same view as from Hausner’s office. He walked to the window. At the far end of the parking ramps, away from the other planes, the two long, sleek Concordes, each with a Star of David on its tail, stood gleaming in the bright sunlight. Around the aircraft stood Hausner’s security guards, armed with Uzi submachine guns and sniper rifles. The army had sent over a ten-man squad of infantry, too, which did nothing to improve Hausner’s mood.
Everyone was conscious of the quiet. Hausner pointed dramatically. “There they are. Pride of the fleet. They cost a mere eighty million dollars each, with the spare tire and radio. We charge all passengers first-class fare, plus a twenty-percent surcharge, and yet we haven’t made a
shekel
from them, as you know.” He looked at Bernstein, who was one of his severest critics in the Knesset. “And you know one of the reasons El Al hasn’t made a profit? Because
I
demand the tightest security that is humanly possible. And good security has a high price.” Hausner moved a few feet down the length of the bright window. Squinting eyes followed him. “Some of you,” he began slowly, “were worried about profit a few short months ago, and you were willing to let security become lax because of it. Now, the same people,” he looked at Miriam Bernstein, “are concerned that I have not done enough.” Hausner walked back toward an empty seat and sat down. “O.K. Let’s get this over with.” He looked around the table. He spoke in a fast staccato voice. “We’ve had those birds on the line for thirteen months. Since the time that we got them, they have never left the sight of my security people. We’ve had the bulkheads and baggage holds armored while they were being built at the factories in St. Nazaire and Toulouse. All maintenance is done only by El Al mechanics here at Lod. Today, I personally checked the fuel
going into the craft. It was pure Jet A kerosene, I assure you. When we first got the Concordes, I demanded and got an auxiliary power unit installed in the front wheel well. The rest of the world’s Concordes have to be started by an external ground power unit. By installing the APU, I can dispense with two trucks going up to my birds at foreign airports—the preconditioned air truck and the ground power unit truck. We can start our own engines anywhere, any time, after which the birds are self-supportive. We took the extra weight penalty of the nine-hundred kilogram APU, as we’ve always taken the extra weight penalty in the name of security. You can’t make money that way, of course, but I won’t have it any other way. And neither will you.”
Hausner looked around, waiting for a comment, but there was none. He continued. “We also go through the extra expense and bother of performing most services only here at Lod. For instance, no water bowser gets near my birds except here at Lod. If you fly El Al, you’re pissing Jordan water in Tokyo. The toilet service is only done here, also. Furthermore, after every flight, the cleaning service, supervised by my personnel, goes over each plane very thoroughly, in case anyone decided to leave a package for us. We probe the seats, examine the toilets, and even open the barf bags. Another point—the galley service is done at Lod and nowhere else. As for the food on these Concordes, I checked it myself as it was being stowed in the galleys. You have my assurance that everything is kosher. In fact, the company rabbi ate the meal and all he got was indigestion.” Hausner leaned back and lit a cigarette. He spoke more slowly. “Actually, in one very important respect, this flight is more secure than any other. On this flight we don’t have to worry about the passengers.”
Hausner nodded toward Matti Yadin. “My assistant has volunteered to head the security team on Concorde 01. I have volunteered to do the same on 02. However, the Prime Minister has not yet informed me if I am to go with the mission.” He looked slowly
Everyone was conscious of the quiet. Hausner pointed dramatically. “There they are. Pride of the fleet. They cost a mere eighty million dollars each, with the spare tire and radio. We charge all passengers first-class fare, plus a twenty-percent surcharge, and yet we haven’t made a
shekel
from them, as you know.” He looked at Bernstein, who was one of his severest critics in the Knesset. “And you know one of the reasons El Al hasn’t made a profit? Because
I
demand the tightest security that is humanly possible. And good security has a high price.” Hausner moved a few feet down the length of the bright window. Squinting eyes followed him. “Some of you,” he began slowly, “were worried about profit a few short months ago, and you were willing to let security become lax because of it. Now, the same people,” he looked at Miriam Bernstein, “are concerned that I have not done enough.” Hausner walked back toward an empty seat and sat down. “O.K. Let’s get this over with.” He looked around the table. He spoke in a fast staccato voice. “We’ve had those birds on the line for thirteen months. Since the time that we got them, they have never left the sight of my security people. We’ve had the bulkheads and baggage holds armored while they were being built at the factories in St. Nazaire and Toulouse. All maintenance is done only by El Al mechanics here at Lod. Today, I personally checked the fuel
going into the craft. It was pure Jet A kerosene, I assure you. When we first got the Concordes, I demanded and got an auxiliary power unit installed in the front wheel well. The rest of the world’s Concordes have to be started by an external ground power unit. By installing the APU, I can dispense with two trucks going up to my birds at foreign airports—the preconditioned air truck and the ground power unit truck. We can start our own engines anywhere, any time, after which the birds are self-supportive. We took the extra weight penalty of the nine-hundred kilogram APU, as we’ve always taken the extra weight penalty in the name of security. You can’t make money that way, of course, but I won’t have it any other way. And neither will you.”
Hausner looked around, waiting for a comment, but there was none. He continued. “We also go through the extra expense and bother of performing most services only here at Lod. For instance, no water bowser gets near my birds except here at Lod. If you fly El Al, you’re pissing Jordan water in Tokyo. The toilet service is only done here, also. Furthermore, after every flight, the cleaning service, supervised by my personnel, goes over each plane very thoroughly, in case anyone decided to leave a package for us. We probe the seats, examine the toilets, and even open the barf bags. Another point—the galley service is done at Lod and nowhere else. As for the food on these Concordes, I checked it myself as it was being stowed in the galleys. You have my assurance that everything is kosher. In fact, the company rabbi ate the meal and all he got was indigestion.” Hausner leaned back and lit a cigarette. He spoke more slowly. “Actually, in one very important respect, this flight is more secure than any other. On this flight we don’t have to worry about the passengers.”
Hausner nodded toward Matti Yadin. “My assistant has volunteered to head the security team on Concorde 01. I have volunteered to do the same on 02. However, the Prime Minister has not yet informed me if I am to go with the mission.” He looked slowly
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