Egyptair general information for passengers

Dear passenger

You are so important to us. We want your journey with us to be special . Here is some information to make your journey more comfortable and enjoyable.

Reservation: When making your reservation, please give your contact address to either any of our sales offices or to your travel agent, so that we can advise you if there are any changes in our flight timings. When your booking has been made, our EgyptAir office or your travel agent will provide you with a file reference. You might change your plans or you may be on the waiting list and need to check your file booking’s situation; so please keep it with you when calling either our EgyptAir office or your trawl agent to help us in serving you more efficiently and quickly.

Reconfirmation: If you break your journey for more than 72 hours, it is necessary to reconfirm your reservation. Please no­tify any EgyptAir office or your travel agent at least 72 hours be­fore your departure. Failure to reconfirm your reservation may result in the cancellation of your reservation.

Check-in times: Check-in times are the latest times at which passengers will be accepted for travelling, allowing the neces­sary time to complete all formalities. No responsibility on Egypt Air could be held toward passengers arriving late. Therefore, First& Business Class passengers should report to EgyptAir check-in desks not later than 90 minutes prior to departure and 120 minutes for Economy Class. However, we recommend that you check-in as early as possible especially during rush seasons.

No show passengers: Passengers who have booked seats and do not present themselves for their flight are known as NO SHOW passengers. If you have a confirmed booking and you intend not to travel, please let us know as early as possible, this allows us to offer your unused seat to another passenger.

Acceptance of flight coupons: Due to IATA regulations, flight coupons shall be honoured only in sequence; and such flight coupon (s) shall not be accepted for carriage, exchange or re­fund unless accompanied by the customers coupon. Failure to use the flight coupons in sequence may result in recalculation of the fare.

Refund: EgyptAir reserves its right to refund only to the per­son who originally paid for the ticket.

Lost tickets: Lost tickets fees may be levied in some cases. Please check with your EgyptAir office or your travel agent for details & procedures should be applied.

Baggage allowance: Adults & children aged two years and above are entitled to free baggage allowance per person as fol­lows:

First class: 40 KG (88 LB). Business class: 30 KG (66 LB). Economy class: 20 KG (44 LB). If you are travelling to/from USA & Canada the following regulations are applied:

First class: 2 pieces, the sum of the 3 dimensions of each piece must not exceed 158 cm. The weight of each one is limit­ed to 32 KG.

Business & Economy: 2 pieces, the sum of the 3 dimensions of each piece must not exceed 158 cm, and the dimensions of both of them must not exceed 273 cm. The weight of each one is limited to 32 KG.

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LUFTHANSA Yonr ideal connection to Germany

Lufthansa is based in Germany. This means it can offer you a flight schedule to Germany that is second to none. Lufthansa’s international network of scheduled routes is one of the most comprehensive in the world, with flights to over 300 cities in more than 90 countries around the globe. Lufthansa serves 28 airports in Germany, with Frankfurt and Munich as the main hubs. Add to this the range of services offered by the Star Alli­ance partners and Lufthansa becomes even more attractive. With an average age of 7.1 years, Lufthansa’s fleet of aircraft is one of the world’s newest and most environmentally friendly. In addition to its attractive schedule and fleet of modern, environ­mentally friendly aircraft, Lufthansa is setting new standards with its innovative concept for first, business and economy class on international flights.

In first class, Lufthansa is offering significantly improved lev­els of comfort with new seats and greater leg room between seats (up to 234 centimetres). The seats can be converted into a two- metre long bed for passengers to relax on, or can be set up as a workstation with power suppy for a laptop — whichever the pas­senger prefers. Flying first class also means that Lufthansa pas­sengers can organize their time on board as they wish. For ex­ample, the a la carte service enables passengers to select their own personal menus. The onboard video library offers a choice of 20 different films in addition to the main video program be­ing shown. All passengers have their own video screens located in the armrest of their seats.

Lufthansa business class also offers greater comfort with er­gonomic seats, increased space between the front seats and 50 per cent more leg room. In addition to the traditional in-flight meals, passengers can also opt for an express meal or decide to have a last minute breakfast served shortly before landing.

