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EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES Passenger Reviews and Passenger Trip Reports |
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EL AL Israel Airlines review : 21 January 2009 : by S Robin (Australia)
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Trip Rating : 6/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
HKG-TLV Economy Boeing 777. The aircraft had the renovated cabin/seats but the entertainment
system was the old variety, few programs & old flickering personal screens. Legroom was
regular and seats comfortable. Two meals served were excellent. A glass of red/white wine was
served with the meal - ordered red and it was terrible quality. What lets El Al's vastly
improved product down are cabin crew, who are mostly rude. The second issue is that of the
security who opened my bags without me being present & made a mess of my suitcase - I have no
issue with them opening my bags, but with more respect in causing less damage in the process.
EL AL Israel Airlines review : 9 January 2009 : by B Caddo (Canada)
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Trip Rating : 2/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
BOM-TLV-JFK in Economy. BOM-TLV on-time, TLV-JFK 90 minutes late. Terrible first experience.
Upon checking-in two of my bags, I was told that one would be searched by EL Al security
staff without me being present. All contents in the bag not searched by EL AL staff
(including many breakable items) made it safely to JFK. However, the bag that was searched by
EL AL staff had, in total, 14 broken items – everything from individually wrapped carvings to
jewelry. I had wrapped a number of breakable items in reusable wrapping/padding, only to find
the wrapping removed and the items broken. In addition, 2 liquid containers I had placed in
reusable/resealable waterproof bags were removed from the bags, and were broken, destroying
many of my documents and business suits. The onboard service itself was comparable with many
2-3 star North American carriers, but far inferior to Asian and Indian carriers. I will not
being flying with this airline in the future and cannot recommend EL AL due to their
inability to treat their customer’s property with basic respect.
EL AL Israel Airlines review : 17 November 2008 : by Gary Belan (Australia)
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Trip Rating : 7/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Business |
BKK-TLV and TLV-BKK. Service was quick and efficient. Crew were very pleasant. Toilets were kept
clean and we arrived on time. TLV/BKK - there were a number of empty seats. My Nil Lactose meal was
not loaded (I was on a TG codeshare ticket); the crew did their best to find me an alternative.
EL AL Israel Airlines review : 22 October 2008 : by Danny Tzur (Israel)
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Trip Rating : 4/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: |
Economy |
FCO-TLV. Late evening flight - dep 22:30. Full cabin B737-800. The service was slow and
inefficient. Drinks were offered only after the pax ended their dinner. Full light was on all the
flight so it was hard to sleep.
EL AL review : 8 October 2008 by D Batten (Australia)
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: |
Economy |
FRA-TLV, TLV-BKK and BKK-TLV, TLV-BKK. Given a choice I would never fly El Al again. Granted the
Security task is serious but they must raise the standard of Customer Relations. Too often the
interrogation is just rude. As a non Israeli and non Hebrew speaker you are automatically given a
different Security Check. This can seriously delay check-in and limit your chances of a decent seat.
Prior to a National Holiday, TLV can be chaotic and slow. Inflight, an inverse relationship exists
between the number of Male stewards and the standard of Service. The food is passable. TLV and El AL
experience sadly bookends the otherwise wonderful hospitality of the Israeli people.
EL AL review : 19 August 2008 by S Robin (Australia)
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: |
Economy |
Economy Hong Kong to TLV. Refurbished B777 with new carpets and upgraded seats. The 2 meals served
over the 12 hour flight were large and good. Drinks served throughout the flight. The staff were
friendly & helpful. The movie selections were a bit limited but all seats had individual screens.
Legroom seemed a bit tight. Overall a very pleasant experience.
EL AL review : 10 May 2008 by Ariel Harlev (Israel)
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: |
Economy |
The economy class is average and worth the price compared to other airlines. They have a permanent
problem in the B767's with the audio system, I had in all my flights problems with the headset and
the plugs. Food is good, especially on the Breakfast. Business class is reasonable, seats are ok and
the inflight service is pretty good.
EL AL review : 2 April 2008 by Andrew Smith (Australia)
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: |
Economy |
JNB-TLV-BOM on EL AL. Check in at JNB was a nightmare. I was told that since my connection to BOM
was more that 4 hours, I had to collect my bags in TLV and check in again. Then I was told that I
had batteries in my checked luggage and those had to be taken out as it was classified as 'dangerous
goods' (it was a torch BTW!). ELAL is a national disgrace with old aircraft, worn-out and dirty
interiors, dreadful IFE, earphone sockets that don't work, and only the very newest of its fleet has
screens in the back of the seat. The cabin crew were very rude and indifferent, and I have never
come across an airline which allows passengers to blatantly break the rules regarding the position
of seat trays/seats during take off/landing. Food was horrible, there was a shortage of food and
some folks at the back just got soft drinks and juice for the 9hr trip from JNB. Reached TLV, then
the nightmare began all over again. Despite being an Australian citizen, I was interrogated for over
an hour in TLV, because I had a one-way ticket to BOM. I was flying QF from BOM to SYD, so what was
the need for me to buy a return ticket to JNB?! Apparently the security staff at TLV had a hard time
understanding this, and I was eventually allowed to collect my bag and check-in again. Flight to BOM
was as usual - cramped and dirty. I'll never fly EL AL again. Security is good, but the
interrogation and the shoddy service are the ones I cant stand. I think this airline is struggling
to be even a 3-star one, deserves to be a 1 or no-star airline. Cabin crew and ground crew could use
some customer service training, as I have never come across such rude people.
