EL AL Matmid - your craziest experiance on an ELAL flight

I have a few but my personal fav was a few years ago I was traveling in J from JFK to TLV for a wedding and low and behold there were 4 Gedolim sitting in the J cabin, it was amazing we learned almost 10 blatt Bava Basra during the flight, and when it was time to get off the Gabbuim of 2 of the Rebbe's asked me to join the rebbe's private Shabbes tish.

I happily accepted.

for those interested: It was the Rachmastrivka Rebbe and Sanzer Rebbe (My rebbe! yay!)

I have a few but my personal fav was a few years ago I was traveling in J from JFK to TLV for a wedding and low and behold there were 4 Gedolim sitting in the J cabin, it was amazing we learned almost 10 blatt Bava Basra during the flight, and when it was time to get off the Gabbuim of 2 of the Rebbe's asked me to join the rebbe's private Shabbes tish.

I happily accepted.

for those interested: It was the Rachmastrivka Rebbe and Sanzer Rebbe (My rebbe! yay!)

Who were the other 2 Gedolim (sages)?

Who were the other 2 Gedolim (sages)?


Skverer Rebbe and Toldos Ahron Rebbe

Flying in F with Mr. and Mrs. Netanyahu back in 2008 was pretty crazy for me although our conversation was limited to whether the bathroom was occupied or not.

On a separate note, maybe you guys can answer this - last time I flew El Al from JFK-TLV there was a minyan in the back of the plane and they were facing out the door on the right side of the plane. This didn't make sense to me as the plane was clearly flying towards Jerusalem (more or less) so I was perplexed as to why they were facing 90 degrees away from Jerusalem. Any idea why?

On a separate note, maybe you guys can answer this - last time I flew El Al from JFK-TLV there was a minyan in the back of the plane and they were facing out the door on the right side of the plane. This didn't make sense to me as the plane was clearly flying towards Jerusalem (more or less) so I was perplexed as to why they were facing 90 degrees away from Jerusalem. Any idea why?

I assume the reason is that it is forbidden to pray facing uncovered hair.

Flying in F with Mr. and Mrs. Netanyahu back in 2008 was pretty crazy for me although our conversation was limited to whether the bathroom was occupied or not.
Nice but I wouldn't call that "crazy"...

Lost count of how many celebs and other famous people I've had the pleasure of traveling with (and sitting next to at times...).

I once sat in C right in front of Ehud Barak. He got up several times to spread out of the floor, stretching and exercising in the area in front of Row 77 on the UD.

Another time I sat in front of Haim "Mar Televizia" Yavin. Really had to control myself and not punch him in the face.

One more: Once had Judy Shalom Nir-Moses (lady has way too many names) sitting across from me. It was during the period that hubby Silvan was the Foreign Minister and she was traveling to meet him for official state business. Couldn't believe that this woman, with spiked, dyed bright red hair and her jeans sitting below her waist to reveal her undergarments (back when that was in style) - totally lacking class or civility - was travelling as wife of the Foreign Minister. Gross. Shame, shame.

I also "enjoyed" the time I flew YUL-TLV non stop back in the day and a little kid was sick all over my shoes.
Can't say that was a very enjoyable experiance but I did get nicely compensated lol

My wildest experience was coming home from Europe in 2009 and landing Lag B'Omer night around 21:30 and having a window seat and seeing thousands and thousands of fires all over the country. Worth the ticket!

My wildest experience was coming home from Europe in 2009 and landing Lag B'Omer night around 21:30 and having a window seat and seeing thousands and thousands of fires all over the country. Worth the ticket!

At night usually you would land flying in over TLV (where I doubt there are many fires), so where all over the country did you see the fires?

At night usually you would land flying in over TLV (where I doubt there are many fires), so where all over the country did you see the fires?
While I can't say about the city of Tel Aviv specifically, the merkaz in general definitely has lots of bonfires. Thinking of towns off the top of my head, Rishon LeTzion, Bnei Brak, Petach Tikva, Ramat Gan, Givat Shmuel, would all have fires. Lod and Ramla as well

At night usually you would land flying in over TLV (where I doubt there are many fires), so where all over the country did you see the fires?

In Tel Aviv you have plenty of Lag B'Omer bonfires. Near schools, in parks, etc.

In Tel Aviv you have plenty of Lag B'Omer bonfires. Near schools, in parks, etc.

