In an event for press and travel agents in Tel Aviv, El Al induced the Boeing 787 to the media and reviled that the airplane will have new Business and new Premium economy classes. Regarding timetable, the first plane will arrive to Israel in August, and after crew training it will make its first flight for El Al in the second week of September. Every plane will have 282 seats in 3 classes.

The new business class will be major improvement from what we know today – 1-2-1 abreast with every seat having aisle access, full flat bed and way more privacy in a cabin of 32 seats. Legroom will be 78". In comparison, LY's current 777s and 747s have 7 abreast seating (on main deck) and 6 abreast in the 767
.
The new premium economy will have 2-3-2 configuration in a private cabin of 28 seats (4 rows), with 38" legroom (the current economy plus offered on the 747, 777 and 767 that have extra legroom with width been the same as economy). Economy class will have 222 seats, in the regular configuration of 9 abreast and 31" legroom.

El Al has removed this week one B747-400 from service (4X-ELH, built 1996) as part of the fleet renewal. With the arriving of more 787s, all LY's 747s will be sold and the airline will end its jumbo service that started in 1971.

In the event, the new registration of the first plane was also reviled for the first time: 4X-EDA. El Al ordered 16 787s (both -8 and -9) with options to 13 more, in order to replace all current 747 and 767 fleet.

Business class:




Premium economy:




Economy:




(the pictures were sent to me by the airline and approved for publication)

Interesting Business Class.

did El Al buy a bunch of 747's from SQ when they retired them?

Have they announced which routes the 787 will fly?

A much needed improvement for LY.

Interestingly, the business class looks quite Polaris to me. Seems that another customer found this product satisfactory after AF and, obviously, UA (perhaps cheap as well?)

Quite some improvement. El Al probably has one of the worst hard products of ANY major carrier in the world, so this is a huge, huge upgrade.

readytotaxi wrote:

:old: did El Al buy a bunch of 747's from SQ when they retired them?

They bought 2 B747s from SQ a passenger and a freighter then they bought 1 from Pullmenter air which before that was in service with SQ.

Pullmantur even!

To the OP it's REVEALED not REVILED!

I should imagine EL AL will initially use the 787 to LHR and JFK.

Looks like Polaris indeed! Huge huge huge improvement.

Which routes will they use them on? I don't see this going on JFK because of the numbers of seats required. JNB? BOS?

CXA330300 wrote:

Which routes will they use them on? I don't see this going on JFK because of the numbers of seats required. JNB? BOS?

I assume the first long houl route will be to Toronto, due to the right passenger load and the fact that Air Canada is compeating LY with 787s on this route.

EL-AL wrote:

CXA330300 wrote:

Which routes will they use them on? I don't see this going on JFK because of the numbers of seats required. JNB? BOS?

I assume the first long houl route will be to Toronto, due to the right passenger load and the fact that Air Canada is compeating LY with 787s on this route.

I was told the 789 will replace the 772's on EWR and HKG initially, with the freed up aircraft being redistributed to cover the replacement of the 744's and the inaguration of MIA.

YYZ and BOS are slated to be the first 788 routes. I can't speak to BOS, but it seems AC is much stronger to TLV than EL AL from Toronto.

Cunard wrote:

Pullmantur even!

To the OP it's REVEALED not REVILED!

I should imagine EL AL will initially use the 787 to LHR and JFK.

C'mon, English likely isn't his first language. There are ways to make the suggestion politely.

I think that El Al did a nice job. I wish this was being rolled out a bit earlier - my folks are heading to Tel Aviv in the fall from Boston - my dad has had hip surgery recently and the doctor suggested that they fly in business class. They'll be in the old seats though. Business airfares were (relatively) reasonable.

Really nice looking interior there. Especially the Business Class.

It looks real nice and cosy! Its about time they will change their Business Class layout in the widebodies, plus the E+ looks real nice. I do wonder if the new seats on the 787s will have an AVOD, because the other widebodies in LY's fleet dont have AVOD which sucks.

This is a great improvement for El Al and has the potential to put them back on the grid as an ME3 competitor. In terms of hard product, Economy is above standard for the jet, as the screens are larger than in most 787's, Premium Economy is something airlines in the region don't have, and Business Class is highly competitive. It is Recaro's CL6710 (aka the seat TAP will most likely install on its upcoming A330neo's), and it has pretty much the same footprint as Zodiac's Optima (aka Polaris) with a different layout (and fewer delays ). It has been on Recaro's catalogue for 2+ years but only now is it being launched. These seats have a higher density than other seating layouts and provide the same comfort, so it's really surprising they are only now starting to trend. Because of this I'm confident we can expect some sort of bar or reception area for Business Class.

Business class looks terrific, but gasp, the E+ and E just looks dark and dreary. The economy on that 787 with 9 abreast.... sheesh, sardine can. AM NOT looking to fly on that.

MaksFly wrote:

Business class looks terrific, but gasp, the E+ and E just looks dark and dreary. The economy on that 787 with 9 abreast.... sheesh, sardine can. AM NOT looking to fly on that.

