El Al to fly to Boston
I arrived in Boston today to the news that El Al will be starting direct flights from Israel to Boston in June. This is from two separate emails (Hat Tip:
Lance K).
The Consulate General of Israel to New England is pleased to announce that an agreement was reached between El Al and Massport for direct flights to Tel Aviv. Consul General of Israel, Mr. Yehuda Yaakov, remarked on this achievement, "Direct flights pave the way for a further strengthening of Israel-US ties, both economically and culturally. We look forward to seeing many more of our New England friends exploring firsthand our diverse society and rich history." El Al will conduct direct flights from Boston's Logan Airport to Ben Gurion Airport beginning this summer.
Israeli airline El Al will begin nonstop flights between Boston and Israel in June 2015, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announced Monday.
El Al will fly the route using Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with 218 seats, including 22 business class seats, thrice weekly.
Flight 015 will depart Tel Aviv at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and arrive in Boston at 5:45 a.m.
Flight 016 will depart Boston the same day at 9 p.m. and arrive in Tel Aviv the next day at 3:05 p.m.
So will I give up my puddle hopping and start flying El Al non-stop to Boston? I suspect that most of you know the
answer to that question.
Labels: American Airlines, Boston, El Al, One World, personal stuff
British Airways goes for the jugular
After last month's announcement that
One World members may no longer accrue mileage or cash in rewards on El Al after October 31, British Airways (one of the airlines in One World) is
going for the jugular, by adding one flight per day, bringing its weekly total to 20 flights.
Starting in the summer of 2015, British Airways is raising the seat
capacity on the London-Tel Aviv route by about 50%, the airline
announced today. Six weekly flights will be added, raising the total
number to 20. British Airways says that it operates a longhaul service
on its Tel Aviv-London route, despite the relatively short flight
duration and distance, offering advanced entertainment systems with
personal touchscreens, high quality catering and free offering of
quality soft and alcoholic beverages. All the airline flights on the
route are operated via Heathrow Terminal 5.
British Airways Israel Manager Yael Katan said, “Due to the growing
demand for our service to London and long-distance flights, we have
decided to expand our Israel operation, with a significant increase in
seat capacity and frequency. In addition, we have recently changed our
schedule in order to offer convenient connections to various North
American destinations, specifically in the West Coast which are
extremely popular with our Israeli passengers, such as San Francisco,
Los Angeles and Vegas.”
I don't think this is going to matter to the occasional pleasure traveler, who will continue to choose El Al, but for business travelers for whom scheduling and frequent flier miles matter (El Al is the only airline that takes away your miles even if you have activity in your account), this is deadly. El Al is often several hundred dollars cheaper than British (I've seen a difference of $300-400 in my own reservations), so if British cuts its fares to El Al's levels or close to them, business travelers will be far more likely to choose British.
Labels: Ben Gurion Airport, British Airways, El Al, London Heathrow Airport, One World, travel
American Airlines ending frequent flier relationship with El Al
This is bad news for people like me who, while accumulating miles on American and other OneWorld partners, often end up doing their award travel on El Al. American and El Al are
ending the relationship.
Effective November 1, 2014, flights taken on El Al will not accrue AAdvantage miles due to the discontinuation of American's frequent flyer relationship with EL AL.
All award travel on EL AL must be booked and ticketed by October 31, 2014. Travel is valid one year after ticket date, and must be completed by October 31, 2015. No changes to the EL AL segments are allowed during that period.
Note that the cut off is relatively sudden (that notice wasn't there a few days ago). I wonder if it's because Qatari Airways, Malaysian and Royal Jordanian are part of American's program (the first two are relatively recent additions) or because El Al was so stingy about letting you accrue miles on American. Also, I wonder how this affects their code share relationships (which are extensive), and whether El Al will manage to put together a relationship with another group. Hmmm.
UPDATE 1:28 AM
More
here.
Labels: American Airlines, El Al, One World
You can't go to Saudi Arabia but you can fly Delta
Delta Airlines is denying that Saudia Arabian Airlines joining its Sky Miles program will result in
discrimination against its Jewish passengers (Hat Tip:
Memeorandum).
First and foremost, I think one of the most important things to mention here is that Delta does not discriminate nor do we condone discrimination against anyone in regards to age, race, nationality, religion, or gender.
That said, some have raised questions about whether Saudi Arabian Airlines' membership in SkyTeam means Delta is adopting any type of policies that could present barriers to travel for some passengers, including Jewish customers. For this particular concern, it's important to realize that visa requirements to enter any country are dictated by that nation's government, not the airlines, and they apply to anyone entering the country regardless of whether it's by plane, bus or train.
We, like all international airlines, are required to comply with all applicable laws governing entry into every country we serve. You as passengers are responsible for obtaining the necessary travel documents, such as visas and certification of required vaccinations, and we're responsible for making sure that you have the proper documentation before you board.
In other words, Delta will still be happy to take your money and let you fly, but 'our friends the Saudis' may not let you in once you get there, and for sure they will not let in your Bible, Crucifix,
Tefillin or Star of David. For that matter, they might not let you on the plane either. (if you don't have a visa to enter a country, and need one, the airlines will not fly you, because if you are not admitted to the country, they must return you on the next flight at their expense).
Delta's Sky Miles program is not the only one that includes one or more airlines from the Arab world that have a problem with non-Muslim religious objects. For example,
One World, in which American Airlines and British Airways are the lead partners, includes Royal Jordanian Airways, and we know that there have been problems in Jordan in the past with
Tefillin and
yarmulkas (skullcaps).
But I have a bigger problem with Delta and that's how they list the countries of the '
Middle East' region:
Middle East
>Bahrain; Egypt; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Occupied Palestinian Territory; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Syrian Arab Republic; United Arab Emirates (composed of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras El Khaimah, Sharjah, Umm Al Qaiwain); Yemen, Republic of; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Uzbekistan
Anyone know where that country I highlighted is?
And then there's this at the end of the first article I quoted, which is spot-on:
As the rumor of no-Jews traveled the Internet all day, Detroit rabbi and blogger Jason Miller points out: The issue here is one of principle. Delta isn't being forced to include Saudi Arabian Airlines into its Sky Team Alliance. In fact, Delta could stand on principle and refuse to include Saudi Arabian Airlines based on its discriminatory policy.
Indeed.
Labels: American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Jordan, One World, Saudi Arabia, Sky Miles
