Elal VS. Swiss

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  • #608695
    nanny
    Member

    Elal is like $500 more expensive. I hear Swiss airlines is good but the security at Elal is the best.

    Anyone fly on Swiss going to Israel? I would love to save $500, but then again, safety first?

    #939558
    ah talmid
    Participant

    Have you heard of many terrorist incidents occurring on Swiss, where their planes with passengers are being highjacked every other Monday?

    #939559
    spectrum
    Participant

    Keep the $500, and fly swiss . I’ve flown it from Israel and it was just fine. You may even get an empty seat next to you which you won’t get on el al

    #939560

    “but the security at Elal is the best.”

    That’s what many people say. Based on what? Sure, security at El Al is absolutely the best.

    And the risk is absolutely the highest.

    If you’re an Islamic terrorist wanting to make a nice attack, and you have one El Al plane in front of you and one Swiss plane, which would you be more likely to choose to attack?

    The only reason El Al has so much security is that it is the world’s most threatened airline.

    I’m not saying anything pro/anti El Al, just pointing out the facts.

    #939561
    abcd2
    Participant

    While I cannot argue with saving money there is more to flying on ElAl then security versus Swiss.Also you will have to make a stopover in europe which is currently a hotbed of antisemitism.

    B)Unbeknown to many, a while ago Swiss was fully taken over by Lufthansa. There really is no difference flying the two of them.

    If you are comfortable flying lufthansa and do not mind german on the flight (german is the main language of switzerland followed by french)then you can.Many people would not be able to stomach such an experience.

    #939562
    simcha613
    Participant

    The argument can be made that the reason El Al is more expensive is because they don’t fly on Shabbos. Spending the extra money on El Al might help them to retain their shomer shabbos status. If they don’t make enough money, they may consider lowering their prices and start flying on Shabbos to make up the lost revenue.

    Additionally, supporting Jews is always better than supporting non-Jews (though $500 may be too steep a price for this).

    #939563
    lakewhut
    Participant

    not even a contest swiss > elal. if you’re flying with friends you can get like a 10 hour stop over and do something cool

    #939564
    abra cadabra
    Participant

    You can leave the airport between connecting flights?

    Don’t you need a VISA to enter whichever country the stopover is in?

    #939565

    what about with a turkish flight…i was thinking of going to israel and having a stopover in istanbul…is it dangerous? (keep in ind the airport has security all over the place)

    #939566
    🐵 ⌨ Gamanit
    Participant

    You can have the best of both… some Swiss flights are carried by Elal for the first leg from Israel, so you go through regular Elal security. Then for the long flight you get the comfort of Swiss…

    #939567
    SaysMe
    Member

    doesnt swiss let you take an extra bag?

    #939568
    🐵 ⌨ Gamanit
    Participant

    SaysMe- no, by now I think all airlines only allow one checked in suitcase. They do have nicer planes though.

    #939569
    takahmamash
    Participant

    tickle me pink:

    what about with a turkish flight…i was thinking of going to israel and having a stopover in istanbul…is it dangerous? (keep in ind the airport has security all over the place)

    I flew Turkish Air once and I thought it was fine. The service was very good. You don’t have to worry about the airport; it’s an international airport with thousands of travelers. Nobody will bother you. If you go out into the city, it may be a different story.

    #939570
    nanny
    Member

    I spoke to a travel agent, and she said that she’s not 100% sure, but she thinks that if you get tickets now Swiss might allow a second bag (but want to change their policy soon to one bag only).

    And Swiss does have direct flights. Personally I wouldn’t want a stopover- it’s too tiring. So I would just take a direct flight from say, JFK to Tel Aviv.

    ah talmid, what are you trying to say? I personally wouldn’t know of these things, I didn’t look so deeply into it…

    All I want to make sure of is that it’s 100% not to worry about and I would get there safe and sound.

    #939571
    🐵 ⌨ Gamanit
    Participant

    Nopes. Just checked Swiss website. To Israel only one suitcase can be checked in.

    #939572
    spectrum
    Participant

    just flew swiss last week and they only allow 1 checked bag fee

    #939573
    nanny
    Member

    Oh, well than maybe she was misinformed. Or maybe through a travel agent its different?

    You flew Swiss to Israel? How was?

    Anyway, I still wouldn’t fly Turkish if I were you, it’s scary.

    #939575
    Torah613Torah
    Participant

    As long as El Al is Shomer Shabbos, that’s what I fly.

    #939576
    nanny
    Member

    That’s because they are Jewish. Non-Jewish airlines don’t have to be shomer shabbos…

    #939577
    Torah613Torah
    Participant

    Right, and I want to encourage Jews to continue being Shomer Shabbos.

    #939578
    nanny
    Member

    Yeah, but would you spend an extra $500 on that?

    @Gamanit- “some Swiss flights are carried by Elal for the first leg from Israel, so you go through regular Elal security.”

    What do you mean? How does that work?

    #939579
    abcd2
    Participant

    nanny-you will sometimes have a codeshare from tel aviv to zurich or geneva operated by elal.

    TO some above posters: bear in mind when traveling issues can occur beyond your control. A couple I know had a weather delay forcing them to stay in zurich overnight the wife became sick to her stomach from hearing the german over and over again.

    In a more concerning scenario I also know of a person who had to stay in Istanbul.The person in turkey was offered accommodation as the delay was due mechanical failure and turkish air was footing the bill. However due to fear of antisemitism and security concerns they opted to stay in the safety of the airport.

