Awful. Got charged full price for bags at the airport because there is no way to pay in advance even though it says you can. Plane wasn’t loaded with enough paper cups for the whole flight to even have water.
From New York to Tel Aviv, the flight was horrible unfortunately we were delayed standing in the aircraft for four hours, when we got off Tel Aviv, the belt was broken and we had to wait additional two hours for our suitcases. Finally, when I received my suitcases one of them was broken and when I got home the entire content all of my clothes and gifts were soaked in water, since they broke my suitcase and due to the fact that the suitcase was outside in the rain, I tried to contact arkia, but couldn’t get in touch. Also my suitcases was returned however they made me pay additional 100 shekel for a replacement and the suitcase that they broke was much more expensive than the one they replaced overall the experience from JFK to Tel Aviv was horrible, not comfortable by all means and to top it all up all of my gifts and content was soaked. I had to dry clean all of it.
As a low-cost flight, I understood that not all amenities would be included. However, booking through a Kayak agent rather than directly with the airline created significant issues. We were unable to add checked bags in advance and had to pay $140 per bag at check-in. We also couldn't select seats and were assigned to the last row. Most frustratingly, there was no customer support available—neither Arkia (who didn't answer phone calls or emails) nor AirfareAssist (who also didn't respond to emails) could help resolve these issues. Once aboard, the flight experience met expectations for a low-cost carrier. No complaints there. Recommendation: Book directly with the airline to avoid these third-party booking complications.
The flight was 3 hours late. No notice in advance. The plane was not clean.
I wasn’t registered for the Flight Took them long time to approve Thanks god, the flight wasn’t full. After they approved to let me fly, they fight with me about luggage ( I paid in advance for 2) It was a nightmare The airplane was very dirty and I was very disappointed I will never fly with Arkia
This airline is known for shifting flights timetable, cancelling them altogether and overall you feel that you are in a charter flight (oh they do that too quite often). Rates aren't so cheap to make up for the overall experience so it is advised to mind the alternatives before booking.
The flight was cancelled. I'm still waiting for a refund from the agent from which I made the order on Kayak app
Crew was super nice, boarding was fast (all trolleys were asked to be checked in), no entertainment at all, food - well, better if one brings ones own, and, surprisingly, they kept the schedule. This time around - 2 thumbs up.
I liked: Helpful, informative, pleasant crew. Could be Better: Check in. Stowage space General cleanliness especially toilets. Ugh!
It became a standard of this company to delay it's scheduled flights by hours! One to two days in advance, a notice of one hour delay is issued, then - at the airport, another 2 to 3 hours are occurring, at our outbound as well on our incoming flights. Be advised that this is to be expected. Furthermore - do not expect any transparency or explanation or just pure information from the company's reps on location, nor any other compensation or just a coupon for a snack or drink. It's probably just not part of the company's relation with it's clients.
