LY 744 All Y
Jul 1, 2003, 11:58 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: 30,000 Feet
Programs: LY Top Platinum, AA Platinum, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 863
LY 744 All Y
I noticed on LY's summer schedule that they seem to have reconfigured at least 2 744;s to all Y class seating. Any inside info or insights as to why they would not even have C class on a flight to NYC?
Jul 1, 2003, 12:23 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Kfar Saba, Israel
Posts: 4,172
Last summer, they used to have a 747-200 flight to New York via Amsterdam or London Stansted operated by Sun-Dor (ElAl's charter subsidiary).
This summer Arkia (Israel biggest charter flight operator) plans to start direct flights to JFK and this might be a counter move.
Or ... it might be a mistake in the schedule.
This summer Arkia (Israel biggest charter flight operator) plans to start direct flights to JFK and this might be a counter move.
Or ... it might be a mistake in the schedule.
Jul 6, 2003, 6:32 pm
#6
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: USA
Programs: Alaska MVP, Marriott Lifetime Titanium (United Silver), Hilton Gold
Posts: 779
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> Why do El Al flights depart TLV so late?
Arriving in NY at 0430 isn't any fun either.
Anyone have the answer?
</font>
Arriving in NY at 0430 isn't any fun either.
Anyone have the answer?
</font>
I can tell you that I'd much rather take this night flight than the daytime one (dpt. TLV about 9:00am arr. JFK about 2:00pm) because it is much easier to get some sleep when flying so late at night. Also, there is nothing better to do on an 11 hr flight in Y. Also, the early arrival at JFK allows for easy connections as DL and AA make their first flights west for the day, not to mention El Al's own continuing flights (opp. by NAA) to ORD and MIA.
When would you rather leave? Remember, you get in about 5 hrs after you leave. Any earlier in the evening (also good for night flights) you would get to NYC at an even more dreadful hour. Leaving TLV after 1:00pm would limit sleep and make for fewer potential connections.
From the airline's perspective, there may also be crew (not to mention aircraft) scheduling advantages, although this is just a guess.
[This message has been edited by gba (edited 07-06-2003).]
Jul 7, 2003, 7:15 am
#7
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Washington, D.C.
Programs: DL GM, UA 1P, AA GLD
Posts: 1,963
The midnight flights out of TLV became part of LY's schedule when almost all of their business was due to leisure travelers. It became quite common for tourists to spend a day sightseeing and then have dinner and get to the airport by 9pm. Back in the heyday it could take up to three hours to check in a tour group, so the scheduling aspect of it all worked quite well.
Jul 7, 2003, 10:21 am
#8
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,181
El Al does offer a choice of day or night westbound departures to the USA. One reason they do it is that they want to use their aircraft as much as possible. It is silly to just park the plane during the night. MS now does the same.
Even some flights to and from Europe operate all night.
Even some flights to and from Europe operate all night.
Jul 8, 2003, 12:26 pm
#9
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Kfar Saba, Israel
Posts: 4,172
The late night flights are much more economical for the airlines as the traffic over europe and the atlantic is very low and they can make shorter flights.
I believe the temperature is also a factor. At early times, there were planes that could make a nonstop TLV-JFK only at night but not during the day. This was when TowerAir and TWA were using 747-100 and early 747-200 versions.
The current setup in TLV is that most of the direct US flights leave around midnight, while most of the european flights leave at 5:30 AM - an even worse time. ElAl does operate a day flight from time to time that arrives to EWR/JFK around 6 PM. Continenal's original flight was a day flight but they moved to a night flight after a while.
I believe the temperature is also a factor. At early times, there were planes that could make a nonstop TLV-JFK only at night but not during the day. This was when TowerAir and TWA were using 747-100 and early 747-200 versions.
The current setup in TLV is that most of the direct US flights leave around midnight, while most of the european flights leave at 5:30 AM - an even worse time. ElAl does operate a day flight from time to time that arrives to EWR/JFK around 6 PM. Continenal's original flight was a day flight but they moved to a night flight after a while.