Jerusalem – El Al to Introduce Low-cost Economy Class

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    Jerusalem – Israeli airline El Al announced Monday that as of next week it will offer its passengers a low-cost economy class on flights to Europe. If the new service proves successful, it may also expand to flights to the company’s other destinations, including the United States and East Asia.

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    Low cost airlines EasyJet and Air Berlin recently announced they will soon start operating flights to Israel, a fact that is expected to increase competition over flights to Europe.

    El Al CEO Haim Romano said that while basic price tickets for the low cost economy class will be cheaper, passengers will be required to pay extra for services such as food and beverages, entertainment and luggage shipment.

    “On EL Al planes we currently operate first class, business class and economy class, which is divided into sub-classes. But on all sub-classes we provide passengers with the same service, even if they paid less,” explained Romano.

    “Our plan is to open on the planes another class, the low-cost economy. While leg room will be the same as in the rest of the economy class, low-cost passengers will receive no free services. They will have to pay for every suitcase they check in, for food and beverages on board, for headphones or any other entertainment service, for blankets and pillows and for reserving seats.”

    According to Romano, El Al plans to start operating the low-cost service as early as September. The low-cost class is expected to make up 10%-20% of the overall number of seats on the plane.

    Tickets for the low-cost class will go for about $199 for flights to Europe and $599 for flight to the US. The prices of the additional services have not been determined yet.


    Estimated prices for extra services on the low-cost class:

    Luggage check in: $10 per suitcase
    Hot meal: $10
    Breakfast, including coffee: $6
    Light meals and snacks: $3-4
    Hot and cold beverages: $1.5-2
    Sandwich: $5


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    37 Comments
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    jewish
    jewish
    14 years ago

    How much are the blankets and pillows ?

    chuchem lazer
    chuchem lazer
    14 years ago

    Ha! They don’t charge for usin the toilets? Now thas a metzia. You get a discount if you bring your owen fuel

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    how much to use the bathroom ?

    frequent flyer
    frequent flyer
    14 years ago

    And where are they putting these people? on the tail??

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    They will slice and dice the service to have 5 different classes of economy ranging from “barely passable’ to “subhuman” ….they will spend more money keeping track of who paid a dollar for a soda than the increased revenues will yield. Also, if you are not seated in the right section, you will not be able to join the minyan up front.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    What about for flights from NY-Israel???

    Just wait
    Just wait
    14 years ago

    Soon theese charges will be for all pasengers

    Fat free - money free
    Fat free - money free
    14 years ago

    I lost fifty pounds would i get a discount???

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    How much will the taxes, fuel charge and all other surcharges be?

    heshy
    heshy
    14 years ago

    a cup of water $2 for breathing 8 times times a minute its $1 if you hold your breath its only .25 cents also if you wear a 3 piece suit its an additional $10 hey i almost forgot the gasoline . If you dont pay for gas we land in the water

    Meir
    Meir
    14 years ago

    Don’t worry – you will be able to apply for vouchers.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Wait. Let’s figure this out.
    Normal price is what – $1200 per ticket?
    I never did that great in math, but all those add-ons – even if you bought doubles of them wouldn’t add up to $600. Actually hardly even $100.
    So how about if they charge – I dunno – $799 – for the same (or larger) percentage of seats. Wouldn’t that be better than this? People would still feel they were getting a deal, and the airline wouldn’t have the headache of collecting the money for everything.
    I think ELAL would find the $800 mark to be the “sweet spot” for filling their planes.

    But hey, I’m only in marketing, what would I know?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    All joking apart, if I can get a flight to EY for $600, I’ll gladly bring my own food & buy a bottle of water in the airport. $10 per suitcase isn’t so bad either. And I can shlep a blanket in my hand luggage.

    Avrohom Abba
    Avrohom Abba
    14 years ago

    May I please buy a $300.00 piece of cinnamon babka?
    May I lean my seat back more for $38.00?

