El Al Israel Airlines

Flew to Tel Aviv from JFK. Purchased Economy Plus Seat for $149 (One Way). Had more leg room but seat was very uncomfortable. I'm not obese but large enough that I felt like I needed a shoe horn to get into and out of the seat. Foot rests were useless. Was in Row 1 - no overhead storage. Fiasco getting my luggage at arrival. Crew speak very softly on microphone. Aisles are so narrow because airline is packing as many passengers onto aircraft as they can. I heard complaints about legroom in Business Class. Not worth extra investment I'm told. Eleven hours is a long time to be cooped up in such a tiny seat. Return flight was better but passenger comfort is not a priority for El Al. Security was fine. Most of the staff were very pleasant and fine. I would try another airline next time.

JFK to TLV and back to JFK in June 2013. My second time flying them. El Al's product has improved but it is still a far cry from Cathay Pacific Singapore Airlines and other top-flight international airlines. While staff were very good everything else was mediocre. I don't sleep well on airplanes but the economy class legroom on the 747-400 was inadequate and made a very long flight rather uncomfortable even in an aisle seat. Food was OK but I don't understand serving breakfast for a second meal on a daytime flight when it is already 2 pm at the destination. Because the second meal was breakfast there was no soda served so my choices were water tea and coffee. While it was nice to have PTVs in economy the screens were very small and the viewing options limited. I recommend going with another airline even a U.S. one.

Flown EL AL many times but this trip had seemed to be the best. I flew from Luton to Tel Aviv after they dropped prices and increased frequency. Ground staff at EL AL we're very helpful along with security attitude improved quick and easy boarding and a nice welcome onboard by the crew. EL Al had recently been buying many 767-300's which are soon to be replaced by the 737-900 but for the time that they're owning them they are upgrading them which was obvious to me with mood lighting and the installation with Economy Plus. The food was very good I couldn't complain but the absence of PTV is annoying.

TLV-ETH. Got a flight almost as cheap as the bus but considerably faster. Security control (as non-Israeli) at El Als special terminal was terrible almost missed my flight. Staff otherwise very friendly little cookie and a glass of water were served.

Munich - Tel Aviv flight. Delayed take off bad inflight entertainment (small screens 3 rows away) average food filthy toilets.

We traveled from Bangkok to Tel Aviv and then a return flight 4 weeks later. Security was very thorough which we were happy with as it ensured a safe flight. Staff were efficient and friendly and the food was very good. I would definitely fly El Al again and recommend it to anyone flying to the region.

EWR-TLV LY028 TLV-JFK LY011 May 2013 Outbound B777 Inbound B747. Checked in 3 hrs early on a Sunday at EWR before 13.30pm flight. Polite pre-flight screening and check-in agents. EWR can be pleasant and uncrowded on a Sunday morning. After priority seating its general boarding for all not by rows. Not chaotic but something to improve. Newish B777 seat pitch good for my small frame. IFE not bad for 10-11 hrs. Flight time. B747 seat pitch roomy enough for me but cabin and IFE looking tired but clean. Food passable edible with regular drink runs. My low sodium meals were served ahead. Inbound they had sandwiches and drinks at galley. ELAL flight crew a gem. Rest rooms were clean. It's passengers who were messing them up. I wish people would not grab seats in front when standing. Annoying. Pilots were updating on PA regularly. I was able to take short naps on both legs which were quite pleasant. I would fly ELAL again should I visit Israel again.

TLV-BKK Economy Plus. Flight on a very old B767-300 4X-EAR. Good leg room in economy plus. Got an amenity kit. However no entertainment only a big screen. Slept much of the flight. One hour after takeoff served food but didn't eat. After that crew disappeared. They came back only in the end to serve breakfast which was a good omelette and a cake. Nice overall. Would not fly with them on this route unless they change the plane.

We had a horrible experience flying with a baby from Toronto to Israel. We booked a seat with a bassinet and when we arrived we were told that our 11 month old is too old for a bassinet and the seats were reserved for younger babies. On board we discovered that an older (16 month old) baby received a bassinet. To make matters worse our originally assigned seats were occupied by travellers with no children. On this long haul flight there was almost no on-board entertainment. The service was poor and meals were extremely small leaving us and other passengers hungry.

Yesterday I flew from NYC to Israel. In the section I was sitting in there was something wrong with the speakers. Every 2-3 minutes for about a minute at a time the speakers would make a horrible screeching and buzzing sound for the duration of the flight - for 10 hours. The flight attendant tried to fix it eventually offered ear plugs. I have never seen so much chaos or got so little sleep. Due to the chaos they took longer than usual serving the meals and served the kosher special meals long before other meals. I will never fly El Al again!