El Al

El Al is Israel's flag carrier, operating from Tel Aviv Ben Gurion with an all-Boeing fleet: 737s around Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, 777s and 787s on the long runs to North America and Asia. For seat pickers it is a fleet that takes cabin hierarchy seriously.

Every published widebody is three-class with a real premium economy at 38-inch pitch, not a rebadged legroom row. Business on the 777-200ER and the standard 787s is built entirely from solo seats with direct aisle access, and even the 737s carry wide recliners with a full 10 inches of recline. The one outlier is a single higher-density 787-9 still flying its former operator's interior.

The 777-200ER carries 28 business seats in a one-two-one layout, 32 premium economy seats in a wide 2-4-2 and a 253-seat ten-abreast economy. The 787-8 (20 business, 35 premium economy, 183 economy) and the main 787-9 (32, 35 and 204) repeat the formula with 42-inch-pitch flat beds, 2-3-2 premium economy and 3-3-3 economy carrying the airline's El Al Space extra-legroom rows, several extra inches of pitch over the standard rows.

The odd one out is the 293-seat 787-9 registered 4X-EDN, flying the interior it inherited: business in a 2-2-2 layout without universal aisle access and a premium economy at 36-inch pitch on economy-width seats. The 737-800 and 737-900ER carry 16-seat business cabins at 42-to-44-inch pitch ahead of economies whose standard rows drop to 29 and 30 inches.

Long-haul business on the standard widebodies means a solo seat that folds into a flat bed, with nobody to climb over and large touchscreens throughout. Premium economy earns its keep hardest on the 777, where economy runs ten abreast at 17.3 inches wide; on the 787s economy is the industry-standard nine-abreast fit, softened by the Space rows.

Short haul is a tale of two cabins: business recliners whose pitch and recline read long-haul, and standard economy rows among the tightest in the fleet. The El Al Space concept does the bridging on the 737s too, with front-of-economy and exit-band rows carrying several extra inches of pitch.

In widebody business the solo seats are equivalent enough to choose by row, though the rear business rows on the 787s pick up galley noise. On 4X-EDN, solo travellers should take aisle seats, since the paired windows mean climbing past a neighbour. Premium economy bulkhead rows carry armrest trays, overhead-only stowage and, on the 777, bassinet positions and nearby lavatories, so the second row in is often the smarter buy.

In economy, chase the Space rows and read the exit-row small print: several exit rows across the 737s hold no recline at all. On the 737-900ER the roomy front economy rows also collect lavatory foot traffic, and the 777's tapering rear turns window trios into pairs, a quiet win for couples who sit far enough back.