El Al Israel Airlines

Very polite and efficient security check in Vienna. As they have just 3 counters and the VIE station is small, the check in itself was fast and easy. Boarding process at the gate started 1 hour before the flight. Flight left 15 minutes late but arrived in Ben Gurion on time. Cabin crew was charming, cabin was clean and food was great. Much legroom between the rows. Very comfortable seats. Good choice of beverages and even wine selection. Ben Gurion airport check in was fast. Flight from Ben Gurion to Vienna left on time and arrived early in Vienna. Again a very pleasant flight with good music, great food and outstanding crew.

New York to Tel Aviv return on El Al for my first trip to Israel. Coming back, I paid additional $150 for premium economy seat. Total waste of money. Compared to my window economy seat going over, I could discern no improvement. Cramped seating, poor leg room (kicked portable footrest out of the way as it was so uncomfortable). Broken table and entertainment system. No difference in seating recline. Food rotten. Loved Israel. Would probably not take El Al again. No WiFi. Nowhere to plug in my phone or IPad.

Newark to Tel Aviv. The aircraft interior was ragged and very dirty. That's the reason I had switched from El Al to Lufthansa a decade ago. Well, it hasn't improved in all of that time. It's not so convenient going through Frankfurt and Lufthansa is not the most comfortable of all airlines, but I think overall Lufthansa remains a better choice. The El Al cabin crew was indifferent, the food was quite uninspired, the inflight entertainment was mediocre. We were more-or-less on-time, and I didn't have any check-in problems. Still not the airline for me.

Our family flew economy with El Al to Tel Aviv from Bangkok on September 19th and return trip on October 10th 2015. On both occasions ground and air crew were very friendly and polite. The food onboard was above average. IFE was good going from Bangkok to Tel Aviv but not so great on the return trip but as we were flying all night and trying to sleep it did not matter. The plane was old but clean and the toilets were kept clean during both flights. All of the staff were great and very accommodating. My one and only criticism is that the plane was warm which made flying just a tad uncomfortable. I read in the onflight magazine that all of their 747's are being replaced in 2017. Will fly with them again.

I am an El Al Matmid Frequent Flyer Club member, and flown El Al for over 10 years. I sweat easily. The security person was rude, would not look at my printed out receipts and itinerary, hotels, car rental, etc. She actually shoved the paperwork out of the way and mocked my sweating and made fun of it in front of other passengers. They destroyed my vacation, I literally lost close to 2 grand in cancelation of accommodations, etc. The staff was unapologetic, their only comment "we can just rebook you for a future flight. My vacation ruined.

I had no choice but to fly El AL because they offer one of only two non stop flights from TLV to BUD. Flying out of TLV ground staff and FA were friendly and smiling. The flight was on time. The plane had much better leg room than I have had on transatlantic planes I have flown. I am six feet tall and I had plenty of room to spare for my knees. The plane was not modern nor was it refurbished, no entertainment just a row of overhead screens with some kind of Israeli TV show that no one was watching. The plane was clean. Service was minimal, but so was the price paid for tickets. Our flight back BUD to TLV was the same, and friendly crew. It was a nice change to finally see El Al improve since last time I flew with them.

When I checked in for the flight, it was not such a bad experience. However, when I boarded I was greeted with a frown and cabin crew did not greet us in any way. The seats were dirty, uncomfortable and legroom was tight. I was not looking forward to this long haul flight. After take off, we were served meals. The cabin crew did not have any interaction with me other then asking my choice of meal. I smiled and said a hello expecting one to come back but to no avail. The meal was tasteless and not appetizing. IFE was also not up to expectations.

At Munich airport, El Al has its own terminal with its own security guards surveying the check-in. You must show your ticket to get inside, and once inside, they interrogate you as though they were police. After scanning my carry-on and frisking me, my bag had to be personally inspected by a security guard. I was isolated in a separate room while they did it. They finally let me go after 20 minutes, when I was given my boarding pass to board the plane. They bussed us for about 15 minutes to an isolated stand, and we boarded through a small building that had an escalator up to the plane. Once aboard, the staff were very nice. I thankfully had an aisle seat, which was comfortable with good padding. The food was good, and I liked the video selections. I would consider flying El Al again.

Tel Aviv to Amsterdam - I liked everything. The seats are comfortable, the food was tasty and the staff were always available for requests. Entertainment also offered a good selection. I would recommend El Al.

Flight was half-full. I had the whole row to myself. The flight took of on time and one hour later the service started. I could choose 2 drinks. The meals service had two choices: 1) meat ball with couscous, salad and chocolate cake. 2) tuna salad, some fruits and a honey cake. After the meal service the lights inside the cabin were turned off. Every hour one of the cabin crew members came around with water. During the whole flight there was juice available in the rear galley. Two hours before landing the cabin crew gave us a second meal. Omelette, bun, butter, salad and lemon cake (that was very good). We landed on time.