I agree with you that LY's shorthaul business is great. Their economy is great. Why do they completely fall apart on longhaul business/first?

I am also like you - in TLV but avoid LY at all costs. They also have horrible lounges throughout the world.

Lots of things would be improved if they joined an Alliance, but this isn't going to happen any time in the near future. In the mean time, if they simply improved their longhaul offerings, they would at least win back occasional longhaul travel by me and others.

If I have to go to Los Angeles, for example, I seriously have an internal debate as to if I should take El Al direct or BA via London! Frankly BA usually wins that one. I would rather stop in London and be pampered in the lounges for a couple hours than sit in substandard seats for 14. This means something is seriously broken in LY-land.