Indochina trip 1/9: El Al B744 TLV-BKK + LY lounge

This report describes LY TLV-BKK flight taken last December. If I’m not mistaken, it’s the first photographed report of this route.

Background:
On November 30th 2010 I filled in my last essay for my degree in the university. Parallel to that, I was forced to leave my job since I was working in a student internship and since I was, well, no longer a student, my boss was forced to let me go. This created an interesting situation: for the first time since I was 6, I wasn't committed to anything, not studying nor working.
Instead of looking for a new job, which is what any other normal person would do, I had different plans – wasn't it the best opportunity to take a long (well deserved!) trip with no time limit?

I wanted to explore new cultures, heading to someplace I had never been before; Indochina was my choice - an interesting place which I have never been to before. I gave myself about 4 months for this trip, knowing it's a chance of once in a lifetime that I can’t miss.

Booking:
For most passengers, the gateway to Indochina is Bangkok. Popular airlines on TLV-BKK route are RJ, UZB, LY and in the past also TK. Surprisingly, LY had the cheapest offer, on direct flight. While searching online El Al was more expensive, yet contacting a travel agency I was informed that El Al has a special price for passengers aged less then 27 years old which is 30% lower then the price I saw online. This offer gives free change of the return date in a range of 1 year from the departure date. Eventually I booked with www.deasy.co.il a large travel agency that my family is working with for years. I set my return date right before the Passover, 109 days after departure, with the option to change it (with no extra fee, as mentioned). I had the option to book a seat in advance and I choose 57J, 4 rows from the back of the 747, where the Y row turns to 2-4-2 instead of 3-4-3.

There were a bit cheaper options for the AMM-BKK route, but this would require quite a big mess: 2 buses to the Jordanian border, crossing it, buying a Jordanian visa, then taking a taxi from the border to AMM, which means being tired and exhausted before even taking my seat on board, not something welcome before a long haul flight, therefore I passed this option and took the nonstop option.

Pre-flight:
SDT was 23:10. I got to TLV at 21:10, waiting for security check was 25 minutes, check in waiting time was 10 minutes, passport control 15 minutes then 5 more for hand bag check. Not great, but can be worse.

Heading for the gates area:


This will be E wing, future expansion of the terminal planned for 2016:


Entrance for El Al King David lounge in TLV:


King David lounge first Class section, which was empty:












The larger lounge is the C class lounge, which had many more passengers:






The upper floor:




El Al also gives its premium passengers option for massage in the lounge, which is nice move:




FIDS:


Gate C8, in the last stages of Y boarding:




My ride for today - 4X-ELE, 16 years old B744, operated by SQ and bought by El Al last year. It’s the only B744 with AVOD, and (at the time) it was LY’s only second-hand 744:


Boarding was done quickly, with me been one of the last Y passengers to board. I walked from L2 door all the way to my seat, 4 rows from the back.

Flight Details:
Flight number: LY081
Airline: El Al Israel Airlines
Airplane: Boeing B747-400 4X-ELE (Built 1994)
Route: Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Israel -> Bangkok Suvarnabumi Thailand
Date: Saturday/Sunday, December 25/26th 2010
Seat: 57J
Runways: 30 -> 01R
Gates: C8 -> E8
SDT/SAT: 2310/1450

Actual timing:
Pushback: 23:18
Taxi: 23:28
Wheels off: 23:35 (GMT+2)
Touchdown: 14:26 (GMT+7)
Full stop: 14:33

Airborne time: 9 hours 51 minutes
Gate to Gate time: 10 hours 15 minutes

Pushback was 8 minutes behind schedule, we taxied and departed westbound from RWY 30. We made a left turn then flew south over Be’er Sheva and Eilat, and on towards the Red sea all the way to Somalia, then headed east to India and Thailand.

Snack and drink after takeoff (I had water):


Dinner – I had pasta which was very good. The oriental salad was a nice touch regarding the destination.


