MAD -- TLV in C?
 

I did a search, and the newest thread I could find dates back to 2011, so I thought I would start a new thread.

We are planning a trip in May, and our most reasonable options in business class from NYC seem to be AA to MAD, then LY to TLV, or Royal Jordanian via Amman. Has anyone done the MAD -- TLV leg on LY In C lately? What are your thoughts?

For that matter, has anyone taken the Royal Jordanian flight from JFK?

Other options are twice the price AFAICT, but I am open to suggestion.

If you fly the MAD-TLV leg on Iberia (which has a code share with El Al) then they have lieflat seats in Business class. On El Al they usually only fly the 737 on that route so business class is just a wider seat.

Personally I would take the 10 hour Royal Jordanian flight with the super short hop to TLV over the 7 hour proper J experiences followed by 3,5 hours in LY 737 J. The LY experience is more similar to US domestic first with bigger seat, a meal, but not long haul standards.

My attorney flies to the Middle East a bit and uses RJ as they are OW and likes them. They're not EK or SQ but it's a solid product.

Indeed as suggested, try and take the IB operated code share from MAD to TLV if available.

Interesting. Would you say RJ in business is comparable to AA, then? Hmmm . . .

You say "we" so I assume there are two of you. In that case, RJ may work for you. I flew AMM-JFK and was underwhelmed. The seats are cramped and if you're in a window seat, you have very little privacy and can't leave your seat without disturbing your neighbor. The soft product was also meh.
Iberia, OTOH, has excellent hard and soft products on their widebodies. So if you can have an IB codeshare for JFK-MAD, especially if it's the (brand new) A350, grab it. Then on MAD-TLV they often use widebodies, which as mentioned above are great, but even their 319s are OK (sort of like domestic F in the US).
Consider also the flight times. On TLV-JFK, RJ leaves around 8am whereas IB will require a much earlier start.

Shuly

Yes, it's my husband and me. We are going to a wedding so the date when we fly to TLV is somewhat fixed (we have a little flexibility). Coming back we still have flexibility. I can't quite figure this out. My husband seems to think it's better to break up the flight. Go to Madrid on AA's business class. Stretch out a bit in the lounge, then take a decent business class on to TLV. I tend to think less could go wrong on a longer flight in a decent business class to Amman, then take the hop over to TLV. I just don't know. First time in awhile I'm at a loss.

Not often, always. IB fly only the A330 on the route (but down to one flight a day).

Update: We finally pulled the trigger. We are flying JFK -- MAD, MAD -- TLV. Both ways. All legs in IB. It worked out best in terms of scheduling and in terms of price (although we will have a bit of a long layover in the Velazquez Lounge in MAD, but my husband not only doesn't seem to mind, he prefers it, so there you go). Now to decide on hotels in Israel, but the is for a different thread.

Many thanks to all of you who gave me the specific information necessary to make the decision. I cannot stress enough how valuable this place is.

Excellent choice. Enjoy!