EL AL Israel Airlines

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.

I went to Israel on a Christian Pastors’ study trip, and we were booked on El Al. We flew from JFK to Tel Aviv.

The good: the ground and air personnel were very polite and competent. On our way back to New York, a young woman fell ill, and the cabin staff took very good care of her and found a doctor on board to help her. The food was interesting for airline food as it was kosher and Mediterranean. We took off on time and arrived ahead of schedule both ways.

The bad: the seats were hard and uncomfortable. The drink offerings were almost non-existent: they made ONE pass early on with a choice of soft drinks or (not very good) Israeli red wine. Other than that we were given 3 oz cups of water with our meals and a couple of times after. We also were offered coffee or tea at the conclusion of each meal. For a 9-1/2 to 11 hour trip, that was not much! The plane was an aging 747-400 with tiny screens (from the 1990s?) for individual movie or TV viewing.

Our flight from Newark EWR to Tel Aviv was delayed due to a mechanical problem with the plane.
The entire team and especially the manager handled the problem extremely well. They tried the best they could to accommodate us. The team was with us all the time helping with the luggage, with the hotel accommodations, making sure the kosher food is available, making sure a very early (5 AM) breakfast is served. Delays are never a pleasant experience but the El Al team handled the problem extremely well.

I flew from JFK to New York on a nonstop flight. My plane was the oldest and most rugged plan I have ever been on. I paid so much for this flight yet I had the most miserable 10 hours of my life. I sat in the middle seat with no light above me, no space for my arm, no space for my leg, and the most uncomfortable seat I have ever sat on. I thought my butt crack after sitting on that for that long. It would be more adorable if the flight attendants were kinder and more patient, but they were the rudest ones I have ever met. I pushed the help button on my seat like six times over the flight for water because the woman sitting next to me was old and asleep but not one flight attendant ever came to my help. I was thirsty and hungry the entire flight. The TVs will worst qualities than what we had in 1950. It’s just so appalling how expensive the tickets are but how poor the experience is