LatusElAl
Mar 31, 02, 6:02 pm
At the suggestion of 'Worldtraveler36' I am re-posting this in the 'Trip Reports' forum.
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Hi - I'm new here, never done a trip report before, but I'll try. First, a little bkgrd: I am a GL with LY and fly them on average four times a month. Here is some recent experience flying TLV-NYC(I say NYC b/c YMMV depending on whether you fly into/out of JFK or EWR.
I always reserve in coach (but never discounted coach) - usually Q or M class - sometime S (sugar) class (that's if I MUST get on a particular flight - if you do it in "S" which is the most expensive coach fare and you are a GL then they guarantee you a seat) yet almost always sit in Bussiness. That is b/c LY has, IMHO, one of the best upgrading policies out there for FF. If space is available, the pax's with the most FF points get upgraded for either 100 points or $100.
Anyway, check-in at TLV if you are confirmed Bus. or a GL is at special counters which move rather quickly. Security is just the same, but if you fit the racial profile its no big hassle. At Bus. check-in your luggage gets special red "VIP" tags which earns it a spot in the priority container - which usually (though not always) is the first to be offloaded onto the baggage carousel. You get your boarding pass and head on upstairs to passport control (if you are Israeli and sign-up for it, you can use the hand-reader which is all-electronic and takes about 30 seconds). Next obstacle is the main security screening, which can be backed up, where everything is x-rayed and you walk through a metal detector. Onward to the lounge - all the way at the left end of the departures hall. Pretty big and pretty nice. In the food dept. they offer sandwiches (tuna, lox, cheese), hot soup, fruits, cut veggies, cookies and cake, coffee, tea, fruit juices, soft drinks, beer and wine. There's cable TV, 3 computers w/internet, fax machine, lots of phones with free domestic calls, lounge chairs, tables, couches. A nice experience.
Boarding is done from the lounge, so you don't have to walk back to the gate. For the time being (till the new terminal is finished in 2003) all boarding is done via bus and then up the stairs. Once on board, the fun begins. The Bus. seats on the 777 are the best of all (some say better even than FC). The 747-400 seats are pretty good as well while the 767 Bus. seats leave a lot to be desired. On the 747-400, try to get yourself assigned to the Upper Deck. Much quieter and even more room - I especially like the window seats up there as there is plenty of space between the seat and the wall to keep all of my junk within arm's reach.
As soon as your onboard, the FA's are all over the place, offerring drinks and reading material. You get a "kit" (the design of which they seem to be constantly changing) which includes socks, a "nightcap" for your eyes. ear plugs, toothbrush & toothpaste, hand cream. The IFE is the same as in coach (except that on the 777 the Bus. screens are HUGE while on the 747-400 they are the same) where you'll see 4 or 5 movies and recurring music videos, plus the cool airshow. (Its happened a few times that the IFE gets messed up and your 20 minutes into a movie and then all of the sudden, the whole thing just goes caput and they restart it - annoying). In Bus. the meal service seems to start rather quickly. You are served on real flatware and silverware a choice of 2 mains. On the last trip, they offered Goose or Beef as mains, with grilled veggies, some kind of fish for apptzr and choc. mousse for des. The next part is particularly great - the seats have a 55" pitch, which I find just fine (and on the 777 have great lumbar support as well) and it lets me sleep a good 7 hours (more than I get at home). You get woken for Bfast with a piping hot REAL washcloth. The bathrooms are constantly cleaned. Bfast is either omlette or cheese pastry (or you can order a kids meal and get pancakes!) When you land, they hold up everybody else so that the FC and then BC pax are the first one's off the plane.
Now I used to prefer flying into EWR, but since the redone JFK Term 4 opened, I prefer JFK - except that its an exceptionally long walk to passport control. If I have no checked luggage, I am usually through customs within 10-15 minutes of landing (taxiing takes a while at JFK and then there's that looooonng walk. With checked baggage - add-on another 10 minutes (b/c of the VIP tags).