Also at night you can see the fires from a long way away - from the air it would be amazing. We enjoy sittting on our balcony on lag b'omer and watching them all off into the distance.

For all the reasons above I dont like to fly Elal. Sorry guys .. too Chaotic for me.

Also at night you can see the fires from a long way away - from the air it would be amazing. We enjoy sittting on our balcony on lag b'omer and watching them all off into the distance.

It really was! Every open lot had a fire going including in the moshavim around the airport. At night, one could see about 10km in the distance and the site was amazing. I saw hundreds and hundreds of bonfires.

My wildest experience was coming home from Europe in 2009 and landing Lag B'Omer night around 21:30 and having a window seat and seeing thousands and thousands of fires all over the country. Worth the ticket!

I flew back one Lag B'Omer night from Eilat

From before Beer Sheva all the way to Sdei Dov was one large fire.

That was something special

For all the reasons above I dont like to fly Elal. Sorry guys .. too Chaotic for me.

I wouldn't want to fly on a flight with "Gdolim...."

For all the reasons above I dont like to fly Elal. Sorry guys .. too Chaotic for me.

Wow, this is chaotic? You need to read the BAEC forum more often...

I flew TLV-BOM on a flight with Margol, Tzvika Hadar and some other judge of perhaps Kochav Nolad. They were en route to India to hav tryouts among tha backpackers. Just before takeoff an El Al stewardess tried out. Lots if filming before takeoff. The only annoyance once we were in air was the lack of space for last-minute upgrades.

Flew in F with Shimon Peres. No wait, that was on AC :p

In all seriousness, the craziest experience was probably when Taglit bought out almost every single Y seat on the plane, a 744. Definitely was interesting. Got to meet some interesting people, and spoke to them about Israel and Judaism. It was the kind of thing that can only really happen on LY. It's one of the few times when "not just an airline, we're Israel" is true AND is a good thing. :)

yyz-tlv
december 26 1996...
about an hour or so before we land, we are told that there is a strike at BG airport and that we will not be getting our lugagge.
Well that did it, because everyone was quite upset. Someone started to go around and tell everyone on the flight not to get off the plane until they agreed to offload our luggage. So we refused to deboard for about 45 minutes or so.

The Incident made the front page of the Jerusalem Post on December 27th.

On a separate note, maybe you guys can answer this - last time I flew El Al from JFK-TLV there was a minyan in the back of the plane and they were facing out the door on the right side of the plane. This didn't make sense to me as the plane was clearly flying towards Jerusalem (more or less) so I was perplexed as to why they were facing 90 degrees away from Jerusalem. Any idea why?

My guess would be because the plane does not fly due east -- the route goes up over Canada,north atlantic, down over England or Ireland...

then again, while due East would be out the right side, Jerusalem would still be straight ahead.....

yyz-tlv
december 26 1996...
about an hour or so before we land, we are told that there is a strike at BG airport and that we will not be getting our lugagge.
Well that did it, because everyone was quite upset. Someone started to go around and tell everyone on the flight not to get off the plane until they agreed to offload our luggage. So we refused to deboard for about 45 minutes or so.

The Incident made the front page of the Jerusalem Post on December 27th.

Did it work?

yyz-tlv
december 26 1996...
about an hour or so before we land, we are told that there is a strike at BG airport and that we will not be getting our lugagge.
Well that did it, because everyone was quite upset. Someone started to go around and tell everyone on the flight not to get off the plane until they agreed to offload our luggage. So we refused to deboard for about 45 minutes or so.

The Incident made the front page of the Jerusalem Post on December 27th.

The Israeli way of doing things!

Every flight on El Al is a crazy experience, no matter what the destination or the cabin class may be.

That's why I avoid El Al like the plague.

I wouldn't want to fly on a flight with "Gdolim...."

And why not? What are you afraid of?

Every flight on El Al is a crazy experience, no matter what the destination or the cabin class may be.

That's why I avoid El Al like the plague.

Oh come on, live a little! haha.

I'm booked for a UA/LH/AC ittn. this july, first time using UA to Israel, usually I take LX or AC, should be interesting to see how they compare to LY (not that I fly LY to N/A tha much, but anyways...)

