3 reviews
Long time passed since my last flight report…
So here is my experience on Tus flight (operated for Elal as the flight number suggests) from Tel Aviv to Prague.
Since this was flight branded as Elal flight, at this time, the flights to Berlin, Budapest, Prague (and more) took off from terminal 1.
Currently, due to the situation in Israel, terminal 1 will open again in June.
I arrived to the terminal 3 hours before the flight.
The entrance to terminal 1:
Inside the terminal:
I made my way to the security check and the check in area:
15 minutes passed since I entered the terminal until I received my boarding pass, not bad:
Then it was the time for passport control, as well as hand baggage check, which took less than 10 minutes!
Airside:
I spent some time in the duty free shops:
And of course I had to grab a cup of coffee :)
After a while I went to the "new" waiting area in terminal 1:
I found it very nostalgic, look at the old Elal logo:
There is nothing to do there actually, but it was a quite place to eat, drink, etc.
I went to the toilets in the "new" waiting area:
Though the cleanliness factor was ok, it looks very old.
At 6:30 I went to the gate area:
A bus took us to the aircraft, since terminal 1 isn't equipped with jet bridges.
I like those bus rides, since I can see some aircraft on my way :)
Smartwings Boeing 737-800 (OK-TSO), wet leased to one of the Israeli carriers.
CSA Airbus A320 (leased to Israir) and Sundor Boeing 737-800 (4X-EKR):
Israir Airbus A320 (4X-ABI):
And finally, our ride to Prague, Tus Airbus A320 (5B-DDK):
Aircraft information:
Airbus A320-200
Delivered to Air Malta on October 2004 (9H-AEK), delivered to Tus on April 2021 (5B-DDK)
Making it almost 19 years old when I flew on it
Cabin view:
My seat (18F) area:
This aircraft made the flights for Elal on the TLV-PRG-TLV route, meaning they had 3 hours to clean it for the next flight, but someone missed this stain.
Wing view:
Legroom wasn't great at all:
As a reminder, I'm only 1.64m tall and it was tight. For taller people it could be unbearable.
The Gopro is ready for the take off video:
On 7:15 the aircraft was pushed back and we made our way to the runway (26).
Israir Airbus A320 (4X-ABW):
The old overhead PSU:
Trade air Airbus A32O (9A-BTI) operated for Israir:
Wing view with terminal 1:
Old Elal aircraft (Two 747-400 and one 777-200ER):
Take off video:
Shortly after take off:
15 minutes into the flight:
40 minutes after take off, sandwich was served as a breakfast :
This was a sandwich with cheese, it was tasty but small.
Mid flight cabin view:
Two hours into the flight, I went to the toilets:
As you can see, the toilet condition was pretty good.
During flight wing view:
During descent
Landing video in PRG airport:
Shortly before landing:
Touch down:
During our way to the jet bridge.
Ryanair Boeing 737-800:
Lufthansa Airbus A320:
Smartwings Boeing 737-800 and British Airways Airbus A319:
Cabin view during deboarding:
On my way to the baggage claim area:
Unlike my previous visit in Prague airport, this time the passport check process was much faster.
Baggage claim area:
After customs check:
Outside view:
Thanks for reading!
This was my first flight with Tus.
The cabin was in pretty good condition, the toilets were fine, the seats were in very good condition, the aircraft could be cleaner but that's it.
The service on board was good as well, the flight attendants were nice.
There are no overhead TVs, wifi, power outlets, etc.
The legroom wasn't good, but at least I could recline the seat.
In total - good experience, but I prefer to fly on Elal's aircraft on those longer routes since they are more comfortable.
TLV airport - well, I wrote about it many times, unlike my previous flight from terminal 1, this time all the processes in the airport went flawlessly.
Terminal 1 is smaller than terminal 3 and provides less shops and restaurants, but it was fine.
PRG was clean, and this time the efficiency was very good, so I gave them the maximal score.
2 Comments
It seems this flight was planned ahead of time to be operated by a wet-leased aircraft and was not a last minute swap-in. Otherwise I would not have been happy to go from an El Al 737 with IFE and in-seat power, which usually operates this route, to this bare bones aircraft.
Thanks for sharing!
In fact, when I booked this flight I saw something strange in Elal's webiste, the designated aircraft was 737NG (I'm not sure if it was the 800 or the 900), the seat map included business class, but you couldn't book a business class seat.
I was disappointed, I expected to fly on the retrofitted 737-800s or on the 737-900 which provides a nice cabin as well.
I could receive a refund, but what were the options? Smartwings with their B737 which also provides a very tight legroom?
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