    Many things can happen when traveling so far away.If given a choice why fly on an airline operated by out and out sonei Yisroel or are run by countries where if stuck you can be placed into sakana?

    #939580
    simcha613
    Participant

    nanny-

    I’m not saying you have to pay $500 in order to enable someone to keep Shabbos, but there are people who give hundreds of dollars of tzedakah to kiruv orginzations so that not yet frum Jews will be shomer Shabbos. Is this much different?

    On that note, since you aren’t receiving more for your money with that $500 because you could fly on equally qualitative airlines for $500 cheaper, and the only reason you are spending $500 extra for El Al is to enable them to be Shomer Shabbos… can you count that as ma’aser?

    #939581
    nanny
    Member

    So I could get Elal security while flying Swiss?

    You said “sometimes,” so how do I know if that will include my flight?

    And abcd2- being that I’m in 12th grade and not yet working and all, I don’t exactly have $500 maiser to give. (I wish I could earn $5,000 during the summer :))

    #939582
    abcd2
    Participant

    nanny- I believe that you might have gotten me mixed up I never mentioned about Maaser. However a compromise (and might even be gotten for same price as swiss)would be british , virgin delta continental etc.. much better in terms of security and at least you will be safe if stuck.

    #939583
    yeshivaguy45
    Participant

    I flew swiss about six months ago. They allowed one checked bag. I took along a second bag and they charged me $100. It’s a nice airline, comfortable seats (if you care there are games you can play) but I think elal also has that. It is true that elal has better security there are pros and cons to each one.

    #939584
    nanny
    Member

    oh yeah- sorry abcd2. I meant simcha613.

    #939585
    farrockgrandma
    Participant

    news flash – ElAl only allows one checked bag for free.

    #939586
    yeshivaguy45
    Participant

    farrockgrandma- That was awhile ago wasn’t it?

    #939587
    nanny
    Member

    I’m trying to find information about this but as of now I’m not being so successful. Can someone please help? Apparently a portion of Swiss is operated by Elal, so I guess I could get Elal security flying Swiss? Is that about every Swiss flight to Israel? Or specific ones? And if specific, how can I make sure that that’s how my flight will be?

    #939588
    🐵 ⌨ Gamanit
    Participant

    nanny- ask your travel agent. She’ll see it in her system which flights are carried by El Al. Bear in mind that you’ll only get El Al security for the first leg. That is the riskier leg though.

    #939589
    SaysMe
    Member

    is swiss air different from aerosvit? Maybe thats what i’m mixing up

    #939590
    takahmamash
    Participant

    When you fly out of Ben Gurion, all airlines use El Al security.

    When you fly to Ben Gurion, you may or may not get El Al security. For example, when I flew Delta to JFK and back, we had to go through security twice at JFK – once in the normal place (before heading to the gates) and again just before walking down the jetway onto the plane. A Delta person told me “the Israelis insist that they watch everyone go through security a second time.”

    #939592
    ftgirl
    Member

    I have flown Swiss many times and I really enjoy it. El al and Swiss are merged for all flights going in and out of Eretz Yisrael for a few years now, so the security is the exact same, in both directions. At the end of the day you are paying the extra five hundred dollars just so it can say El Al on your ticket. I know many people on my flights who booked through El Al and were on the exact same flight.

    #939593
    rkefrat
    Participant

    When comparing prices one should compare the prices between airlines that fly direct – such as United vs ELAL at Newark and Delta vs ELAL at JFK. You will find that the prices tend to on average be comparable. When comparing ELAL with a stopover you are no longer comparing apples to apples but apples to oranges. Generally stopover flights are cheaper – and $500 is the exception – its more like $200 – $300 and thats because 1} supply and demand – people generally would rather fly directly 2} Europe is set up as sort of a commuter based approach so that many people use the airlines as a stopover in the home city of the airline in order to continue to ones final destination. Airlines use this to entice people to use their airline thereby dropping the price. So for example if one wants to fly from say New York to Israel tou could perhaps use 20 or so different airlines to get to ones final destination. And since most people dont care where they stop – rather for how long and is the airline a reputable one – the airlines thereby compete on price.

    #939594
    yeshivaguy45
    Participant

    Swiss is based out of Switzerland. Aerosvit is a totally different airline based out of Ukraine.

    #939595
    Torah613Torah
    Participant

    nanny: Yes, I would rather take fewer trips on El Al then fly another airline. I think it’s safer to be around other Jews in general.

    But my trips are pleasure trips. It would be different if it was for business.

    #939596
    pou_bear
    Member

    “Also you will have to make a stopover in europe which is currently a hotbed of antisemitism”

    abcd2, you need to get out more. The world out there is not that scary.

    tickle me pink – I know two people that have flown with Turkish, one with a big family and one alone. They both had no problems and said it wasn’t scary (as much as the concept is).

    #939597
    zahavasdad
    Participant

    US , Canadian and EU Citizens do not need a Visa if they visit any Schengen countries (Western European Countries part of the Schengen agreement)

    Turkey (and Israel) gives US citizens visa upon arrival.

    If you are an Isareli citizen its different and I dont know the Visa laws

    About Safety for jews in Europe, Ive been there a few times including Germany and did not feel unsafe at all. In fact the first thing I saw in Germany was a Kosher food Machine.

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