Flying with El Al used to be a blast from the past.
When competitor airlines operating long-haul flights to Tel Aviv started upgrading their planes with lie-flat seats and premium economy cabins, El Al didn't initially hop on that bandwagon.
That changed, however, when the flag carrier of Israel took delivery of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. All those planes now feature a massively improved business-class product, along with the airline's first premium economy cabin. The Dreamliners also brought some other exciting upgrades to the onboard experience, including Viasat Wi-Fi, upgraded on-demand entertainment and more.
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With 16 Boeing 787s now in the fleet, the Dreamliner is El Al's long-haul backbone, replacing the iconic Boeing 747, which the airline retired in 2019.
That said, the Israeli carrier still operates four of its six Boeing 777-200s. These jets are roughly 19 years old on average, and while they were parked temporarily during the pandemic, they're mostly now back in the sky.
While the 777s might still look the same on the outside, there's some great news for premium flyers: The insides are getting a nose-to-tail overhaul, set to be completed within the next two years.
The first jet to feature the new cabins — registered 4X-ECE and named "Sderot" — just started flying again last month. I had the opportunity to tour the plane and check out all the upgrades during my most recent trip to Tel Aviv.
Here's what you can expect once on board.
Nowhere are the upgrades more apparent than in the business-class cabin.
Before the retrofits, the 777 featured a five-row biz cabin in a 2-3-2 configuration — hardly competitive in this day and age.
And now, after the retrofit, the 777 sports El Al's best business-class product yet — even better than the one on the Dreamliner.
The 28 Safran Optima Elite seats are arranged in an industry-standard 1-2-1 layout spread across seven rows.
Pods alternate between being angled forward or toward the aisle; the former, which can be found in odd-numbered rows, offers significantly more privacy than the aisle-facing seats.
The 21-inch-wide seats are largely reminiscent of what you'd find on the El Al Dreamliner. I love the faux wood finishes and the brown hues throughout the cabin.
The attention to detail is also impressive. The patterned bulkhead wall with an "El Al Business" banner should really help set the mood for your flight.
In terms of upgrades, the new 777 business class offers considerably more privacy. Odd-numbered window seats sport small sliding dividers that you can extend to partition yourself from the aisle.
Meanwhile, the two "honeymoon" pods in the odd-numbered center
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