I'm booked for a UA/LH/AC ittn. this july, first time using UA to Israel, usually I take LX or AC, should be interesting to see how they compare to LY (not that I fly LY to N/A tha much, but anyways...)

If you're sitting in BF, then you will have a much better experience than on LY. (I assume you're doing TLV-EWR.) Seat is a great seat, IFE is great, high FA:Pax ratio, and ex-TLV, great food (Regal).
In Y, the seat is pretty similar to the LY Y seat, though the AVOD is *much* better than any IFE on LY. Food is solid. Service is OK, depending on the crew.

Just so you know - on board, there's very little recognition you'll get as *G. You'll get the 3X70 pound bags, priority tags, able to use *G check-in, lounge access, and I think Group 2 or Group 3 boarding. No seating preferences. Exit row will cost you money, even at the gate - and no discount. Just wanna prepare you for that.

Did it work?

Well after the IDF stormed on board, we sure got off quick :eek: (just kidding...)

We disembarked and stood on the tarmac for awhile as a further mini protest, as the the shuttle buses just waited for us. Eventually we boarded the buses and the outcome was that they would deliver our luggage to us by the next morning (which they did).

The Israeli way of doing things!
Could be..but it certainly was very un-Canadian way of doing things. I HATE landing at BG when there is a strike, but I dont blame El Al for such things.

If you're sitting in BF, then you will have a much better experience than on LY. (I assume you're doing TLV-EWR.) Seat is a great seat, IFE is great, high FA:Pax ratio, and ex-TLV, great food (Regal).
In Y, the seat is pretty similar to the LY Y seat, though the AVOD is *much* better than any IFE on LY. Food is solid. Service is OK, depending on the crew.

Just so you know - on board, there's very little recognition you'll get as *G. You'll get the 3X70 pound bags, priority tags, able to use *G check-in, lounge access, and I think Group 2 or Group 3 boarding. No seating preferences. Exit row will cost you money, even at the gate - and no discount. Just wanna prepare you for that.

(un)fortuantly I'm traveling with 2 of my younger brother's and my mother so I'm booked on a rubbish Y ticket, "L" class and "T" on one of the legs, not that it makes a stitch of a differance. Truth is I really don't mind flying in Y, I'm not an oversized person (although I could stand to loose about 25 pounds) and I'm usually pretty comfortable.

But thanks for the heads up anyways.
Care to upgrade me to BF? LOL.


When I was still in yeshiva and I used to go home twice a year it would always be in Y,that's when I started my FF accounts, there was a rebbe I had wo had inside connections with various airline's staff in TLV so I'd always book through a certain agency and sometimes be UG'd zero charge...zero charge to me at least! LOL!

And why not? What are you afraid of?



isn't "Gdolim" hebrew for "#2"?

(un)fortuantly I'm traveling with 2 of my younger brother's and my mother so I'm booked on a rubbish Y ticket, "L" class and "T" on one of the legs, not that it makes a stitch of a differance. Truth is I really don't mind flying in Y, I'm not an oversized person (although I could stand to loose about 25 pounds) and I'm usually pretty comfortable.

But thanks for the heads up anyways.
Care to upgrade me to BF? LOL.


When I was still in yeshiva and I used to go home twice a year it would always be in Y,that's when I started my FF accounts, there was a rebbe I had wo had inside connections with various airline's staff in TLV so I'd always book through a certain agency and sometimes be UG'd zero charge...zero charge to me at least! LOL!
I'll upgrade you to BF if you upgrade me to Executive First in August :p

Y on UA is one of the better Y products for USA-TLV. One of the best (if not the best) IFE system.

I'll upgrade you to BF if you upgrade me to Executive First in August :p

Y on UA is one of the better Y products for USA-TLV. One of the best (if not the best) IFE system.

Delta's new upgraded 747-400 IFE is actually much better than the one on United. And they are flying it now for TLV-JFK.

My craziest experience was a year ago on our NBN Aliyah flight on an El Al Charter. We were booked in crying baby class along with the parents who didn't even attempt to do anything to stop their baby from crying.

But besides that, when we landed they told us that instead of us going through normal passport control, we were to remain seated after they landed and the border police would board the plane and walk down the aisles and might ask to check people's passports.

Truth was this was a trick - anyone who stayed seated was denied Israeli citizenship. Only the people who ignored the instructions and stood up as soon as we landed to get their carryons were given Israeli citizenship, those who stayed seated just got tourist visas.