EL AL review : 22 March 2008 by J Ignatius (UK)
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |
 | Recommended: |
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Cabin Flown: |
Economy |
LHR-TLV return. Security very tight especially on the flight from LHR. Boarding was slightly
chaotic; there were no announcements and people just sat around in the departure lounge until El Al
staff finally urged them to board the aircraft. Inflight service on both flights was disappointing.
Cabin crew hardly smile. Food was just adequate. The check-in staff at TLV could benefit from
training in customer services. The woman who checked me in was more interested in having a
conversation on the telephone. Generally a poor service.
EL AL review : 15 February 2008 by J Brown (USA)
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |
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n/a | Value for Money: |
n/a |
Cabin Flown: |
Economy |
JFK-TLV return. Like night and day. Outbound flight a nightmare with mobbed check-in, flight
packed with students, poor and meager food offering. Was moved from bulkhead seat to accomodate
young family. Flight boarded on time but sat at JFK for three hours for no reason. Long overnight
flight had too many loud passengers for sleep. IFE broken. On arrival at TLV, hundreds of bags had
not made it because many had checked three or more in the first place. Return flight departed TLV
just after midnight after quick check-in. Left on time. Food good, cabin full but quiet. Pleasant
flight, arrival at JFK on time and bags came out fast. Try to book the 1Am flight out of TLV on
return, allows better chance of sleep.
EL AL review : 11 February 2008 by NAME
WITHDRAWN (Hong Kong)
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |
 | Recommended: |
 | Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: |
Business |
HKG-TLV in business class. One of the new 772 aircraft. Departure as pleasant and efficient as
expected at HKG. Seats are angled-flat, can't compare with BA or SQ but decent. Interior looks nice
despite strange LED mood lighting. Crew nice and accommodating - good replenishing drinks throughout
the flight. The meal service left much to be desired. Dinner was served immediately after take-off,
which was 4:30PM local time, and was rushed through - by 5:15 it was all over, dessert and coffee
and all. No warm snacks were offered during the flight except instant soup. "Breakfast" was served 1
hour before landing, which was more than 10 hours after dinner, and a strange choice of menu
considering that it was 9PM TLV time. It felt like an overnight inflight service pattern was forced
on what is essentially a long evening flight. IFE also very disappointing; VOD with very poor
selection of both movies and music, which did not even match the listings in the IFE magazine.
Finally, the amenity kit is pathetic, very basic and cheap-looking. No face lotion to be found there
or in the bathrooms.
EL AL review : 1 January 2008 by B Namsil (USA)
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |
 | Recommended: |
 | Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: |
Business |
TLV-JFK Business Class. Ben Gurion International is a new airport and EL AL Kind David lounge is a
spacious and comfortable pre-boarding area with full line of services inluding a spa. The B777-200
was not one of the latest new models, and the 2-3-2 configuration had seats from the old generation.
I found these not fully reclinable seats more comfortable when compared to angled lie-flat new ones
with small legroom and width. In this case legroom and width was excellent. Service was attentive.
Dining good but not gourmet. Entertainment basic. In general, EL AL Business product was enjoyable,
but without the refinement or focus on detail of major players in the field.
EL AL review : 24 December 2007 by B Namsil (USA)
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |
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Cabin Flown: |
Business |
MAD-TLV Business Class. Smooth and efficient check-in. Extra security process not bothering at all.
Boarding was a most disappointing experience with no special attention to premium class passengers.
Aircraft was a 767-200 with a 2-2-2 configuration in Business Class. The seat from the old
generation, was confortable enough for a 4:30 hours flight. Service on board was attentive, lunch
and entertainment were enjoyable. In general, EL AL Business product was acceptable and consistent
with average standards in the market. My recommendation to EL AL would be to look forward into a
more refined level.
EL AL review : 14 November 2007 by J Trevers (USA)
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |
 | Recommended: |
 | Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: |
Economy |
BRU-TLV and TLV-EWR economy. Brussels to Tel Aviv flight was surprisingly good. Food decent and more
plentiful than on my earlier American Airlines flight. Service was friendly and efficient.
Originally planned to fly from TLV to Paris and then to New York, but the flight was delayed 7 hours
and there was no way to make the connection. They provided us free drinks and snacks, vouchers for
breakfast and lunch and free phone calls. I was re-booked on a nonstop El Al flight to Newark,
leaving 12 hours later. They provided a cab, hotel in Jerusalem and dinner on account of the delay.
The return flight was long and chaotic, as those long flights from Israel usually are. My IFE was
broken, so I was given a portable DVD player. Dinner okay, breakfast was a pretty lousy omelet. They
promised transport home from Newark (since we were originally scheduled for JFK), but forgot to let
anyone at Newark kn0w. So after an hour for the Newark ground staff to check with Israel, and 90
minutes waiting for a car service that never showed up, they paid for cabs for each of us
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