EL AL 28
Newark (EWR) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
Sunday, November 12
Depart: 1:15PM
Arrive: 6:35AM (+1 day)
Duration: 10hr20min
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9
Seat: 14A (Business Class)
We boarded through door L2, where we were greeted by Adi, the inflight service manager. He pointed me towards my seat in the business class cabin, though since the cabin was still empty I quickly snapped a picture of premium economy, located immediately to the right of the second door. Premium economy is a new concept for EL AL that debuted on the 787, and the cabin looked fairly comfortable, with a total of 28 seats.
EL AL 787 premium economy cabin
Then there was the business class cabin, which is a new design for EL AL, and infinitely better than what they had on their 777s and 747s. EL AL’s 787 business class cabin consists of a total of 32 seats, spread across eight rows in a 1-2-1 configuration. The configuration is staggered, and you have direct aisle access from every seat. This cabin is remarkably similar to United’s new Polaris seats, though these seats are actually the CL6710 model by Recaro.
EL AL 787 business class cabin
EL AL 787 business class cabin
In the center part of the cabin, every other row has two seats very close to one another, often referred to as honeymoon seats (though there’s also a privacy partition between seats that can be raised). Then the other rows have two seats closer to the aisles.
EL AL business class seats 787
The same general design is true along the windows. Odd numbered rows have seats closer to the aisle. These wouldn’t be my preferred seats, since they don’t have as much privacy as the window seats in even numbered rows. The one main benefit of the odd numbered seats is that you won’t feel as constrained when you’re in bed mode.
EL AL business class seats 787
EL AL business class seat 787
EL AL business class seat 787
Then evened numbered rows have the window seats closer to the windows. These seats feel like private cocoons, since there’s a console separating you from the aisle, and you have great views out the window.
EL AL business class seat 787
EL AL business class seat 787
EL AL business class seat 787
I was in 14A, while my mom was in 15A.
On the aisle-side of my seat was a large counter and then a console that contained the entertainment controllers, headphone jacks, a USB outlet, an exposed storage compartment, and a fully enclosed storage compartment.
EL AL business class seat console & entertainment control
Inside the compartment were the headphones.
EL AL business class seat storage compartment
While not as good as Bose headphones, they were among the better “basic” noise canceling headphones I’ve received on a plane.
EL AL business class seat headphones
Then underneath the console were the seat controls, which were easy to use. There were also armrests on both sides of the seat, which could be folded down.
EL AL business class seat armrest
EL AL business class seat controls
Underneath the seat and to the side was a 110v and USB outlet.
EL AL business class seat power outlet
The personal television could be extended from the seat in front, and immediately underneath it was the tray table.
EL AL business class seat tray table
Underneath that was the footwell. It was a bit on the tight side, though not uncomfortable. However, as a side sleeper there wasn’t much wiggle room when in the reclined position.
EL AL business class seat legroom
There was another storage compartment to the of the footwell — unfortunately this part of the seat wasn’t looking as fresh as the rest of the cabin.
EL AL business class seat storage
EL AL’s new business class hard product is great, and such a significant improvement compared to the angled seats they have on their 777s and 747s, with up to seven seats per row. I also think they did a great job with their cabin finishes in terms of colors. I do wish they had air vents at each individual seat, which far too many non-US airlines don’t have, in my experience.
Also waiting at my seat on boarding was a packaged pillow and blanket. The pillow was plush, while the blanket was thick without being overly warm. It would be nice if they eventually invested in better bedding, but what they have right now isn’t bad at all.
EL AL business class pillow & blanket
A moment after settling in Nadine came by my seat to introduce herself and say she’d be taking care of me. She asked if I wanted anything to drink. I asked what she had, and she responded with “try me.” Hah, works for me. I ordered some sparkling wine, which was served with a bag of mixed nuts.
EL AL business class pre-departure drink
A few minutes later I was offered a Salvatore Ferragamo amenity kit, which was fairly basic — it had earplugs, eyeshades, socks, toothpaste, lip balm, and body lotion.
EL AL business class amenity kit
Towards the end of boarding the crew passed through with bottled water.