Comfortable reclining seats — even beds in first class — a wide range of entertainment, a personalized and caring service; in its first and business classes Lufthansa has done its utmost to provide its passengers with maximum comfort and relaxation on long-haul flights. Upon arrival, guests can even take a shower in the lounges at Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf and JFK New York airports, or prepare for forthcoming meetings in the Busi­ness Centre.

Discovering Wine on Board: ‘Vinothek Discoveries’

The in-flight service concept ‘Connoisseurs on Board’ has been extended to include an extra culinary highlight. The star chePs menu now includes the perfect wine to accompany the food. ‘Vinothek Discoveries’ is the name of this new in-flight wine service, which is not just reserved for long-haul flights. Even more emphasis is being placed on quality and harmony with in-flight meals on all flights and in all classes. Lufthansa is particularly proud of having secured the services of the World Champion Sommelier 2000, Markus Del Monego, as its con­sultant in all matters relating to wine. His specially recommend­ed wine selection focuses on discovering local specialities, al­though of course popular classics from the tried and tested range of wines will also continue to be served on board.

Star Alliance —

The Airline Network for Earth

Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, THAI, United Airlines and Varig have been working closely together as Star Alliance part­ners since 1997. Air New Zealand, Ansett Australia Airlines and the Japanese airline All Nippon Airways joined the group in 1999, followed by Singapore Airlines, the Austrian AUA Group, British Midland and Mexicana Airlines in 2000. Together, the Star Alliance partners serve a route network of 729 destinations in 124 countries around the world. This alliance between some of the world’s biggest airlines means more coordinated flight schedules, shorter waiting times, processing at one terminal and shared check-in facilities for you. Frequent flyer programs and reward card schemes have also been harmonized. Prestige cus­tomers are awarded mutually recognized Gold (Senator, on Lufthansa) or Silver (Frequent Traveller) cards, enabling you to enjoy the same standard of service from all our partner airlines, such as priority on standby lists and access to 500 lounges world­wide. Miles can be earned and redeemed on any Star Alliance partner carrier. And they all count towards reaching premium customer status.

Lufthansa Miles & More

Regular flyers will benefit from Lufthansa’s Miles & More frequent flyer scheme. For every scheduled Lufthansa flight and for flights with our airline partners, miles will be credited to your personal account (specially discounted tickets may not quali­fy). The miles can be converted into free flights, upgrades or activity rewards.

Ready for take-off into the 21^st century

Lufthansa offers all the services you need to plan your trip, from making a reservation to buying and processing your elec­tronic ticket wherever you are in the world — from home, from your airline seat or while you are on the move, via your laptop or mobile phone. You can call up and book Lufthansa flights round the clock on the ‘InfoFlyway’ website (www.lufthansa.com), 365 days a year. And if, in the future, your customers want to use their electronic equipment on intercontinental flights to work, to send and receive emails, for banking transactions, to book a ticket or just do some shopping, Lufthansa has already created the technology for on-board internet connectivity.

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TAKING FLIGHT

Part 1: Flying in Smaller Planes

If traveling in narrow, enclosed spaces thousands of feet above the ground isn’t daunting to you, then flying in a small airplane may prove appealing. When giving the gift of travel, you don’t need to be restricted to flying with dozens of other travelers, al­though that is certainly an option.

Avoid flying in a single or twin engine aircraft ifyou find tur­bulence difficult to deal with. In a smaller aircraft, you feel the bumps and small air pockets, or how the plane shifts after a strong gust of wind. If you are comfortable with these elements common to flying in smaller planes, then you can experience the exhilaration of take-off, flying and landing...and seeing it all.

Bring sun block or suntan lotion, particularly if you are seat­ed up front as the sun can be blistering, even in colder weather. Tote a pair of sunglasses that offer good UVA/UVB protection . If the weather outside is cold, do wear appropriate clothing. The plane will certainly warm up, but it can take time!

Thinking of taking to the skies? Here a few ideas:

• Have you thought about piloting a plane but didn’t want to fork out the thousands of dollars and many hours to earn you licence? You can purchase an introductory flight certificate for $49 that can be used at one of over 1,600 Flight Schools across the United States and decide the right time and place to take to the skies. A truly afford­able introduction to flying, and a way to take in the sights too!