    YOSSI
    YOSSI
    14 years ago

    How much for overhead luggage.”?..How much for a wheel chair?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    What are you raving about? They are doing this structure to match the prices of the discounted airlines. The discounted airlines all charge you for all these things.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Reply to #1 , don’t know how much El-Al will charge, but jetBlue charges $7 for a pillow & Blanket, and u get back a $5 coupon to Bed Bath & Beyond,

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    The cheshbon is if they don’t give you food you won’t need the bathroom!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    seat? what seat? it’s standing room only. And you have to PUSH your way in so you can get used to riding a bus once you get to Israel.
    True story, ca. 1972 on El Al:

    Passenger: “Stewardess, may I please have some water?”

    Flight attendant: “What’s the matter, don’t you have legs? You can’t get it by yourself?”

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    I heard that they may be charging to use the restrooms?

    Can you pay more to be in an odor free section?

    Blankets - Shatnez Alert
    Blankets - Shatnez Alert
    14 years ago

    I heard there is a shailah on the blankets – they may be shatnez!!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    It is assur to charge another yid for water so I suspect that will be one item that remains free.

    Nausea
    Nausea
    14 years ago

    I’d pay *not* to be fed some of those airline meals!
    Win-win…

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    We will have to pay for every suitcase we check in,and for food and beverages on board, for headphones or any other entertainment service, for blankets and pillows and for reserving seats, talking to the passanger next to you, looking at the guy behind you that is kicking your seat, using oxygen mask if it should deploy, hitting the steward button , drinking, eating, fuel charge, fuel SURcharge, local taxes, state taxes, governement tax, different country tax, being to fat, wanting a cushion to sit on, using the bathroom, eating, davening, buying tickets online, buying tickets over the phone, take off fees, landing fees, luggage fees, luggae overweight fees, 3 bags or more fees, 50 lbs or more fees,

    You know it is actually cheaper to take a few trains, cars, boats and even swim to Israel or wherever a person would dream of then to get on a plane these days.

    Bin Ladin really screwed this country since Sep 11.
    The bottom line is In g-d we trust and nobody else.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    You know at the end of the day with all taxes and fees u’ll be paying the same amount like till know don’t fool yourself

    count ur blessings
    count ur blessings
    14 years ago

    instead of complaining, think how lucky you are to afford this trip!

    MP
    MP
    14 years ago

    I’d pay extra to sit in the smoking section.

    Soon they will have a straphanger section

    On a boat?
    On a boat?
    14 years ago

    hate to be the spoilsport on evryones acynical parade.but your all abunch of rotten spoiled americans. The amoligeh doiros (50 years ago) would gi e their right arm and br muchan to sit in the bottom of a smelly boat for the zechus to be avle to kiss the holy earth of artzeinu hakedosha. And tour whining a out flight service?! Is this the three weeks or what does anyone ha e any appreciaiton that hakadosh boruch hu has made it so easy and even more affordable to get to his (our) country and all you can do ia complain ur worse then my kids in the ackseat on the way to the country.maybe that’s why moshiach hasn’t come yet. Hashem isn’t a le to meet the fantastical expectaions for kanfei hanesharim airlines yet to get us the yet…or maybe he’s waitnig for us to want it enough to sit down and shut up and enjoy the flight. Rachmona nitzlan

    BinderDundat
    BinderDundat
    14 years ago

    I cannot believe some of the comments I’m reading here. It’s one thing to complain, but please stop being so childish. We are smarter than that.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    $10 for a suitcase. But probably more if it is filled with tuna fish, mayonasie, ketchup, and frozen meats.

    Mark my words, this will increase the ‘tumul’ at check-in with people stuffing more stuff (e.g. tuna cans) in their pockets.

    NOACHSAYS
    NOACHSAYS
    14 years ago

    I think they should give frumma yiden a discount if they stay in their seats all flight.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Why is everyone complaining?
    They are just doing this to be competitive with European discount carriers that do the same thing, usually on much lower quality aircraft with less amenities.

    Would you rather pay $1200 and get your meal for free or pay $600 and pay $50 in extras?

    Wake up people and stop kvetching.
    If El Al is not profitable, they would go out of business, and then you would kvetch about that as well.

    Good Shabbos