EL AL business class bottled water
Ultimately it’s the crew that makes or breaks a flight, and I was so impressed by Adi and the rest of the business class crew. Adi came around to each and every passenger during boarding to personally welcome them onboard, ask them about their trip to Israel, introduce the new seat to them, etc. It’s always nice when employees take pride in what they’re offering, and it’s clear that the 787 is a point of pride for the airline.
Boarding took quite a while, and eventually just about every seat on the plane was occupied, including every seat in business class. At 1:10PM the door closed, and a few minutes after that the safety video was screened, which was super fun. I was amused by the animations they had of the various crewmembers.
EL AL safety video
At 1:20PM we began our pushback, and then 10 minutes later we began our taxi.
Taxiing Newark Airport
Shortly after starting our taxi the captain came on the PA — “Shalom and good afternoon, 9hr50min to Tel Aviv, we will be taking off in a couple of minutes. Thank you for flying EL AL.”
We had to cross runway 11/29, and then within a few minutes we were cleared for takeoff on runway 22R.
Taxiing Newark Airport
View after takeoff from Newark
View after takeoff from Newark
While our climb out was smooth, it was about 20 minutes after takeoff before the seatbelt sign was turned off.
View after takeoff from Newark
During this time I browsed the entertainment system. While EL AL doesn’t have Wi-Fi, the entertainment selection was quite good. There are certainly airlines with better offerings out there, but there was no shortage of decent movies (in total there were 141 to choose from).
EL AL 787 entertainment selection
EL AL 787 entertainment selection
EL AL 787 entertainment selection
EL AL 787 entertainment selection
EL AL 787 entertainment selection
After checking out the airshow I decided to watch a couple of episodes of The Middle.
Airshow enroute to Tel Aviv
EL AL 787 entertainment selection
Once the seatbelt sign was turned off the crew sprung into action.
EL AL 787 business class cabin
About 30 minutes after takeoff Nadine passed through with warm towels, and around the same time Adi passed through with the menus for the flight, and he highlighted that all the wines onboard were Israeli (I love when airlines showcase local wines onboard).
EL AL business class warm towel
EL AL business class menu & wine list
The menu read as follows:
The wine list read as follows:
About 40 minutes after takeoff the first round of drinks was served, once again with packaged nuts. I ordered a glass of the Israeli sauvignon blanc, which I loved.
EL AL business class wine — Yarden 2016 Sauvignon Blanc
I also ordered a sparkling water, though unfortunately they only had seltzer water.
EL AL business class lunch — wine and mixed nuts
Once drinks were served, Nadine came through to take meal orders. She asked if we wanted to be served the appetizer and main course on the same tray (to expedite the service), or if we wanted it to be served separately. We were in no rush, so we had it separately.
About 80 minutes after takeoff the first tray of food was served, along with a selection from the breadbasket.
The appetizer consisted of sesame crusted seared tuna with daikon radish slaw, which was phenomenal. The salad it was served with was significantly less impressive, and quite boring, actually.
EL AL business class lunch — appetizer and salad
For the main course I ordered the sweet chili glazed seared salmon fillet with basmati rice, sugar snap peas, and pea tendrils. The fish and sugar snap peas were good, though the dish was a bit bland, as I could barely taste the sweet chili glaze.
EL AL business class lunch — salmon
Meanwhile my mom had the chicken cubes in a mango Thai red curry sauce with pad Thai noodles and edamame beans, which she enjoyed.
EL AL business class lunch — chicken with curry
Dessert was next. My mom and I split a fresh fruit plate and the most amazing chocolate pastry, which was so good. I also had a coffee as well as the dessert wine, which Adi encouraged us to both try. His knowledge of the wines impressed me, as he knew all the details of every wine we asked about. Impressive.
EL AL business class lunch — dessert, fresh fruit, and coffee
By the time the meal was done the sun was already starting to set — you know it’s winter when you takeoff at 1PM and the sun sets two hours later!
Sunset enroute to Tel Aviv
I went to sleep just north of Newfoundland, with about 7hr40min remaining in our flight.
Airshow enroute to Tel Aviv
Airshow enroute to Tel Aviv
I woke up three hours later, as we were just north of the UK. Frankly that’s more sleep than I was expecting to get on a flight leaving so early in the day, so I was pleased with that.
Airshow enroute to Tel Aviv
After once again browsing the entertainment selection I decided to watch Bride Wars. I have no clue how I haven’t seen this movie before?!
