Avis du vol entre Paris et Tel Aviv en classe Affaires avec El Al Israel Airlines

Hello and welcome to this review of the flight from Paris-Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV), which I took on 23 February 2026 coming back from the NordicFuzzCon furry convention in Malmö, Sweden.

Since this flight, alongside my other flights to the convention and back home, are the first flights I took after joining Flight-Report, this report will be much more detailed and image-rich than my previous ones, and would also be written in mostly real-time rather than retrospectively.

This would also be the first report of El Al's Business class on the 787 on Flight-Report (but not of the Recaro CL6170 seat, for which El Al's 787s was the launch customer; it is also used by TAP's Business class on the A330neo, which has several reviews on this site already.)

BACKGROUND

My flight tickets for the convention were booked in September, well in advance of the convention and even a month ahead of the convention's registration opening.

The flight itinerary I took for the trip was:

When researching flight options, I first went to El Al's website: with the exception of the flight to Rome, which I eventually picked, all flights on offer had short layover times below what I'd consider acceptable - to the disbelief of my dad, who I consulted about the flights with. (A rule I learned from an internet friend is to never book flights with layovers shorter than 90 minutes; while I only learned this rule in May 2024, my dreadful 90-minute layover in Schiphol three months before helped cement it as the minimum layover time in my mind.)

The flights on offer on El Al's site were:

- TLV departure 06:40, CPH arrival 13:25, 1h20m layover in MXP (LY387->SK1684)
- TLV departure 06:10, CPH arrival 14:30, 3h layover in FCO (LY385->SK682) [ultimately selected]
- TLV departure 16:15, CPH arrival 21:50, 1h layover in VIE (LY363->SK696)
- TLV departure 06:00, CPH arrival 11:40, 1h layover in WAW (LY5101->SK752)
- TLV departure 10:45, CPH arrival 16:25, 1h layover in WAW (LO156->SK2762)

On 8 February, eight days before flight LY385, I was informed that it would be pushed forward by half an hour, from a 06:10 departure to a 05:40 one. This made my planned three-hour layover into a three-and-a-half hour layover.

Another complicating factor was the fact that I wanted to fly at least one of the flights on a widebody plane. Given that this was the off-peak season, I would have to route my flight either via London-Heathrow or via Paris, as these are the only European destinations El Al consistently flies widebodies to year-round. Since El Al's website did not offer any routing from CPH via LHR/CDG (although there were routings from ARN via LHR, they would have required me to plug the gap from Malmö to Stockholm by a three-to-four hour train journey: I could not find any conveniently-timed train since SJ, the Swedish national railway, have yet to publish their 2026 schedule at the time), I instead had to resort to ITA Matrix, a professional flight-finding tool recommended by the HaMatmidim frequent flyer blog, to find my flight.

Since ITA Matrix is a professional tool, It does not let you book the flight on your own; instead, you'd have to forward the details of your booking to a flight agent, who would book the flights for you. My dad was a great help in this, as he helped me book the flights through his own travel agent - though, of course, I was the one who paid for them.

Through ITA Matrix, I found out that there's a routing available from CPH via CDG to TLV, taking flights SK565 from CPH to CDG and LY324 from CDG to TLV. Though some of El Al's TLV-CDG flights are operated by the narrowbody fleet, LY324 is consistently operated by a widebody, which made it more attractive to me.

At the time of the initial booking, LY324 was scheduled to be operated by a 777-200 - the oldest and largest widebodies in El Al's fleet, which underwent a full cabin renewal in 2023-25; though I have flown on El Al's 777s before, it was always on their pre-renewal cabins.

