New service for El Al passengers: Check in at home

A first in the airline industry: El Al to offer passengers check-in services at the comfort of their home. If you reside in central Israel, a steward and a security official will arrive to your home, collect your luggage and give you your boarding pass. And the cost?

Reuters | Published: 04.28.07, 07:28

Hate the lines at the airport's check-in counters? Israel's national airline announced on Wednesday a "Pre-Flight Service from Home" program. The service allows El Al passengers to go through the security and check-in processes from the comfort of their home or office 6 to 24 hours prior to departure

To schedule the service, travelers must call a 24-hour center and El Al agents will arrive at the location set to complete the procedure. Once luggage is checked in and the a security clearance is provided, the passenger is presented with a boarding pass and baggage is delivered to Ben-Gurion International Airport.

All that is left for the passengers to do at the airport is go through passport and roam the duty-free shops.

"Global research conducted by the aviation industry has shown that airport delays represent the greatest amount of wasted time for business travelers," said David Maimon, an El Al service official behind the program.

And the price? The service costs $49 per passenger. Each additional passenger using the service from the same location will pay $5.

The service is currently available at in central Israel (the are between Jerusalem in the east, Netanya in the west and Gadera in the south).