EL AL Israel Airlines

Great service, new planes!!!,
Amazing flights to New York and Amsterdam

Im embarrassed that this is my nationality airline

fuke you mother fuker that’s a very very bad flight mother fuker

Flew El Al from LAX to TLV, connecting from Seattle. I was traveling with lots of luggage, and a pet cat. Pluses: All luggage except for the said, cat, was sent directly from SEA -> TLV without my need to check out the bags, and schlep to another terminal. Despite the fact that I flew on two separate tickets, AS and LY have a luggage agreement, NICE! The sleeper seats were great and needed on this 14-hour flight. The flight crew, were awesome, pleasant, and the food was good, and since it was El Al, plentiful. The entertainment system was really good, but not heavily used because 1) I slept, 2) You fly with Israelis… you talk! The minuses: Ground staff in LAX, TERRIBLE!!!!! Nasty, and NOT helpful. No good mechanism to let me know that kitty was indeed, on board (AS has a great system). I had to continuously annoy the purser until the pilot (who was totally awesome) came back to let me know that my cat was indeed, loaded. And finally. These seats are not very private, and the poor folks who travel in the middle, the 2 – 3 – 2 configuration for business, is not optimal. Most decent airlines do 2 – 2 – 2, a MUCH better configuration, also a herringbone setup would also be better.

EL AL DREAMLINER BUSINESS CLASS – FAR FROM THE BUSINESS CLASS DREAM! Business class on El Al’s new Dreamliner has very comfortable seats but a total lack of business class attributes beyond that. It starts with little things like the magazines (nothing in English available). Champagne is only available before takeoff if one specifically asks for it, and then it takes an age to arrive. No wine list is available (there used to be on El Al before the Dreamliner); the flight attendant is not entirely sure what is availableNuts are served in hard to open plastic bags, not the elegant little dishes one sees on most top class business flights. The meal itself was like eating in a college cafeteria. All the courses were served at once on a single small tray, the bread perched on top of the entrée and doused in the gravy. The menu says specifically that one can ask for the main course to be served later in the meal. The flight attendant reluctantly agreed to this request but kept us on the fast track by serving us the rest of the meal before the other passengers. There seems to be a distinct focus on getting the meal done as quickly as possible. What’s the hurry? Food was edible but far from business class standard – upper class college cafeteria fare at best. Desserts very limited and no liquers or brandy (as there used to be on El Al Business Class). And forget about snacks and treats between meals like on many airlines. And refills of wine – not in El Al Business unless you repeatedly press your bell and ask for it. Exceptionally irritating is that the front business class toilet is off limits to business class passengers. It is reserved for the crew. Why have a business class toilet if it is off limits to business class passengers? The rest of us plebes who paid business class prices need to use premium economy toilets. Something off about that! This is not what business class should be. Other than the reasonably comfortable seats there is little to justify the inflated prices. The accent on getting the food service done as fast as possible is infuriating. If there are passengers who want to get to sleep quickly, there should be an express option for them as there is on many airlines. For the rest of us who have 10 or more hours to kill, El Al should provide true business class service in return for the truly business class prices they charge.