That's unfortunate, and will probably be the kicker that keeps me from proceeding further in the process, even though some friends of mine like The Dominican and JoBear are either over there or headed that way.
I really detest traveling by air more than 3 hours and not being in business class, and don't mind paying the extra several hundred dollars per ticket on a ZED business class fare. The main idea of taking this job would have been to travel on my off days with the family to the far corners of that part of the world and really immerse ourselves in the cultures.
I'm not going to do that in a cattle car for 5-7-10 hour flights.
Thanks for the info, guess I'd better stay stateside...
Good luck to all!