(Ok, just kidding about that, everyone got the Israeli citizenship.)

They also announced that the pilot was a 35 year veteran of El Al and this was his final flight before retirement.

Deleted

Sounds like 45128 got on the wrong side of El Al security once ;)

Sounds like 45128 got on the wrong side of El Al security once ;)

:D:D:D:D:D:D

ITTN was YUL>ZRH>TLV>FRA>YUL
ZRH-TLV I opted to use the EL AL flight since one of my buddies was going to be passing through ZRH anyways, it gave us some tiem to hang out. Anyways, I board the flight take my seat and it turns out I'm sitting next to one of my old rebbeim from yeshiva :)

Y on UA is one of the better Y products for USA-TLV. One of the best (if not the best) IFE system.If PHL isn't out of the way US is way better IME. Larger seats & lower loads. IFE is the same if not better on US.

And of course the million dollar question is why are there so few flights when the route can clearly support a few more flights. DL's ATL>TLV is inexplicably gone, AA doesn't serve it (TWA pension issues???).

If PHL isn't out of the way US is way better IME. Larger seats & lower loads. IFE is the same if not better on US.

And of course the million dollar question is why are there so few flights when the route can clearly support a few more flights. DL's ATL>TLV is inexplicably gone, AA doesn't serve it (TWA pension issues???).
Regarding US - I would say Envoy is better than BusinessFirst, but UA Y is better than US Y. First off, you will soon have the option of Economy Plus on UA, which you don't have on US. The KSML is the same, so that's moot, but I've heard (granted, this is hearsay) that the food on UA is better than on US in Y.
IFE is better on UA. The system is easy to use and lots more titles than on US. Lower loads? Yes, that's true. But as long as I have a nice bulkhead or exit row (or soon E+,) I don't care about loads. If it bothers you, then yes, US is preferable, but only because of loads. Larger seat? Never noticed a difference. In fact, one of the most comfortable Y seats IMO (excluding any bulkhead/exit row) is 44B/K on the UA 772. Also, as I fly to EWR, UA is direct and US isn't. Obviously, that's a personal issue. I used to not care as I was halfway between EWR and PHL, but then moved. (Just curious: what are the access rules for the Envoy Club - is it only Envoy pax, all *A C pax, or what?)

DL is gone - there was speculation on the DL board, but I didn't understand. It was going out full a lot. Didn't seem to make much sense/

And you are correct about AA

I've flown both UA & US, and US is definitel better in Y. Granted 44k on that US is the best (just bring your own headphones, it's noisy there).

US.com is pretty bad, but of course lower loads are better - don't you like having 3 seats to sleep on? UA leaves at close to 100%. On US the front rows are IME quite empty.

Can't recall clearly which meal is better.

And don't u think UA can profit from a SFO>TLV?

Granted 44k on that US is the best
You mean UA?

I've flown both UA & US, and US is definitel better in Y. Granted 44k on that US is the best (just bring your own headphones, it's noisy there).

Never had noise issues over there

US.com is pretty bad, but of course lower loads are better - don't you like having 3 seats to sleep on? UA leaves at close to 100%. On US the front rows are IME quite empty.

Yes, UA.com is better. And again, loads don't bother me, as long as I have some legroom. Though I usually am either in a 2-seater, a 3-seater with an empty middle seat, or an ELR seat anyways, so not much of an issue.

And don't u think UA can profit from a SFO>TLV?

There's been talk about that on the UA board, as well as rumors that floated for a bit about TLV-IAH and TLV-ORD.

You mean UA?

Must've

You mean UA?

Correct, sorry posting from my BB. (BBM anyone?)


A UA FA (yeah, I know how reliable that is) told me a few weeks ago there's talk of converting the 2* 772 to 1 (pmUA) 744 w 3 cabins, & the St manager stronly objects, claining he can fill 2 772s + a 744.

I agree with him 100%, F to TLV would definitely be a treat.

Correct, sorry posting from my BB. (BBM anyone?)


A UA FA (yeah, I know how reliable that is) told me a few weeks ago there's talk of converting the 2* 772 to 1 (pmUA) 744 w 3 cabins, & the St manager stronly objects, claining he can fill 2 772s + a 744.