Although the flights were booked in September, they were all booked as economy tickets: I waited for two more months to save up enough money, and then upgraded my return tickets to Business Class in cash (while upgrading in points is also an option, and the only one available on the site, it is technically only submitting a bid for upgrade; an upgrade in cash can only be done over the phone, but is guaranteed to give you a upgraded ticket if one is available at the time of the upgrade). Although Premium Economy would have been more than sufficient - I mostly need the extra legspace for my Fursuit head bag, a large personal item that does not fit into all overhead compartments - I opted to upgrade to Business class since I wanted to try out the 777-200's refurbished business cabin, the new flagship product of the new flagship plane (ever since El Al's 747s were retired).

Due to low demand for seats on LY324, however, it was reassigned to a 787-800 (the smallest widebodies in El Al service) in mid-December. Had I known the flight would eventually be operated by a 787-800, I would have likely opted to upgrade "just" to Premium Economy.

Due to tensions between the United States and Iran, I was also afraid that this flight would be affected by a potential closure of Israeli airspace, and thought about contingency plans. Since my parents were on a separate overseas trip to London near-concurrently with when I went to the convention, and they were due to return to Israel on 22 February, my plans were to get from Paris to London if an airspace closure would strand us both in Europe; if the airspace closure would occur after my parents made it home but before I did (what I called the "nightmare scenario"), I would have stayed at a friend's place in Paris temporarily. Thankfully, none of these scenarios came to pass, and both my parents and me made it back home safely.

PARIS-CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT - FROM SK565 TO LY324

Flight SK565, which I took from Copenhagen to Paris, touched down at 10:36; however, duue to a long taxiing, I was only off the plane by 10:58. Interestingly, boarding for return flight back to Copenhagen started at the exact same time.

While Initially, I tried to reach the Extime lounge by going east (as I knew that the lounge was located before passport control, and the area for non-Schengen flights is located at the western side of the airport), I asked an airport employee where the lounge is and they directed me to go west. After three minutes, I found the - rather discreet - entrance to the lounge:

THE EXTIME LOUNGE

The Extime lounge is small and located "out of the way" relative to the rest of the Terminal. Passengers have to enter a "side corridor" of sorts, which leads to an elevator bank:

And go two floors up:

Note that the lounge is located in the intra-Schengen section of the terminal, i.e. before passport control.

The Extime lounge, operated by Groupe ADP (the owner of the Parisian airport system) as part of its Extime brand for its various airport services, serves nearly every airline that uses the B and D concourses in CDG's terminal 2. Although it is a small lounge, it is (in my opinion) very elegantly decorated, with an Art Deco-inspired interior architecture that feels timeless, as opposed to the strict modernist designs favored by every other lounge I have used before.

Views of the lounge:

When I entered, the lounge served mostly breakfast fare (for example, the hot foods included scrambled eggs, sausages, and grilled tomatoes): appropriate, as it was 11 when I reached it. I asked a lounge employee when the switch to a lunch menu would happen, and they replied it would happen at 12 o'clock.

There was also a kosher food section for the benefit of El Al passengers.

Since I was asleep on nearly the entire SAS flight from Copenhagen to Paris, I helped myself for a second breakfast of eggs, sausage, ham slices, and a gougère. Regretfully, I didn't take a single piece of viennoiserie despite my fondness for them, as I assumed they would remain available for the lunch menu.

As promised, lunch offerings became available at 12, though I waited until around 12:45 for helping myself to lunch.

The hot foods section had basmati rice, pasta with cream and olives, beef stroganoff, chicken in mushroom sauce, salmon fillet, and delice de courge (sliced squash).

I had a first course of the pasta dish, alongside tomatoes, cucumber slices, and emmenthaler cheese slices:

And a main course of Beef Stroganoff in basmati rice, which was so delicious I helped myself to a second serving of it:

In a funny coincidence, Beef Stroganoff was also the dish I had onboard flight LX138, which I took on a family trip to China in late 2024, which I fondly remember as the best meal I ever had on a plane - albeit that one had spätzle rather than basmati rice. Nonetheless, this was enough to permanently link Beef Stroganoff and business-class flights in my mind.

