txp

Hi everyone,

If you used the Fattal private terminal at TLV Ben-Gurion, I would appreciate it if you could share your experience. I have a BA flight out of TLV to LHR at 6:30 am in J. My three choices are:

1. Do not use the Fattal terminal (saves $500); arrive at the airport around 3 am to go through security & rest of the formalities;
2. Use the Fattal terminal the day of departure (arrive there around 4:30 am);
3. Arrive at the Fattal terminal the evening before the flight, go through security that evening, and then sleep in one of their bedrooms. On the morning of the flight, they will take care of passport control and airline check-in. The bedroom use is about $240, but it saves me a hotel night in town, so this is not an incremental expense.

I would appreciate your thoughts on these three options.

Thank you!

mbgg

$500 to save 1.5 hrs in the middle of the night? Is there a question here?

txp

Yes, this is precisely the question. I am looking for advice and suggestions since I have never been to Israel before. In an ideal world I would not have selected a 6 am departure but that was the only way to get an upgrade to business class at a decent price.

Moreover, assuming I rule out Option 1, I still need help choosing between 2 and 3.

mbgg

Ok - it's your money to throw away as you please. Between options 2 and 3, I would choose option 3 - at least you get a good night's sleep for your money.

HouFlyer61

So did you use the service? I'm interested for the same reason you were...middle of the night travel to the airport and unknown security queues. If you used the Accommodation service, how early did you need to be out of your room before your scheduled flight, still 2 hours ahead? Thanks!

uhoo

They pick you up (for the drive to the boarding gate) at pretty much the last minute, right when boarding has started, then take you to the front of the line.

You clear security in the lounge itself, so I guess they don�t want you hanging around the public holding area.

Also, don�t even try to tip them.

Given that the drive from Tel Aviv to Ben Gurion at that time of night takes about 20 minutes, it�s really an unjustifiable expense, but if you can afford it - why not.

txp

Yes, I ended up using it, and it was fantastic! Worth every penny. The only thing that did not go as planned is that they do not offer accommodation services to the general public. They told me that their rooms are for flight crew only. So I ended up spending the night at a hotel in Tel Aviv. The rest was a great experience:

My BA flight was scheduled to leave at 6:40 am. The chauffeur arrived at 4:20 am, and by 4:45 am, I was inside the Fatal terminal, one of the first passengers to arrive. Once there, the security interview was very quick and courteous. After the security interview, an agent took my passport and boarding pass and took care of the check-in formalities. I was able to enjoy their great breakfast and relax before the flight. Around 5:55 am, another agent took me through the security screening (five minutes), after which we rode a sedan to the gate of the aircraft. The agent stayed with me until I was on the plane.

Two hours is definitely more than enough to complete all departure formalities, unless one is assigned a higher security risk code in which case the security interview could be much longer.

Overall, an absolutely outstanding service: A+.