Getting there

You have a number of carriers to choose from in flying to Israel.  Obviously El Al Israel Airlines serves the country with the most flights.  El Al flies directly from New York, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles.  The cost is competitive, and El Al offers the most frequent flights,  plus an early start to your Israel experience.  I also rank El Al’s more intensive security measures as a plus, though they can feel like a hassle and can be intrusive.  On the negative side, El Al has, in my experience, poorer (and surlier) service and seemingly a more chaotic clientele.  In fairness, I note that I have not flown El Al since 1991, and I have heard the service has

improved since then.  But remember that El Al does not fly on Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, which runs from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown.  This can cut into your available vacation time.  I flew El Al the first two times, largely for patriotic reasons, but have since found other airlines more convenient.  Delta Air Lines now

offers nonstop flights from Atlanta and JFK/New York to Ben Gurion Airport  and back.  Because Cincinnati is a Delta hub, this is a very convenient option for me, and I liked the service overall.  Note:  Delta reduced the Atlanta service to four days a week over the winter months in 2009; daily service will resume in the busier season.  For right now, fly to and from Atlanta if you can, because the Boeing 777 jets are much more comfortable than the 767-300ER jets used for the JFK service.  I am grateful that Delta will be upgrading the JFK service to 747- 400 jets in June 2010, which will be much  better.  Continental also offers non-stop flights to Israel from Newark, and I’ve heard that is a good option. US Airways has added daily non-stop

service from Philadelphia recently, giving another option.  For Canadian (and even American) readers, Air Canada offers convenient, nonstop services from Toronto.  Lufthansa, Air France, KLM,  and British Airways also serve Israel, and they are easy to connect to in Europe via various American carriers. In 2005, I flew Delta to Europe and connected through KLM (going) and Lufthansa (returning), both  very good carriers.   With  tourism to Israel  booming again,  other options may become available.