Has anyone flown Continental, Delta or El Al to Israel? Trying to figure out why Continental and El Al are heavily booked and have no frequent flyer seats and Delta is virtually unbooked
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I favor Continental because of the comfort and their service. And many times I can use my points, so that's just one better reason. El Al is favored by many because it is the airline of Israel and their superior security screening. There really are few airlines out there than come close to that aspect. Service is generally okay, but they leg room is a nightmare. It has been a few years since I have been on an El Al flight. I've never flown Delta, never had any reason to especially since they serve JFK and I am not a JFK fan.
Also it depends on the time of year you are searching and how far in advance and your flexibility. Sometimes if you can move a day here and there, you can use the points. Sometimes I have moved either back or forward to make it work.
Hi Meryl,
There is nothing wrong with the Delta flights to Israel. If you can get flights on points/miles, go for it. If you are deciding which airline to take, I would not hesitate if Delta is less expensive. My experience with Continental's planes is that they have personal entertainment centers for each seat with an unlimited number of movies, whereas ELAL is less reliable in this respect: sometimes there is a personal entertainment center and other times, it is the old-fashioned central entertainment. Continental is part of the Star Alliance group in case you are members via a different airline - then you can continue to accumulate miles.
Hope that is helpful,
Judy
Hi Judy, Can you elaborate? What does "not that positive" mean? And, if you're sleeping, how differen is it?
Judith Isaacson said:
Yes, I have flown Continental and ELAL to Israel. Spoke to others who have flown Delta and the response is not that positive. Best of luck Judy http://www.Drive-Israel.com
Yes, I have flown Continental and ELAL to Israel. Spoke to others who have flown Delta and the response is not that positive.
Best of luck
Judy http://www.Drive-Israel.com
I see nothing wrong flying Delta. They have been flying to Israel for a few years now, non-stop from Atlanta using Boeing 777 equipment. Last year they started flying from JFK and are now on that route daily using a Boeing 747-400. I have a lot of clients flying Delta and they seem to be at the same level as any other American carrier.
I see nothing wrong flying Delta. They have been flying to Israel for a few years now, non-stop from Atlanta using Boeing 777 equipment. Last year they started flying from JFK and are now on that route daily using a Boeing 747-400. I have a lot of clients flying Delta and they seem to be at the same level as any other American carrier.
My first-hand experience flying El Al -- and my second-hand experience of talking to people in the biz -- indicate that El Al is crowded because the nationals fly it, as do Americans who want to support Israel and/or fly an airline whose security measures are as close to a sure thing as exists on this planet. So the real question is, why are so few people flying Delta? I think it's because Delta's SkyTeam alliance consists of airlines like Aeroflot, Aero Mexico, and Air France; that is, airlines whose passengers aren't going to beef up JFK-Tel Aviv flights. Conclusion: If you have enough Delta miles, fly Delta.
This may be because Continental partners with United, US Airways and Air Canada and therefore share their frequent flyer seats with lots of carriers. El Al doesn't have any seats probably because they just don't want to allow for any "freebies on these busy dates.
Good luck,
Ophir Ben-Yitschak
Scopia LLC www.scopia.biz
Milwaukee, WI
Replies
Meryl,
I favor Continental because of the comfort and their service. And many times I can use my points, so that's just one better reason. El Al is favored by many because it is the airline of Israel and their superior security screening. There really are few airlines out there than come close to that aspect. Service is generally okay, but they leg room is a nightmare. It has been a few years since I have been on an El Al flight. I've never flown Delta, never had any reason to especially since they serve JFK and I am not a JFK fan.
Also it depends on the time of year you are searching and how far in advance and your flexibility. Sometimes if you can move a day here and there, you can use the points. Sometimes I have moved either back or forward to make it work.
There is nothing wrong with the Delta flights to Israel. If you can get flights on points/miles, go for it. If you are deciding which airline to take, I would not hesitate if Delta is less expensive. My experience with Continental's planes is that they have personal entertainment centers for each seat with an unlimited number of movies, whereas ELAL is less reliable in this respect: sometimes there is a personal entertainment center and other times, it is the old-fashioned central entertainment. Continental is part of the Star Alliance group in case you are members via a different airline - then you can continue to accumulate miles.
Hope that is helpful,
Judy
Judith Isaacson said:
Best of luck
Judy
http://www.Drive-Israel.com
Ophir Ben-Yitschak said:
I see nothing wrong flying Delta. They have been flying to Israel for a few years now, non-stop from Atlanta using Boeing 777 equipment. Last year they started flying from JFK and are now on that route daily using a Boeing 747-400. I have a lot of clients flying Delta and they seem to be at the same level as any other American carrier.
Ophir Ben-Yitschak
Israel Travel Expert
www.scopia.biz
This may be because Continental partners with United, US Airways and Air Canada and therefore share their frequent flyer seats with lots of carriers. El Al doesn't have any seats probably because they just don't want to allow for any "freebies on these busy dates.
Good luck,
Ophir Ben-Yitschak
Scopia LLC
www.scopia.biz
Milwaukee, WI