Review of El Al Israel Airlines flight Bucharest → Tel Aviv in Economy

Airline El Al Israel Airlines
Flight LY574
Class Economy
Seat 53A
Aircraft Boeing 767-300/ER
Flight time 02:15
Take-off 09 May 16, 11:30
Arrival at 09 May 16, 13:45
LY 37 reviews
Dor
By BRONZE 1144
Published on 15th May 2016
Some photos from Romania:


In the morning of the flight, I saw this mail:
photo screenshot_2016-05-09-06-37-55.
In this Email, Elal wrote that in my flight I'll have aircraft with DreamStream system.

OTP airport entry:
photo dsc_0312.

OTP check in area:
photo dsc_0313.photo dsc_0314.

I couldn't take photos in the border inspection area, because the security prohibit it.

Food area in OTP:
photo dsc_0315.photo dsc_0316.

The prices are very expensive, cup of coffee for 22 lei (RON), something like 5$ USD! (I thought that TLV airport prices are overpriced, until I visited in OTP…)
The duty free prices are also not attractive.

I saw my aircraft in Plane finder app in my smartphone:
photo screenshot_2016-05-09-09-15-18.photo screenshot_2016-05-09-09-15-43.

Duty free area:
photo dsc_0317.

Before boarding:
photo dsc_0318.

Aircraft Information:
ELAL
Boeing 767-330ER
4X-EAJ (Previous regs: D-ABUY, EI-CIY, I-AEIY, I-PEIY, I-VEIY and OO-SLT)
In service since July 1991, the oldest aircraft in ELAL fleet!

Our aircraft:
photo dsc_4124.

Gate view:
photo dsc_4125.

Business class:
photo dsc_4127.

Nice legroom!
photo dsc_4128.

Some cabin shots during boarding:


Wing view:
photo dsc_4131.

ELAL magazine, duty free and safety card:
photo dsc_4138.

The take off time was 11:10, but as you can see, We took off with little delay:
photo dsc_4144.

Austrian A319:
photo dsc_4142.

After pushback:
photo dsc_4147.

Overhead TV with flight map:
photo dsc_4148.

Tarom ATRs during taxi:
photo dsc_4151.

Take off!
photo dsc_4158.

10 Minutes after take off, during climbing to FL370:
photo dsc_4165.

35 minutes the crew served meal, I could choose Tuna salad or chicken with tahini:

The meal included: Chicken with tahini, salad, hummus salad, pita bread, salad dressing, cream with chocolate crumbles, hot drinks and cold drinks.

DreamStream flight map:
photo screenshot_2016-05-09-11-43-47.photo screenshot_2016-05-09-12-37-16.photo screenshot_2016-05-09-13-30-05.

WC:
photo dsc_4174.photo dsc_4176.

Cabin view during cruise:
photo dsc_4177.

Very scratched window:
photo dsc_4179.

Wing view during descent:
photo dsc_4184.photo dsc_4190.photo dsc_4200.

Landing at TLV:
photo dsc_4218.

ELAL B744:
photo dsc_4236.

Cabin view after landing:
photo dsc_4238.photo dsc_4240.photo dsc_4241.

Bye bye EAJ!
photo dsc_4243.

The way to the border inspection:



Baggage claim:
photo dsc_4248.photo dsc_4249.photo dsc_4251.
I found it very strange to combine baggage from two flights in the same belt…

Thank You for reading!
New flight reports soon: LH687, LH31 and LH694!
See more

Verdict

El Al Israel Airlines

9.0/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi7.5
Meal/catering10.0

Bucharest - OTP

8.8/10
Efficiency10.0
Access9.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness9.0

Tel Aviv - TLV

9.3/10
Efficiency9.0
Access10.0
Services10.0
Cleanliness8.0

Conclusion

The B763 of ELAL is very old, this is the oldest fleet in Elal, You can see the age on the cabin, It's not clean and the plastics looks bad. You can also see the window photo in my report...
But I can't ignore the amazing leg room! This is my 3rd flight in Elal B763, and I still think that this aircraft has very good legroom for economy class.
The meal was tasty and more than expected for 2 hours.
The crew was very nice, the Dreamstream system worked but I still prefered my music in my smartphone.

OTP airport is clean and not too big, but boring and the duty free and food area are very expensive.
TLV airport was good as usual, but this time they got lower score in Efficiency, because in the baggage claim they combined luggage from two flights and It created disorganization, many pepole crowded around the belt.

Information on the route Bucharest (OTP) → Tel Aviv (TLV)

5 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 348527 by
    ROY 53 Comments
    Do was on the plane economy plus?
  • Comment 348528 by
    ROY 53 Comments
    Do was on the plane economy plus?
  • Comment 348537 by
    Pilpintu TEAM BRONZE 981 Comments
    1991 !?!?
    That plane is from before I made my very first flight in 1994!!!
    What's the problem with Elal? No money for new aircraft? They should change thier corporate colors to "ageing-plastic yellow". That would match with the interior of their planes! Well, this 767 looks better than the 747 Elal "pigsty", anyway. :D
    I have to admit that old planes have some advantages, though, like the increased legroom and softer seats.
    I loved your pictures of Romania!!! Absolutely wonderful. My favorites were the one with the pansies in the foreground and the one of the geese.
    Were you really that close to a bear, or was it in a zoo??
    Many thanks for sharing! :)
    • Comment 348539 by
      Dor BRONZE AUTHOR 111 Comments
      Yes, 1991... Older than me! LOL
      As you can see, this aircraft used by many airlines before Elal leased It.
      The "newest" B763 in Elal fleet is 4X-EAL (You can see FR LY095 in my profile), in service since 2000.
      Elal bought new aircrafts like the B739. (You can see FR LY575 in my profile)
      And yes, this aircraft is still better than 4X-ELH (pigsty...).
      About new aircrafts, Elal ordered 15 new B787, some of them will be leased, some of them will be Elal property.

      The bear isn't so close, I used Telephoto lens to take this picture, and I took this photo in bear reserve in Zarnesti.
      Thank you and I'm happy that you enjoyed.

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