I know the reason why... instead of just flying straight over most of the middle east... what do you do? You fly northwest towards turkey and then all around the Middle East....or fly south from TLV towards Eliat,Israel /Al Aquba, Jordan, then over Red Sea inside Egyptian Airspace to avoid Saudi and Yemani Airspaces and then out aroundthe Arabian Peninsula then out over Indian Ocean towards India and Asia.. ... the extreme flying out of the way adds tons of extra time airborne, hence more fuel.. hence.. higher operationg costs, hence higher price.. If i were you.. i'd fly to Egypt or Jordan... then take EK to BKK via DXB. in C.. they have great service.. and better yet.. you get Limo transfer to your final dest. after arrival in BKK or where ever else you go to....... ^