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Matzos in the SkyPesach Doesn’t Faze ElBy M. Myrim(Copyright, 1953, Jewish TelegraphicAgency, Inc.)THE CATERING OFFICERS of El A1 Israel Airlines have a fondregard for the holiday of Pass-over. For, like the Hebrew slaveswhose exodus to freedom the holiday celebrates, they work harder just before Passover than at any other time of the year.Preparing special dishes and a special menu is not a simple matter even in the kitchen of y9ur ownhome. On the transatlantic lines of an airline, it can turn into a major problem in logistics. Butthat is exactly what the El Al cat-ering officers are doing. During the entire Passover holiday week, passengers and crew alike on all ElA1 aircraft, in the skies above a dozen countries on four continents, will be eating traditional holidayfare, from matzos and wine toknaydlach and nuts.The Passover menu is only oneof the many unusual problems with which El A1 has had to cope —problems which never arise on other lines. Hitherto, for example,El A1 has flown two transatlanticflights a week, but this is beingincreased on April 19 to three perweek. With any other line this would mean merely a technical revision of schedules. El A1 faced a difficulty which confronts no other line — the question of flying on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.However, with the approval of the Israel authorities, the problem was solved. The third flight will take off on Friday afternoons before the Sabbath sets in, and will end on Saturday nights after the appearance of three stars, an arrangement which permits even the most devout to make the flight.* * *IF YOU HAD flown with an El A1 Skyliner in the last three years, your fellow passengers might have included a Catholic girl from Arizona on her way to an audience with the Pope, her route chosen by her father after a careful study ofcomparative safety records; a party of Protestant businessmen from Europe who decided to fly with El A1 because of its reasonable rates and comfortable facilities; Israeli cabinet members and high U. S. government officers; prominent personalities from many countries in all walks of life, as well as simpler folk such as the Israeli studenton his way to a year's scholarship at an American college.Nor would your trip have lacked glamor. You might have flown witheither of two Israeli beauty queens;a score of American stage, screen, radio and TV stars; the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; an entireGreek theatrical troupe, complete with stage settings and costumes. All these and many more haveflown with El Al. Experiencedtravelers sometimes complain thatair travel can be dull. But notaboard an El Al plane. And if thereis no outside talent in the glamor field, the El Al air hostesses supplytheir own brand.* * *EVEN MORE important, an El Al flight has a way of engendering an atmosphere of what is known in Yiddish as “haymishkeit,” a pervasive friendliness which is apparent within a few minutes after the plane takes off. An American woman who flew an El Al plane recently wrote to the airline thanking if for making her trip so comfortable. She added:“El Al is not the biggest orsmallest or oldest or youngest airline in the world. But my flight convinced me that it is the happiest line flying.Some of this atmosphere is due to the fact that many of El Al's passengers are, in the nature of things, either Israeli Jews or Jews of other countries, all linked by a common love for Israel. At the same time, it is El Al’s policy to compete with other airlines on their own grounds, and not to rely on the emotional appeal of the Israel flag painted on its aircraft. As one ofthe pilots has said, “International air travel is a tough proposition anda hard fight. We can't just standaround and sing Hatikvah.”Accordingly, El Al is constantly on the lookout for ways of improving its standards of service. In this it reflects the general spirit of initiative current in Israel. Inlaunching El Al,' Israel did what ithas so often done in the past: bitten off more than it could chew, thenchewed it.* * *THE AIRLINE HAS been one ofthe most complex ventures which Israel has undertaken. Without proper preliminary preparations, without trained personnel, without aircraft, it was catapulted suddenly into international competition waged fiercely by scores of air carriers in many countries. That it has done in little over three years what other nations have done in a generation is a measure of the devotion which its sponsors addressed to the problem.One of the reasons for El Al's success has been its planned policy of considering its passenger as a human being first, and only second as a source of revenue. It wascharacteristic of Israel that El Alshould have been the airline to convert its entire passenger operation to a one-class service, to a touristservice at that. Thus an ever widerpublic may avail itself of air travel.oEssay Contest Held By PTO of TempleAn essay contest on the subject, “What Judaism Means to Me”, is being sponsored by the Parent-Teachers Organization of TempleBeth Israel for children of the 7th,8th and 9th grades of the religious school.Prizes, to consist of gift certificates exchangeable at the Sisterhood Heritage Shop, will be awarded at a PTO meeting Monday evening, April 27.Essays are not to exceed 250words and must be submitted bySaturday, April 18.PASSOVERGREETINGSTo TheJEWISH COMMUNITYJlau RfiXjeteA., 9*ic.3101 N. CentralPhone AM 6-5614
Newspaper Details
The Phoenix Jewish News
Phoenix, Arizona, US
Fri, Mar 27, 1953
Page 11
Full Page
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