When I took my last Business-class El Al flight out of Paris - LY326 in April 2018, which was also my last long-haul Business flight of El Al until this one - El Al still had a King David lounge in CDG, which was a cramped, uncomfortable sideroom with only a small dairy-kosher buffet for food. The closure of that lounge (and El Al moving to the Extime lounge as a consequence) made for a marked improvement.

At around 13:30, after finishing my lunch, I left the lounge and headed back to the terminal proper, leaving my signature on the lounge's guestbook on the way out. I reached passport control by 13:40, and cleared it in about 5 minutes; the gate was not even a minute's walk past passport control.

BOARDING, CABIN, AND SEAT

Boarding took place in gates B28/29. B28 was used for boarding groups A to D, while B29 was used for groups E to H.

As a passenger with a non-visible disability, I am (usually) qualified for priority boarding, though I only make use of it in my solo flights for obvious reasons. I asked the gate attendant whether this would be the case for this flight as well, but she said that it isn't - I'd have to board on schedule alongside the rest of group B. However, she did give me the verbal security interview when I told her I was connecting from Kastrup (and didn't undergo it at check-in in Paris like the rest of the passengers).

I waited for around 15 minutes, and only boarded the plane when I noticed there's passengers embarking in groups E to H, reaching the plane by 14:04.

Boarding for the entire plane was done via the 2L door. This meant I had the experience of turning left rather than right on boarding, which is a very rare experience for me and likely the first time I have ever done so to board an El Al aircraft:

Aircraft Information:
4X-ERC "Daliat el Carmel"
Boeing 787-858 (serial number 63399, line number 973)

Delivered new to El Al on 20 February 2020; 6 years old at the time of the flight.

This was my first (and as of the initial writing of this report, the only) time flying on that plane.

On the Boeing 787 (both 787-800 and 787-900, with the sole exception of 4X-EDN due to it being an ex-CA NTU acquired by El Al), El Al's Business Class utilizes Recaro CL6170 seats having 20-inch seat width, 42-inch pitch, and a 78-inch length when in flat bed mode, in a 1-2-1 staggered configuration; odd-numbered rows only have seats in the C, E, F, and H positions, while even numbered rows have them on the A, D, G, and K positions (however, note that the seats are always numbered A-DG-K).

There are 5 rows of 4 seats each, making for a total of 20 seats in the cabin (for reference, the 787-900 has 7 rows, making for a total of 28).

Each seat is equipped with an IFE screen at the back of the seat in front, an AC plug, a USB-A plug, a personal reading light, and plentiful storage spaces.

The seats themselves are very comfortable, and feature a headrest with both adjustable height and adjustable side-wings, as well as moveable armrests.

Cabin views:

View from the seat:

PSU detail:

When I took my seat, I tested whether the overhead compartment on the 787 would fit my fursuit head bag, a large personal item that doesn't fit into all overhead compartments - Before this flight, I knew it barely fits into the overhead compartments of B737s with the Boeing Sky Interior (in other words, 737NGs built after 2010 and all 737MAXes), but doesn't fit into the overhead compartments of earlier B737s and of A320s.

As it turned out, it not only fits, but fits with a lot of extra room. For me personally, this is a huge personal boon, as it means I can travel with it on 787s without having to fit it into the seat in front (which would require me either to restrict myself to aisle seats or to fork out money on an upgrade to Premium Economy or Business).

My seat for this flight was seat 3K, the right-hand window seat in the middle of the Business class cabin.

A pillow and blanket are placed on the seat for those who want to sleep, which I personally find an odd choice, as this is not a flight passengers would be likely to sleep on: the flight is four hours long, departs at the afternoon and arrives during the evening, the timezone gap between Tel Aviv and Paris is just one hour, and in my (probably incorrect) assumption, >85% of the flight's passengers aren't connecting from somewhere else via CDG.

The side compartment features a literature pocket, two storage spaces (one with a latched door and one without), the (non-adjustable) reading light, and the IFE remote, alongside the headphone plug and USB charging plug.

The latched storage space contains the headphones and a water bottle.

