Looking for Tips Flying El Al for the First Time
 

Hello Fellow FTers :)

I am planning on visiting Israel for the first time this summer, and would love to enter the country on an El Al flight. I know, I know, outdated planes, high priced tickets and awards, lack of partners, ect, but we are all aviation geeks here, and I would love have the full Israeli experience. I was hoping you guys could provide me some tips on finding the most ideal premium option (J or F ticket)

I am based in Los Angeles, and ticket prices are OBSCENE ex-LAX. I will probably look to position to Europe and take a one way flight out of LHR, CDG, MAD, or some other city. Any preference on which plane type I should look to aim for?

Also since El Al partner earnings look pretty mediocre, any way to possibly get an AA codeshare on flights not originating in the US?

If you guys have anymore tips, I'd love to hear it. Thanks in advance :)

Hi!

I am visiting Israel for the first time this October. I looked on Vayama for best flights into TLV. I went with El Al. I was able to get flights for 975.00 round trip non stop out of JFK. We aren't flying J or F. I just didn't think it was worth the extra money since we will be asleep most of the flight. The "bed" seats on El Al in premium class sections don't seem to have direct aisle access like so many other flights do so that you have to climb over your horizontal neighbor to get to the asile if you aren't already on the aisle. The other option from JFK non stop was Delta (their fleet is even older than El Al's) but that was $500 more per person and I just didn't see the point in that for 2 more inches of leg room and wi-fi.

Vayama is showing direct flights from LAX to TLV and their prices seem reasonable (although maybe considerably higher for J or F class).

You might also want to try Yapta.

We considered a stopover in CDG but the flight times from TLV to CDG on the return were so quirky with the 5 hour difference that it was just a hassle to try and time that with our flight back to the US (it basically forced us to leave TLV in the middle of the night or stay an additional overnight in CDG on the way back to the US).

From LAX it looks like 777 is their equip of choice. They fly 747 out of JFK but that might be due to the larger Jewish population - 1.4 million more than LAX.

Why one way? You'll be paying through the nose for a one way, and what's your plan for the return?

While you are obviously aware of the downsides of choosing LY, let me just stress again how subpar their hard product is compared to your other options out of LA, like AA or BA.
If you were looking to travel Economy/coach that would be one thing, but personally I wouldn't waste my hard earned cash on LY's premium L/H product, especially as you're not looking to fly direct anyway.

No. The 747s don't have the range.

Despite the subpar hard product, there is something to be said for visiting a foreign country on it's national carrier. But that could be minimized to a short hop from LHR or even LCA ;).
OP should look into transferring amex MR points to Matmid. 50:1, but especially for one way flights they can be very good value.

Thanks for the replies :)

I was looking at one ways because while I want to arrive in Israel on LY, I think just the one time experience will be enough :D Also ex-Europe one way tickets don't price out higher than round trip like they do ex-US.

I already have my return booked back from CAI on BA.

Will look into the Amex transfer, especially since there is really no where useful for me to credit a paid LY flight

Apparently, they do.

https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...ca&oe=58DE94E2

Is the F product on the CDG-TLV 747 route full F, or F seats with J service?

https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/El_Al/El_Al_Boeing_747-400.php

Maybe this helps?

I have heard that sometimes El Al sells their F seats but without full First class service, and since CDG-TLV isn't a long flight compared to JFK or LAX, I was wondering if thats the case for this route.

If you want the full LY experience, do JFK-TLV.

I'd say fly the 744 while they are still plying the skies, and if you are in J, fly the upper deck on the 744.

The 747-400s that El Al flies have the range for TLV-JFK; however, they don't have the range for TLV-LAX without severe weight restrictions.

I was talking about TLV-LAX not JFK.

One way tickets are expensive as they are often bookable only on a higher fare.

If you want to reduce the cost look at booking one way Biz with a return in economy and search for the cheapest date possible for the return leg, which you don't intend to use anyway.

The most "authentic" LY "Israeli" experience will be JFK-TLV. But if looking to position in Europe, you're much better off with 747/777, which would limit you to LHR and CDG