Economy snacks and drinks bar:


As mentioned, ELE is the only 747 with AVOD (in LY), but when I tried to use mine, the control right button wasn’t working, therefore I had no real option to use it:


The control:


I called to one of the FAs explained to her the problem; she tried to fix it for a minute, failed, apologized and said she will be back in a minute. Just about a minute later, she came back with this:


Personal media player, AKA ‘Vidibox’, with many-many programs and movies, both Israeli and non-Israeli (mostly American) which was a fantastic solution to the problem. Good improvisation from the cabin crew. I didn’t notice any other screen not working (The scene is part of ‘Givat Halfon’, the greatest Israeli movie of all time). Inflight mag and safety card:


Boarding Pass:


After few hours, I pulled some strings in the airline to pay a visit to the Cockpit, when we were over India:










Damn you A380, that’s still the best looking wing in the industry:


On the way back from the cockpit, I took some pics of the cabin; The upper deck business class:


Main deck JCL (notice that seats are different from LY’s other 744 JCL seats):


Front economy cabin:


Middle economy cabin:


Rare economy cabin:


As you can see, load factor was just about 100% both in C and Y (didn’t see F cabin), I didn’t see a single empty seat.



The gap between the seats and the fuselage:


I used the place to put all my stuff:


LY’s well known TLV-BKK route:


By the time I was back in my seat breakfast was already cleared, I wasn’t really hungry so I just asked for cup of coffee. Wing and winglet somewhere over Myanmar:




No problem with the legroom:


Soon we descended over Bangkok:




We landed northbound on RWY 01R and soon we taxied to gate E8:




Post flight: Disembarking took a while since I was in the very back of the Jumbo, it took me 11 minutes from full stop till I was out of the airplane, and still, we were ahead of scheduled time. There was one hell of a heat wave felt when we were out of the airplane. Walking to passport control:


Passport control was a mess. The hall was totally full, waiting took no less then 45 minutes, and the air condition was way too weak. Just take a look:


I was all sweating when (thank god) I passed the passport control, with my luggage already waiting on the belt. Arrival hall, which was also way too hot:


Since I had no local money, I had to use the ATM in the airport – what a rip off! Not only there is a 150 Thai Baht (THB) commission, but there is a limit of withdrawal, 2000 THB (70 USD) and in addition the company charges extra ‘exchange fee’ to CHF (what Swiss Francs has to do with Thailand? I have no idea) and at the bottom line, the commission is almost 10% from the maximum withdrawal amount. My tip – bring some local money for the train or the airport bus and use one of the normal ATMs in the city, instead of the (TMB bank) airport ATM. After this, I got down to take the Airport Express bus to the city (150 THB). External view:


JCL amenity Kit:






Can’t say I like Bangkok. Really can’t. It’s too hot, the tuktuk drivers drive you crazy, traffic is catastrophic, public transport is insufficient, streets are dirty and most important – it seems that because they have so many tourists, they sneer them and it’s hard to find the warm welcome that tourists get in other places in Thailand and Indochina, backpackers like me included. In Bangkok it seems that they just want the money, and for young budget traveler it looks like because they can’t rip much money out of me, they just aren’t nice. But that was just my impression, and of course not all of Bangkok is the same. Anyway, I wanted to stay in the city till New Year’s Eve, 5 days, including one day trip to Ayutthaya. Some pics:


I think that was the very first picture I took outside the hotel:




Democracy monument:


One of the many night markers in the city – this was taken after 1 am!


Typical Bangkok traffic:


Grand Palace:






Ayuttaya, the old Thai capitol:


Silom:




Kho-San st’ on New Year’s Eve:


This was the first part, many more to come. Questions and comments are always welcome.


Please take a look at my other trip reports:

Flying The Box: Ayit Shorts 360 SDV-RPN-SDV (by el-al Oct 10 2010 in Trip Reports)
Nightmares And Thefts: Air Malta TLV-MLA-TLV (by EL-AL Oct 22 2010 in Trip Reports)
EL-AL Inaugural Domestic Flight 1.8.2010 TLV-ETH (by EL-AL Aug 2 2010 in Trip Reports)
2 Countries, 1 Dollar: TLV-LCA-TLV Arkia E195+B753 (by EL-AL Jun 3 2010 in Trip Reports)
Inside Israel: SDV-ETH-TLV; Israir & Arkia (+pics) (by EL-AL May 19 2010 in Trip Reports)
Special TR: Preparations For El Al Ind.day Flyover (by EL-AL Apr 20 2010 in Trip Reports)
LCC In Spain: TLV-BCN-SVQ-REU With UX, VY & FR (by EL-AL Apr 18 2010 in Trip Reports)
Y Viva Espana! TLV-BCN-TLV; EL-AL 'basic' (+ Pics) (by EL-AL Jan 29 2010 in Trip Reports)
EL-AL At It's Best: TLV-MXP, FCO-TLV (+pics) (by EL-AL Oct 12 2009 in Trip Reports)
First Sun D'or Pax TR TLV-BOJ (new Link To Pics) (by EL-AL Sep 12 2009 in Trip Reports)

Incredible TR!! Having flown on LY from JFK-TLV-JFK. It's great to see another review  . Thanks for the memories.

