You think it's funny, but when you hear the following report, you will see we are not too far off from that...
NFC is reporting that a new service is being offered for the Haredi traveler. The Rabbinic Committee for Issues of Transportation has realized that a lot of the travelers for the upcoming Pesach holiday are yeshiva students going to visit their family abroad. They have found a way to minimize the amount of time the Haredi traveler has to spend in the airport.
A member of the committee said, "the average Haredi, who guards himself spiritually, would never agree to any price to walk around Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv. What is the difference between Dizengoff and the airport? Only that he has no choice but to be in the airport. So now we have found an alternative."
The agreement reached is that if there is a group of 10 people or more traveling, for a fee of 35NIS, a representative will come to the house the day before the flight to process Early Check in for the group (the price is being partially subsidized by an anonymous donor).
the service will include checking in luggage, along with transporting the luggage from the travelers house. The travelers will have to arrive at the terminal 1.5 hours before the flight (instead of the usual 2.5-3 hours before), his passports will be processed in a separate line, and he will be escorted directly to the flight. the airport portion of the service costs 22NIS and has a minimum of 4 travelers in the group.
the one problem, that might even be the major obstacle to this arrangement, is that anybody using this service will not be able to shop in the Duty Free shops before the flight. A travel agent that deals with the Haredi public was quoted as saying that the Haredi consumer is one of the most dominant shoppers of the Duty Free in the airport, and he is not sure there are many who would be willing to give that up for this service.
El-Al already offers a very similar service:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/2npcs5
It looks like someone is just repackaginh it for the Chareidi public, plus offering a small subsidy (for a group of 10, it's $20, or about NIS70, per person, or NIS80 at the chareidi exchange rate).
cool. I never heard of that before.
ReplyDeleteOne major difference is the airport portion - the Haredi plan will go right up to the gate, excluding Duty Free shopping, while this one makes no mention of that (do you know anybody that has used it? are they able to spend time in the Duty Free?). Also the general one says they have to arrive 55 minutes before the flight, whereas the Haredi plan says 1.5 hours before.
I wonder why there is a difference.
This is OK, but what about the perils of video-on-demand. Young, impressionable bachurim can select up to 250 programs on the new 787s. These include movies and TV shows. Will they be able to disconnect their video systems before they take their seats?
ReplyDelete[This is a serious issue. I saw a hassidic guy watching a movie on video-on-demand on my flight to the USA. This bitul Torah cannot be allowed.]
I am sure he got the idea from the unveiled women on the plane.
anon - see what a michshol it is to let people go outside?? The alternative to traveling and going outside and seeing pritzus is staying indoors, specifically in the Beis Medrash. Going anywhere outside the beis medrash is assur for tzniyus reasons.
ReplyDeleteThe El Al service includes only check-in.55 minutes is enough. They said 1.5 hours because either they do not rely on the charedim turning up on time or to give time for davening.
ReplyDeleteOne certainly has to "learn how to walk in the street".I would say it is a matter of standards of observance for the tsibur. Spiritual perfection is today not seen as a goal reached by toiling but as a basic standard. The only way to have this standard as a basic requirement is to force rules on people.Because the standards are so high the only way for the average person to reach them in today's society is to cut oneself from the outside world.
Of course the situation in the street has something to do with it, but only partly.
Note:
ReplyDeleteThe arrangements must be done by male travel agents only.
Solly Perlstein
What about once they get to JFK? Will there be escorts there to whisk them away to Boro Park or Monsey?
ReplyDeletein America it is "rov goyim" so I guess there is no chashash of pritzus (pritzus of a goy does not count. only of a bas yisroel) :-)
ReplyDeleteOr how about getting to LA? In truth, no Chareidi should even be allowed to raise eyes above floor level... :)
ReplyDeleteUnless he's drinking his Drambuie from Duty Free...
One of the six Mitzvot Tmidiot is v'lo taturu acharei... eyneichem. By avoiding all of these situations, they are denying themselves the opportunity to perform this important mitavah.
ReplyDelete(One should not be too machmir in this regard and go to strip joints, etc., just to have some enticing things to not follow.)