Same can be said about El Al's crew uniforms, dark and dreary. In any case, this is a huge improvement over El Al's current product, yet i'll still fly with TK or LX out of TLV any day of the year.

Viper911

I would imagine JFK, LHR, and HKG are probably the first routes for B789, due to yield. I wouldn't be surprised if LAX goes to B789 soon. TLV-LAX surely pushes the 77Es hard, especially westbound.

As for B788, I think BOS, YYZ, MIA, and ORD are most likely.

tlecam wrote:

I think that El Al did a nice job. I wish this was being rolled out a bit earlier

Agree on both counts. I'm leaving for Israel 2 weeks from today and had originally booked LY business out of JFK but ended up saving a ton of money for what I think will be a better product in the short term with AC premium economy. As you can tell by my screen name, I am a long admirer of El Al who has flown them many times, but the product is really deterioriated in recent years...enough to make me give up a near flat bed and take on a connection for a more comfortable flight.

I am very much looking forward to seeing El Al reestablish itself as a world class airline with the 788/789 product.

31" legroom for me is tight and claustrophobic. Unfortunately most US / European airlines now have dropped legroom from 32". It makes a big difference to me, though it seems a minor difference. But I would only fly LY to Israel. My first flight with them was in 1962 on a B720B and my last one in 1992 on a 757. I always liked their service. Have no clue what it is like nowadays.

Here is the 787 overview that was added to the El Al site a few hours ago:

https://www.elal.com/dreamliner/

Star of David is a bit bolder on tail it seems.

So engine nacelles will be blue?!

readytotaxi wrote:

:old: did El Al buy a bunch of 747's from SQ when they retired them?

4X-ELE and 4X-ELH are ex-SQ frames. As for the configuration in Y, that's smaller than anything else in LY's fleet (where the normal seat pitch is 32", even on the 737s). As for the 789 of El Al, if it goes to Newark, I suspect it will show up in NYC proper as well, although the 787-10 would be more suitable for JFK (as El Al alone is a significant brand). At JFK, this could allow LY to potentially move from T4 to T5i.

Good to see EL AL investing in some much needed upgrades. It's fleet is getting old and the look and feel of the premium and main cabins are tired and unappealing on the existing 747, 777, and 767 fleets. The 789 will look great in the LY livery.

This is a much needed improvement for El Al. Why didn't El Al care about its product before this?

Honesty, El Al is an airline in which doesn't really seem to care much about the passenger experience. They don't care about there product (until now) and they don't try and deal with the competition. Even Turkish Airlines is way better than El Al.

Y & Y+ Look Stunning and Comfortable. Way to go. Huuuge PTV screens in Y.

No foot/leg rests in PE?

OA940 wrote:

This is a great improvement for El Al and has the potential to put them back on the grid as an ME3 competitor.

As long as El Al continues to observe the not flying on the Shabbat policy, it'll be hard for El Al to become truly competitive on a global scale, especially with the ME3. Particularly for the high yielding premium travelers, for whom schedule and frequency are key decision drivers.

EWR777 wrote:

Have they announced which routes the 787 will fly?

Hasnt been officially announce but I hear they will start with TLV - EWR - TLV - LHR - TLV roatation end of october and with HKG in March.
Originally heard it was suppose to be LAX, but since they have no competition to LAX i am guessing they decided to put it on EWR and HKG first. Especially with new UA 773 and CX A350 on those routes.

It seems like EL AL is the first to debut these new seats (after Polaris) called OPTIMA, they were only officially launched by Zodiac in April.

http://www.zodiacaerospace.com/en/news/ ... lass-offer

There is a video by EL AL dedicated to Business Class:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtiDxp456XM

and one for Premium Economy :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCpKApReaNI

The business class seats honestly looks like Recaro's CL6710. Just the layout is modeled after Polaris.

http://en.recaro-as.com/products/busine ... l6710.html

eamondzhang wrote:

A much needed improvement for LY.

Interestingly, the business class looks quite Polaris to me. Seems that another customer found this product satisfactory after AF and, obviously, UA (perhaps cheap as well?)

Polaris seats are a proprietary design for UA's exclusive use for five years. The design is similar and is used by a number of airlines in their premium cabins these days, but the Polaris product is separate. You are correct though in that the trend in recent years has very much moved towards this look regardless of manufacturer/proprietary design -- this style is what's popular these days just like the herringbone was in the mid to late 2000s. It's funny how trends work in that regard!

Will these seats be fitted to their 772?

maortega15 wrote:

The business class seats honestly looks like Recaro's CL6710. Just the layout is modeled after Polaris.

http://en.recaro-as.com/products/busine ... l6710.html

Looks like you are right . I thought the CL6710 was suppose to be launched with the TAP 330 Neo.
I think I read somewhere they were saying at Revaro that they also have a secret 787 customer as well.
I guess it's EL AL

The arrival of the 787s is going to put El Al's 767s into the used market (or back to the lessor -- I think they all are leased). So that's 7 becoming available, possibly for freighter conversion in this active 767 freighter market. They will probably miss the tail end of the current Atlas run-up to 20 aircraft, most of which are already sourced, although it looks like UPS is strategically buying up some very good 767s for conversion.