• The romance of Rome. Take a sightseeing flight for an aerial view of this Italian gem.

• Want to see the Alps, but don’t want to ski the Alps? You can take in the Alps or other parts of Switzerland.

• A completely different way to see mountain vistas from the air by ski plane. You can take in the Canadian Rock­ies and leave the skis on the plane.

Part 2: Bigger planes, more flight ideas

Touring in a smaller airplane is not your thing? Here a few spectacular ideas with fewer props:

You can see the least visited continent. A Qantas Boeing 747 takes passengers over Antarctica.

• The airplane doesn’t actually land on Antarctica, so no parkas are necessary.

• Scale Mount Everest without ever leaving the comfort of an airplane. Flights depart from Kathmandu, Nepal and take you on a flying toyr of the Himalayas.

• Airlines offer gift certificates so you can give the gift of travel to yourself or someone else, and create your own air travel tours.

Air travel doesn’t have to be a mess of airports and unpleas­ant experiences. Discover or re-discover the silver-lined skies.

• Please note that the aforementioned tours are suggestions only, and serve as resources to jumpstart the planning of your own unique flight experiences.

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TRAVELLING BY AIR

By Kaitlin Duck Sherwood

On my grandmother’s eightieth birthday, I asked her what had surprised her most about how the way her life had unfold­ed. One of the two things that she said was that she had never expected to see so much of the world as she had. The advent of cheap airplane travel is undoubtedly the biggest contributor to the changes she saw.

Airplanes are obviously a much more comfortable convey­ance than covered wagons, but hurtling around the world in a metal box can have its unpleasant moments.

Space Limitations

One obvious problem is lack of space. This does vary con­siderably from airline to airline, and from airplane model to air­plane model. If you travel a lot, you might want to sample dif­ferent airlines and airplanes to determine your preferences.

If you are very tall, you may prefer an aisle seat. This will hopeftilly give you a chance to stretch your legs into the aisle from time to time. Even better is to get a ‘bulkhead seat’: there is usually more legroom in those positions. Be advised, howev­er, that those seats go quickly; it pays to book ahead!

Oddly, something that helps you feel less cramped is to travel with a friend instead of alone. The better you are acquainted with someone, the harder it is to have your ‘personal space’ vi­olated.

Air Sickness

If you get motion sick easily, you may be more comfortable if you take some sort of motion sickness drug before you fly. Note that you must take the drugs before you get sick; there is unfortunately nothing that I know of that will relieve motion sickness once it has started.

My personal drug of choice is Dramamine? (TM), a readi­ly-obtained over-the-counter medication. Unlike Bonine? (TM), another over-the-counter drug, it tends to make one

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drowsy. I feel that this is a benefit on a long plane ride! Another motion sickness treatment (usually used for boating) is scopo­lamine patches. These patches go behind the ear, and usually have no noticeable side effects. I believe that in the USA, a pre­scription is required. Furthermore, there can be unpleasant side effects, such as dry mouth, blurry vision, and one other one that I forget. (Oh yeah — loss of memory.)

Motion sickness is caused in part by a discrepancy between what the eye sees and what the inner ear feels. (This is why the driver of a car gets sick much less frequently than a passenger: the driver is continuously watching the road, getting a good idea of what is coming next.) It may help to close your eyes the mo­ment you start to consider thinking about getting airsick.

If you do come down with discomfort, one relatively easy but embarrassing way to feel better is to empty your stomach. ‘Barf bags’ are usually located in the pouch on the back of the seat in front of you. Frequently, using them reduces and/or eliminates the discomfort.

Air Quality

The air that you breathe inside an airline cabin isn’t nearly as good as what you will find most other places.

The cabin is pressurized, since the air is so thin at altitude. However, they don’t pressurize it to sea level; it is substantially weaker. (This is part of why air travel can be so draining; you can end up with mild altitude sickness!)

Furthermore, the air is very very diy. This can lead to dehy­dration, which can also make you feel lousy. I strongly advise bringing a litre or two of water with you, and guzzling that non­stop throughout the trip.

