EWR to TLV via Athens

[njyenta]

We were originally booked nonstop on United from EWR to TLV on December 6.  Supposedly United can fly to Athens but then we're on our own to find a flight to Israel and pay extra for that.  Don't even know how to begin. Started from scratch and see there's Emirates to Athens and then Aegean to Israel. One flight has a 1 hour 20 minutes layover which I don't think is enough time. There's another one that has a 6 hour 55 minutes layover which is better but quite long. Is there kosher food in the airport?  Has anyone recently done this route? Any other practical suggestions? Not interested in 2 stops and don't want to go to Dubai. My husband and I are older and not seasoned travelers. Not interest in paying $$$$ for ElAl.  TIA

[yochai]

Many of my family members have done this recently. No kosher food in the airport in ATH, as in most European airlines.
Elal, Arkia, and Israir all fly ATH-TLV, so you should be able to find a decent timed connection.
Not sure why you’re mentioning Emirates. If you’re planning on canceling the United flight and purchase new tickets, you can connect in many other European cities and take Elal from there.
With ticket prices to Europe these days, I don’t see any benefit in exchanging the United flight to ATH. You’ll probably get more if you cancel and look for a new pair of flights.
You can PM me if you want assistance with this.

[njyenta]

Thanks, my husband decided to book a direct flight on ElAl instead.  Price wasn't too astronomical on bookings.com. Of course a lot more expensive then our original United nonstop from Newark plus we used points for that. This one is from JFK but we'll deal with that. To me its worth the money not having to deal with layovers.  Apparently people aren't afraid to go to Israel. The ElAl flight we preferred from Newark was booked.

[Gvann]

Thanks, my husband decided to book a direct flight on ElAl instead.  Price wasn't too astronomical on bookings.com. Of course a lot more expensive then our original United nonstop from Newark plus we used points for that. This one is from JFK but we'll deal with that. To me its worth the money not having to deal with layovers.  Apparently people aren't afraid to go to Israell. The ElAl flight we preferred from Newark was booked.

Including you