Very interesting flight route! How long was the flight?

Having been to Thailand a few times, too. Thanks for the pictures to relieve the memories! I look forward to more of your work!

I want one of those orange chairs from the King David Lounge!!  

TLV looks like a great airport also, plenty of space.

Looking forward to the next part of your report!  

Hello EL-AL,

what an appropriate member to do a TR on El-Al. I've been waiting to see a TR on El-Al in its BKK route and I am very glad you put this up! (BKK's really the closest El-Al can get to SIN I guess since I read that Israeli airliners are prohibited over Malaysian airspace)

It has always been an airline of mystery for me, from my understanding that it hires its own security (and interviews passengers), utilises anti-missile systems on its aircraft and not fly on certain days of the Jewish calender. What a really intriguing airline! I'd always make it a point to look out for it if I'm passing through BKK.

I'm glad you had the chance to try out the only 744 with AVOD and it was a really nice touch for the crew to offer you a portable entertainment device when yours wasn't working. I also think its great that there's a sumptuous spread of snacks onboard for passengers to help themselves.

Kudos on your cockpit visit and the very rare insight into the cockpit as well! I don't think many of us could have the privilege to make it into El-Al's cockpit, especially mid-flight!

Sorry to hear that Bangkok isn't much for your liking. Its really noisy and cluttered, and has this constant vibe to it. Not all people dig the chaos but I don't mind, if only for a short stay   haha... Thanks for the wonderful pictures of Bangkok, its nice to see the new and old of this metropolis.

I am curious, is El-Al strict on onboard photography or are they quite fine with it?

Thanks and cheers!
RvXKaz

An excellent TR. We don't see too many on El Al, so I enjoyed reading yours.

If I can ask, how were you able to get access into the cockpit? The US has long prohibited cockpit visits in flight due to FAA regulations. I used to do it on the foreign carriers and on one carrier I was privileged to sit in the jump seat for take off and landing. 11 September put an end to that. I'm glad you could include cockpit pics.

I live in Bangkok and I was smiling to myself as I read your comments. It is like you described it. It is a popular place for tourists (Thailand itself is popular), but I preferred Tokyo when I lived there. Much different. One good thing about Bangkok is, it's cheap.

Which hotel did you stay at here? There are excellent hotels here, but because it is so hot, you might not want to venture out.

I hope to see more excellent TR's from you.

Hello EL-AL!

I clicked on your report the moment I saw that it was on LY as it is an airline that I am very interested in. The livery itself is already beautiful and not forgetting to mention that it is one of the more unique airlines of the world as you have to report 3 hours in advance for several security checks before letting you board the aircraft.

The flight path itself to BKK is interesting and it must be due to the avoidance of other Middle Eastern countries. What I found even more interesting was that you were actually allowed in the cockpit, despite managing to pull some strings. That would have been once in a lifetime experience, getting to enter the cockpit of one of the world's most secure airlines in flight!

The Economy Class cabin of this ex-SQ 747 has the seat covers changed but one look at the Business Class cabin would tell you the history of the bird. Did they keep the First Class cabin in the nose of the aircraft or have they changed it to Business Class too? The small fault in the entertainment system is a huge minus but I was surprised they managed to give you a portable player. Seeing that all the seats are equipped with a PTV, I wonder why they will load those onto the aircraft? Probably PTV malfunctions happen all the time...

Bangkok is one of my favourite cities and I'm sorry it did not meet your expectations. True enough that it has so many tourists that you may not get the same warm welcome but instead you get dishonest people trying to rip off tourists. Even in night markets you get the stall owners giving you ridiculous prices for things that can be bought for 30-40% of the price, or even lesser.

Look forward to more reports in the future.

Cheers,
Daniel

Very interesting report about a rare route, Jonathan! I also like your destination pictures.

Quoting EL-AL (Thread starter): Popular airlines on TLV-BKK route are RJ, UZB, LY and in the past also TK.

Why isn't TK popular any more? Political reasons?