Seat controls, featuring an Upright/Relax/Bed mode selector, a control for the reading light, and controls for the backrest angle, footrest angle, and seat's position (forward or back).

Compared to TAP's implementation of the CL6170, El Al's seat controls do not have an adjustable lumbar or controls for the seat cushion's firmness/softness, but they do have controls for the backrest's angles.

Compared to El Al's own old business class on the 777, only one degree of freedom is lost, as the footrest's length is no longer extendable.

The seat has two armrests, one near the seat controls an another at the edge of the seat, both of which can be folded to make shoulder-room during sleep.

TAP's implementation of the seat has an additional storage compartment beside the seat, located below the seat controls and their armrest; on El Al's implementation, this compartment is replaced by an extra cushion. I haven't bothered to check whether there's a storage compartment under the cushion, but I don't think this is likely (and El Al's website gives no indication of one).

The IFE screen and tray table are located on the seat in front, right above the leg cubby. While the screen is angled slightly away from the seat in the "stowed" mode, it can be angled forward to be perpendicular to your line-of-sight.

The tray table was very large, and fit my iPad comfortably with room to spare. However, I didn't test whether it is also large enough to fit my laptop.

While I used the seat both in upright mode and in recline mode, and found both comfortable, I only tested its bed mode for a few seconds. Though I didn't find the leg cubby restrictive at all, despite the fact my dad does, a few seconds long-test is barely informative, and I'd only have a clear assessment of the bed mode if and when I fly this product on an intercontinental or a nighttime flight.

THE FLIGHT ITSELF

At 14:24, the flight attendants, Shiri and Sylvie, introduced themselves to me and gave me an offer of pre-departure drink. The options were apple juice, orange juice, and a mimosa; I went for the apple juice.

At 14:29, we were handed out our amenity kits. Compared to my last time travelling in El Al's business class, the amenity kit was redesigned, having a more "square" pouch rather than the "flatter" pouch it had in 2022-25.

Boarding completed was sounded at 14:43, and the safety video played not long after.

Pushback began at 14:50. While less than on the taxiing to CDG, I still managed to find some spotting opportunities:

A Finnair Embraer E190 (OH-LKO):

A Smartwings 737-900ER (OK-TSM), still carrying the old "Travel Service Canaria" livery:

An Air Mauritius A350-900 (3B-NBQ), providing a welcome break from what was otherwise a long stretch of Air France planes:

By 15:06, we were off the ground.

By 15:10, I activated the IFE, which greeted me with the looping footage of the plane's destination and multilingual welcome message (which looped through each and every one of the IFE User Interface's languages - English, Hebrew, French, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, German, Arabic, Portuguese, Thai, Hindi, Dutch, Hungarian, and Romanian).

While the IFE had 275 movies and 100 TV series, which confirmed my prior suspicions that El Al's 787s have a more extensive IFE library than their 737s do, the selection of content seemed slanted towards recent releases, and the number of available options also felt a bit lacking (as it is in every airline I flew with, with the only exception being Cathay Pacific and its 928 titles in the movie section alone).

This was a bit disappointing, considering that prior El Al flights I flew in had a more diverse crop of movies, with my previous flights on their 787s alone having titles such as The Mask, The American President (whose Hebrew title, The President Falls In Love, is a much more fitting one), The Devil Wears Prada, and Little Shop of Horrors.

In the end, as I didn't find anything more interesting, I went to watch James Gunn's Superman. While not a great work of art by any means, it was a fun movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. However, due to the flight's length, by the time the movie was over there wasn't enough time to watch anything longer than half an hour, so I went with one of the HaPijamot episodes I had saved on my iPad.

