Flight Info & Extensions

The following page contains general information about the flights, instructions on how to extend your tickets, and instructions on how to purchase traveler's health insurance after the end of the group trip (if you are extending).

 


I. General Flight Info

The Taglit-Birthright Israel program makes use of multiple airlines. Most of the flights are direct from the gateway city. For luggage restrictions please check with your individual airline.

Getting to the Airport
Participants are responsible for arranging their own travel to and from the departure airport. You are required to arrive at the departure airport at least four hours before your flight to Israel is scheduled to depart. You will be met at the airline check-in area by an Israel Free Spirit representative who will present you with your plane ticket and who will give you instructions on how to proceed through the security screening and check-in processes. When you arrive to the airline check-in area, simply locate the Israel Free Spirit staff member.  For the return flight, if you are scheduling a domestic connection, plan for at least three hours between flights to allow for passage through customs/baggage claim, etc.

General Flight Rules

  • Participants are responsible for arranging their own transportation to the gateway airport

  • You must depart for Israel with the group from the scheduled gateway airport

  • You can not meet the group in Israel...even if you are already in Europe or Israel at the time

  • You can extend your ticket up to 2-3 months from the date you depart for Israel depending on the airline rules see below

  • If you stay in Israel for longer than the airline allows, you will be responsible for your return flight

  • If you fail to extend your ticket until after the group flight departs Israel, your ticket will be void

  • You can not pay extra for a stopover or to change your return flight destination

  • For EL AL flights, if you depart from Newark, you can pay to extend your ticket and return to JFK (no additional fee)

  • For EL AL flights, if you depart from JFK, you can pay to extend your ticket and return to Newark (no additional fee)

  • It's impossible to get frequent flier miles for your ticket given the nature of the ticket fare rules

Sorry if any of these limitations are bad news for you. Please take our word that it is impossible to get around them!

Special Meal Request and Seating Info
All seating requests must be made at the airport on the day of departure. Special seat requests can NOT be made in advance. If you have a special meal request, we will submit the request on your behalf to the airline according to any instruction you submit as part of your application.



II. Extending Your Health Insurance In Israel

If you decide to extend your stay in Israel, we strongly recommend that you pay to extend the health insurance policy made available to you (health insurance extention accommodations will be provided to you through our field staff in Israel). The policy includes full coverage for treatment and medication. There are no deductibles, no co-pays, or out-of-pocket expenses. There is also no paperwork to submit in Israel or back home. In other words, it is the convenient and cautious thing to do in the event that you sprain an ankle, or catch a stomach bug.

The cost of extending the health insurance policy is $2.50-3.00/day. The coverage period is calculated starting from the day after your Taglit-Birthright Israel trip ends to the day you leave Israel.

 


III. Extending Your Plane Ticket Home

All Taglit-Birthright Israel participants have the option of extending their ticket to remain in Israel beyond the program. Please know that once the Taglit-Birthright Israel program has concluded that you will no longer be under our supervision or responsibility of Taglit-Birthright Israel. Also, if you do choose to extend your stay, keep in mind that you must participate in the entire 10-day Taglit-Birthright Israel trip...right until we return to Ben Gurion Airport on the final day. There is no leaving the group early under any circumstances.

Flight extension rules vary according to the airline your trip is using. In all cases, we highly recommend that you extend you stay prior to leaving North America since all seats are subject to availability, contract specifications, and the specific classes of service by the airlines. The longer you wait, you will find that seats are not readily available for many dates. Although some airlines permit the extension to be made in Israel, it can be time consuming, seats are limited especially when tourism season is high.

Extensions prior to departure for ALL airlines are handled through Gil Travel.  Participants can only make their extension request via the Gil Travel  website.

It is the participants' responisbility to contact the airline if they are not flying on the original or new extended return date.

Gil Travel must receive your application at least 15 business days prior to departure.

Please note when considering extensions that most airlines fly on Friday nights and Saturdays. We suggest you indicate in your extention notes if you do not wish to fly on Shabbat

 

Please read each airline caption to understand the restrictions and cost for extensions: 

EL AL Israel Airline:

  • Tickets are valid for a maximum stay of 3 months from the day of departure.
  • Extensions permitted prior to departure through Gil Travel, the fee is $90.00 in the same class of service otherwise the cost may be higher due to limitation of seats.
  • Change once in Israel, fee starts is $50.00 depending upon availability of seats. Seats are limited and costs may increase based on what's available . Change must be done prior to return date issued on the ticket.
  • In Israel contact EL AL Israel Airlines reservation center in Tel Aviv 03 977 1111, 24 hours
  •  

Aerosvit:

  • Tickets are valid for a maximum of 3 months stay from the day of departure.
  • Extensions permitted prior to departure through Gil Travel, the fee is $240.00 subject to seat availability.
  • Extension must be submitted a week prior to trip departure. 
  • Extension permitted once in Israel, fee is $150.00 subject to seat availability. 
  • In Israel contact Clal Aviation: 1700-504114 or 03-519-2222. Hours of operation 9AM-5:30PM Sun-Thurs, 9AM-12:30PM Fridays (local time).
  •  

Air Canada:

  • Tickets are valid for a maximum stay of 90 days from the day of departure.
  • Extensions permitted prior to departure through Gil Travel for limited amount of participants per group; the fee is $340.00 subject to seat availability.   
  • Once in Israel must use extension request form and must be sent directly to Air Canada minimum 3 business days before the scheduled return flight.      
  • Extension permitted once in Israel, fee is $250.00 subject to seat availability.

Continental:

  • Tickets are valid for a maximum of 3 months stay from the day of departure.
  • Extensions permitted prior to departure through Gil Travel for limited amount of participants per group; the fee is $240.00 subject to seat availability.
  • Extension permitted once in Israel, fee is $150.00 subject to seat availability. 
  • In Israel contact Continental Airlines reservation center in Tel Aviv: 03-511-6777. Hours of  operation 8:30AM-5PM Sun-Thurs (local time). 
  • Participants can access their return details by logging on to www.continental.com with their name and PNR address.  
  •  

Delta Airline:

  • Tickets are valid for a maximum of 3 months stay from the day of departure.
  • Extensions permitted prior to departure through Gil Travel for limited amount of participants per group; the fee is $240.00 subject to availability of seats. 
  • Extension permitted once in Israel, fee is $150.00 subject to availability of seats and cost may be higher due to limitation of seats, up to $270.
  • In Israel contact Delta Airlines Reservations center in Tel Aviv 03 513 8000 ext 3. Hours of operation are 9AM-5PM Mon-Thurs (local time).
  •  

Lufthansa:

  • Tickets are valid for a maximum of 3 months stay from the day of departure.
  • Extensions permitted prior to departure through Gil Travel, for limited amount of participants per group; the fee is $165.00 subject to seat availability. Cost may be higher due to limitation of seats. 
  • Extensions are NOT PERMITTED once in Israel.
  •  

Swiss Air:

US Airways:

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