nombody
May 21, 12, 9:55 am
I fly for work purposes 4-5 times a year to NY from TLV. I fly economy, and generally choose the lowest economy fare, although my company lets me choose whichever carrier I want, so as long as it's economy they don't bug me to take the absolute cheapest flight.
In comparing the benefits of the various Frequent Flyer programs of El AL, Delta and United for someone like me who flies 4-5 times a year, the best airline for me to choose is actually Delta, for the following reasons:
Pros:
1. Silver status after 25000 miles (2 1/2 roundtrips) which will let me take a second suitcase for free. Possibly earn Gold status if I hit 50k miles.
2. Earn miles usable on skyteam alliance partners which includes Airfrance, KLM, Alitalia, and Korean Air, besides Delta.
3. Newly upgraded 747-400 with USB charging ports and a real In flight entertainment system VOD.
Cons:
Only one flight per day and only to JFK
For El AL:
Pros:
1. Earn 100-400 Matmid points per round trip - depending on fare class paid. As I checked that most of the time based on the fare classes I would have bought I would earn about 200 Matmid points per trip. That would give me Silver status after about 5 round trips in 12 month period which would let me take a second suitcase for free.
2. Alternatively earn regular American Airlines miles per trip which can be used for OneWorld or El Al flights. Good redemption mileage rates using American miles for El Al flights to Asia.
3. If space available, can upgrade to business class for $700 on board the plane.
4. More flights per day to NY area - 2-4 flights to JFK, and 1-2 flights to Newark depending on season and day of week.
Cons:
1. Poor in flight entertainment systems - on some planes there is VOD, but it is very old system. On other planes it is a just a loop of 12 channels.
2. Some planes have power sockets in economy, some don't.
3. IF you get a cheap fare (TUGO classes), you only earn 50 Matmid points each way to NY, or 50% of regular American Airlines miles.
United:
Pros:
1. 25000 miles (2 1/2 round trips) gives you Silver status.
2. 2 Flights per day, but only to Newark.
3. Miles can be used on United, and other airlines in Star Alliance, including Lufthansa.
4. Good IFE VOD
Cons:
1. Silver status on United does NOT let you take a second suitcase for free for international flights.
2. Night time flight from TLV lands at ridiculously early 4:20AM at Newark.
So based on all of the above, for now at least I'm going to direct as much of my flights as I can to use Delta. One factor I did not consider here is availability of award tickets. It's quite possible that Delta/Skyteam award availability is lousy. But I will see.
I'd love to hear if I've missed any pros or cons. Obviously if someone flies only Business class or YSM economy class, then it might make more sense to fly El Al.
In comparing the benefits of the various Frequent Flyer programs of El AL, Delta and United for someone like me who flies 4-5 times a year, the best airline for me to choose is actually Delta, for the following reasons:
Pros:
1. Silver status after 25000 miles (2 1/2 roundtrips) which will let me take a second suitcase for free. Possibly earn Gold status if I hit 50k miles.
2. Earn miles usable on skyteam alliance partners which includes Airfrance, KLM, Alitalia, and Korean Air, besides Delta.
3. Newly upgraded 747-400 with USB charging ports and a real In flight entertainment system VOD.
Cons:
Only one flight per day and only to JFK
For El AL:
Pros:
1. Earn 100-400 Matmid points per round trip - depending on fare class paid. As I checked that most of the time based on the fare classes I would have bought I would earn about 200 Matmid points per trip. That would give me Silver status after about 5 round trips in 12 month period which would let me take a second suitcase for free.
2. Alternatively earn regular American Airlines miles per trip which can be used for OneWorld or El Al flights. Good redemption mileage rates using American miles for El Al flights to Asia.
3. If space available, can upgrade to business class for $700 on board the plane.
4. More flights per day to NY area - 2-4 flights to JFK, and 1-2 flights to Newark depending on season and day of week.
Cons:
1. Poor in flight entertainment systems - on some planes there is VOD, but it is very old system. On other planes it is a just a loop of 12 channels.
2. Some planes have power sockets in economy, some don't.
3. IF you get a cheap fare (TUGO classes), you only earn 50 Matmid points each way to NY, or 50% of regular American Airlines miles.
United:
Pros:
1. 25000 miles (2 1/2 round trips) gives you Silver status.
2. 2 Flights per day, but only to Newark.
3. Miles can be used on United, and other airlines in Star Alliance, including Lufthansa.
4. Good IFE VOD
Cons:
1. Silver status on United does NOT let you take a second suitcase for free for international flights.
2. Night time flight from TLV lands at ridiculously early 4:20AM at Newark.
So based on all of the above, for now at least I'm going to direct as much of my flights as I can to use Delta. One factor I did not consider here is availability of award tickets. It's quite possible that Delta/Skyteam award availability is lousy. But I will see.
I'd love to hear if I've missed any pros or cons. Obviously if someone flies only Business class or YSM economy class, then it might make more sense to fly El Al.