Finally, the air is filled with the exhaust products of your fel­low travelers. One of these can be cigarette smoke; while smok­ing has been banned on domestic US flights, such rules are not followed around the globe. Although it might horrify some Americans, not all countries even mandate separate smoking sections!

Another exhaust product is germs. Because airplane tickets are so expensive, and because such effort is involved in making such a trip, people will fly sick. If your immune system is com­promised in any way (HIV, chemotherapy, immunoglobulin deficiency), you may well want to wrap your face in a scarf or wear a surgical mask.

Temperature

Because of the altitude, airplanes can also be quite cold (es­pecially the floor). I always take a jacket with me on the plane and take one of the blankets that the airline provides. Wool socks are not a bad idea either. On the larger planes, there is usually a little fan that blows on you. The airflow can be adjusted by twist­ing the unit.

Noise

Planes are also very noisy. You might not think this is a big deal, but it wears away at you. Consider bringing some earplugs with you.

Most of the large jets have sound systems built-in. Many of the newer planes also have built-in TV systems for movies and infomercials. Usually, you have to pay a small fee (generally around five US dollars) to rent headphones if you want sound. Be advised that the sound quality will NOT rival that of a com­pact disk player: the tapes get played over and over again, and the lack of fidelity can pain a purist.

You can bring portable tape and/or compact disk players aboard with you, but airlines may restrict their use (especially on takeoff and landing). There is some concern that the elec­tromagnetic fields generated by consumer electronics can inter­fere with the airplane’s navigational signals. I don’t know if these concerns have been empirically substantiated, but I don’t care. I’d rather be bored than in a plane crash.

Food

Food on airlines is about what you would expect, consider­ing that all the food must be prepared ahead of time and served to a large number of people with very different taste preferenc­es. It is amazing that the food is as good as it is, but still, it fre­quently will not please you.

U.S. carriers are pretty good about accommodating standard dietary preferences, but you have to help them out. If you are vegetarian or keep kosher, tell your travel agent when you pur­chase the ticket, and the airlines will usually accommodate you.

If you have food allergies, you are probably safest bringing your own food with you. (In fact, even if you eat anything, you are probably better off bringing your own food with you!) Be advised that many countries have import restrictions on foods; If you bring food, be sure that you either finish it all on the plane or make sure that it will clear customs.

Morley Selver suggests never getting on an airplane hungry. You might think you will get a meal shortly, but the following could happen: 1) Everyone boards the aircraft, then they decide they have to fix something. They are not sure how long it will take, therefore nobody is allowed off. 2) You take off on a 3 hour flight that has 2-1/2 his of turbulence where the flight crew is not allowed to serve meals. 3) You do not like the food. 4) There is an electrical problem with the galley and your half of the plane does not get a meal. The best bet is to eat before you get on or take something you can snack on (e.g. a granola bar). If you take two, you may be able to sell one for $10.00.:-)

Fear of Flying

Most people have a fear of heights. This is a reasonable sur­vival trait! However, when coupled with extreme media cover­age of disasters, this can lead to very debilitating fear of flying. Furthermore, for mainy people, not having any control of the plane makes the fear worse. This is not unlike how one usually worries more as a passenger in a car than as a driver of a car.

This is not necessarily a rational fear, if looked at in the con­text of all possible hazards. There are far fewer fatalities per air­line passenger-mile than there are per automobile driver-mile. This is probably due in part to the fact that someone else is do­ing the driving, and that someone else has been extremely well trained, is not tired, is not drunk, and has a backup in case he or she spills coffee in his or her lap.

Knowing a little bit about aerodynamics can sometimes re­duce your anxiety. Despite what,we all learned from watching Saturday morning cartoons, you do not hang in the air until you look down, you can not run into and become part of a paint­ing, and, in particular, you do not go straight down the moment you run out of speed. Cartoon Laws Of Motion do not apply in The Real World.

Even if airplanes flew like bricks, the plane would cover quite a few horizontal miles were it to fall. But planes are not bricks, they are sideways sails. Lift is generated by the forward motion of the plane, so the plane does not even fall as fast as a brick. In the time that it takes for the airplane to get to the ground, the pilots have quite a bit of time to search around for a convenient highway to land on. Captain Tom Bunn, who is both an airline captain and a licensed therapist, tells me that a 747 at cruising altitude that lost all power to all engines would have about 132 miles to find a suitable road on which to make an emergency landing. Captain Bunn is president of SOAR, which counsels people with fear of flying.