I agree with him 100%, F to TLV would definitely be a treat.
No chance of a 744 until the FAs come to an agreement on a single list (both the sUA set and the sCO set). Once that happens, no why do they downgrade the number of seats. The most likely thing would be to convert both flights to a 744 + sUA 772, as that would keep a consistent cabin on the flight, and F for both flights.
Not sure how sustainable F would be though - lots of paid C, but that's from businesses who might not be paying for F. F would likely be filled with upgraders mostly

And why would anyone pay for UA F when you can pay for BA F or LH F? (UA F trumps LY F; while LX F trumps UA F, no F service ZRH-TLV, though I heard rumors on LX that that may be changing - clubman, you know of anything?)

No chance of a 744 until the FAs come to an agreement on a single list (both the sUA set and the sCO set). Once that happens, no why do they downgrade the number of seats. The most likely thing would be to convert both flights to a 744 + sUA 772, as that would keep a consistent cabin on the flight, and F for both flights.
Not sure how sustainable F would be though - lots of paid C, but that's from businesses who might not be paying for F. F would likely be filled with upgraders mostly

And why would anyone pay for UA F when you can pay for BA F or LH F? (UA F trumps LY F; while LX F trumps UA F, no F service ZRH-TLV, though I heard rumors on LX that that may be changing - clubman, you know of anything?)Err, for the same reason F is sustainable on ZRH>EWR & every other route with far superior F carriers? On TLV EWR they have the advantage of being non stop.

I don't know if upgrades is bad for them. They can raise the price and/or volume of C that way.

And yes, this is talking after that agreement is signed.

Err, for the same reason F is sustainable on ZRH>EWR & every other route with far superior F carriers? On TLV EWR they have the advantage of being non stop.

I don't know if upgrades is bad for them. They can raise the price and/or volume of C that way.

And yes, this is talking after that agreement is signed.
UA has a mixed fleet - some planes (all 744s, many 772s, most 763s) are 3-cabin, and include F, while other planes (some 772s, all 764s, all 762s, soon some 763s, and most 752s) are 2-cabin, and do not include F. The decision UA has made is to deploy some planes on routes that are sustainable with F and the 2-cabins on other routes. So, for example, while sCO used to operate EWR-BRU and EWR-ZRH with a 2-cabin plane, those were switched to sUA with a 3-cabin plane. At the same time, IAD-CDG switched from 3-cabin (sUA) to 2-cabin (sCO). EWR-IST is going from 3-cabin to 2-cabin. They only have the 3-cabin is a placeholder. So F is NOT sustainable on every route, even ex-EWR.
Upgrades aren't necessarily "bad." But you want a nice chunk of F seats to be paid, and the remainder to be a combination of mileage awards, mile upgrade, and GPU upgrades. If everyone sitting in F is either an upgrader or booking with miles, then UA needs to re-think the decision to deploy F on that route.

I'd say one of my crazier ElAl experiences was running into 7 people that I knew in the London LY lounge last week. I have never run into that many people on one flight and certainly not in the lounge.

no F service ZRH-TLV, though I heard rumors on LX that that may be changing - clubman, you know of anything?)

You called...?

Can't say I've heard anything, no.

Is the sourse of that rumoure more reliable than the one that claims SN are introducing a proper biz product on the TLV route...? ;)

I'd say one of my crazier ElAl experiences was running into 7 people that I knew in the London LY lounge last week.Not crazy, pretty normal, really... I often know about 50% of the people in there.

Hate that...

You called...?

Something just told me that you would know better regarding LX

Can't say I've heard anything, no.

That's a shame :(

Is the sourse of that rumoure more reliable than the one that claims SN are introducing a proper biz product on the TLV route...? ;)

I'm guessing ELAL was right that between them introducing short-haul biz and a new long-haul biz, maybe I mixed that up. For that, I had no source that was a person - I distinctly remember reading an article about that from a reputable site, but it's possible I was reading about the new long-haul biz, then a linked article about the introduction of short-haul biz, and didn't bother to check the date, and therefore assumed it was current. I'm only human!

Not crazy, pretty normal, really... I often know about 50% of the people in there.

Hate that...
Well aren't you Mr. Popular :)

Seems we've exhausted EL AL crazy experiences. Not sure where we arrived. Maybe that makes the the craziest EL AL forum thread. Thanks for playing! Game over. ;)

Yosithezet
Moderator, EL AL forum