Playsmart

Hey all,

Has anyone flown the Business or premier class as I believe it is called. Is it worth the extra money or will I feel like I am sitting in business of Tower air going to TLV again.

Also on that note, where is Israir leasing these planes from? Held together by duct tape maybe?

Thanks,

Playsmart

LatusElAl

I heard that its goind to be a closer resemblance to an "Economy Plus" ala Virgin or BA rather than a real business class. Supposedly it'll have a slightly wider seat, a bit more legroom and a more significant recline but not even close to an "easy chair"

We'll see on the 19th.

apirchik

Nobody have flown this, just because the service starts on Saturday, 6/19. It's a brand new leased plane for Israir and they haven't used it on exsiting routes before.
For more details on the flight, plane etc. look here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=314262

LatusElAl

I'm really curious to see a trip report on Israir - business (premium) class or otherwise.

In the meantime, assuming that the rumor about them leasing from Icelandair, and assuming (as I've see posted in airliners.net) that they are taking Icelandair's TF-FIA 763, then here is the seatmap:
http://www.loftleidir.com/mm?object=29

Bretteee

Israir's maiden flight to New York lures El Al customers

By Zohar Blumenkrantz


Israir, Israel's second largest airline, has successfully wooed ECI Telecom executives to take its maiden flight to New York on Saturday night, instead of flying El Al.


The charter airline joins Continental and Israel's national airline as the only carriers to fly directly between the two cities.

Israir lured ECI away from El Al by offering a round-trip business class rate of $1,600 per passenger, well below its regular $1,999 price, and more than $1,000 cheaper than El Al's rate.

The deal was doubtful at first because of the short layover before the executives' connecting flight to Chicago for an annual high-tech conference. El Al, an established airline, not only had a longer layover but could also guarantee alternative flights if the executives missed their connection, based on its agreements with domestic U.S. carriers. As a charter, Israir lacks such agreements. However, in the end, the ECI board opted for Israir's preferred price to cut costs.

"El Al wishes Israir well in its flights to New York, and emphasizes that El Al offers its passengers frequency, airplane quality, spaciousness, frequent flyer points, and a quality business class, all of which is incomparable to a charter," said Yoav Levy, El Al's vice president of commerce. "Likewise, it is noteworthy that customer loyalty is not measured in one or even several flights but for the long run."

apirchik

This is B.S. - LY 001 take off at the 1 hour later than Israir 101, so the layover is longer for Israir if they connect to the same flight. The 747-400 is faster than the 767 but this should only cut about 15-20 minutes at most.

If they connect to different flights at different times, then this layover thing is completely irrelevant.

By the way, ECI is not doing so good lately ...

Bretteee

<<By the way, ECI is not doing so good lately ...[/QUOTE]>>

So this explains why they fly Israir. Mind you maybe they should fly economy then.