(A friend of mine swears that the way to conquer fear of fly­ing is to take soaring or hang-gliding lessons so you can feel the force of the lift. Windsurfing might also help.)

Furthermore, commercial jets always have at least two (and usually three) engines. The chances of two failing simultaneously are very very slim. So relax.

Personally, I lost all fear of flying after living close to an air­port for a few years. The airplanes kept going up and they kept landing. They kept going up, and they kept landing. Over and over and over again, hundreds of times per day. And never once did a plane crash at that airport. This made me understand at a very visceral level just how safe air travel is.

If all this logic doesn’t help you, join the ranks of thousands and do what they do: get drunk before you get on the plane! (Note: I got some pretty irate email from an airline steward complaining about how awful drunkards were to deal with on the plane. If you aren’t a happy drunk, booze might not be the best relaxant.)

Jet Lag

Jet lag is your body’s way of asking you not to abuse it by upsetting its normal cycle. Basically, your body is used to fall­ing asleep at certain times of the day. If you go waltzing across multiple time zones, your body doesn’t much care: it still wants to fall asleep at its normal time, and it doesn’t much care if it happens to be three in the afternoon.

There have been some studies that suggest that paying close attention to what you eat when can reduce the transition time; for example the Aigonne National Laboratory has published a Jet Lag Diet. Two good rules of thumb: it takes about one day per hour of time shift to totally get over jet lag. It is also much harder to travel east than it is to travel west.

Non-flights

Occasionally, you will not be able to go out on your sched­uled flight. Sometimes the bump will be because the passengers did not follow statistical means, and fewer people cancelled than the airline expected. In such cases, the airline will usually give you some sort of prize — free tickets or vouchers for travel on that airline.

Occasionally, the bump will be for safety reasons. In the past three years, I have been stuck on the ground because of fog, thunderstorms, a (apparently false) smoke alarm, and an unre­sponsive backup rudder motor. I don’t mind these delays at all. I’d rather be late to Chicago than the late Kate Sherwood!

If you are stuck somewhere overnight because of something that was the fault of the airline, they will usually furnish you with a hotel room, breakfast, and the first flight out in the morning. If you are stuck somewhere because of the weather, that ’s your own problem. Either you hang out in the airport (another good reason to bring food with you!) or you impose upon your great- step-half-aunt Martha that you haven’t seen in seventeen years.

If you miss a flight because of your own stupidity (like yak­king for too long with Aunt Martha), most airlines will help you out if it doesn’t inconvenience them too much. For discount air­lines like Southwest, however, you’d better make sure you don’t miss your flight!

Morley Selver notes that if you are waiting to board a flight and it is suddenly cancelled, there will be a race to the next air­line counter to try to get bn the next flight . Instead of following the sheep to the counter, head for the nearest phone and phone the airline reservations system. You get the same result without standing in line.

Pets і

You can ship your pets on an airline, but you need to put the animal in a special animal container. Flying can be pretty trau­matic for people, who know what is going on and asked for it; imagine what your poor pet is going through!

NOTE! Alert reader Robin Fingerson tells me that almost all vets recommend strongly AGAINST tranquilizing pets in aircraft, especially in the hold. In some breeds with short noses, they can suffer breathing problems and other side effects.

Some countries have really strict pet quarantines. Island na­tions (e.g. Britain, New Zealand) and particularly paranoid about rabies, and require quarantines that are a significant frac­tion of a pet’s lifetime.

Special Circumstances

There are some things beyond your control, and airlines ac­tually have some flexibility in these circumstances.

If you are ill, you can usually cancel or reschedule your flight. You will need a note from your doctor and to fill out a number of forms at an airline office.

If you are flying to a funeral of a relative, many airlines will waive the advance purchase restrictions on fares, resulting in much cheaper tickets. You will need to tell the airline the name of your relative, your relationship to the dearly departed, and the name and phone number of the dearly departed’s funeral home.

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