There's Nothing Like El Al

On September 28, El Al (Israel's National Airline) celebrated its 60th birthday. In honor of this I give you some memorable moments from the Airline's history.

The company's maiden flight took place on September 28, 1948… to pick up the first president of the State of Israel Chaim Weizmann from Geneva and bring him to Israel. Few know that the original El Al insignia blazoned on the company's first uniforms wasn't a Star of David; it was a flying camel - a mascot of early Jewish aviators.

Some of El Al's perks are industry firsts. The most outstanding one to date was inaugurated in 2002 on behalf of a wealthy New York couple who visit Israel at least four times a year, each time bringing their two cats with them. The airline decided to allow small dogs, cats and birds who indeed had tickets - $89 one-way from New York, Chicago or Miami and $98 from Los Angeles - to collect frequent flyer miles and gain a free trip along with their owners.

Nice to know especially for those people who use guide dogs. Or for the Paris Hilton types who have to have those stupid little dogs with them at all times.

Once upon a time, cynics said "El Al" stood for "Every Landing Always Late." But in the early 1990s, El Al found itself plagued by a chronic case of corporate jet lag due to passengers' last-minute duty-free shopping sprees before boarding. At one point, fed up with having to hunt down bargain-hunters, an El Al plane took off on time - leaving seven tardy passengers in the lurch. When questioned by the press, a company official explained: "It's out of the question that every morning, on almost all flights, we act as if we were a taxi outside the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station - yelling 'Paris, Paris, Who is going to Paris?' before taxiing away."

I can say that before this incident I was on the only plane that actually took off on time, but came in early. We think the pilot fainted.

Speaking of Paris - in 1990, on one El Al plane bound for the French capital, an asthmatic passenger found he had forgotten his medicines in a Tel Aviv hotel room. While there were emergency medical supplies on board, according to news reports, after consultation with El Al's doctors, the pilot was instructed to fly at 31,000 rather than 43,000 feet - despite the additional fuel consumed at lower altitudes - in order to maintain optimal conditions for the passenger.

One case of "special handling" involved some very special hand-baggage: In a race against time, an American Red Cross representative collected 572 blood samples from Jews of Lithuanian lineage at blood banks in Carmiel near Haifa and the Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv. Packing the contents in an insulated picnic box, the American sped to catch a 2 a.m. El Al flight back to the US - in the hopes of finding a match for a 20-year-old woman badly in need of a bone marrow transplant.

One of the most unforgettable humanitarian gestures to which El Al was a part took place on Flight 316 from Tel Aviv to London: Among the passengers was Moran Kadosh, 4, on her way to London for a liver transplant. The child was accompanied by a doctor and her parents - who had a mere $4,500 in their pockets to finance surgery. When the child's plight became known to fellow passengers and El Al flight employees, they organized a spontaneous collection at 35,000 feet. The captain announced over the public address system that Moran's life was in danger. By the time the jumbo landed at Heathrow, 400 passengers and crew had gathered the $60,000 needed to pay for the transplant.

With American carriers the people would just have to suffer. Compassion is uncommon and the service is just as bad.

In terms of conventional cargo, in 1987 El Al was flying high, grabbing ninth place among trans-Atlantic cargo carriers.

And they would transport almost anything.

In September 1970, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine skyjacked four airplanes. Few know there was a fifth target - an El Al flight, where the midair attempt was foiled by the pilot, who plunged the aircraft into a 14,000-foot nosedive, throwing the two armed terrorists for a loop, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the pair, including a traveler purported to have clobbered the male assailant over the head with a whiskey bottle before the air marshal took over.

It is too bad that pilot wasn't on any of the 4 flights on 9/11. This should be taught to every pilot in the world. And a waste of good whiskey.

While efforts to go the extra mile may raise questions whether any air carrier can hold a candle to El Al, the ultimate case of going out of the way for passengers was Operation Solomon: the historic June 1990 airlift of 15,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 24 hours, using IDF and El Al planes. El Al made aviation history… and The Guinness Book of World Records, for transporting 6,500 passengers in 10 aircraft.

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After 60 years, and countless miles they still fly high. With pilots trained by the IAF, and a flight crew ready for all emergencies, they are a formidable yet comforting crew.