El Al Israel Airlines

Not Verified | I chose EL AL believing in Israeli efficiency in so many areas. I was surprised, before I flew to read guidance to passengers "dont be rude to airline staff", almost as if they expected passengers to be annoyed with service. Security at Heathrow was poor as the "extra" booked luggage X ray machine was not working , however most airline from Heathrow dont have this extra checking. The flight, seats, leg room food was average and service not very friendly. It became apparent the plane was delayed and I might miss my connection at Tel Aviv. so I asked a stewardess to ensure my checked in bags got on the next flight. Her attitude didn't give me confidence she would do this, Sure enough after another mediocre flight to Johannesburg my bag didn't arrive. After waiting at the carousel I asked where the El Al office was. I eventually found this but no one was there. and no notice of how to contact staff. The next door office gave me a number to ring and I was told someone would meet me at their office. An hour later someone came and took details of my bag but couldn't say when it would arrive but said it would be sent to my hotel. No apology. I asked how much of my costs of extra clothes would be reimbursed but he couldn't say. Eventually after 3 days my bag and clothes arrived, again no apologies and no reimbursement of expenses. At the end of my stay I tore up my return ticket and booked a single on SAA.

✅ Trip Verified | Avoid at any costs if you have any self esteem. They delayed the flight for hours without explanation, ransacked the luggage without explanation and on top of it they treat the non-Israeli passengers like second-class human beings, the only ones to be targeted for random appalling checks and treated with the utmost lack of any politeness. First and last time with this joke of a company.

✅ Trip Verified | Budapest to Tel Aviv. Check in and security was quick and efficient, boarding was quick and efficient. The plane was fairly new. Staff were smiling and helpful. They called me out by name and told me I had points That I was going to lose and I brought some nice things from the duty free book using the points not money. The sandwiches and water were nice and soft drinks and hot drinks were served in the galley. The return flight cost us less than the low cost competitor and we had cases and food and drinks and we were very satisfied. An improvement for an Airline that we have had some bad flights with in the past

✅ Trip Verified | On a recent flight from Newark to Tel Aviv my wife had a rather unpleasant experience, and I wanted to write this to thank you for the way that you handled it. My son, who is just about 3 years old, suffers from Cerebral Palsy and is handicapped. His handicap is understandably difficult for him, as his parents, it is difficult for us as well. One of the most difficult times for us, and for him, is when we need to fly. My son is in a regimented routine within his therapeutic school / services and taking him out of the routine, into an area which he feels constricted (a plane) is very very challenging, but we do it often, to bring him to the US for special treatments. On Thursday (16/1/2020) my wife and son were returning from one of these trips abroad, following an intense week of therapies, evaluations, etc. This trip was different than others in that it was the shortest trip we have done and it was the first time my wife and son were flying alone, without my daughter and I. At some point in the flight my son got very uncomfortable and began crying, loudly. My wife began the usual routine of holding him, walking with him, etc… trying to sooth and calm his nerves, but nothing was working. As this was happening, out of nowhere, our son began to throw up uncontrollably. My wife was shocked and started crying herself. At this exact moment a frustrated passenger got up and began verbally abusing her - yelling in front of the entire plane that she needs to get our child in check. My wife responded explaining our son’s challenges and disabilities, at which time others around her joined in, causing the abusive passenger to take his seat and quiet down. And here is where your team stepped up. Almost immediately my wife and son were surrounded by flight attendants, helping to clean the area, diffuse the situation, and even assisted my wife in cleaning up our son. The attendants continued coming with warm towels, blankets, and other items that they may have needed. One of the flight attendants even came and sat with my wife and son for about 15 minutes, talking and being supportive to them. She even offered to play with our son so that my wife could go clean herself up. Words cannot begin to express the thanks and gratitude that I have to your staff for this.

Not Verified | I’m never flying El Al to Israel again. BOS-TLV, December 2019. Flight was operated by a 12-year-old 777 (4x-ECF) so not an old plane, but the seats were horribly outdated. My seats bed feature didn’t work (the motor for the recline was broken) and every seat in business was full so I couldn’t sleep the whole flight. Archaic IFE didn’t work either, surprise surprise. Seats were uncomfortable and incredibly narrow for business class - 7 seats across is almost unheard of today for a business product. What makes it worse is that El Al was almost double the price of other airlines and instead of getting more you get less. I can’t stand the fact that Boston is the only destination in North America that el al serves without the 787 Dreamliner. Pathetic. Crew were rude and had no intention of making me happy. Never, ever fly El Al’s old airplanes.

✅ Trip Verified | San Francisco to Tel Aviv. KLM- Air France lounge in SF is the one you get if you are a premium passenger its below average and old without showers. The 787 business class is nice and up to date configuration with aisle access from every seat. Food is not great and how they serve it in one tray is not premium at all, no real bar service for food and drinks during this long flight. Aircrew is great.

✅ Trip Verified | Real business class for 2ourflight. Seats in 2x2 configuration, aperitif and diner served. Dinner was cold dishes only - why? if it was a warm dish I would applause. Cabin crew was as professional and nice. WIFI works good and free.

✅ Trip Verified | Tel Aviv to Vienna. Both flights were delayed, only on our return flight an excuse and explanation was given. Both flights were oversold and especially in TLV they even tried to seperate groups which is in my opinion an absolute no-go. The planes did not look very inviting (cleaning was certainly reduced to a minimum). Crew was quite nice on the flight to TLV (experienced and mature crew members) but on the flight back there was not even a hint of a smile (young ones but certainly with no motivation). Service was quite surprising - somehow I thought on a 3,5 hours flight there would be offered a bar service (or at least a possibility to purchase drinks) but they only distributed medium-size water bottles and an overheated sandwich which had no taste at all. Seats were not comfortable at all. I assume for the chaos at the airport in TLV EL AL is not really responsible but the check-in area looked and felt extremely disorganized. Really feel sorry for those people who have to use it frequently.

✅ Trip Verified | Budapest to Tel Aviv with El Al Israel Airlines. This is the absolute worse airline to fly with. I fly 3 times a year, I have never had a problem this serious with an aircraft. Their customer service is a joke. No one answers. The website doesn’t work when you want to check in or order a luggage. Do yourselves a favor and don’t fly with this airline.

✅ Trip Verified | I had an extremely pleasant journey. The premium economy product outranks other airlines on that route. The staff are very friendly and attentive, seats extremely comfortable and go back quite far and the pillow and blankets are soft and cosy. The food was outstanding and the entertainment plentiful. There is also free basic wifi for whatsapp and email and works really well.