Quoting EL-AL (Thread starter): I called to one of the FAs explained to her the problem; she tried to fix it for a minute, failed, apologized and said she will be back in a minute. Just about a minute later, she came back with this:

Nice!

Quoting EL-AL (Thread starter): We made a left turn then flew south over Be’er Sheva and Eilat, and on towards the Red sea all the way to Somalia, then headed east to India and Thailand.

Quoting EL-AL (Thread starter): LY’s well known TLV-BKK route:

It's too bad LY cannot fly directly.

Quoting EL-AL (Thread starter): After few hours, I pulled some strings in the airline to pay a visit to the Cockpit, when we were over India:

Must have been fun!

Quoting EL-AL (Thread starter): Passport control was a mess. The hall was totally full, waiting took no less then 45 minutes, and the air condition was way too weak. Just take a look:

That looks really bad. Btw - I guess you won't find any place at BKK where the air condition works fine.


PH

Excellent TR. Thanks a lot for sharing!! Brings back a lot of memories of Israel!!  

Sorry to hear tht you did not enjoy Bangkok. It's one of my favorite cities in the world. The chaos, unpredictability and vibe makes it a very lively city.  

One question regarding the routing of the flight. I see that after entering the Arabian Sea, the flight takes a longish detour to fly over BOM, instead of directly going to BKK by flying straight over Southern India. Any particular reason for that?

Hello EL-AL,

Good report on your home country's carrier. El Al has always intriugued me because of their high security and regulations. It has not been too long that every El Al aircraft had to accompanied by a police vehicle when taxiing around. I wonder how this is in TLV: is it just regular security like most any other airport?
You were very lucky to score a cockpit vist in-flight, how did you do that   

And a very nice touch of the crew to give you a portable entertainment unit! Enjoy your stay in Thailand.

Bye
(Sulta)Nils

Quoting rvxkaz (Reply 3): I'd always make it a point to look out for it if I'm passing through BKK.

Me as well, at BKK and JFK...it's always so intriguing to see the El-Al birds parked remotely with all the security around it. I chuckle to myself when I see a Mahan Air bird parked next to an El Al aircraft at BKK, which has happened several times. Oh politics.

Quoting rvxkaz (Reply 3): Kudos on your cockpit visit and the very rare insight into the cockpit as well! I don't think many of us could have the privilege to make it into El-Al's cockpit, especially mid-flight!

That is amazing, I don't know you scored that on El Al out of all airlines, but what an experience! I was even going to note that you were pretty adventurous with the photo taking, which I hear they can get a bit testy about on LY!

Great report, very unique and well done  

Quoting initious (Reply 5): The Economy Class cabin of this ex-SQ 747 has the seat covers changed but one look at the Business Class cabin would tell you the history of the bird.

I noticed that too. I guess LV never bothered to put some of their own individual touches in the cabin, Y class seat covers aside. Passengers on that plane might well have been flying SQ.

Hi Jonathan
nice trip report and interesting reading most because im going next week for the first time to BKK
Can i ask which is the best way to go from the airport to the centre of the city?
Alberto

Very interesting report, thanks for sharing!

Out of interest, what are the seats like in the nose of this ex-SQ aircraft? Still the Sky Suite First Class seats?

Quoting mxp (Reply 11): nice trip report and interesting reading most because im going next week for the first time to BKK Can i ask which is the best way to go from the airport to the centre of the city?

I live in Bangkok. You can get a taxi anywhere, they are plentiful and cheap. Always make sure the driver uses his meter. If he ever asks you how much you're want to pay, just say "Meter meter." Traffic in Bangkok is very bad so you might want to consider the next option, the Airport Rail Link.

The Airport Rail Link runs between Suvarnabhumi Airport and Phaya Thay. You can take the express to Makkusan for 150 baht. From there you can get a taxi or take the MRT (subway). There is a local train from the airport which makes 7 stops and takes you to Phaya Thay. From there, you can connect to the BTS (train).

Hope this helps. Enjoy your time in Bangkok. It is hot here, so be ready.

Quoting 777ORD (Reply 1): Incredible TR!!

Thx ORD.

Quoting 777ORD (Reply 1): How long was the flight?

Quoting EL-AL (Thread starter): Airborne time: 9 hours 51 minutes Gate to Gate time: 10 hours 15 minutes

Quoting rvxkaz (Reply 3): what an appropriate member to do a TR on El-Al

My 5th LY report so far.

