Israir Airlines

✅ Trip Verified | Tel Aviv to Podgorica. Since there was no on-line check in, and the self service check in machine refused to let me check in I had to stand in a very long line even though I only had cabin luggage. For a long time there was only one line for this flight, even though there were lots of people in the line. Finally they opened one more desk, but check in seemed very slow. The flight was actually operated by Travel Service, with a not very new Boeing 737. At least the flight was far from full, so I could move away from the seat where I had been placed. There was not much leg room, but since it was not full it was ok. Take off was delayed because there was some kind of malfunction of the plane, which was not very surprising. But after a restart it worked as it should. I was looking forward to a cup of coffee, and since this was a low cost airline I expected to pay for it. But I was very disappointed when the only thing served was water and some kind of horrible plastic wrapped muffin. There was nothing else available, not even for money. It is nice to have a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Podgorica, but that is the only reason to choose this airline.

✅ Verified Review | Tel Aviv to Thessaloniki. Israir sells tickets for its flight that have the look of regular flights, not charter flights. It then changed the times of flight in advance (i.e. no delay or unexpected problem) by 2-3 hours. This moves the flight time from a premium time, like 10:30 am, to a very unappealing time-slot. In our case the outbound flight was 5:30am and 2 hours in advance! Next, it uses some unknown charter flights company and not its own airplanes and crews. In our case it was a Czech Republic company one way and a Slovenian one the other way. Finally (and probably as a result of the above) it uses horrendous planes with impossible seating. To the extent that we were delayed in boarding because a lady had to be assisted by a stewardess in squeezing into her seat.

✅ Verified Review | Eilat to Tel Aviv. The plane arrived 15 minutes late, but that was ok. The boarding was quick and nice. The cabin crew was good, nice and helpful. 20 minutes on the flight and we got some snacks. I love Israir's snacks. Of course you could get some water with it. The landing was pretty shaky.

We used Israir last summer for a flight Tel-Aviv Rome and Rome Tel Aviv. The flight was moved a day earlier on the way to Rome and one day later for the return flight. So using Israir is like not having a reservation! We tried again today to fly Israir from Tel Aviv to Eilat the flight is now 4 hours late - considering it takes 45 minutes to fly to Eilat!

More than 3 hours late no excuse me no meal voucher no information. The unfriendly staff were overwhelmed. My flight was from Tel Aviv to Berlin. They changed the flight time from 7 to 5 am the aircraft arrived 3 hours later at 9am. During the flight than the meal and drinks were not free! I can only advise again this company!

After reading some of the less stellar reviews online and being unable to reach any English speaking staff on the phone who could verify the in-cabin luggage dimensions I was naturally apprehensive about the flight from Tel- Aviv to Nice on Monday September 23 2013. To my pleasant surprise the entire flight experience was excellent. The plane was clearly in great shape a relatively new aircraft with leather seating and spotless interior. The departure and arrival were pretty much on schedule. The fact the departure from Ben Gurion airport was using a shuttle bus and not a jetway reminds me to warn any future passengers during any unlikely (but possible) inclement weather to dress accordingly or bring an umbrella for the extended exposure to the elements while trying to board an outdoors staircase. Other than that I thought the whole experience was most pleasant and I would have no qualms about flying Israir again.

Rome-Tel Aviv. Everything about the trip was a pleasure. The plane left almost on time (20 mins later than scheduled but this was already viewable 12 hrs before the flight). Needless to say we arrived on time. Considering we flew from midnight until 3:30 a.m. Rome time we assumed we would get very little - if at all - in the way of snacks. Wrong! Almost immediately each person received a bottle of water. This was followed by a choice of a salad or a quite hefty sandwich. Finally they served tea and coffee. And this in a 3hr flight! The staff were courteous and effective making the flight a really enjoyable one.

One way ticket from Tel Aviv to Rome. The aircraft is half empty Israir really don't know how to sell those tickets. I asked for vegetarian food and got a weird sandwich no expectations there. Overall it is a good airline. Service is good.

JFK to Ben Gurion and back. The two worst flights of my life. The return flight was about as close to hell as I think you can get on Earth. To say it was tight is an understatement. I'm 5' 6" tall and my knees were in the seat in front of me the entire time. This time the plane was a Portuguese company with their own staff. They did not answer the call button. The flight had a stopover in England for refueling which we were not told about. They also did not have any sort of order or pattern which was obvious when it came to food. One side would be served about 15 minutes before the other side. And the food was either scalding hot (I burned my finger tips trying to get the lid off) or it was cold. The return flight was 17 hours long and we got 2 very small meals the entire time. When I say small vegetarian breakfast consisted of 2 cherry tomatoes and 3 cucumber slices some olives and a packet of soy product which tasted so sweet it was unbearable. They had 'muffins' and 'fruit' for a few hours between dinner and lunch. On the way there they did give us slippers that were useful and on the way back we got an inflatable pillow and eye mask. But this meant there were not enough 'real' pillows to go around and a travel pillow on an aisle seat is not very useful. Also towards the end of the flight only one bathroom still had toilet paper. The rest were out of toilet paper paper towel and facial tissue hours before the flight ended.

They cancelled flights 3.5 months after purchase 2 weeks before departure. Instead of non-stop JFK to TLV both ways we got long layovers in Europe (incl one at Athens airport !) while traveling with young children. Their food tasted terrible but it was better than no kosher food provided (which is what they stuck us with on Olympic air 10 hours from Athens to JFK due to the bump). No offer of compensation. Treated us like dirt. Once in Israel changed our departure again without asking us meaning we were bumped onto a different flight than our sibs and cousins plus had to check in at 3am with a 5 year old. Brings the stereotype of nonexistent Israeli ethic of customer service to life in most unpleasant way. Spend a few more dollars to fly on a real airline - beware !