The problem as far as freighter conversion goes, however, is that all of the El Al 767s have had many, many operators prior to El Al, and all have PW4000s. All of Atlas's 767-300s (whether for Prime Air or not) have GEs, as do all of ATIs. ABX Air, which doesn't currently run 767-300s for Amazon Prime Air, does have 3 767-300 freighters (of 9) with PWs, but none of the Amazon aircraft currently do. All of UPS's 767s have GEs. UPS also might not be cool with the number of operators these aircraft have had; it's a long stretch from a few JAL-owned-and-maintained aircraft to these puppies.

But who knows? In a tight market, perhaps any port in a storm. But it doesn't look as if these will be the preferred option.

ElAl doesn't compete with the ME3, as they are essentially a PTP airline.

This is a dramatic improvement in hard product and can only hope that the soft product improves just as quickly.

Business looks great. New painted engines are superb. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Seatmap from EL AL's website:

https://www.elal.com/SiteCollectionDocu ... /787-9.pdf

(looks like a relatively small number of lavatories, no?)

Oh wow they also revised the livery! Now with BA-style light and shadow on the tail + blue engine nacelle. Love the minor update to the iconic livery.

dcajet wrote:

OA940 wrote:

This is a great improvement for El Al and has the potential to put them back on the grid as an ME3 competitor.

As long as El Al continues to observe the not flying on the Shabbat policy, it'll be hard for El Al to become truly competitive on a global scale, especially with the ME3. Particularly for the high yielding premium travelers, for whom schedule and frequency are key decision drivers.

Wait, that's still a thing?

ly204 wrote:

Here is the 787 overview that was added to the El Al site a few hours ago:

https://www.elal.com/dreamliner/

The artist had fun in photoshop, but the heat blur in front of the engine is a tad overdone.

OA940 wrote:

dcajet wrote:

OA940 wrote:

This is a great improvement for El Al and has the potential to put them back on the grid as an ME3 competitor.

As long as El Al continues to observe the not flying on the Shabbat policy, it'll be hard for El Al to become truly competitive on a global scale, especially with the ME3. Particularly for the high yielding premium travelers, for whom schedule and frequency are key decision drivers.

Wait, that's still a thing?

Unfortunately its true. The Ultra Orthodox Jews( also known as Haredi Jews) are a major part of LY's traffic and that is why they dont fly on Shabbat.

Big 'hardware' improvement, but the cabin is dull, boring, uninspiring...grey and colourless....

dcajet wrote:

OA940 wrote:

This is a great improvement for El Al and has the potential to put them back on the grid as an ME3 competitor.

As long as El Al continues to observe the not flying on the Shabbat policy, it'll be hard for El Al to become truly competitive on a global scale, especially with the ME3. Particularly for the high yielding premium travelers, for whom schedule and frequency are key decision drivers.

Good news then, LY has no intention of competing with the ME3. Or forcing their employee groups to fly on the Sabbath.

atcsundevil wrote:

Polaris seats are a proprietary design for UA's exclusive use for five years.

The Acumen seat is exclusive to United for five years in North America only. That being said, the El Al seat appears to be the Recaro CL6710.

wjcandee wrote:

The arrival of the 787s is going to put El Al's 767s into the used market (or back to the lessor -- I think they all are leased). So that's 7 becoming available, possibly for freighter conversion in this active 767 freighter market. They will probably miss the tail end of the current Atlas run-up to 20 aircraft, most of which are already sourced, although it looks like UPS is strategically buying up some very good 767s for conversion.

The problem as far as freighter conversion goes, however, is that all of the El Al 767s have had many, many operators prior to El Al, and all have PW4000s. All of Atlas's 767-300s (whether for Prime Air or not) have GEs, as do all of ATIs. ABX Air, which doesn't currently run 767-300s for Amazon Prime Air, does have 3 767-300 freighters (of 9) with PWs, but none of the Amazon aircraft currently do. All of UPS's 767s have GEs. UPS also might not be cool with the number of operators these aircraft have had; it's a long stretch from a few JAL-owned-and-maintained aircraft to these puppies.

But who knows? In a tight market, perhaps any port in a storm. But it doesn't look as if these will be the preferred option.

I thought the IDF was converting them to tankers.

Premium economy seats look like the same model as used by BA in WTP.

amirs wrote:

EWR777 wrote:

Have they announced which routes the 787 will fly?

Hasnt been officially announce but I hear they will start with TLV - EWR - TLV - LHR - TLV roatation end of october and with HKG in March.
Originally heard it was suppose to be LAX, but since they have no competition to LAX i am guessing they decided to put it on EWR and HKG first. Especially with new UA 773 and CX A350 on those routes.

It seems like EL AL is the first to debut these new seats (after Polaris) called OPTIMA, they were only officially launched by Zodiac in April.

http://www.zodiacaerospace.com/en/news/ ... lass-offer

There is a video by EL AL dedicated to Business Class:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtiDxp456XM

and one for Premium Economy :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCpKApReaNI

Starting with London, then starting Newark and Hong Kong...

Source: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/ ... 017/06/11/