EL AL entertainment selection
The crew passed through the cabin frequently, and I ordered an espresso to try and wake up a bit. EL AL has a proper Nespresso machine on their 787, and the espresso and cappuccinos were excellent.
EL AL business class espresso
Later on I just had a plain coffee, since an espresso was a bit too strong, and I didn’t want a bunch more calories (though I devoured the two cookies they served with the coffee, so I guess that didn’t last long). I was also asked if I wanted any other snacks, sandwiches, etc., though I passed.
EL AL business class coffee
Soon enough we were just 2hr20min from arriving in Tel Aviv.
Airshow enroute to Tel Aviv
Two hours before landing the cabin lights were turned all the way up, and the breakfast service began. That started with warm towels being distributed, followed by the choice of grapefruit juice, orange juice, or water.
EL AL business class breakfast — juice to start
Then yet another menu was distributed for the breakfast service.
EL AL business class breakfast menu
The menu read as follows:
Breakfast orders were taken about 10 minutes after the menus were distributed, and then a few minutes late breakfast was served.
Everything about the breakfast was amazing. I loved the salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, and radishes, I loved the salmon and olives, the bagel was actually soft and fresh-tasting, the cappuccino was amazing, and I also enjoyed the yogurt and muesli. Yum, yum, yum.
EL AL business class breakfast
EL AL business class breakfast — cappuccino
My mom chose the other breakfast option, which came with all the same stuff, except it had an omelet in place of the yogurt and muesli.
EL AL business class breakfast — omelet
Adi also came around with a tray containing cinnamon rolls and other delicious caloric carbs. I resisted, but it was tough to do given how good they smelled.
EL AL business class breakfast — pastries
Before I knew it were about 90 minutes out, and I decided to get some work done on my laptop.
Airshow enroute to Tel Aviv
Here’s one complaint I have about the EL AL 787 — I don’t think the bathroom setup is very good. There’s one lavatory at the front of the cabin, and then two lavatories behind business class, though they’re shared with premium economy. So in reality there’s only one dedicated business class lavatory which is also shared with the pilots, so there was almost always a queue to use any of the three bathrooms.
EL AL 787 business class lavatory
EL AL 787 business class lavatory amenities
As we began our descent we were treated to a sunrise that was every bit as beautiful as the sunset we had earlier.
Sunrise enroute to Tel Aviv
At 6AM Adi came around the cabin to distribute chocolates and mints, and to thank everyone for flying with EL AL and ask what they thought of the flight and the 787. I really can’t say enough good things about him and the rest of the crew. Adi clearly loves what he does, and couldn’t have been more professional and friendly. He also constantly checked on my mom (after she shared just how excited she was about the trip, etc.), which I appreciate more than just about anything else in the world.
EL AL business class chocolates and mints
Airshow enroute to Tel Aviv
Airshow enroute to Tel Aviv
Airshow enroute to Tel Aviv
The seatbelt sign was turned on about 10 minutes before landing, at which point Tel Aviv came into sight.
View approaching Tel Aviv
View approaching Tel Aviv
View approaching Tel Aviv
We had a smooth touchdown at Ben Gurion Airport at 6:30AM, and from there had a roughly five minute taxi to our arrival gate.
Taxiing Ben Gurion Airport
We taxied past the Cathay Pacific A350, which had already arrived.
Cathay Pacific A350 Ben Gurion Airport
Taxiing Ben Gurion Airport
At the terminal we parked next to an EL AL 777.
EL AL 777 Ben Gurion Airport
To my surprise, the arrivals process was quite easy, and within about 20 minutes we were enroute to Jerusalem.
EL AL 787 business class bottom line
Historically EL AL doesn’t exactly have a great reputation for their onboard experience, and I came in with low expectations. Suffice to say I was very pleasantly surprised. First of all, the new 787 is gorgeous, and such an improvement over the other longhaul planes that they have in their fleet. Arguably their new business class hard product is better than their old first class hard product.
However, what impressed me most was the genuine warmth of the crew. Obviously there’s a huge amount of variability in terms of the quality of flight attendants, though Adi and his team blew me away. The food and entertainment selection also exceeded my expectations
Well done, EL AL. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend a flight on EL AL’s excellent new 787.
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