EL AL Israel Airlines review :  3 June 2009 : by N Nasev   (Australia)

LHR-TLV return. Security efficient, online check-in service great. Outbound with a well-used B747. El Al seems to have more FAs onboard than other airlines, so always someone visible, and gone are the days of rude service. Return on new B777 with mood lighting and excellent AVOD. If all of El Al's planes were like this then they be 4-star.

EL AL Israel Airlines review :  16 May 2009 : by Jonathan Cohen   (UK)

Luton to Tel Aviv. Luton airport was a pleasure as an alternative to LHR and even with El Al's security check-in was quick and I was airside in no time at all. The flight was on a 767-200 which was clean and tidy - given it's age in good condition. Cabin crew efficient and worked hard. I was fortunate to be in business class for the outbound flight and food was pretty much what you would expect and was overall pretty good. Seats the older cradle type but were comfortable and more than adequate for a 5 hour flight. Return flight to Luton was in economy and was fine.

EL AL Israel Airlines review :  23 April 2009 : by E Herszaft   (UK)

Travelled for the first time with El Al. Had a choice of cheaper airlines, but chose El Al since I was told that with a baby it will be easier for me if I fly El Al. They are friendly and helpful, my friends said. I did not receive my meal, and did not have a bassinet for the baby. I had to hold my baby the entire flight and ended up starving since I did not get my special kosher meal, and was left without food.

EL AL Israel Airlines review :  12 March 2009 : by J Kreutzbereger   (USA)

Delays, lack of quality in food, lack of courtesy of crew member, dirty bathrooms and poor safety attitude made my selection to go to the bottom line.

EL AL Israel Airlines review :  3 March 2009 : by Graeme Anderssen   (Australia)

HKG-TLV. The crew were friendly and polite and service efficient (the flight was only half full). B777-200 seats were fine - admittedly having a full row to myself did help. The two meals (dinner and breakfast) were above average for economy. IFE not the best I have come across but adequate, a wider selection of movies would be an improvement. The cabin staff were young and enthusiastic, but again, the flight was half full and their task easier. TLV immigration queue was short and quick - the baggage wait amongst the shortest I have experienced anywhere.

EL AL Israel Airlines review :  1 February 2009 : by D Vespasian   (France)

Zurich-Tel Aviv : missed connection to Zurich so lost Swiss flight to Tel Aviv, instead they put me on El-Al. Have flown El-Al before and was not looking forward to this, even in business. New 737, good seats, interesting wine selection, good staff - they tried and worked hard. The food was less than perfect though.

EL AL Israel Airlines review :  21 January 2009 : by S Robin   (Australia)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Recommended:

Value for Money:

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)

Customer Rating :  4/5

Recommended:

Value for Money:

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)

Customer Rating :  4/5

Recommended:

Value for Money:

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)

Customer Rating :  1/5

Recommended:

Value for Money:

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.