United or EL Al to NYC?
 

Hi,

Need some advise please. I have the option of flying to NYC from Tel Aviv either on one of the following airlines:
EL AL 787-9 to EWR
EL AL 747-400 JFK

UA 777-200 EWR
UA 777-300er

Which one is recommended? I flew to South Africa with El AL. Can't remember which plane but it was uncomfortable and there was no seat back screens on the flight..needed to download their entertainment app onto our personal devices but they had no place to even charge our devices. So, seat back screens is a must.

Which plane is recommended?

Thanks

Coach or business? Do you care about earning miles? Are you a member of any FF program now? Elite status? Not enough info here. Overall 787 will certainly be the newest aircraft with all the latest IFE. 777-300 also, but may have 10 abreast vs. 9 abreast seating in the 200.

Coach. I think I have a mileage card but I am not too concerned about that :)
What I care about most is entertainment and also leg space although I am short :)

Well, the 787 is brand new, with great IFE and 31" of legroom. The 747 will be old with very poor IFE, but offers 32".

On the 747, you can pay $150 or so each way to sit in an "Economy Plus" seat, which offers 36", a footrest, and a larger recline. The 787 only offers Premium Economy, which is a seperate class altogether and, unlike Econony Plus, more than a marginal price increase.

I've been told that United flights in coach are best done on the 777-200, as the -300 is 10 abreast and possibly less legroom. Pretty sure both United planes offer an Economy Plus, but don't know the upsell cost.

So, based on the helpful info provided here I think I will go with 787.

Thank you!!

I would rank entertainment as 777-300ER>787>777-200ER>747
I would rank seat comfort as 777-200ER>787>747>777-300ER

don't forget there's a non-trivial chance you won't even fly the 787 on LY as they have a lot of technical issues and could easily sub it out.

United 300ER with Polaris is amazing, try it out!!

Isn't that just business class? I am flying economy.

That will be a problem. Don't like LY planes. Maybe I should just go with UA. What is Delta Airbus A330-300 like?

Also, is it better to arrive at JFK or EWR with ESTA? From my recollection at EWR they have a line for ESTA and at JFK they don't and the lines there are very long.

Thanks

Don't even think of the 747 as an option.
El Al's 787 can be a nice option, as it lands at EWR and the airplane, well, it's a 787.
United 772 is a better option then the brand new 773 when flying coach, but please note that the 772 is flying the 85/84 (which is a day flight from TLV and I would prefer to avoid it).
Delta's A333 is also a pretty good option, as the coach is comparable to United's 772 but it arrives in JFK - ok if JFK is your final destination but terrible for connections. EWR is the better option for airport in NYC , not perfect but much more pleasant then JFK.

As a primarily EWR flyer, I'd disagree about which one is better. If NYC area is the final destination, then it's a simple geographic question. NJ is EWR, Long Island is JFK. Manhattan probably EWR but depends on how you're going and time of day.

Regrading connections, also depends. UA and DL both fly to TLV and each have NYC area hubs, EWR and JFK respectively. UA may have a larger presence, but you're splitting hairs at that point. And then LY code-shares with B6, also at JFK (and I believe still with AA on some level). So connections can be fine from either.

JFK also has a line for those who are making a return trip with an ESTA. Transportation is generally easier from JFK to NYC, Definitely easier for the return since JFK is IN NYC and EWR is in a neighboring state. Where in NYC are you staying.

So what that it's in NYC versus neighboring state? That's incredibly highly dependent. It's not like these are international borders you need to cross.

Transportation to Penn Station is easier from JFK than EWR? Port Authority?

The difference is that the tolls to NJ are more expensive than tolls ( if you go on a toll bridge) to JFK. The difference is NYC taxis can NOT pick up in NJ and charge double to drop in NJ. It is also a more complicated commute by public transportation. It is NOT impossible, and not rocket science but depending upon where you are ending up, JFK is more convenient.

There's a super convenient bus that leaves every 15 minutes from just outside the terminal at EWR to both the Port Authority and Grand central. Way easier than the airtrain to the subway and at 5am when the TLV flight arrives (and even the evening arrival) there's no traffic so it's quite good.

From a pure seating configuration perspective, the Delta A330 would be the most comfortable of all choices - and it isn't even close. 2-4-2 is much nicer than 3-3-3 with the curve along the windows on the 787, 3-3-3 on the 77E, 3-4-3 on the 747 or the horrible 3-4-3 on the 77W. The entertainment will all be similar, though I believe the 77W has the advantage of Channel 9 on United.

Does United actually offer CH9 at TLV?
I was once told that due to security it's never on.

Anybody checked this out?

1) PMUA didn't fly to TLV

2) The PMCO 77Es that have operated that route for nearly all of it's existence don't have Channel 9.

Who told you this?

Thanks for all the info. So, due to some limitations that my friend has due to personal reasons the flight that made the most sense is UA 772 that lands in Newark. However, the seats are limited and they only have seats in the middle available.
I am not tall but I love aisle seats (also feel less claustrophobic). Is it worth upgrading to economy plus? The cost is $179

If there are only middle seats left, you can take a potential gamble (that has little downside in your case) and NOT select a seat, hoping that E- fills up and you get a free E+ seat.

If I have mileage plus do I still need to pay? Although my balance is 0.

You need to pay for the seats unless you have Premier status with UA (except Silver status, who also must pay until T-24)

PMCO all have CH9 installed.

I would go with the 772 then the 787. UA's 772s have a great Y due to their 9 abreast seating (for now). The 787 has a little bit of a narrower seat, but it does have the lower cabin altitude so you feel better upon arrival. EWR is at least as convenient as JFK for everywhere except Long Island, Queens, the Upper East Side, most of the Bronx, and most of Brooklyn (the area close to Staten Island has a shorter drive to EWR).

Here's a review of the 777-300 TLV-EWR flight on UA

https://thepointsguy.com/2017/11/uni...flight-review/

1- I prefer the 84/85 combo even before the 90/91 went 773. For many reasons some are 1 if the 91 gets in too early you end up sitting at the gate until CBP opens. Ive sat for 20-25 mins. 2- If youre not Israel based then the 91 requires an extra night at your hotel (dont know any hotel that will allow say an 8 or 9pm late checkout for $0. 3- an extra day on the car rental. If Israel based then #s 2 & 3 dont apply

As for JFK vs EWR, I live 15 mins door to term to EWR and rather drive the 30 mins to JFK to avoid EWR and UA as much as I can. Ive driven down to PHL as well. Fares are usually cheaper out of JFK and PHL over EWR (in general and not talking about TLV perse although JFK has abunch of carriers that are $100s cheaper then UA but with a stop over)