Israel flag carrier is the only commercial airline to equip its planes with missile defense systems to protect its planes against surface-to-air missiles, and flollows stringent security procedures, both on the ground and on board its aircraft. It holds the record for the most passengers on a single airplanes as 1,088 persons were squeezed on a Boeing 747 during Operation Solomon in 1991, when some 14,500 Jewish refugees were evacuated from Ethiopia in the span of just a few hours. In the couple of years preceding the Covid crisis, it completed an overhaul of its long-haul fleet, by retiring the B767s and B747s and introducing B787 Dreamliners featuring a new Business Class. On August 1, 2020 it operated the first, hystorical flight to an Arab Country, as one of its B737s landed in Abu Dhabi in the United Araa Emirates following the sign of a cooperation treaty between Israel and a number of Gulf Countries including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. (Photo Wikimedia Commons / Eric Salard)
- - 5 STARS: Awarded to airlines achieving a very high, overall quality performance. It recognizes high standards of onboard product together with consistent and excellent standards of staff service across airport and cabin environments
- - 4 STARS: Awarded to airlines that deliver a good overall quality performance and provide good product standards across different travel cabins
- - 3 STARS: Awarded to airlines delivering a fair quality performance equating to the industry 'average' of acceptable product and service standards
- - 2 STARS: Shows airlines delivering a lower total quality performance, in some instances below the industry average across many rating categories
- - 1 STAR: Represents a poor quality of product delivered across the assessment sectors