Quoting rvxkaz (Reply 3): Kudos on your cockpit visit and the very rare insight into the cockpit as well! I don't think many of us could have the privilege to make it into El-Al's cockpit, especially mid-flight!

My second time already. Take a look at my El Al inaugural flight to Eilat report.

Quoting rvxkaz (Reply 3): I am curious, is El-Al strict on onboard photography or are they quite fine with it?

As you can see, I had no problem taking photos anywhere in the cabin, including the cockpit.

Quoting triple7man (Reply 4): An excellent TR. We don't see too many on El Al, so I enjoyed reading yours.

Thx, glad you liked it.

Quoting triple7man (Reply 4): I'm glad you could include cockpit pics.

Thx, as I wrote you can also take a look at my LY TLV-ETH TR which also include inflight cockpit pics.

Quoting triple7man (Reply 4): Which hotel did you stay at here? There are excellent hotels here, but because it is so hot, you might not want to venture out

For a backpacker like me, one of the fancy hotels in Bangkok is way out of my budget.

Quoting initious (Reply 5): ou have to report 3 hours in advance for several security checks before letting you board the aircraft.

Never came to the airport more then 2 hours before any LY flight.

Quoting initious (Reply 5): Did they keep the First Class cabin in the nose of the aircraft or have they changed it to Business Class too?

They do have FCL cabin in the front:

View Large View Medium

Photo © Yochai Mossi - AirTeamImages

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 6): Very interesting report about a rare route, Jonathan! I also like your destination pictures.

Thx PH.

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 6): Why isn't TK popular any more? Political reasons?

Yep. Since the flotilla events last year number of Israelis flying to Turkey decreased more then 90%, Israelis flying to IST for connecting flights including, naturally.

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 6): Must have been fun!

Always does.

Quoting justbala (Reply 7): Excellent TR. Thanks a lot for sharing!!

Thx, my pleasure.

Quoting justbala (Reply 7): One question regarding the routing of the flight. I see that after entering the Arabian Sea, the flight takes a longish detour to fly over BOM, instead of directly going to BKK by flying straight over Southern India. Any particular reason for that?

Noticed that too, but I have no idea why they do so. Matter of flight routes probably.

Quoting sultanils (Reply 8): Good report on your home country's carrier.

Thank you.

Quoting sq_ek_freak (Reply 9): That is amazing, I don't know you scored that on El Al out of all airlines, but what an experience! I was even going to note that you were pretty adventurous with the photo taking, which I hear they can get a bit testy about on LY!

As i mentioned, I never had problem taking photos anywhere in the cabin while flying LY, not even in the cockpit during flight.

Quoting sq_ek_freak (Reply 9): Great report, very unique and well done

Thx for your kind works, I'm happy you like it.

Quoting CXB77L (Reply 10): Passengers on that plane might well have been flying SQ.

SQ need to fly to TLV for that.

Quoting mxp (Reply 11): nice trip report and interesting reading

Thx MXP, regarding you question, I used the airport Express bus (150 THB) and when I flew out I took the city-air link (45 THB).

Quoting Genius12 (Reply 12): Very interesting report, thanks for sharing!

Thank you.

Quoting Genius12 (Reply 12): Out of interest, what are the seats like in the nose of this ex-SQ aircraft? Still the Sky Suite First Class seats?

Please take a look at the photo I attached to this comment. I don't know if you were talking about those seat, but this is the LY FCL on the ELE.

By the way, El Al bought another used B747-400 to it's fleet in February 2011, ex. Pullmantur Air and SQ, registered 4X-ELH.

Quoting EL-AL (Reply 14): Please take a look at the photo I attached to this comment. I don't know if you were talking about those seat, but this is the LY FCL on the ELE.

Ah, I see they've installed their own seats in the nose. This was the original SQ F cabin; http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-2i3-C1Sae...CE/GkDi87HZJss/s400/2_1117feat.jpg

Very interesting Trip Report! An intuiging insight to a less-covered carrier here.
I was very interested to see what route you would take, though I thought you would have taken a more northerly route, but looking at an Atlas more closely, I can see why not.

Quoting EL-AL (Reply 14): Quoting justbala (Reply 7): One question regarding the routing of the flight. I see that after entering the Arabian Sea, the flight takes a longish detour to fly over BOM, instead of directly going to BKK by flying straight over Southern India. Any particular reason for that? Noticed that too, but I have no idea why they do so. Matter of flight routes probably.

