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The newish Business Class seat with the hard shell is not comfortable, and I could not find a comfy position for the relatively short 4 hrs 20 min flight from LHR to TLV. Service & food ok.
I'm heading non stop from TLV to New York next week .. & wondering whether to upgrade to First or book a Business Class seat with BA or Swiss & route through Europe which is a pain.
Any thoughts or experiences gratefully received.
For non-flexible, Swiss ($4,400) prices considerably more than BA's price ($2,800) - based on out 1/10, back 13/10.
With Swiss you have the variability in product between the A330/A340, and fewer timing options, but their new J product is lovely and if you haven't tried it, it's worth a look - just maybe not on this mixed cabin service.
Shana Tova!
VK .. thank you for your help. Shana Tova.
I am looking at one way to JFK, as I will be flying Club World ('good' I hear you say) from YUL to LHR.
Opodo have BA CW one way for about £ 1600, but I can get El Al First on a daylight flight TLV to JFK for about £ 2200. The extra £ 600 is worth the non stop.
Swiss Business may be an interesting option, but a European stop must add at least 2 to 3 hours to the trip as a minimum & is more tiring.
EWR to TLV I think you also have a couple of United flights (Ex Continental 777). Not flown them for years but service used to good in Business Firsta nd it is non stop also.
Bullfrog, Jonathan, (and all others) Shana Tova Umetukah.
Safe travelling one and all and Bullfrog, isnt life great when these are the choices one has - business or first.
Sounds good; a direct flight is always more comfortable.
Do, however, consider this rather good offer BA is currently touting:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bonus-miles-accelerator/public/en_il
Not certain if you'd be either eligible or interested, or indeed if the trip would qualify (as it doesn't seem to be round trip. You could of course book an open jaw. It's worth considering!
Further enquiries with BA, revealed a fare for $ 3438.79 in BA CW
from TLV to JFK via LHR (transfer time at LHR 90 minutes), Montreal to LHR & then an LHR to TLV valid until next September.
My current YUL to LHR on BA CW is on miles, so I would get back 37,500 miles and about £ 370.
My current El Al First is £ 2200 from TLV to JFK.
It looks like the best option is BA for $ 3438.79 which would include a return flight from LHR to TLV at a later date. I could not get shareholder discount on this fare.
Thanks VK for the advice & it adds to the 'turbo BA miles' offer.
Bullfrog, I would strongly discourage you from publishing your email on a web forum. Bots scan the net for email addresses and bombard those addresses with spam.
Even if this is a "secondary" email with strong spamguard protection, it's best not to publish it in this way.
Thanks VK ,,, more than a secondary account. Set up just for this posting !
I've no experience of El Al First. I would think a 747 cabin of 12 seats with 1m flat beds provides a better experience than a cramped BA CW cabin.
All flights have a potential for delay, so a non stop from TLV to JFK with El Al must be less risky than a 90 minute connection at T5.
Perhaps Vintage K can kindly add his words of wisdom.
...I flew El AL first several times many moons ago....nothing to write home about...at that time I would have said the BA product was superior...all things considered equal...I rate EL AL as one of the lesser Middle Eastern Arab carriers...there business class is on a par to Egypt Air etc
Shana Tova to one and all - enjoy and respect the festive season..
I have never flown El Al, so can’t comment on their products. However, it’s telling that El Al’s First is being compared to BA’s Business Product.
I have used the TLV lounges and they aren’t all that whichever airline you’re flying.
Of course it’s faster and more convenient not to interrupt your journey. However, the transit at T5 is simple, and the lounges are superb and there may be other advantages in terms of food and wine offered, Duty Free Shopping at T5 and the mileage multiplier offer is also a significant inducement.
The issue of a delayed flight is much less of an issue as BA has (I think) about 8 flights per day to NYC right now, plus the AA offerings as well, so you’d easily be re-accommodated onto another flight if a delay did occur.
The ability to open jaw (returning from YUL) is another advantage of BA’s global network.
It really is a no brainer. My experience of El Al in business places them well ahead of BA - go for it! Shana Tova
In another forum a poster claimed they flew BA as they felt safe on British planes regulated by the CAA. The implication being that non British fleets did not make them feel safe. I have found EL Al to be a well run airline and certainly felt very safe on their fleet. Would any other posters prefer a British carrier on safety grounds? I could understand an aversion to some Russian carriers perhaps and the YAK40.
Safety is a "hygiene factor" - ie it is a reason to deselect as opposed to select.
One would probably avoid a central African carrier or ex-Russian Federation Tupolev fleet if there is a choice. Likewise I doubt anyone examines the record of BA LH SW VS CX etc and uses that as a basis to choose between them.
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