US Airways inaugurates direct flight to Tel Aviv

If a prize were given for who came the farthest to be on US Airways Group Inc.'s inaugural flight to Tel Aviv, Israel, Rabbi David Glickman and his family would win.

The rabbi from Maui, Hawaii, his wife, Jody, and their three young children flew standby, first to Phoenix and then here, to get on Philadelphia's first nonstop daily Flight 796 to Israel.

"We made it!" he said Wednesday night, waiting to board. "We feel blessed."

The flight pushed away from the gate at 9:15 p.m. Wednesday and arrived 12 hours later - at 4:28 p.m. Tel Aviv time - after being delayed by thunderstorms here.

Before leaving, the 258 travelers - every seat on the new Airbus A330-200 was filled - were treated to balloons, cake, ice tea, lemonade, and a festive send-off by several dozen US Airways employees.

The 5,700-mile route is the longest in US Airways' network, and the first to the Middle East.

"We're very excited about it and pleased by the strong bookings we are seeing, even into the fall," said Suzanne Boda, the airline's senior vice president based in Philadelphia.

Passengers said they were happy, and appreciative, to have another option for flying directly to Israel.

And the ticket prices? Virtually everyone said the fares were cheaper than those from other cities.

In the past, Philadelphians bound for Israel flew out of Newark or New York's Kennedy Airport. Israel's El Al Airlines has dominated the market, although Continental Airlines Inc. and Delta Air Line Inc. fly to Tel Aviv from the East Coast.

Ira M. Schwartz, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, said the flight was historic and would intensify competition among the carriers.

"The competition is already starting. El Al is offering free transportation to Newark for people who want to fly to Israel," Schwartz said. "This is going to result in lower fares, which I think is going to be great for the consumer."

Among passengers on the first flight were Zippi and Gary Cramer of Howell, N.J., who left from Philadelphia because "the price was right and you can avoid Newark, which is congested," Gary Cramer said.

"I Googled. We got tickets in March," said Zippi Cramer, who is originally from Israel. "It was cheaper than flying out of Newark."

Many were vacationers and leisure travelers, visiting family and friends. Some were going on business. And some were students, including 40 teens embarking on a monthlong tour.

Charles Maslin, his wife, Chava, and their five children from Chicago are making aliyah - their permanent home - in Israel. They came to Philadelphia to see Maslin's mother, Ruth, in Lafayette Hill and his sister, Mindy, and family in Germantown.

Although there were tearful goodbyes at the baggage check-in, Ruth Maslin said it was "marvelous" that she could fly now direct to Israel. "No changing planes, no waiting," she said.

"It's a coup for Philadelphia," said Mindy Maslin. "There's a big Jewish community here. We were in Israel a year ago, and we went through Newark. This is so much more convenient."

Ninth grader Yehudis Kulefsky, 14, came by car with her family from Montreal. She flew alone to visit her two married sisters living in Israel. When she returns in two weeks, accompanied by one sister and her children, she will connect to Montreal through Philadelphia.

Why Philadelphia? "It was best for their route," said their mother, Tovi Kulefsky.

Two families from Portland, Ore. - Seymour and Julia Hanfling, and Mike and Kris Siegel and their children - are joining members of their synagogue in Israel next week, but they left early to take in more sights, including the Israeli coastal resort Eilat and Petra, an ancient Jordanian city.

Kris Siegel said she used an international travel "aggregator" to find the US Airways flight. "It came up as a good fare. We didn't know that we were on the first flight!"

Seymour Hanfling said he and his wife also went online and determined "it was a great way to get here. The price was better, cheaper than going through New York, or D.C., or Chicago."

Shalom and Rachel Abboudi, of Ashdod, Israel, were on the flight after visiting their son for three weeks in Bala Cynwyd.

On Wednesday, they headed home with grandchildren Jacob Lauer, 9, and Michelle Lauer, 7, who will spend the summer. In September, all will return here to spend the high holidays, again flying US Airways.

"It's very convenient," Rachel Abboudi said. "The price was cheaper. We looked on the Internet."

Rabbi Glickman from Maui, who lived in Israel as a teenager and was in the Israeli army, said he had not been back to see his father, siblings, and nephews in two years.

"We wanted to go, but it wasn't going to happen," he said.

Then a member of his congregation, who lives in Arizona and owns a time-share in Maui, had a proposal:

If the rabbi would officiate at the marriage of his daughter in September in Arizona, the congregant, who works for US Airways, would give the rabbi four "companion" passes, reduced fares that airline employees receive and can give to anyone. The tickets require passengers to fly standby, or when seats are available.

"It's just amazing. This came down in such a way, it's astounding," Glickman said. "We've had our hiccups. We weren't sure we were going to be able to get on" the Tel Aviv flight.

But they did.