we got to the pharmacy (MAYBE 10 minutes) his prescriptions were ready. We paid a total of $439.00 US (it was billed in Kuwait Dinars on our credit card so a few dollars for foreign exchange). But ALL THAT SERVICE in one place for less than $500 and all done within the space of three hours. I was VERY, VERY impressed not only with the price but the efficiency and the quality of care. A few days of taking the meds and wearing a full head mask to avoid the SEVERE dust storms that were going on at that time and he was back to normal.

 

Just read through the list very, very thoroughly. If you have any doubts, either leave the meds at home if they are not life sustaining, take them before you enter a Middle Eastern airport (I was thinking Ambien or Xanax) or send the meds direct to Djibouti via FedEx.

 

Good luck and enjoy your trip. Any other help I can provide is given willingly and freely.

Edited January 10, 2014 by greatam