El Al 787-8 Seat Selection Guide (2026)

El Al's Boeing 787-8 is the smallest of its three Dreamliner sub-fleets: four aircraft, 238 seats, three cabins, and a single configuration with no version lottery to worry about. It flies the routes that do not quite justify a 787-9 — Boston, Bangkok, and a share of the New York and Miami rotations.

The thing to understand before you pick a seat is where the Economy cabin changes. El Al sells Space seats in rows 21 to 27, and those rows are drawn at roughly 35 inches of pitch. Row 28 drops to about 32. That is a normal enough step down — except that row 28 is also where the mid-cabin lavatory bank starts. The seat immediately behind the last good row is one of the worst on the aircraft.

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Business Class — 20 seats, rows 1 to 5

El Al was the launch customer for the Recaro CL6710, and the 787-8 carries the same staggered 1-2-1 cabin as the rest of the Dreamliner fleet. Every one of the 20 seats has direct aisle access and goes fully flat, so there is no bad seat here in the way there is on an older 2-2-2 layout. What varies is where the seat sits relative to the wall.

Even rows are the true window seats

In a staggered cabin, alternate rows shift sideways. On this aircraft:

• Rows 2 and 4 — the A and K seats sit against the fuselage with the console between you and the aisle. This is the private, quiet half of the cabin. 4A and 4K have the best-aligned window on the aircraft; 2A and 2K each get two windows.
• Rows 1, 3 and 5 — the A and K seats sit a little further inboard, closer to the aisle traffic, with the console on the window side.

Centre pairs: which two are together

• Travelling as a couple: 1D + 1G, 3D + 3G or 5D + 5G. In odd rows the centre pair sits side by side.
• Travelling alone: 2D, 2G, 4D or 4G. In even rows the centre seats are pushed apart, so you get a solo seat in the middle of the cabin with nobody beside you.

What to avoid in Business

• 5D and 5G — the last centre pair, with the galley immediately behind. Noise and light through every service.
• 1K — a bassinet position. Families with infants have priority, and you may be asked to move.

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Premium — 35 seats, rows 10 to 14, and the bulkhead problem

El Al Premium on the 787-8 is a 2-3-2 recliner cabin, five rows deep. The drawing puts it about 13% deeper than an Economy Space seat, which lands it near 39 inches of pitch — a genuine step up rather than a badge.

And then there is row 10. It is the bulkhead row, it has the extra legroom, it looks like the obvious buy, and the lavatories are immediately in front of it. 10A, 10C, 10H and 10K all rate as seats to avoid on that basis alone. 10D and 10G add queuing traffic and a bassinet position; the bulkhead ahead of them covers about 95% of the space, so the "extra legroom" is largely notional.

The Premium pick is row 12 or row 13. Skip the bulkhead, skip the back row, and take a middle row with a working window.

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Economy — where the Space seats are, and where they stop

El Al markets rows 21 to 27, plus row 35, as Space seats with extra legroom. The cabin drawing backs that up precisely: rows 21 to 27 are pitched at about 35 inches, and everything from row 28 aft drops to about 32.

Rows 21 to 27: the good block

• Row 21 — the Economy bulkhead. Real legroom, but no underseat storage and the tray table and screen both fold out of the armrest, which narrows the seat. 21C and 21H are the pick: the bulkhead ahead of them covers only about 30% of the space, so there is stretch room to the side.
• Rows 22, 23, 24, 26 and 27 — the cleanest Space rows. 22A and 22K are the best window pair in this block.
• Row 25 — same 35 inches, but 25A and 25K have the window set behind the seat.

Rows 28, 29 and 30: the mid-cabin lavatory bank

This is the block to steer around. The lavatories sit behind row 28 and beside rows 29 and 30, and almost every seat in the three rows carries a penalty:

• Row 28 — 28D, 28F and 28G are immediately adjacent to a lavatory door. 28A and 28K have misaligned windows on top of it.
• Row 29 — the worst single row in Economy. Seven of the nine seats sit against the lavatory bank. Only 29A and 29K escape with queuing traffic rather than the door itself.
• Row 30 — six seats only, no centre block. Limited recline throughout, and 30B, 30C, 30H and 30J are up against the lavatories.

Row 35: the second Space row, and its two bad seats

Row 35 sits behind the third pair of doors and is the other row El Al sells as a Space seat. The centre and inboard seats earn it. 35A and 35K do not.

• 35A and 35K: no usable window — the nearest one sits well behind the seat — and the L3 and R3 exit doors curve into the legroom from about 30cm ahead. Your legs go out at a diagonal. Nothing reclines into you, which is the one consolation.
• 35D, 35F and 35G: extra legroom, but a lavatory is immediately ahead and 35D is a bassinet position.
• 35B and 35J: the two seats in this row worth having — the legroom, without the door or the lavatory.

Rows 36 to 46: the rear cabin

• 37A and 37K — the best-aligned windows in the rear cabin, and the best standard Economy seats on the aircraft.
• Misaligned windows: 36A, 36K, 39A, 39K, 43A, 43K — the window sits behind the seat.
• Rows 43 and 44 — the rear lavatory bank. Row 44's A, B, C, H, J and K seats are immediately adjacent to a door.
• Rows 45 and 46 — three seats each, centre block only. Row 46 is the last row on the aircraft: no recline, lavatory behind. Avoid.

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Quick-pick summary

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Comparable Guides

• El Al 787-9 — the bigger Dreamliner, same seats, different map
• British Airways 787-8 — another compact 787-8 on transatlantic routes
• Qatar Airways 787-8 — the connecting alternative via Doha
• American Airlines 787-8 — the US comparison to Tel Aviv
• JAL 787-8 — a 787-8 with a genuinely different Economy pitch

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