El Al to charge up to $99 for extra 3 inch legroom

El Al Boeing 787 Dreamliner  photo: PR
El Al Boeing 787 Dreamliner photo: PR

El Al is reconfiguring its planes to offer more seats with more legroom - but at a price.

El Al is reconfiguring its Boeing 737, 777 and 787 (Dreamliner) aircraft to contain less seats but offer more seats with more legroom in economy class as of March 29, 2020. However, passengers booking a seat with more legroom, as part of El Al's SPACE program, will be asked to pay higher fares.

In the 787 (Dreamliner), for example, 70 El Al SPACE seats will be offered with 33.86 inches (86 centimeters) of legroom compared with 31 inches (78.74 centimeters) in the regular economy class seats. In 737 and 777 aircraft the extra legroom will be 33 inches or 84 centimeters.

The surcharge for the extra legroom seats will be $39 per ticket one-way on short-haul flights (Larnaca, Athens, Sofia and Bucharest), $59 for other European destinations, and $99 one-way for long-haul flights (US, Canada, South Africa and Asia). El Al Classic ticket holders will receive discounts with the surcharge reduced to $25, $45 and $85 one-way for the three destination categories.

El Al VP commercial and industry affairs Michael Strassburger said, "Through meetings and conversations with our loyal customers, we have understood the need for expanding our offering of more spacious seats in tourist class, and we are preparing to launch El Al SPACE and completing a procedure that includes the airline's entire fleet."

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 29, 2019

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2019

El Al Boeing 787 Dreamliner  photo: PR
El Al Boeing 787 Dreamliner photo: PR
Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018