Mordac

Will be going to Tel Aviv in a few months for work, and I'm a bit confused by the service BA offers there. It seems to be operated by both long haul and short haul aircraft (787s and A321s, respectively). While the former seem to have a four class configuration and the usual trappings associated with long-haul, I'm a bit more confused by the service on the A321s. Since work only pays for economy, and I'll likely end up taking the red-eye arriving into TLV around 5:30, I'd hope for World Traveller rather than Euro Traveller, but not sure how the logistics of operating that on an A321 work out..

corporate-wage-slave

It's always the World Traveller product there (well, very occasional exceptions but I've not seen a recent issue here, used to be a problem 2 years ago when shorhaul jets were occasionally used). The A321 are the old BMI aircraft with just a WT and a CW cabin but in either cabin it certainly beats short haul and the service is fully longhaul. For example you can pay to upgrade your meals in WT if you want. A search of midhaul A321 will bring up lots more information, it sometimes gets used on flights within Europe too, by exception.

yb90

I was once told LON-TLV is the shortest- long haul flight, and like CWS has correctly stated there was a period of time BA would use the A321 and had effectively removed the business class product but thankfully they changed that back a while back.

corporate-wage-slave

DME is much shorter, 1600 miles compared to 2300 milles approximately. BEY is also 70 miles shorter than TLV, and is currently also midhaul A321. CAI is also technically shorter than TLV but the actual route taken is usually longer. But these A321s are properly fitted out to WT standards, it's not EuroTraveller seating.

yb90

Indeed I stand corrected, obviously LCA is also shorter albeit they use Club Europe, something I should of realised.

corporate-wage-slave

LGW's ill-fated service to SSH was in EuroTraveller/Club Europe shorthaul, all 2405 miles of it. The crew didn't even get a night stop out of just about the cheapest place in the Northern Hemisphere to have one.

ppp909

Avoid the 321 if you're in economy. It's basically a short haul aircraft with cramped seats.
Like you, my work doesn't pay for anything other than economy. I've just booked a flight out there next month and upgraded the return to wtp for an extra £75 which I think was worth the cash. Outbound was £150 which I felt was stretching it for such a short flight, especially as I'll eat in the lounge beforehand. The lounge in TLV is a small room with no views, or food.

Also avoid the red-eyes. Never done them myself on that route but you'll get a terrible sleep, if any, in economy and even in j or f the flight's too short for any decent sleep.

Oh I were paying myself I wouldn't bother with anything higher than wtp unless chasing TP.

DS7

corporate-wage-slave

Yes that would have been in 2010 or so, but when the LCCs arrived it was never going to make money so that didn't survive very long. However in September 2015 BA LGW decided to have another go, this time using A320 aircraft and the shorthaul product. But after the Metrojet crash in November 2015 the service was suspended and never resumed.

tai4de2

I flew TLV-LHR in a 777 in November 2017, in business class. Same product as on the long-haul routes I've experienced (specifically, between SEA and LHR).

aidy

Saltire74

A quick side question. Does anyone know if there are still any mid-haul A321 aircraft with the brown leather seats in Y? I know MEDG & MEDN have the blue covered seats and I find these less comfortable than the brown leather ones.

S

clubman

787 is off the route for now and doesn't look to return for next summer schedule either (although this could change). You'll have two 777 operated services per day if traveling during the winter or two 777s and one A321 during the summer.

clubman

Not exactly true. The dedicated Dan + lounge has two rooms with comfortable seating and certainly does have food. Some is out and some is by order.
But it can get very crowded in there at certain times of the day, so one of the other two Dan lounges can sometimes be a better option, plus a more decent food spread in there (don't expect anything special but it's ok and depending on the times of day includes dips, salads, breads, hot soup etc...).

Mordac

Thanks, I'd asked a flight attendant on my last flight and they said it was 787s, but I guess they weren't up to date, probably because they don't work the route (not that I expect them to have to have encyclopedic knowledge, I was mostly making small talk while waiting for the toilet to be free :P )


Thank you very much for this info, I do struggle to sleep in a sitting position at the best of times, so will see if I can add an extra night to avoid the red-eye (and the A321, which was booked for at least some of the red-eyes when I looked it at!)