craz

well if you like having backups then UA since if the SFO-TLV or TLV-SFO goes MX or CX they can put on the EWR flights. Keep in mind the AF flight CDG-TLV-CDG are A320s 3-3 and a tight fit for 4 hrs each way. The good thing about UA from SFO is its a widebody the whole way, which you wont have with any other carrier. Yea its a long flight but I did just did EWR-HKG 16hrs in Y and no problems

RedChili

If flying via SFO, he will still need to be on a narrowbody for SEA-SFO, so it's not widebody the whole way even with UA. Only BA will be widebody the whole way. Also, if the SFO-TLV goes tech and they're gonna put him on EWR, because the SFO leaves at 21:30, he will need to spend first one night on a plane SFO-EWR, and then a second night on EWR-TLV.

craz

SEA-SFO is nothing, true its a narrow-body but such a short flight I couldnt care if it was a CR-200. Agree with what would happen if SFO-TLV didnt fly, but what if BA goes belly-up @ SEA youd be in a worst situation. If you are in E- on BA the IFE is very limited, at least the last time I flew them it was, youd need to be in Prem E to have a nice IFE. More important not only does BA have but 1 n/s to LHR but the OP will have to endure a 9 hr layover arriving into TLV @ 3:20am and pay for the hotel for that previous night if they dont want to wait till 3pm to check-in. Unless a person wants to spend 9 hours in London, I wouldnt fly BA

awayIgo

I think your proposed connection times are very short! What if the first flight is running late? Also, don't forget on your return, if you are connecting in the US, you will be doing immigration at your first airport--and that needs time!

icedancer

The flights I proposed in my original post, with 1hour-ish connections are off the table. I'm assuming a 3-5hr connection (on the final DL/AF and UA options) is fine.

BTW, is there anything to worry about with booking the DL/AF flight as a codeshare in case of Irrops? It's $1630 on the AF site with the long leg as a codeshare, but $1831 on the DL site.

craz

w/o exact dates or the month its hard to say which combo is better. That aside for now UA arrives into TLV @ 9:30pm and you leave SEA later in the day to SFO. While DL is a n/s to CDG but then a 4 1/2 hr on a 320 arriving 4pm. But DL coming back is what I dont like as it takes an extra 2 1/2 hrs over UA via SFO, both leave@ 1am. Yes theres the DL via JFK but thats where the date comes into play if this is during the winter Id rather avoid JFK due to snow, and would prefer the UA via SFO

If price is your main concern, there are usually 2 stoppers that will be a few hundred less then the 1 stoppers. I would check a site such as Orbitz to price out say the SEA-CDG-TLV there and TLV-SFO-SEA for the return or ElAl via LAX for the return I just dont like DLs returns and would prefer arriving not so late with UA into TLV

icedancer

Ooh. It hadn’t even occurred to me that I could split the booking like that. Unfortunately, when I went and did it on Orbitz, it gave me a price of $15000 :-p.

Month is March, as mentioned in the thread title Exact dates are 11-22.

craz

try Kayak Im seeing fares even with JetBlue and ElAl just under $1400 click the boxes for each other site and check them out

it may be cheaper returning on 3/21 but click flight details to make sure its not a decade layover

icedancer

Unfortunately, there’s no flexibility in the dates; I can’t leave until 3/22. Thanks again to all for the suggestions.

craz

On ElAl.com 3/11 JetBlue SEA-BOS/ ElAl BOS-TLV

3/22 ElAl TLV-JFK/ JetBlue JFK-SEA

$1394
https://fly.elal.co.il/plnext/ELALon...4696!913428751

Efrem

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this until now: do you care what frequent flyer programs your flights can be linked to, either in terms of existing status for preferential treatment (early boarding, premium check-in, baggage allowance, etc.) or in terms of earning credit toward future status? If you care at all about that sort of thing, SEA-TLV is a lotta miles to throw away.

maverikbc

I haven't read an entire thread, but for somebody who just bought a cheap ticket to Israel, I thought I'd share.

Ryanair has been having a sale for at least for last 3 days, EUR 10 between European cities and Eilat, each way. Ryanair offers free carry ons, and a 20kg checked luggage is EUR 25 each way.

I bought mine for around EUR 70 round trip including a checked luggage between Belgium and Eilat.

Of course there's no guarantee that the op can get a similar sale price for March, but I don't think it'll be much more expensive than that, since that fare has been available last a few days. Like myself, I recommend the op to buy a cheap ticket to any City where Ryanair flies to eilat, then buy Ryanair when the price is right.

FYI, my fare from sea to bru leaving next week was USD 410 with Delta, which I bought in September.

You save a thousand, and get to enjoy Europe, too. How s that for an outside of box thinking?

icedancer

Just wanted to follow up: my group and I decided to go with a DL-AF combo — it was the cheapest among the itineraries that could be booked on a single ticket (at the time, under $1400) that had a layover that was probably lower priority for winter weather delays (CDG) than east coast US or YYZ, reasonable connection times (3hrs on the outbound) and arrived in time for dinner (4:10pm).

So my itin is:
DL 34-AF 1620 outbound
AF 1121-AF 84 (I decided to finish the trip in SF and meet up with husband at a conference he’ll be attending in Napa).

Looks like I’ll need to open a DL FF account now — that was the main *downside* to this itin. Thanks again for all the input.