At United Airlines, copies of the Gideons' Bible are stocked in the first-class magazine rack. Several months ago a decision was made to discontinue this tradition, but according to Gideons the airline has since reconsidered. This from the group's Web site: "Did you know... that Gideon Bibles are placed on commercial airlines? On January 14, United Airlines reaffirmed their commitment to have the Word of God available on their flights. Praise God for this confirmation!"

Eight thousand miles away, patrons of Malaysia Airlines, a carrier whose home country is less than 70 percent Muslim, will discover prayer pamphlets stacked in every jet's entryway. In a choice of English, Malay or Arabic, pious -- or at least nervous -- riders may partake of the pre-departure "doa," which goes like this:

"In the name of Allah when taking off and landing,
verily my God is most forgiving and merciful."

Stacked in a holding pattern and worried about your connection?

"O Allah, facilitate our journey and let us cover its distance quickly."

If this Allah business leaves you uneasy, I was once handed a small card from an airport chaplain in Charlotte, N.C.:

"Dear Lord, I thank you,
Please provide for a safe flight,
and travel to and from the airport.
Bless and watch over me
At my destination."

Malaysia Airlines' 747s and 777s are outfitted with Muslim prayer rooms, while the in-seat video screens show a constantly updated qibla compass, giving the real-time distance and direction to Mecca. Other carriers with Muslim customer bases have almost identical amenities -- if indeed that's the right word.

Among them is Emirates, headquartered on the edge of the Persian Gulf and among the world's fastest-growing and most highly regarded airlines. I'm constantly singing the praises of Emirates, but at least one reader was quick to denounce my calling the company "airline of the year," angrily accusing it of nothing less than blatant anti-Semitism for -- and here we go -- refusing to stock kosher meals.

Intriguing, but then again they don't stock Zoroastrian meals either. Although thousands of non-Arabs and non-Muslims fly Emirates every day, the airline points out that its numbers of Jewish passengers, particularly those strict enough to require kosher, can probably be counted on one hand.

Needless to say, food prepared by dictate of halal, the Islamic equivalent of kosher, is no trouble. In fact all Emirates meals, including six(!) vegetarian options, are halal. Muslims unable to verify adherence are known to indulge in kosher, though evidently it doesn't work the other way around. In the words of one traveler's Web posting: "Kosher food has to be supervised by a rabbi, and I'll eat my yarmulke the day Emirates has one of them working in their business." We'd sooner expect flight attendants on El Al to give out Palestinian flags, maybe.

In America, Continental Airlines, with an enormous New York City hub (Newark), no longer provides a kosher option except on services to Tel Aviv. While protests against Continental are relatively scarce (though at least one online petition is looking for signatures), the World Wide Web is alive with screams of bigotry, "phobo-Semitism," and "anti-Jewish policy" at Emirates, perhaps belying the controversy as purely religious instead of the more confrontational Arab vs. Israeli.

Looking for secular sanity? Atlanta might be heart and soul of the nation's Bible Belt, but there's no religious baggage on hometown Delta Air Lines. If you're lucky enough to have a seat in Delta's tony BusinessElite cabin, you'll have to draw what inspiration you can from the airline's take-home amenities kit. Inside you'll find a sort of pseudo-spiritual fortune cookie called -- and I am not making this up -- a Chinese Romance Card.

Blasphemy of blasphemies, word has it that Delta is on the verge of changing one of the coolest and most inventive amenities cases around -- its semi-rigid, triangular ("widget-shaped" in Delta-ese) zipper bag that looks something like a bicycle seat. Get one while you can. Packable, squashable and indestructible, the kit holds ear plugs, socks, mints, lip balm, toothbrush -- and your Chinese Romance Card. And not a cross, star or crescent in sight. Amen to that.

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