By 15:15, I was handed a hot towel (which was very refreshing), signifying it was time to begin service:

By 15:18, I was handed the menu for the flight, as well as an alcohol menu. El Al uuses the same menu for both Business and Premium Economy, which was designed by Israeli celebrity-chef Assaf Granit. This menu was initially introduced in late 2023 (where I had it thrice, both in Business and in Premium Economy) and slightly revised in May 2025 (which was the menu I had on my last time flying El Al's Business class, in August 2025). Compared to the last time, the menu was revised yet again, though this revision was less drastic than the May 2025 one.

However, since the revision was not as drastic, my favorite dish from the initial version of the menu, the Beef Shoulder in roasted pumpkin Hamusta sauce and Sha'ariya rice, was still out of the menu; however, it did give me an opportunity for a "corrective experience" for one problem I had on my flight from Prague to Tel Aviv, when my first choice of meal (Ribeye steak) was unavailable. For that reason, I opted for the corresponding dish on the twice-revised menu, the slow-cooked ribeye.

The meal was served at 15:40; around a minute later, a flight attendant asked me if I wanted some hummus (which I politely declined) and some bread (which I happily accepted, specifically opting for the pita).

At 15:47 (Malmö Time) / 16:47 (Tel Aviv time), I switched my devices from Malmö time (which is also the time in Paris) back to Tel Aviv time.

At 16:57, a flight attendant came and asked me what I'd like for dessert - I opted for the chocolate mousse.

The meal was overall delicious. Although the slow-cooked ribeye was very well done and had the texture of beef tongue at times, this wasn't a problem for me (particularly the texture - beef tongue is a delicacy in my family).

However, while the meal was delicious, the fact that the menu was shared with Premium Economy (and short-haul Business which, at least in El Al's case, differs from the long-haul Premium Economy only by having a higher price tag and giving passengers lounge access) meant it felt rather small compared to the long-haul Business meals I had on board SWISS and Lufthansa (which were both larger, and consequently had the first course and main course served on different trays).

I also personally find the fact that all of El Al's meals have to be kosher a bit limiting when it comes to the variety of available dishes, but having kosher-as-default meals makes sense for Israel's flag carrier, as according to the Israeli Democracy Institute's survey of Religion-and-State relations, about two-thirds of Israel's overall population keeps kosher to some extent (of Israeli Jews, who make up ~75% of Israel's population, about two-thirds keep kosher to some extent, and of Israeli Muslims, who make up ~20%, about nine-tenth keep halal to some extent; since Israel's Muslim population predominantly considers kosher food to be halal by definition - with alcohol, naturally, being the only exception -  their keeping halal is effectively keeping kosher by proxy).

At around 18:45, another flight attendant, Miki, came and asked me if there was anything I wanted to drink or snack on. I told him i'd like some water to drink, and asked what snacks were available; he replied that the only snack available on board was Abadi pretzels.

A few minutes later, Miki came back with a glass of water and two bags of Abadi, which were a much-appreciated refreshment ahead of descent.

The cabin lighting, which was off during much of the flight for the benefit of those who wanted to sleep (a prospect which I found odd when considering the timing of the flight, for reasons I already described) was turned back on at exactly 19:00.

Descent began at 19:13; soon after, a landing video, featuring a performance of Naomi Shemer's "Simaney Derech" by singer (and El Al presentor) Hanan Ben Ari, was played. While the practice of playing this video began in late September 2025, when there were still living Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, the video's contents were nearly-instantly dated by the release of the last living hostages on 12 October, and even moreso by the recovery of the body of the last remaining dead hostage, Ran Gvili, on 26 January 2026, and should have been retired at that point in my personal opinion.

The flight re-entered Israeli airspace at around 19:38.

Landing views of Jaffa, Bat Yam, Holon, and Rishon LeZiyyon:

The plane touched down at around 19:45, and I was off the plane by 19:53; Business class disembarked via the L1 door, while the rest of the plane disembarked via L2.

The passport control process went swiftly, and I was at baggage claim by 20:08; my suitcase and retractable duffel bag actually made it there before I did (a perk of Business class getting luggage priority). As soon as I got my bags, I came outside the airport, where my parents picked me up and drove me home.