ELAL Business Class

We have been flying ELAL for almost thirty years, and are big fans of the airline.  Yes, at times the service will come with a side of sass, or we will experience that special customer appreciation I have come to love in Eastern Europe.  Over the years, however, ELAL made great strides in improving the service as well as updating their airplanes.  This past October their new Boeing 787 Dreamliner (one of seventeen that the airline has ordered), began flying between Newark and Tel Aviv. 

Over the many years of flying with ELAL we have learned that the pre-Passover flights tend to be a loud mess and we will get very little sleep. We have experienced tight seats in the economy  section where a heavy set guy would lean heavily on the back of our seat and yell to his wife while inches away from our ears.  We have been instructed by various grandmothers who were not related to us that whatever we were doing with our kids was the wrong way to be doing it.  We have been pushed and shoved by people as if they were trying very hard to score that last piece of gefilte fish at the end of a Kiddush.  Having said that, I feel safer on an ELAL plane than any other airline, and all those idiosyncrasies just add flavor to an exciting vacation in Israel.

After a particularly "interesting" flight in premium economy (which, except for a couple more inches of knee room, is no better than regular economy), my husband and I promised each other that, if not outrageously expensive, we would make an effort to fly in Business Class from New York to Tel Aviv.  

Our ELAL flight from NY's JFK to Tel Aviv was on their older Boeing 747-400.  While I understand that some have complained that the seats are dated and that the entertainment system makes one feel like they have stepped back into 1987, we were able to sleep comfortably, and yes, the entertainment system does feel like it must have been a hit in 1985 actually.

After we boarded the upper deck of the airplane we found a pillow, blanket and a bottle of water waiting at the seat.  We were also offered water, juice and champagne.

The Business Class was located on the upper deck of the plane; a very quiet section manned by two lovely and eager flight attendants. 

I really liked this cubby that was next to my seat; a perfect place to store the dozens of magazines I ambitiously fly with, but don't really get a change to read.

There was plenty of space between the seats which have a pitch of 55 and are 19.9" wide.  I am 5'9" and this is me with my legs stretched out.

The amenity kit included all the basics.

So this is the 1980's entertainment system.  Yes, it's old and almost funny looking.  There is nothing I can say to defend this thing.  My husband thought that it was charming, but he had movies loaded up on his IPad, I did not.  

Soon after take off we were handed dinner menus. 

My glazed salmon, rice and snap peas were actually quite good.

This is the seat in bed mode.  While I don't really like when the bottom part of the bed curves down, I did manage to get almost four hours of sleep; something that I was thrilled with.

Our breakfast which was served two hours prior to landing consisted of a tasty omlet, and Israeli salad, fresh bread, cream cheese, salmon and fruit.

The crew which took care of us during the flight were the most impressive team I have ever had the pleasure of flying with.  They were helpful, polite, and went out of their way to make our trip comfortable and enjoyable.

Here is our plane at Ben Gurion Airport.  

We will be flying back home on the Dreamliner, I can't wait!

Joanna