I fly very frequently between London and Tel Aviv with EL AL, and for the past year have been a Platinum member of their 'Matmid' frequent flyer club. I almost always fly business class, and have occasionally been upgraded to First, and last Thursday struck lucky again (I guess I must have been a highish priority for an upgrade, as I was on a full-fare business class ticket and a Platinum club member).
Over the past few months I have had extensive correspondence with EL AL concerning the poor standard of the First Class food and some of the crews on this route. I was assured that my comments were being taken very seriously and that things were about to change very radically. 'Give us 6 months to a year and you will see really big changes' was the usual response. I was a bit sceptical about this, but you never know ...
Well, what can I say: this time it really was different, and I fly enough to notice when I am simply lucky and when something more significant has happened.
I was called on Tuesday to be offered an upgrade, which I was happy to accept! Upon arrival at security, I joined the queue for Business and First. The first security guard asked (as usual) if I was flying Business Class. I replied 'Sorry, not this time, I have been upgraded to First'. He immediately put me at the front of the queue and assigned me a security guard to perform the usual pre-flight security checks/bag scans etc. My cases were taken at checkin, tagged as 'First' and put aside in order to ensure they could get off the plane first. From the checkin I then went to the EL AL lounge.
The EL AL lounge at LHR is very comfortable and always has a good supply of freshly made sandwiches, savoury snacks, cakes and beautifully prepared sliced fresh fruit. There are plenty of drinks available, both alcoholic and not, a good variety of 'regular' and herbal teas, and a new coffee machine which makes a variety of different fresh brews. A new feature is a free Wireless Internet connection, which works well, but seems to time out every few minutes, which necessitates reentering the lounge id and password - this is a bit of a nuisance, and I hope it gets fixed soon. The First Class section of the lounge provides the same selection of food and drinks except that it is much quieter and they always ensure that there is plenty of food around. A good supply of newspapers and magazines is also available.
From the lounge and onto the aircraft, which was a 777 this time. The First Class section is roomy and features fully flat seats, arranged 2-2-2. On the EL AL 744s which have 2 rows arranged as 2-2 the word 'roomy' is an understatement, as there is so much room in First that it is difficult to believe, but the 777s are perfectly adequate ...
As one would expect, the crew were very helpful with bags etc and they immediately proceeded to hand out amenity kits, slippers, and sleep suits. The sleep suits may not sport a famous brand name as on some airlines, but they are of excellent quality, as I can vouch for after many machine washes! The usual pre-flight drinks then followed, with the crew noticing that I liked to drink plenty of water and refilling my glass all the time. As far as the crew were concerned, they were excellent - very helpful when needed, and leaving us alone when not needed. I think that they allocate 2 crew members to the 6 First class passengers, which is a very generous ratio.
The main change for the better is the food. Whereas I have complained about the poor quality of the food in the past, this time I was to be served with the best food I have ever had on any airline. It is a shame I didn't have a digital camera with me, as the presentation was also very impressive. One of the crew told me that they had been sent on a special course before the new style meal service was introduced. (I just hope that the improvement filters down to the business class cabin, as the b/c food from London has been quite awful over the past months - if anyone at EL AL is reading this, please take note!).
Here is the menu:
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Aperitif served with Corn Chips, Spicy Bell-Pepper Dip and Olives
Bread 'n Spread
Warm Bread Selection
Sun-Dried Tomato Spread
Eggplant Spread
Appetizers
Tuna Steak with Tomato Salsa
Spinach-Stuffed Rolled Breast of Chicken
Three-Bean Salad
Soup of the Day
Basil-Scented Roasted Tomato Soup
Main Courses
Breast of Duck in Ginger and Garlic Sauce
Beef Bourguignon
Poached Salmon in Teriyaki Sauce
All served with wild rice, potatoes and vegetables
Salad
Assorted Baby Greens with Fresh Vegetables and Pine-Nuts
Balsamic Dressing or Olive Oil & Lemon
Dessert
Passion Fruit Sorbet with Fresh Fruit
Pear Tart with Forest Fruit
Regular and Decaffeinated Coffee, Espresso, Assorted Teas
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The warm rolls have always been good from London, but I decided to skip them this time and just try the dips. I cannot vouch for the eggplant spread as it is never one of my favourites, but the sun dried tomato spread was excellent. As a starter I chose the Tuna steak, which was very tasty, although it would have helped if the tuna would have been cooked a touch less, as it was a bit dry.
Three bean salad
However, the soup was just wonderful. It tasted fresh and had just enough basil to add a touch of elegance without being overpowering. It was garnished with toasted pine nuts and a sprig of fresh thyme. I was fortunate that some of the passengers decided to skip the soup as I ended up asking for two further helpings - it really was that good! The crew added freshly ground pepper as it was served (and if it was wanted).
Basil-scented Roasted Tomato Soup
EL AL now serve an excellent selection of wines, all Israeli. Those readers who have not yet tasted the 'new generation' of Israeli wines may not be aware of the revolution which has taken place in this area over the last 15 years or so, but Israel now produces a huge variety of excellent wines, and the selection on board is pretty representative.
For the main course I chose the Salmon, which was perfectly cooked and beautifully presented, with freshly ground pepper round the edge of the plate to add an extra touch. The vegetables were served in a sort of miniature saucepan about 3 inches in diameter, which was quite cute. At this point I began to feel that the hype in the EL AL website about the food in First being like that served at a smart restaurant was not just hype, but had a good deal of substance in it!
Poached Salmon in Teriyaki Sauce
Main course side veg in 'mini saucepan'
Beef Bourguignon (from another trip)
The fresh salad was fresh and plentiful, and the dressing was good.
Fresh salad
For desert I chose the pear tart, which was delicious, and again beautifully presented.
Pear Tart with Forest Fruit
After my usual fruit tea and Cointreau the place setting was cleared, and I was able to get back to some work after what was a really enjoyable (and relaxing) meal.
Desert with cup of fruit tea
I should add here that the new tablecloths and napkins are very smart indeed, as is the new china and cutlery.
Later on in the flight we were offered various refreshment options, including fresh fruit, petits fours and so on.
Fruit selection
All too soon we arrived, and my cases came out very quickly. Despite having stuff to declare at the 'red channel' I was out so quickly that I surprised my wife by arriving before her!
All in all, a wonderful experience, and a major improvement (transformation?) for EL AL. It may be a bit extravagant for a 5 hour flight, but for my next trip (with my wife) to the USA ... (Tel Aviv - New York is 12 hours!)