Probably something to do with flying over the Maldives, another Islamic country, it looks on that map like you just avoided them.

JG  

Quoting pawsleykat (Reply 16): Probably something to do with flying over the Maldives, another Islamic country, it looks on that map like you just avoided them.

Doubt it, Israel and the Maldives have diplomatic relations, including reciprocal ambassadors, so I don't think that flight paths over the top of the Maldives are the reason.

Hi,
Very interesting trip report, thanks for sharing!

Quoting EL-AL (Thread starter): We made a left turn then flew south over Be’er Sheva and Eilat, and on towards the Red sea all the way to Somalia, then headed east to India and Thailand.

So what if you had emergency somewhere over Red Sea, would they land the plane in Saudi Arabia or Sudan? not to mention Somalia...I guess Amsara or Djibouti are used as emergency landing airports?

Hey Jonathon ,
Nice report and photos . Always wanted to try out the LY B744 . Maybe oneday .

I see LY have a new video Ad :

http://youtu.be/dOKKCHOYs9A

Plus they are giving all Matmid members the chance to cash in 63 points for lounge access.


Regards

OA260  

Interesting looks at El Al. I remember fling back HKG-SIN in the very back with SQ, and the seats were so uncomfortable. Doesn't look like El Al have done much work on the aircraft to make it more individual. Hope you enjoyed your Asia trip!

Great report, TLV looks modern!

I only spent a few hours in Bangkok but got the same impression as you - maybe that'll change when I'm next that way.

Cheers
Sam

Quoting AlexEU (Reply 18): Very interesting trip report, thanks for sharing!

Thx Alex.

Quoting AlexEU (Reply 18): So what if you had emergency somewhere over Red Sea, would they land the plane in Saudi Arabia or Sudan? not to mention Somalia...I guess Amsara or Djibouti are used as emergency landing airports?

Israel have normal relations with Eritrea and Djibouti, so as Egypt, so it's no problem to land there. If there is an emergency over the Red sea, i guess Saudi Arabia will let the plane to land, just like Israel allowed Iranian plane to land on it's soil in 1995.

Quoting oa260 (Reply 19): Nice report and photos

Thx oa260.

Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 20): Interesting looks at El Al. I remember fling back HKG-SIN in the very back with SQ, and the seats were so uncomfortable. Doesn't look like El Al have done much work on the aircraft to make it more individual. Hope you enjoyed your Asia trip!

I agree, I think LY sould have changed it's configuration to match the same level as LY's other B744. Inconsistency in product is never a good thing.

Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 20): Great report

Thank you.

Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 20): TLV looks modern!

Yep, the international terminal is great.

Quoting EL-AL (Thread starter): Airborne time: 9 hours 51 minutes Gate to Gate time: 10 hours 15 minutes

That seems like a very quick flight time given that you seem to have gone south of the Arab word




http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?DU=mi&MS=...tlv-bkk,+tlv-JIB-bkk&SG=450&SU=mph

Hello! I enjoyed reading the report about LY's 747! I do have one question, though. How did you feel about the security at TLV. They do have high standards on ex-Israel flights.

Wow, I've always wanted to fly El Al, unfortunately i've only been to Israel once and I flew the old OA! It seems like they offer some very nice service. I often prefer something a bit more inconsistent but out of the heart and genuine, and spontaneous rather than something robotized. Really great trip report!

Quoting Eaa3 (Reply 23): That seems like a very quick flight time given that you seem to have gone south of the Arab word

I think that 400 MPH is a bit too slow. AMM-BKK flight on A340-200 takes 8 hours. Anyway that was the exact time. The westbound flight, on a 763, took me 11 hours.

Quoting swedenflyer (Reply 24): Hello! I enjoyed reading the report about LY's 747! I do have one question, though. How did you feel about the security at TLV. They do have high standards on ex-Israel flights.

With me visiting the cockpit on LY flight while cruising over India, you can guess that the horror stories about the harsh security in TLV are exaggerated.

Quoting KLAM (Reply 25): Wow, I've always wanted to fly El Al, unfortunately i've only been to Israel once and I flew the old OA! It seems like they offer some very nice service. I often prefer something a bit more inconsistent but out of the heart and genuine, and spontaneous rather than something robotized. Really great trip report!

Hey KLAM, I'm afraid El Al's service is too inconsistent. They do have something 'out of the heart' but it's not always enough. Read my 9/9 report and you'll understand what I mean.