Best airline to travel to Israel

amother

Grape

Wed, Jul 13 2022, 1:54 pm

I agree with supporting El Al in principle, but from my personal experience United is the best. Usually cheaper for direct flights (although sometimes possible to get a good deal on El Al with a stopover) and the planes are newer and more comfortable. It has been a few years since anyone in my family has flown El Al so maybe things have changed, but when we took a family trip 6 years ago the El Al plane was hot and many of the back of the seat screens were broken, which made it difficult for my kids as they were looking forward to the entertainment. The Dreamliner planes used by United have such good clean air and the flight attendants are always so nice and constantly offering drinks, etc. I also find the frequent flyer miles on United much easier to redeem for actual tickets than with El Al.

amother

Jasmine

Wed, Jul 13 2022, 1:56 pm

Where are you flying out of?
Are you in the NY/NJ area
United has an EWR hub and El Al is better out of JFK.

Is customer service a priority or who cares? Who has a sale?

amother

Wed, Jul 13 2022, 2:00 pm

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

If security is your number one priority you choose El-Al.

Why would EL AL have better security? We flew with El Al afew years ago, and did not have a very comfortable experience. I wonder if they changed since. I think United seat rows are 3 3 3 while El Al is 3 4 3.

amother

Wed, Jul 13 2022, 2:01 pm

amother [ Jasmine ] wrote:

Where are you flying out of?
Are you in the NY/NJ area
United has an EWR hub and El Al is better out of JFK.

Is customer service a priority or who cares? Who has a sale?

I want a comfortable experience, good costumer service. We want to fly out of Newark.

amother

Grape

Wed, Jul 13 2022, 2:04 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I want a comfortable experience, good costumer service. We want to fly out of Newark.

Then I highly recommend United, per my post above. Always a comfortable experience.

amother

Calendula

Wed, Jul 13 2022, 2:07 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I remember flying united 3 years ago and the seat rows were 3 4 3.
I had bad experience with united.
My suitcase was 51 pounds and they made me take out some stuff or pay for overweight.
The stewards weren't as polite as in other airlines.

chanchy123

Wed, Jul 13 2022, 2:12 pm

Elal has been using Dreamliners to fly in and out of the US in recent years. 3 4 3 configuration.
Their security really can’t be beat.
That being said, I think the best experience I ever had on a flight from TLV to the US would have been on Delta, but that was five years ago.
I recently flew to the US from Israel twice on ElAl (one direction of the four was American with a connection in Europe).
Every flight was on a Dreamliner so relatively new planes. Quality of food has gone down.
Service was fine.
ETA one of the flights I took was a direct flight to/from Boston rather than NYC because it was so much cheaper, it was worth the inconvenience.

Last edited by chanchy123 on Wed, Jul 13 2022, 2:14 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Grape

Wed, Jul 13 2022, 2:13 pm

amother [ Calendula ] wrote:

As of last week, when several family members flew to/from Israel for a simcha, all the United planes on the Newark to Tel Aviv route were 3-3-3.

amother

Wed, Jul 13 2022, 2:21 pm

Reality wrote:

The seats on United are roomier but for me safety and security are more important. I prefer to fly ElAl.

How is ElAl security and safety better than united?

chanchy123

Wed, Jul 13 2022, 2:26 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

How is ElAl security and safety better than united?

Because I recently flew elal for the first time in a while I noticed the big difference.
ElAl security personnel interview every passenger in the foreign airports. The send a security detail to clear the gate and greet the plane connecting to the sleeve. They will clear the connection themselves before letting the crew onboard.
These are only the differences I noticed with an untrained eye.
Not to mention they have “air marshals” onboard (security personnel).

amother

Wed, Jul 13 2022, 2:27 pm

chanchy123 wrote:

Doesn't every international flight have an air marshal on board?

amother

Wed, Jul 13 2022, 2:31 pm

chanchy123 wrote:

How were the seat rows on your plane? 3 3 3 or 3 4 3?
I'm looking now at El Al online, seems like the seats are 3 3 3.

chanchy123

Wed, Jul 13 2022, 2:45 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Doesn't every international flight have an air marshal on board?

I’m not sure - I put it in quotes because the ElAl guys are Mossad.

chanchy123

Wed, Jul 13 2022, 2:47 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

How were the seat rows on your plane? 3 3 3 or 3 4 3?
I'm looking now at El Al online, seems like the seats are 3 3 3.

3 4 3
And yes slightly more crowded than the 3 3 3 flight from USA to a European city on American.