futtfy

What airlines would you recommend to fly in Business class from
either SFO/LA to TLV (holy land trip) in business class for less than 3k each person????


I see some (Air france, LH, Air Canada etc)


or should i book from the travel agent who will preapre the tour?)

Thanks guys!

as219

AC has some sub-$2,500 fares, but really, you're going to have to give more information.

When? For how long? How many people?

futtfy

for 2 people flying from either sfo or lax (whichever is better in biz class)

sometime in june or july for the holy land tour usually last 10 days or so??? no specific dates. very flexible... would even prefer winter season to prevent too hot wheather... but depends on the pricing nad people's advice.

thank you

futtfy

i dont want to fly LH.. Is swiss / air france / air canada better in business to TLV?

craz

except for the very low season, Id say $3k in Biz is what it will cost each way, unless its a mistake fare. All European Carriers fly into TLV with narrow body aircraft and with Biz seats being the exact same as coach except they leave the middle seat empty and usually have a table there = no extra width over coach nor extra leg room. The sole exception is LX(Swiss) who uses Airbus 330s or 340s yet many times they will sub a 320 instead

UA just started a non-stop on a 787 from SFO its 3x a week, but they shouldnt have too many problems selling the BF seats since its hub to hub for Tech Companys in each country. Theres LX from LAX not sure how good the connection is @ ZRH, or AC from YYZ,DL from JFK,UA also 2x a day from EWR or LY(ElAl) non-stop from LAX. Theres BA but only 1 LHR-TLV is a 777 the others 321s but with lie-flats in Biz.

If you dont want to overnight on the way back then with the European Carriers it means a 4 or 5am flight out of TLV in order to catch their connecting flights to the US

If it was me Id want LY out of LAX(non-stop) then UA out of SFO it would be UAs non-stop, and 3rdly LX out of LAX or AC via YYZ(personally I didnt care for either LX or ACs biz seats, I found them too hard and narrow for my liking, but better then a 4+ hr ride in a fake Biz seat on LH,OS,LO etc etc).

But to repeat myself I just dont see a WC-TLV fare in Biz for $3k

futtfy

Thank you for your help..

I have AA and UA miles... do you think booking with my miles would be cheaper or paying for the ticket instead?
I dont want to waste my miles though if they are affected so much by the devaluation

flying from lax to tlv either with Swiss or AC

craz

You have a better chance of getting something using UA over AA. That said if you're looking to go this summer, Im not sure LX or AC will open up.Its hard enough getting 1 Biz seat yet getting 2.

You might have to do a 2 stopper I booked a return TLV-ATH-EWR ATH is only a 2 hr flight so Y isnt the end all, but EWR-LAX/SFO hardly ever opens in BF(saver)

You may get lucky but Id say the only way you will get 2 Biz tkts is by spending 175K per person each way or 700k r/t, and yes plenty of folks do exactly that , since they are spending yes millions a year on their CCs so it doesnt affect them. Youd probably at times find say a BUR/ONT/LAX/SNA-SFO-TLV in Saver Y

So buying the tkts maybe the best way, now cost depends on the days you fly, LH and SN will get it to your $3k level, but bet BRU or FRA or MUC its a narrow-body = a coach seat for a 4+ hr flight. If you find a UA all the way then most likely it will connect @ EWR with some extremely long layover timings.

LX usually opens up in Biz if at all within a week+ of the flight date.So I book whatever I find in Saver and due to status keep checking and grab whatever opens up that works for me. I do have a BRU in June but since Im only connecting = staying airside Im not worried.Im hoping LX or the non-stops from EWR open

AA usually throws a BA flight and the surcharges are thru the roof.

Good luck and you must be flex with the routing and days. Its not bad say taking an afternoon flight to Europe sleeping over and continuing on the next day. Those 4-5am flights are killers. ZRH and FRA are great since they have hotels on airport . (so does BRU but for now I would only go with a short airside connection).

as219

I dunno about that. ITA is showing many sub-$2,500 options for 10-day LAX/SFO-TLV itins in June and July on LX/AC combos.

craz

I did mention there were some good fares in my post above yours. Never was like that,I gather with UA starting up its SFO-TLV the competition had to do something.

But as much as I dont care for UA,Id still rather fly with them seat wise at least. Both LX and AC have narrow hard seats in Biz, while UAs are wider and alot more comfortable for me to fall asleep and stay asleep, but its probably a YMMV issue of what works best for each person. I believe UA has a much better IFE selection as well

I know for NY bound flights and probably the WC as well, that a person clears C&I in Canada so when you arrive into SFO or LAX its as if you flew from say SEA and helps kill the down time in YYZ.Not sure what Biz is like to YYZ if its a non-lie flat then LX maybe a better deal, important is the layover time and how ell the connecting flights workout

Finally Id also price out LY as its a non-stop from LAX and with the fare being so low unless a person has top status theres not much RDMs to be had and personally if LYs fare is close to the others Id rather go non-stop unless I wanted to stay a few days or so at the connecting hub

Update:
The good thing with AC is its lie flats the whole way, the real bad thing is its a 9hr layover going over and only 2 hrs coming back. Could be LX isnt much better

747FC

Have you done the AC flights with the 9-hr layover? If so, did they let you check your bags through, or did you have to retrieve and store them?

Thanks.

Efrem

This is a minor point in the context of the overall question, but the usual European business class configuration does provide more width. The armrests flip into either of two positions: the economy class position, providing three seats across, or the wider business class position in which both are over what would be the middle seat in economy. The table referred to in the quote is narrower than that seat, to fit between two armrests flipped inward. The net effect is about 4"/10cm additional width per seat when the row is configured for business class.

No added leg room or recline, though. Those can't be changed without major seat or cabin surgery, and wouldn't be practical to reconfigure between flights. (There's also usually a cloth curtain that slides back and forth.)

craz

Im on the EC, but I wouldnt do a 9+hr layover unless I was planning on leaving the airport and I have no reason to do that @ YYZ. I have booked other routings rather then have a 5 hr layover @ YYZ. Now if thats all thats available Id book it and hope to change it.

That said Ive on purpose booked very long layovers T-24 at the connecting European hub in order to see some of that city

As for bags Ive always been able to check my bags all the way w/o having to claim them and recheck them, even when staying overnight as long as it was < 24 hrs between arriving and departing. So my guess is that AC would hold the bags and transfer them to the next flight

craz

Which carriers are you talking about for sure LH and OS are the same exact seats and leg room. LX is different but they have the tray table over the middle seat (thats when they swamp to their 320s rather then use the 330 or 340).LO I believe has the tray as well but like LX offers a slightly bigger seat, but LOs timings leave usually a ton of layover time and lousyt 3am arrival into TLV on a 734. I believe both LX and LO on their narrow-bodys have more leg room as well but not much but better then SN,LH,OS

Havent flown OW or ST members into TLV in years so maybe they have it as you say, BA is lie flats on all their flights no matter which aircraft even the 321a they use (unless they need to sub).

747FC

Thanks.

futtfy

When flying to TLV from LAX Would you guys prefer Turkish Biz in 777 from Lax than Swiss? Traveling with my loved one.. I think in the turkish you can seat next to them, unlike swiss, you there is a space in between.
Although i am more for comfort (hard product)