El Al benefits on Delta
 

According to El Al, one of the benefits for El Al Gold members on Delta flights is:

Preferred seating selection (seats in the front of the plane, emergency rows, or window and aisle seats) on Delta Air Lines flights, subject to availability. If the Delta flight is separate Delta operated flights only (not connected with LY), you can select your seat on Delta web site or the Delta Air Lines service center, or during the Delta flight check-in"

In practice - I entered my El Al Matmid number on the Delta reservation. But per Delta customer service - I can only get preferred seating at check in time. I contacted El Al, but they claim that it's Delta's problem, and just hung up on me.

Any suggestions what else can be done?

Delta Medallion
 

I wonder if anyone knows what benefits I should expect as a Delta Medallion member (Platinum) flying on El Al economy (classic).
Delta specifies "Priority Check-In, Extra Baggage Allowance, Priority Boarding, Preferred Seats, Priority Security, and Priority Baggage Handling", and is unclear about lounge access. However, this website specifically mentions "Entry to El Al lounges, for the member + 1 companion" and "Free Preferred seat selection at the time of booking".
Any reference to clear El Al instructions, or just personal experience, will be highly appreciated. Thank you!

Shuly

The lounge benefit was taken away very shortly after the launch of the partnership.

The preferred seating is available (from experience) but you have to call, and not all agents know how to handle this.

Thanks a lot! I'll try to call.

Shuly

After calling El Al: the preferred seating benefit is only valid on long-range flights. They don't know anything about lounge access.
Given that my Delta status was not even reflected in their system, my conclusion is that this partnership is far from smooth.

Shuly

Follow up: this didn't sound right, so I called again. First, they claimed that I didn't have a Delta number in the system (I did). Then, they said that the number did not reflect my Delta status (I've sent them screen shots to prove it did). Then they conceded and allowed me to choose a premium seat free of charge (but not for my travel companion on the same itinerary). They also confirmed that lounge access was not offered to "members of other airline FF programs". I may want to challenge this on the day of the flight, we'll see. First world troubles for sure.

Shuly

You don’t get lounge access as a DL status members. This has been confirmed previously by both DL and LY.

SEAT ASSIGNMENTS - LY code share on DL (USA domestic)
 

Looking for people to respond who have had experience with EL Al operated flight connecting to DL operated flight but with LY flight number.

Specifics:
1) TLV-JFK BUSINESS class (El Al- operated with El Al flight #))
2) JFK-DFW MAIN Y class (Delta-operated with El Al Flight #)

Situation:
I have the Booking codes for both LY and DL - I can successfully login to both websites to manage booking.

However, DL will not let me choose seat assignment. ..
1) is it due to the LY code share?
2) is there a way to get the seat assignments on the DL flight?

I dont have status on either airline.
This is another one of those instances where the connecting flight gets a lower seat bucket than booked on EL Al - in tis case J (Biz) to Y (Main - not even Premium or C+)

Thanks for any insights/ assistance in this matter.

Roy
PS i will be opening a separate thread w/ question re Lounge access in JFK

Call or chat Delta. If the first person you speak with is unable to assign seats, try again. And again. And again.
The person you speak with might need to contact the partners desk to do that.

EDIT: after they assign you seats, check the next day to make sure it sticks. If it doesnt - call again

Thanks will try.

When are Delta connections counted as flights towards status?
 

Last September, I flew to SJC via LAX. The flight from SJC to LAX was on Delta (DL3762), but is listed on my El Al account under the LY code as LY4490, and was counted as a flight accrual towards status, i.e. the round trip flight was counted as 4 flights.

However in flights in May and August, the Delta continuation flights (from NYC to PHX and BOS) are listed in my El Al account under their DL code, and not their LY code, and are not recognized as flights for status. Similarly I have an upcoming flight through LAX to SFO which is listed under the Delta code.

Did something change since last September in general? Or are there some Delta flights which are counted as LY flights and some which aren't?

Good advice
 

this was good advice ... this is now a report after taking the flight ...
I called Delta .. they assigned us the last row next to the toilets ... this was with almost all the seats still unassigned - according to both expertflyer and seat maps for new bookings ...
I balked .. the person insisted that these were the only seats available ..I pointed out that the plane was still mostly unassigned..
anyways eventually I insisted on talking to their supervisor ...
the supervisor was able to move us to an exit row ... and the seat assignments stuck ...
. A week later realized better exit row seats came available ...had to call again ...
again told they could not move my seat ..
again I said that's not correct .. my current seats are from a supervisor ..
IMMEDIATELY we we moved to the new seats I was requesting ... these seats assignments stuck and were the seats we flew in ....

as an aside the luggage allowance for LY BUSINESS seemed to also carry over to the DELTA connection in Y .... although we were nowhere near the maximum for LY.

What's the truth about the Delta and El Al benefits agreement?
 

Shalom,

I am a Platinum member of Matmid and am flying next week from JFK to BOS to TLV on an El Al ticket. The first segment is on DL with an El Al flight number. In late 2023, there were announcements about reciprocal benefits, but they benefits changed and were wrong, etc. Now, I am not even sure what to believe when I Google for more information.

1) Do I get only ONE suitcase on the first flight? If so, what does it even mean that I get TWO on the second flight?

2) Do I have lounge access in JFK? Preferred seating? Extra bags (see question 1)? Preferred security or boarding, etc?

3) Do I receive a "segment" in my Matmid account for the JFK-BOS flight?

In short, what are the benefits for an El Al Platinum flying on an LY-codeshare flight on DL in 2026?
(What if it were just a regular DL flight?)

Thank you so muc!