(Courtesy of EL AL) After undergoing a significant upgrade, the newly renovated King David Lounge opened for the first time on March 3. The goal of the upgrade was to align EL AL’s luxury passenger experience with the highest standards and provide a luxurious, pleasant and pampering service experience. The upgrade includes a modern and well-equipped bar, new furniture with new seating arrangements to enhance passenger hospitality while ensuring their privacy, and quality coffee machines from the beloved coffee brand Nespresso.
The architecture firm Orly Shrem Architects, chosen to lead the lounge design, planned the space to maximize its potential and create a pleasant and unique atmosphere while ensuring the privacy of the guests. The lounge offers a wide range of seating solutions, from quiet corners to open meeting areas. On the upper floor, a central bar was designed alongside private work capsules intended for passengers looking for a quiet space to concentrate, separated from the main area. Additionally, the carpets throughout the lounge were replaced with hardwood flooring. Emphasis was placed on available USB and power connections throughout the lounge to allow passengers to continue working and charging their devices easily.
The new bar on the gallery floor was established by the Bellboy group, led by Ariel Leizgold, one of the prominent names in the Israeli mixology and cocktail world. The group, behind some of the most successful bars in Israel and worldwide, was chosen to lead the new bar in the lounge, from the development stage, building the bar concept, and training the lounge bar staff, to creating unique recipes. As part of the collaboration with EL AL, five exclusive cocktails were developed, inspired by EL AL’s favorite destinations: New York, Tokyo, London, Paris and Berlin.
The beloved and familiar food of the lounge has been fully preserved alongside a new collaboration with Nespresso, which will offer the beloved and familiar coffee in a variety of strengths and flavors, operated by several advanced coffee machines scattered throughout the lounge. Additionally, the Dan E Lounge, in collaboration with EL AL, will continue to operate as usual to accommodate a larger number of passengers and manage the load.
Oren Cohen Butansky, EL AL’s VP of customers and service said: “We believe that the customer’s flight experience begins on the ground, so we continue to enhance the passenger experience from the moment they enter Ben Gurion Airport. The lounge upgrade is intended to provide an advanced service experience to our passengers and make the waiting experience for the flight pleasant. The meticulous design, with an emphasis on optimal service and collaborations with leading providers in Israel, together create the highest level of hospitality experience which we strive to provide to our customers. Very soon, we will begin upgrading the TOP members’ lounge, continuing the momentum of upgrading the service experience for our luxury passengers.”
