By Tom Brennan
Israel has many achievements to its name. For a nation of its size it leads in more fields than anyone can name. Airline safety is one of them and its record for the safe delivery of its passengers is unsurpassed. El Al began with the birthday of the nation itself and today excels in passenger and cargo service unmatched by any other airline.
El Al got off to a first class start when it transported the new nation’s first president, Chaim Weizmann to the capitol, Tel Aviv in 1948. The also-new Israeli Air Force transferred a war surplus, former US Army Air Corps C-54 to transport duty. It was painted inn civilian colors and had seats instead of cargo handling gear in the passenger area. A significant beginning to a new state and a new air line.
The new airline got off to unique and dependable start by slow but well planned growth. Buying used airliners like the Douglas DC-4 for passengers and the rugged and roomy Curtiss C-46 for cargo, El AL served a growing customer base with efficient service. It kept to its Biblical roots as Israel’s national airline by offering an all Kosher onboard dining service, no hypocrisy or double-talk here either. In the 1950’s perhaps the most attractive propeller-driven aircraft of all time, the Lockheed Constellation showed the world that the young nation would compete in one way or another in a growing competitive travel market. In the early 1960’s the dependable Britannia, a turboprop and remarkably fast and efficient airliner was added to the fleet. Despite the appeal, efficiency and dependability of the turboprops, their days were numbered. As Lockheed Electra’s and Bristol Britannia’s began to demonstrate their worth the De Havilland Comet, Caravelle and the high performance Boeing 707 lured airlines into the new world of jet power. To be truly competitive was to go jet so El AL invested in 707’s. and Boeing 747’s served and still serve. Boeing has remained the jet of preference for El Al and several 787 Dreamliner’s are being added to the fleet. These are new orders for the highly respected airline.
Why is El Al so safe? Israel has been a target for hostility since 1948. In the1960’s EL AL began the practice of having an armed air marshal on every flight. Background checks, profiling, extensive questioning, rings of security around the entry to air ports In Israel, hidden and obvious security measures all make it very risky to try to penetrate the security screen. Terrorists prefer easy targets. At Israel’s airports at least half of the visible personnel are security people and almost everyone is armed. Suspicious behavior, unusual travel arrangements, cash payment for one way tickets no luggage, things which regularly get reported as happening at American and European airports despite denials by representatives of security agencies, none of these escape the scrutiny of Israel’s guardians.
Richard Reid, the infamous “shoe bomber” made his debut on the security stage by flying on El Al, after close examination, and with his own personal armed air marshal right beside him for the entire trip. He was not considered a danger yet. In the 1960’s an attack on an El Al airliner occurred but not a hijacking. Four terrorists tried to shoot up an airliner from the ground and the air marshal ran from the plane and engaged the attackers until airport security arrived. The pilot was killed but the terrorists fared worse.
El AL’s pilots are all former and reserve Israel Air Force pilots and anti-missile defense systems are installed in all aircraft. So far American and European airlines haven’t gotten around to installing these countermeasures. Recent events in the civil war in Iraq and the capture of Stinger ground to air missiles are a reality now. Flying El Al just became another reason for consideration in travel.
On a more cheerful note, you won’t violate any dietary laws on your El Al flight. With the recommendation of the Chief Rabbi of Israel the airline has been serving a Kosher menu for some time. Airline food has been the stuff of jokes and late night television for years. Jewish and Torah observant persons have always been severely inconvenienced by the lack of a Kosher menu in many instances. El Al is the only airline that makes the commitment to fully serve its countrymen and women who use its services.
El Al is a unique airline, born of innovation, energy and compliance with a higher standard of service to its passengers. It goes to great lengths to see that a safe flight and travel are guaranteed. It has set the bar for what can be achieved and has written the book on how it is to be done. Today travelers who book a flight on El Al can rest assured that a safe arrival is in store. Called the “world’s safest airline” is no idle boast, just a statement of fact.
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