UPDATE: This deal managed to disappear with the 1pm ET data load just like Keyser Soze. But it was fun while it lasted.
Whether this is a mistake or a sale probably doesn’t matter too much, especially because it seems to be booking quite well right now. A number of US gateways have flights to Tel Aviv via a connection in Europe for under $400 all in right now. Travel is valid from October 26th – December 16th or December 24th – March 24th, 2013. And inventory looks pretty wide open right now. Here’s what prices look like on a 7-day trip from NYC in November:
Chicago and Boston have similar fares available. The flights are coded by El Al but book on to partners meaning that mileage earning has the potential to be minimal or non-existent. But you can fly on American Airlines and Swiss, among others, as part of the deal if you’d rather than than flying on El Al metal. Oh, and thanks to connection rules on international itineraries a nearly full day or even overnight in a European connection point is possible, too.
Book online through an OTA. You can try to get a few more bucks back through Vayama, Expedia or CheapoAir using the links here or just use your favorite OTA and see how it plays out.
This is most likely the result of a fuel surcharge not being loaded properly with the partner-operated flights so no idea how long it will last. I’m having trouble finding time to make a proper trip out of it and I’m not too keen on a mileage run to Israel being my first visit so I’m going to skip it. But if you’ve got any interest in visiting Israel this winter the chances of a lower fare coming along are virtually nil.
Some more discussion online can be found here:
- http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/23210
- http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mileage-run-deals/1374229-bos-tlv-tons-dates-fall-winter-420-pp.html
- http://www.theflightdeal.com/2012/08/06/el-al-us-tel-aviv-israel/
Safe travels!
Never miss another post: Sign up for email alerts and get only the content you want direct to your inbox.
Can’t be the fuel surcharge… G fares on the direct JFK-TLV service don’t get charged YQ/YR either, but still are in the 1000+$ range…
And you are posting this here…why?
Bloggers ruin everything! (says a guy who already booked his trip JFK-ZRH-TLV)
@theblakefish because this information isn’t your personal property? If you discovered it and want to control who uses it, keep it to yourself.
@Oliver …I don’t know that I agree…I just keep things close to vest and try and fly under the radar.
But then again, I don’t own a blog… 😉
It didn’t last long anyway and I see now that it is all over the web…
If I cancel within 24 hours is there a penalty?
Hi I would like to know if anyone could give me advise on what to do I booked earlier today on Cheaptickets but I did not book for my baby who will be 15 months can I add him on now? Or does anyone have any idea on how I can get him on the flight ( on my lap) do I call the airline or cheaptickets?
@theblakefish — the MR forum on FT isn’t exactly a secret place that the airlines or others in the industry don’t know about. So I am not sure what the concern is — that non-FT users (blog readers) get to benefit from a deal? It’s not like FT MR doesn’t have a huge “lurker” audience that doesn’t actually contribute to the site and just picks up information.
@Oliver – I know of another blogger on UPGRD who has killed at least 2 deals that I know of, hence my immediate concern. I did not know that it was previously posted in other spots before it was posted here. Since Boarding Area doesn’t allow me to delete earlier comments, I had no way of retracting my comment. My apologies. Now, let’s get back to airline stuff… 🙂
I appreciate your concern, Blake. That said, I included several links in the original post showing the much broader distribution of the information. And we’ve shred drinks together once or twice IIRC; I’d think you know me better than that at this point. Besides, you’ve benefited from a number of the things I’ve posted. Seems strange that you’d all of a sudden object.
The deal is gone quickly as expected. Time to move on to the next one…
For the lap child, Z, it shouldn’t be a problem at all to add them on. You’ll likely be hit with 10% of the current fare rather than 10% of what you paid but it still shouldn’t be too bad. I think that you have to call El Al for it since they’re the issuing carrier but I’m not positive. I’d give it a day or two for things to shake out before getting on that.
Regarding the 24-hour refunds, the DoT requires that booking engines permit either a 24-hour hold or refund for all trips more than 7 days away. That should apply here as well.
The deal is still there , just needs to be flown between oct 28 and dec 16, ticked by tomorrow. UA & co matched, but with 600$ YQ in L.