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El Al Airlines Will Give You a Free Phone if You Fly Them

Heading to the holy land for a whole lot of summer fun? If you're flying on El Al, and there's a very good chance you might be if you're going to Israel, then you get a free phone for use in the country!

The promotion comes directly from the airline, who are giving away 1,000 free Motorola V3 (aka the Razr) loaded with sixty free minutes to passengers holding roundtrip tickets to Israel with departures before June 30, 2010. You don't even have to give the phone back; it's yours to keep, along with the phone number in Israel, both to be used on any future trips to the country.

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Airport Security / El Al / Israel Travel / TLV / Security / Airlines / Airline Industry / Airline News / → All Tags

El Al Wins Best Airline Security Award and They Actually Deserve It

We think of El Al getting Global Traveler's Best Airline Security award the same way we approach The Amazing Race winning the annual Outstanding Reality-Competition Program Emmy: who else would get it? The designation, voted on by over 25,000 of the magazine's readers, has been around for three years and has never gone to any airline but El Al. This year's poll was no exception.

The striking thing about Israel's national airline—and this is a point we've tried to make again and again in the context of TSA—is that while their upfront security measures are obsessive, once you get past screening everything goes smoothly. This is true whether you're flying to Israel from a tiny airport or leaving the country from Tel Aviv. Passengers are asked to show up three hours in advance, every individual is interviewed in line by an agent, all baggage is screened, and so on. But once you've been cleared, that's that. No nonsense about taking off your shoes, no school-teacher scolding about when you can or can't touch your bags, no scribbled codes on your boarding pass. If you begin with basic competence, everything else falls into place.

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Tsa The Season / Holiday Travel / In-Flight Meals / Celebrating In The Skies / El Al / Hanukkah Travel / Airline News / → All Tags

Celebrating In The Skies: Hanukkah Donuts On El Al

A tray of freshly baked Sufganiot from El Al

Welcome to our new feature on the ways that the airlines are making you more comfy and less cranky this holiday travel season—"Celebrating In The Skies." Some airlines just want you to sit down and shut up, but these—thanks to extra treats and smiles—will show you how much they appreciate your flying with them.

Happy Hanukkah! Today being the first day of the Jewish holidays of Hanukkah, we're looking at the extra special offerings onboard El Al flights from JFK and Newark. Over the next couple weeks, El Al anticipates using 1,375 potatoes, 6,600 ounces of raspberry jam, and 68 cups of cinnamon to make sufganiot (jelly donuts) and latkes (potato pancakes) for lucky passengers.

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Pet Travel / El Al / Airline News / Airlines / → All Tags

El Al Wants To Make Sure Your Pets Are Getting Plenty Of Travel Love

Israeli airline El Al is very proud of having a pet frequent flyer club, where your dog or cat will get a free trip for every three round-trips they survive. What's more, El Al has been kind enough to offer us some tips on flying with our pets, and speaking as people who've never done it, we think they sound like good ideas.

The most important tips seem to be to exercise your pet shortly before the flight, but feed him a few hours beforehand to avoid a poor air-sick doggy. El Al also suggests getting the appropriate pet carrier far enough in advance that your pet can get used to the contraption before they're stuck in it on a flight.

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Cheap NYC / New York City / Events / Central Park / Beaches / Tel Aviv / Israel / El Al / → All Tags

NYC Keeps the Faux Beaches Coming By Trucking In Tel Aviv

New York City may not be the first location that comes to mind when you think "tropical vacation," but for those who don't mind sandy strolls lacking the exotic, the Big Apple is fast becoming the worldwide leader in faux beaches.

Already featuring three locations of Water Taxi Beach, NYC will be trucking in yet another sandy lot this Sunday for the one-time-only Tel Aviv Beach in NYC event.

As part of the city of Tel Aviv's 100th anniversary celebration, organizers will bring a slice of the Mediterranean to Manhattan, putting together a 1,300-square-foot beachfront by the bandshell in Central Park. The beach vibe will come complete with backgammon and paddle ball (omnipresent activities along the Tel Aviv shore), while sunbathers will be serenaded with live Israeli music and a midday DJ set pumping out Euro club hits.

And for those who aren't quite sated by Israel-on-NY, representative of El Al will be on hand offering special airfare deals. L'chaim!

Related Stories:
· The Tel Aviv Beach in NYC [Official Site]
· Marathon on the Mediterranean [Jaunted]
· Where Does Bar Refaeli Dine When She's Home in Tel Aviv? [Jaunted]

[Photo: shyb]