Route of the month: Alex McWhirter looks at how new services can benefit business travellers
London to Tel Aviv
British Airways and Israeli national carrier El Al have dominated the London-Tel Aviv route for many years. But serious competition has arrived in the shape of Bmi and, starting from November 2, budget airline Easyjet.
Passengers are the beneficiaries, as they now not only have a wide choice of prices but also of products. They can choose a tight economy class seat with Easyjet and typically pay under £200 return, or splash out £1,600 and luxuriate in one of El Al’s first class flat beds.
The newcomers
Bmi entered the route last year and has expanded its initial service to offer extra flights with larger planes. It now flies twice a day from London Heathrow using three-class wide-bodied A330s. With Bmi you get a fully-flat business class seat configured 2-2-2, with up to 80 inches of legroom and the most spacious premium economy in the skies, also in a 2-2-2 layout. The latter is, in fact, Bmi’s former business class seat, which, with its 49 inches of legroom, is more roomy than other carriers’ equivalent products.
A big selling point is the expedited Heathrow check-in time – as little as 30 minutes – for business class passengers. And those buying full-fare business tickets are entitled to free chauffeur cars at both ends of the journey – although bear in mind that the difference in price between full fare and special fare might exceed the cost of paying for the transfers separately.
Easyjet has begun to spread its wings in search of new opportunities, and this six-times weekly service from Luton, one of its longest routes, is a prime example. It hopes to succeed where Thomsonfly failed – the latter inaugurated this route two years ago with a three-times weekly service, but withdrew earlier this year. Easyjet believes its stronger brand image and marketing strengths give it the edge. “We are known for opening new routes and making them successful,” a spokeswoman says.
The low-cost carrier’s prices lead in at £103 return, but you can expect to pay much more this winter. It is taking delivery of a new 174-seat A320 to be used on this route, and is modifying its catering to include kosher food such as an egg mayonnaise, tomato and cress bloomer sandwich. Easyjet will lead on price, but a question mark hangs over whether passengers will be happy to sit in cramped conditions for a flight of almost five hours.
The establishment
El Al differs from other carriers in that it does not fly on the Sabbath (between sundown on Friday and sundown on Saturday). Otherwise, it operates twice daily from Heathrow and has just started a daily service from Luton in head-to-head competition with Easyjet.
One of El Al’s flights from Heathrow is operated by a three-class B777, with the second service rostered for a two-class B767. From Luton, it uses a two-class B757. The B777 features fully-flat first class seats configured 2-2-2 and with 77 inches of legroom. Business class is 2-3-2 with angled lie-flat beds, 170 degrees of recline and 62 inches of pitch. There is cradle-style business class seating on both the B767 (60 inches of legroom in a 2-2-2 layout) and the B757 (2-2 configuration with 45 inches of legroom).
The Israeli carrier is famed for its rigorous security, and this means that even passengers in premium classes who have checked in online must report 135 minutes before departure if they have checked luggage. This is reduced to 105 minutes if they have hand luggage. Online check-in should be offered from Luton by the end of November.
BA operates twice daily from London Heathrow with three-class B767s. Club World (business class) features BA’s famous fully-flat beds, configured 2-2-2 with 73 inches of legroom, while premium economy provides 38 inches and is also disposed 2-2-2. Visit the newly relaunched seatplans.com for detailed diagrams of all these aircraft.
Prices
These vary depending on how far ahead you book and when you travel. For a midweek journey in November, online agent Opodo (opodo.co.uk) quotes return fares of £1,605 in first class for El Al, with business class priced from £798 (from Luton) and £810 (from Heathrow). Bmi business class costs from £841, with premium economy from £567. BA is priced from £1,069 for business and £586 for premium economy. Economy class with these carriers starts from £250.
