Flights to the Horn are REALLY expensive!!

I'm trying to get to Ethiopia, and have contacted a number of agents for tickets...the thing is,
the tickets are REALLY expensive. I'm not sure if this is a result of high oil prices, and ALL tickets
are expensive right now, or if its just getting to this country thats the exception. Coming from NYC,
they are quoting $1000/one way!! is there any alternative to this?? I wouldnt mind going overland
from somewhere else in the region, I am very flexible, but really dont want to spend that much on
a flight. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks....

I would try pricing the trip in two segments. Look for a cheap flight to a European city, then look for a flight from there to Addis. You may be able to score a super cheapie to Europe--especially if you are not travelling in June, July or August--on an airline that does not fly to Africa.

For a random day in June, I found KLM from Heathrow to Addis for $773, round trip, including tax. It was $888 in June. NY to London was $535 on United in May. Grand total, about $1400. Try Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and various Italian cities and see what you come up with.

yeah thats what i was thinking. i was also thinking about possibly flying to Dubai, then jumping on Air Arabia to San'aa yemen, then going overland through Djibouti. It would cost about the same, but id rather be able to see stuff and have a good adventure if im spending the money, you know? any other ideas or experience with the low cost middle east carriers?
anything from Cairo to Addis? thanks for the advice. keep it coming!
Jeff

Jef, fly to Europe like Paris and take Yemen Airline, via Sana to Addis!
P

is yemen airlines cheap? i would even think about yemen airlines to Sana'a, and going overland from there. that would be a great trip. plus, sana'a is supposed to be amazing.
anyone do this trip overland? is yemen airlines a low cost? well, ill actually go google them right now. cheers for the advice.

Jef, there is no overland from Yemen to Ethiopia so you have to fly from Sana to Addis Ababa
P

i was talking about boating from yemen to djibouti, then overlanding by train, i believe its the dire dawa line.....but i know this is possible, to take a dhow boat across the straights, maybe not the safest thing, but definately an experience from what ive heard....

yemen air flights are really cheap.
paid about 600 € two-way, last month...

What dates are you looking for? I just went to Addis from JFK in December for $1350, which seemed reasonable to me.

Just did a quick search on Kayak.com and am seeing tickets for $1333 (randomly inserted upcoming dates) on orbitz.

is that one way or r/t?
i was looking for cheaper. maybe im just living in a dreamworld, or a world of pre-200$ gas surcharges and 9-11 security fees....

R/T. There was one time a couple years ago when I saw a miraculous fare to Cairo for $600 including tax. Getting a ticket from Addis on Egypt Air or Ethiopian Air would still bring the grand total up to about $1000, though, so yes, you're dreaming...it can take 24 hours to travel there from NYC! Realistically, how cheap could it possibly get? When I originally looked into getting to Ethiopia that route (only if I could find another good rate to Cairo) it didn't work as well with my limited time off due to flight schedules...would have ended up with only 14 days in Ethiopia instead of 16, and those extra days are so precious. And doubly sad, I have never seen a ticket under $900 to Cairo since that crazy fare a few years ago (or before, really...that was a really unusual price).

As far as I know, the only inexpensive place to fly in Africa from NYC is Morocco (I saw $550 tickets just a few months ago), and you can't get to Ethiopia from there cheaply enough to justify the detour, unless you have loads of time for a different type of adventure.

Oh, and for what it's worth...I bought my ticket way back in July knowing I was traveling during the holidays and the fares could raise. Had been seeing $1500 so when $1350 came up I jumped on it. By the time November rolled around, December tickets had jumped to $1800. So yes, I do think $1333 r/t is a good deal.

However, if you're only trying for one-way...international one-way fares are rarely much less than the r/t. If you know where you're flying out of & approximate dates, an open-jaw ticket often costs much less than 2 one-ways. For example, just looked up flying into Addis and out of Nairobi and came up with $1427.

I had in summer ticket with Turkish Airwais from Prague to Addis via Istambul (stopower with paid hotel) and Sudan for 400 EUR including taxes.
I think that they had / have the same price from any place in Europe.

I think also going over Sanaa / Yemen is a good idea. There are flights with return for i think 175 USD. Ethiopian Airways and Yemenia.