I'm flying on LY 6/22 JFK-TLV... However, its a Birthright ticket.. I'm not quite sure how they work, I'm sure they don't have a PNR that I can access.

So the question is, as a FT'er, is there any chance of me scoring an upgrade (I don't mind paying a reasonable $$$, but I have no matmid points). The flight only showed C and Y fare buckets, no F.. (its a 744).

Or should I just pop an ambien and sleep through 10 hours of Y..

While I'm at it, how bad is LY's Y?

You must be very young as you are on a birthright ticket. I wish we had them when I was 18.

The LY 747 I believe have decent legroom of 32" which is a lot better than 31" on BA, AF, LH and VS. I find 31" tight.

If yuo take the late flight from JFK you will get a small sandwich and if yuo take the midnight flight back you will also get a very small snack.

I like the EL AL main meals. Yuo will have a TV video at your seat.

I think you can only upgrade with Matmid miles; not Delta nor AA but you can if you have an American Express Reward card.

Call LY and ask if you can pay extra to upgrade to C or F. I believe they have lowered their C fares as CO have during the summer.

If you go to airlinemeals.net you can see the LY Y class meals.

If you want to contact me via PM, I have friends who work in the
birthright office.

Which, by the way - is in Boston.

The flight your on is a 744 that is all coach on the main floor with "C" (Platinum/Business) class upstairs - half as many seats as usual in C.

ZERO chance of an upgrade unless you are a PL, flying on a Y or S ticket with like 8,000 matmid points. Otherwise, fugehtaboutit.

Same for paying-up your tkt. This "birthright" ticket you have is probably V or H class which is not upgradeable.

Truth is that LY in Y is not that terrible. Try and get your self row 10 A or K which are bulkheads in the front (where C usually is) - but don't get too excited as they are the regular Y seats.

Then again, a Birthright flight is probably full of college students who won't do much shutting-up - so if you want to sleep - pop some pills, bring along some plugs and a mask.

Tisa N'emah.

Pardon the shameless self-promotion, but I flew El Al back in the summer of 2002 as part of a similar groupand wrote about it here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181540

I hope that it gives you a good idea of what to expect on El Al. Have a great trip.

Gba since your trip report LY no longer serve a warm meal from JFK to TLV on their late evening flights; my cousin was not happy with her small sandwich on a 9.30 pm departure.

Well, so, the good news is I did upgrade, teh bad news was it was VERY expensive (1500) but oh well....

<<>>

Mazeltov. So you upgraded to C for $1,500. A full fare C to TLV on CO is $2,000; special summer deal. I assume same for LY? So you got a 25% discount.

I am not sure whether it is really worth it; in F yes I think so. On the other hand you are doing a mitzie; a good deed helping LY / Israel. They are scratching your back giving you a free trip and you are scratching their back. It evens out.

Is your trip 10 days?

well, I'm actually still in Tel Aviv. I'm staying until sunday night, so 3 weeks in Israel rather than 10 days...


I don't know if C is worth the extra kesev, but, I looked a Y a bit and its a zoo. so, yes.

I've concluded that F/C/J... are not worth what they are so much as avoiding Y because its so bad. ESP in the case of flight irregularities, whatever.

I was a bit disappointed with the seat on the 744, but it was very nice being in the upper cabin...

I'm takgin the 777 back so we'll see how that is!

I actually liked the 777 C class. I took it home last summer.
I think you will too.

Decent selection of movies andthe private player. I also thought the leg
room in front was betterthan the upstairs 744 experience.

I've been on LY's 777 twice. once from JFK and once from LHR.
I really enjoyed it is cleaner and better kept than the 744.
CO's coach on a 777 was also neat when I flew to EWR, the only difference between LY's coach on a 777 than CO's coach on a 777 is that CO has an interactive menu and LY does not, But I highly reccomend both.

Schwartz man-LY - Welcome to FlyerTalk. Always nice to have a new TLV based member.

As far as coach, CO has sub-par 31" seat pitch. I'm not sure where LY stands there (32"?).

CO has interactive menues byt LY has better movies...

What I like the most about CO is the lack of Jewish Orthodox people flying. These can be a real pain at times (especially when in groups or when it's praying time).

Thank you apirchik!

I agree!
It's so annoying when their children sleep on the floor and they start praying in the line for the lavratory and always have the light on to read blessings or whatever they're reading.
for that same reason in passover I flew CO so I can enjoy the bread and cake that is served for dinner.

I read that the CO 777 in Y only have 31" legroom while their 767 have 32". From GVA they only use the 767 and even in winter the 757.