Advice on which city to fly through Philadelphia to Tel Aviv
Jan 23, 2019, 6:17 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 4
Advice on which city to fly through Philadelphia to Tel Aviv
I’m looking to book a flight from Philadelphia to Tel Aviv using miles for business class. I know I will have to do a connection, is there a route that is better for equipment? We will use miles to book 2 tickets, and buy two economy tickets for our children. Any advice? We are using American Airlines miles. Thanks in advance!
Jan 23, 2019, 6:32 pm
#2
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I’m looking to book a flight from Philadelphia to Tel Aviv using miles for business class. I know I will have to do a connection, is there a route that is better for equipment? We will use miles to book 2 tickets, and buy two economy tickets for our children. Any advice? We are using American Airlines miles. Thanks in advance!
Why not just go to aa.com, and do an award search to see what -- if anything -- is available, and how much cash Economy Class tickets are on the same flights?
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Jan 23, 2019, 6:34 pm
#3
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reliefc Welcome to FT
Before being concerned about route/equipment you need to find 2 business class awards. That can be difficult. Have you found business class awards seats?
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I’m looking to book a flight from Philadelphia to Tel Aviv using miles for business class. I know I will have to do a connection, is there a route that is better for equipment? We will use miles to book 2 tickets, and buy two economy tickets for our children. Any advice? We are using American Airlines miles. Thanks in advance!
HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance
AA oneworld & Other Airline Partner Award information, rules (master thd)
Jan 23, 2019, 7:25 pm
#4
Join Date: May 2017
Location: San Francisco
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Inventory availability aside, I would recommend connecting through LHR on AA/BA or BA if at all possible. As you cannot book an El Al award on the direct service from JFK (or anywhere, for that matter) with AAdvantage miles, your only option for lie-flat seats from PHL to TLV is by connecting to the BA 777/787 LHR-TLV service. The other options are IB or AY, both of which operate single-aisle aircraft to TLV.
I did DFW-LHR-TLV and TLV-LHR-LAX earlier this month on AA/BA and it was enjoyable.
I did DFW-LHR-TLV and TLV-LHR-LAX earlier this month on AA/BA and it was enjoyable.
Jan 23, 2019, 7:53 pm
#5
Join Date: May 2005
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I’m looking to book a flight from Philadelphia to Tel Aviv using miles for business class. I know I will have to do a connection, is there a route that is better for equipment? We will use miles to book 2 tickets, and buy two economy tickets for our children. Any advice? We are using American Airlines miles. Thanks in advance!
Jan 23, 2019, 7:58 pm
#6
Moderator: American AAdvantage
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Inventory availability aside, I would recommend connecting through LHR on AA/BA or BA if at all possible. As you cannot book an El Al award on the direct service from JFK (or anywhere, for that matter) with AAdvantage miles, your only option for lie-flat seats from PHL to TLV is by connecting to the BA 777/787 LHR-TLV service. The other options are IB or AY, both of which operate single-aisle aircraft to TLV.
I did DFW-LHR-TLV and TLV-LHR-LAX earlier this month on AA/BA and it was enjoyable.
I did DFW-LHR-TLV and TLV-LHR-LAX earlier this month on AA/BA and it was enjoyable.
Jan 23, 2019, 8:24 pm
#7
Join Date: May 2017
Location: San Francisco
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Oh! I didn’t realize they use the 2-2 J A319 on this route. Yeah, this is another good option.
Jan 23, 2019, 9:00 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 4
Thanks for the advice here! I think the flights I'm looking at are the A330, I don't know anything about that plane. Any advice appreciated. Comfortable enough?
Is Iberian ok in economy for my teens? Any safety issues with them flying in and out of Israel?
Is Iberian ok in economy for my teens? Any safety issues with them flying in and out of Israel?
Jan 23, 2019, 9:02 pm
#11
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: PIT
Posts: 759
Why would they need to fly to IAD (from PHL) to get to DOH, even if that overall itinerary were reasonable, considering others like, BA/AA via LHR?
Jan 23, 2019, 9:19 pm
#12
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Oneworld to Tel Aviv is tough. BA is usually the best option, but the business class surcharges are really high and LHR is a hard airport to transit. I don't know if you want to go through JFK, but RJ through AMM is a nice option. Other than that, I think Iberia is the way to go.
Jan 23, 2019, 9:20 pm
#13
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Jan 23, 2019, 11:25 pm
#14
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I’ve been flying Iberia (Spanish airline) for decades. They’re safe (same ownership as BA, in fact) and the A330 is very nice in Business, and well, Coach is Coach. No safety problem flying in and out of Israel I’m ware of.
Last edited by JDiver; Jan 24, 2019 at 8:03 am
Jan 24, 2019, 7:09 am
#15
Join Date: Aug 2010
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not to get off topic but what safety issues are you concerned with that would be airline specific. As others have mentioned it will be difficult to get 2 biz awards. RJ used to put out 2 seats but recently has only put out one and not put out another when it's gone. We've flown through just about every European city to get from Ord to tlv multiple times a year for 20 plyys years . It's not only seats but looking at connection times With AA youmay need to transfer in Heathrowwhich is a bear in terms of timing of connectiions and very detailed liquid searches and terminal changes . With Elal out if the picture it's increasingly difficult. We've also flown tlv to amm and on to Dubai or Doha to get home for a change of pace.