PROS
* Less expensive= low cost
* A variety of destination options from TLV Israel, with London LTN recently added (see photo), mine possibly being the first flight on this new route
* Offering deals, such as lodging, organized tours and car rental
* Able to choose a seat with the 24 hour check in, which do not cost extra
* Efficient and uncomplicated boarding process
CONS
* Low cost = cheap
* No business nor first class- the entire place is 40 rows of economy
* Somewhat unclear process for purchasing ticket, and even more unclear and not smooth for on- line check in
* No way to communicate with the company- not telephone, nor WhatsApp and not email.
* The basic fare for a seat includes only a personal item- not even a cabin bag
* No electric or electronic plugs
* Fees for extra stuff such as closer to front seats, cabin bag and check bag
* No food service, incredibly very basic bland stuff costs USD$10 or more (see my helpful 👍 attached photos 📷) and payment only with actual physical credit card
* Water is for sale too, although I saw attendants granting a cup of water to pleading petitioners
* No inflight magazine at all
* No inflight entertainment
* Half of the flight attendants are native Eastern Europeans who speak very basic English and no Hebrew at all. The native Israeli staff have to use their broken English to communicate with them
* There is no fabric or netting pocket at the bottom of the seat in front to put stuff and refuse
“I VISITED THIS PLACE”…
… because it was my last hope to get to London (and then Amsterdam), where I had plans and reservations. My fantastically inexpensive British Airways ticket purchased six months before travel was cancelled, and then my replacement Lufthansa flight via Munich was also canceled. And then Israir announced opening a new route to London…
The “low cost” basic fare of Israir was significantly more than the British Airways and Lufthansa fares, but I purchased because I was committed to traveling.
As stated, I paid extra for a check bag and for a carry on bag. I was able to obtain a good side seat in the middle of the plane for no extra cost (on the 24 hour check in).
The five hour flight left the gate almost 15 minutes late, but was otherwise unremarkable, arriving 10 minutes late, but still allowing me to take my scheduled amazing National Express coach.
I had flown the LTN- TLV route before but in another airline- last year, I took a Wizz in London and it landed in Tel Aviv.
Full disclosure- I had flown this airline last year to Athens, and it was clearly unremarkable then too… except that the Greek desk clerk claimed that I did not purchase a a checked bag, so I showed him a random price listing pages of Israir in Hebrew, which he accepted, because “it was all Greek to him.”
WAS IT WORTH THE COST?
It was more expensive than the British Airways and Lufthansa fares
WOULD “I VISIT THIS PLACE”AGAIN?
Only if I had no other choice, as happened this time
ADVICE
It is basic