El Al will retrofit its aging Boeing 777s with new cabins
El Al is working hard to rebrand itself as the airline of choice when flying to Israel.
The latest move comes as the country's flag carrier begins to retrofit its Boeing 777 fleet with new cabins, as confirmed to TPG by Amit Sagi, the airline's chief marketing and digital officer.
El Al has six Boeing 777-200ERs in its fleet, three of which it started flying over 20 years ago. Now, the planes are getting a new lease of life, as they undergo a nose-to-tail refresh.
In business class, the airline will strip out the 35 outdated angle-flat pods that were arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration. The airline will also remove the six-seat first-class cabin, as it installs a new business-class product that's significantly more comfortable and private than the old first class ever was.
The airline confirmed that the new Boeing 777 business class will be outfitted in a 1-2-1 configuration, but it stopped short of providing details of the seats' manufacturer. The airline told TPG that the new cabin will "have the same look and feel" as biz on El Al's Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
All of El Al's 787s are outfitted with the industry-leading Recaro CL6710 seats in business class, which are similar to the customized Polaris pods you'll find across United's long-haul fleet.
Perhaps El Al will choose one of the new business-class products with sliding doors, which would make it one of the top cabins in the sky.
The 777s will also get a new cabin: premium economy. Previously, there wasn't a product available between business and coach on these jets.
Finally, El Al's coach cabin, which the airline brands as "tourist" class, will also get new seats. A large section of extra-legroom economy seats will be available for a modest upcharge, the airline told TPG.
Along with the new seats, the carrier will be adding ViaSat satellite-based Wi-Fi during the retrofit process. Long-haul business-class passengers will enjoy complimentary internet access as part of their ticket.
All cabins will enjoy upgraded inflight entertainment systems as well.
The airline promised to reveal more details about the retrofit, along with the cabin configuration and photos in the coming months. For now, the airline is only retrofitting two of its 777s, and they'll be flying during the summer schedule barring any delays, the carrier confirmed to TPG.
The refreshed planes will initially serve European and Asian markets, though the airline isn't going to be assigning them to specific routes at the outset. Instead, they'll be deployed based on passenger loads and other factors.
El Al still hasn't determined the fate of its four other 777s, but there's good news: the airline is promising to only fly the newly retrofitted birds going forward. The other four will remain parked until they either get the retrofit or are retired.
While we'll need to wait for more details, El Al's long-haul product is poised to become one of the best for nonstop service to Israel.
The 777 retrofits join the company's new fleet of Dreamliners that are already crisscrossing the globe from the carrier's Tel Aviv hub.
All 15 of the Dreamliners feature modernized cabins, with lie-flat biz pods, premium economy recliners and comfortable coach seats.
If you associate El Al with outdated cabins and a subpar inflight experience, it's time to give the airline another try. The retrofitted 777s, along with the latest Dreamliners, will be waiting for you.
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