Good News: EL AL Updates Boeing 777 Cabins, Introduces Premium Economy

Updated: February 4, 2022, 8:19am CST

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Premium Economy Replaces First Class
Business Class
EL AL’s Presence in the U.S.
Final Thoughts

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Say goodbye to EL AL’s antiquated Boeing 777 cabins. Well, at least 2 of them for now.

The Israeli flag carrier has confirmed plans to overhaul its business class product as well as to remove first class and introduce premium economy.

The updates will bring 2 out of 6 of its oldest aircraft into line with the experience passengers have onboard the airline’s newer, more modern Dreamliners.

Let’s take a look at what’s on the agenda for the aircraft’s first, business, and premium economy cabins.

Premium Economy Replaces First Class

Saying goodbye to EL AL’s first class is no bad thing.

Its old school, 2-2-2 cabin features seats from an era gone by. In fact, it looks more like a premium economy cabin than a first cabin.

The irony is that a premium economy cabin is what the carrier will indeed be introducing when it removes first class.

The Boeing 777s’ new premium economy cabins are expected to be very similar to those that already feature on the airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

El Al B787 W Seats — EL AL’s premium economy onboard its Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Image Credit: EL AL

Hopefully, despite the slightly wider fuselage of the Boeing 777, the seats will still be configured in a comfortable 2-3-2 layout. By comparison, British Airways opted to squeeze an extra seat per row onto the premium economy cabins of its Boeing 777s, making it a tighter 2-4-2 configuration.

Business Class

With the phasing out of first class, business will now be EL AL’s most premium offering.

The product currently installed on EL AL’s Boeing 777-200s is a long way behind the current industry standard.

The cabin is configured in a 2-3-2 layout (the same as premium economy on its Dreamliners) and not all seats have direct aisle access.

Worse still, the seats don’t even recline into the fully flat position.

While a date hasn’t been set for the rollout of the new cabins, passengers flying in business class on EL AL’s 777s will soon have a far better experience.

El Al B787 J Seat — Business class onboard EL AL’s 787. Image Credit: EL AL

EL AL’s Presence in the U.S.

EL AL is currently selling tickets for nonstop flights to Tel Aviv (TLV) from 7 North American cities: Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), and Toronto (YYZ).

It would seem that each of the 7 routes is operated by the airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, meaning that your chances of flying the refreshed Boeing 777s are slim.

That said, a long-haul flight on a Dreamliner would likely be more comfortable and leave you feeling more refreshed than a Boeing 777, no matter how much retrofitting you throw at it.

Final Thoughts

EL AL is updating its Boeing 777 interiors to bring them in line with the times.

While the chances of flying the refurbished jets to or from the U.S. are slim, it’s good to know that your inflight experience will now be much improved should you find yourself onboard one.