Whew. You'll have to excuse me folks - I'll write more about the return at a different time.
Bye for now.
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Hi - I'm new here, never done a trip report before, but I'll try. First, a little bkgrd: I am a GL with LY and fly them on average four times a month. Here is some recent experience flying TLV-NYC(I say NYC b/c YMMV depending on whether you fly into/out of JFK or EWR.
I always reserve in coach (but never discounted coach) - usually Q or M class - sometime S (sugar) class (that's if I MUST get on a particular flight - if you do it in "S" which is the most expensive coach fare and you are a GL then they guarantee you a seat) yet almost always sit in Bussiness. That is b/c LY has, IMHO, one of the best upgrading policies out there for FF. If space is available, the pax's with the most FF points get upgraded for either 100 points or $100.
Anyway, check-in at TLV if you are confirmed Bus. or a GL is at special counters which move rather quickly. Security is just the same, but if you fit the racial profile its no big hassle. At Bus. check-in your luggage gets special red "VIP" tags which earns it a spot in the priority container - which usually (though not always) is the first to be offloaded onto the baggage carousel. You get your boarding pass and head on upstairs to passport control (if you are Israeli and sign-up for it, you can use the hand-reader which is all-electronic and takes about 30 seconds). Next obstacle is the main security screening, which can be backed up, where everything is x-rayed and you walk through a metal detector. Onward to the lounge - all the way at the left end of the departures hall. Pretty big and pretty nice. In the food dept. they offer sandwiches (tuna, lox, cheese), hot soup, fruits, cut veggies, cookies and cake, coffee, tea, fruit juices, soft drinks, beer and wine. There's cable TV, 3 computers w/internet, fax machine, lots of phones with free domestic calls, lounge chairs, tables, couches. A nice experience.
Boarding is done from the lounge, so you don't have to walk back to the gate. For the time being (till the new terminal is finished in 2003) all boarding is done via bus and then up the stairs. Once on board, the fun begins. The Bus. seats on the 777 are the best of all (some say better even than FC). The 747-400 seats are pretty good as well while the 767 Bus. seats leave a lot to be desired. On the 747-400, try to get yourself assigned to the Upper Deck. Much quieter and even more room - I especially like the window seats up there as there is plenty of space between the seat and the wall to keep all of my junk within arm's reach.
As soon as your onboard, the FA's are all over the place, offerring drinks and reading material. You get a "kit" (the design of which they seem to be constantly changing) which includes socks, a "nightcap" for your eyes. ear plugs, toothbrush & toothpaste, hand cream. The IFE is the same as in coach (except that on the 777 the Bus. screens are HUGE while on the 747-400 they are the same) where you'll see 4 or 5 movies and recurring music videos, plus the cool airshow. (Its happened a few times that the IFE gets messed up and your 20 minutes into a movie and then all of the sudden, the whole thing just goes caput and they restart it - annoying). In Bus. the meal service seems to start rather quickly. You are served on real flatware and silverware a choice of 2 mains. On the last trip, they offered Goose or Beef as mains, with grilled veggies, some kind of fish for apptzr and choc. mousse for des. The next part is particularly great - the seats have a 55" pitch, which I find just fine (and on the 777 have great lumbar support as well) and it lets me sleep a good 7 hours (more than I get at home). You get woken for Bfast with a piping hot REAL washcloth. The bathrooms are constantly cleaned. Bfast is either omlette or cheese pastry (or you can order a kids meal and get pancakes!) When you land, they hold up everybody else so that the FC and then BC pax are the first one's off the plane.
Now I used to prefer flying into EWR, but since the redone JFK Term 4 opened, I prefer JFK - except that its an exceptionally long walk to passport control. If I have no checked luggage, I am usually through customs within 10-15 minutes of landing (taxiing takes a while at JFK and then there's that looooonng walk. With checked baggage - add-on another 10 minutes (b/c of the VIP tags).
Whew. You'll have to excuse me folks - I'll write more about the return at a different time.
Bye for now.