EL AL 787 Master Thread
Oct 28, 2018, 3:42 am
#318
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Israel
Programs: LY, BT
Posts: 126
LY 787 vs CX 350
Hey,
just did two legs back to back on LY 787 and CX 350 in Y, here are my impressions -
- 075 to HKG was about 60% full on a Saturday night in Y, but completely booked in C and Premium Y, even no preferred seats available a month in advance
- LY service was good, food below average, the IFE is nice but it’s already a bit sluggish, 3 years from now it will seem as outdated and terrible as the 747 IFE does today. Due to the low load factor, everybody in Y got a comfortable few hours of quality sleep - much appreciated. Seats are good even for a big guy like me, but it might be tougher if every seat is booked. Overall not splendid but way better than expected considering I avoid LY on long-haul and do LCC hopping in Europe with everything but LY
- CX A359 was dirty and worn. Crew attentive, efficient and extremely polite. KSML ex-HKG was Hermolis and much better than on LY. Bathrooms filthy after a few hours, IFE is amazing and slightly better than LY. Inflight wi-fi is great, 13usd for the entire flight and rock-solid (actually using it right now)
- premium Y in LY is a joke compared to CX according to my impression
Altogether LY was better than expected. Quite possible that the new A350-1000 they use to TLV will be in a better shape than this A359. Not sure which one I would go with next time, if you happen to catch a flight with a light Y load, long haul on LYs 787 might not be all that bad. Ah, and don’t get me started on those LY 787 C seats...
just did two legs back to back on LY 787 and CX 350 in Y, here are my impressions -
- 075 to HKG was about 60% full on a Saturday night in Y, but completely booked in C and Premium Y, even no preferred seats available a month in advance
- LY service was good, food below average, the IFE is nice but it’s already a bit sluggish, 3 years from now it will seem as outdated and terrible as the 747 IFE does today. Due to the low load factor, everybody in Y got a comfortable few hours of quality sleep - much appreciated. Seats are good even for a big guy like me, but it might be tougher if every seat is booked. Overall not splendid but way better than expected considering I avoid LY on long-haul and do LCC hopping in Europe with everything but LY
- CX A359 was dirty and worn. Crew attentive, efficient and extremely polite. KSML ex-HKG was Hermolis and much better than on LY. Bathrooms filthy after a few hours, IFE is amazing and slightly better than LY. Inflight wi-fi is great, 13usd for the entire flight and rock-solid (actually using it right now)
- premium Y in LY is a joke compared to CX according to my impression
Altogether LY was better than expected. Quite possible that the new A350-1000 they use to TLV will be in a better shape than this A359. Not sure which one I would go with next time, if you happen to catch a flight with a light Y load, long haul on LYs 787 might not be all that bad. Ah, and don’t get me started on those LY 787 C seats...
Oct 28, 2018, 11:54 pm
#321
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Paris, France
Programs: El Al Matmid, Air France Flying Blue Silver
Posts: 2,294
Oct 29, 2018, 6:27 am
#322
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Israel
Programs: LY, BT
Posts: 126
Yep, same here. The IFE units and remote control's plastics were already visibly tired and scratched up. Plastic cover for bulkhead fell off during t/o and exposed a bunch of cables. Overhead baggage storage units all scratched up and dirty. Overall surprising for a relatively new jet.
Oct 29, 2018, 9:41 am
#323
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,555
Hey,
just did two legs back to back on LY 787 and CX 350 in Y, here are my impressions -
- 075 to HKG was about 60% full on a Saturday night in Y, but completely booked in C and Premium Y, even no preferred seats available a month in advance
- LY service was good, food below average, the IFE is nice but it’s already a bit sluggish, 3 years from now it will seem as outdated and terrible as the 747 IFE does today. Due to the low load factor, everybody in Y got a comfortable few hours of quality sleep - much appreciated. Seats are good even for a big guy like me, but it might be tougher if every seat is booked. Overall not splendid but way better than expected considering I avoid LY on long-haul and do LCC hopping in Europe with everything but LY
- CX A359 was dirty and worn. Crew attentive, efficient and extremely polite. KSML ex-HKG was Hermolis and much better than on LY. Bathrooms filthy after a few hours, IFE is amazing and slightly better than LY. Inflight wi-fi is great, 13usd for the entire flight and rock-solid (actually using it right now)
- premium Y in LY is a joke compared to CX according to my impression
Altogether LY was better than expected. Quite possible that the new A350-1000 they use to TLV will be in a better shape than this A359. Not sure which one I would go with next time, if you happen to catch a flight with a light Y load, long haul on LYs 787 might not be all that bad. Ah, and don’t get me started on those LY 787 C seats...
just did two legs back to back on LY 787 and CX 350 in Y, here are my impressions -
- 075 to HKG was about 60% full on a Saturday night in Y, but completely booked in C and Premium Y, even no preferred seats available a month in advance
- LY service was good, food below average, the IFE is nice but it’s already a bit sluggish, 3 years from now it will seem as outdated and terrible as the 747 IFE does today. Due to the low load factor, everybody in Y got a comfortable few hours of quality sleep - much appreciated. Seats are good even for a big guy like me, but it might be tougher if every seat is booked. Overall not splendid but way better than expected considering I avoid LY on long-haul and do LCC hopping in Europe with everything but LY
- CX A359 was dirty and worn. Crew attentive, efficient and extremely polite. KSML ex-HKG was Hermolis and much better than on LY. Bathrooms filthy after a few hours, IFE is amazing and slightly better than LY. Inflight wi-fi is great, 13usd for the entire flight and rock-solid (actually using it right now)
- premium Y in LY is a joke compared to CX according to my impression
Altogether LY was better than expected. Quite possible that the new A350-1000 they use to TLV will be in a better shape than this A359. Not sure which one I would go with next time, if you happen to catch a flight with a light Y load, long haul on LYs 787 might not be all that bad. Ah, and don’t get me started on those LY 787 C seats...
I found premium on LY 787 better than CX A350 - preferred the seat, service was excellent, and KSML much better than CX (especially ex-TLV where I received a regular Y KSML). I also flight timing on LY for TLV-HKG leg much better.
Oct 30, 2018, 12:12 pm
#325
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,555
Hermolis fresh meals (mainly from LHR and EU short-haul) are excellent.
CX premium economy kosher from TLV was appalling.
Oct 31, 2018, 2:01 am
#327
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: TLV
Programs: AF Club 2000, LH Senator, LY Top Plat, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 25
ElAl's 7th 787 (4X-EDH) has landed this morning in Tel Aviv
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/4x-edh
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/4x-edh
Nov 1, 2018, 2:29 am
#329
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: London uk
Programs: *A Gold, BA Silver, Avis President, Hertz President circle
Posts: 2,804
ElAl's 7th 787 (4X-EDH) has landed this morning in Tel Aviv
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/4x-edh
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/4x-edh
Nov 1, 2018, 8:57 am
#330
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Paris, France
Programs: El Al Matmid, Air France Flying Blue Silver
Posts: 2,294