Etsi halvat lennot: EL AL

Crammed too close for too long

Plussat: Liked crew and fellow passengers, thank heavens, because we were on top of each other for 11-1/2 hours.

Miinukset: Bad info from agents re meals, told I could NOT arrange anything until on board, but other people did receive special food. They told me you could specify on line. Awful lack of info re coordination betw JetBlue and El Al Couldn’t access my carry on during flight since it would not fit under seat. My glucose meter and healthy food, books and sewing were unavailable to me.

First Dreamliner from Toronto

Plussat: A lot of attention from the crew on this flight, hopefully that keeps up as Dreamliners become standard on the route. Much better experience than the aging 767s.

Miinukset: Boarding was delayed by quite a bit. Economy seats are not great, especially for a 12 hr flight. Entertainment system has some bugs to work out and the food is nothing to write home about.

High security on an Israeli airline.

Plussat: I had a good experience purchasing my El Al ticket through Kayak. I was able to select my seat--exit row seats at no extra cost! (although the ticket was admittedly expensive). El Al itself was fine. Service was fine. Food was fine for airplane food. (The bread was actually good, much better than the food on America airlines in general). El Al is known for their tight security and we certainly experienced that. However, I found myself NOT annoyed by it. Because I and my traveling partner were not Jewish or Israeli, we were singled out and interrogated with extra questions. This doesn't sound good but it meant we didn't have to wait in the regular line and kind of got the VIP treatment. We were treated very nicely. Someone went out of their way to get us a seat while we waited for them to inspect the dust particle samples on our wallet and shoes. TSA makes my blood boil but the security through El Al was somehow a pleasant experience. Overall, I was satisfied.

Miinukset: The seats were a little narrow. Unlike other reviewers, I did not find the crew particularly friendly.

Plussat: Friendly crew. Good service and a pleasant flight.

Miinukset: Seats were crammed. No TV entertainment. The terminal was at a corner of the airport with no food...

Plussat: Fairly empty flight. Decent movie selections. Pleasant crew.

Miinukset: I shouldn’t have upgraded to Economy+ b/c the front row (in Economy) has no where to store your things except overhead, the extra legroom is negated by everyone using your row to cross between aisles and the screen that folds out from the armrest wouldn’t stay upright & required constant adjustment. No WiFi is disappointing for a 12+ hr flight.