Since the beginning of the war, Israel has been hit by the largest aviation crisis in its history with fewer than 20 airlines currently operating flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport. Since the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah in September, most European airlines have halted their flights to Israel following a recommendation from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) not to fly to Israel, but the most affected routes remain between Israel and the United States, where El Al has a monopoly and prices are high.
American Airlines, Delta and United have suspended flights until 2025, leaving El Al as the only carrier between Israel and North America. In the last week there have been initiatives to break El Al’s monopoly.
Tech leaders announced through the DemocraTech protest movement that they are in talks to operate an airline between Israel and the United States between January and March, with the aim of opening it to the general public as well. Civil Aviation Authority Chairman Shmuel Zakai also announced talks with the two Israeli airlines, Arkia and Israir, to rent planes and operate flights between Israel and North America. This will significantly increase competition on roads and reduce prices.
“The shortage of seat supply on flights to the United States is more serious than to any other destination,” Zakai told Globes ahead of another round of talks with Arkia and Israir. “While tourists are not coming to Israel, the need for flights to America remains. The second largest Jewish community in the world is there, as well as the technology industry and other industries that have extensive business ties there, and they need access to These destinations.
According to Zakai, Israeli airlines have expressed their willingness to move forward on this matter, but have made this conditional on cooperation in amending the Aviation Services Law (Tibi Law), which foreign airlines also insist on.
Under the amendment, airlines will receive a temporary exemption from the necessity of compensating passengers whose flights were canceled due to the security situation, while the obligation to provide alternative flights for passengers whose flights were canceled will be restricted. Airlines will receive assistance in financing insurance to operate flights to Israel, including charter aircraft.
Challenges facing Israir and Arkia in operating flights to Israel
There are many challenges facing Israir and Arkia if they want to operate flights from Israel to North America. They will have to find suitable wide-body aircraft through wet leasing – leasing aircraft and their crews – that meet US regulatory aviation standards. Due to long-haul flights, foreign crews will have to stay overnight in Israel, and many crews are afraid to do so. The Israeli authorities usually take between six months to a year to grant new licenses for such endeavors, but the authorities promised to expedite applications. Then, as we mentioned, there is the demand to amend the law to protect airlines from lawsuits after cancellations and disruptions.
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According to industry sources, Israir is likely to operate flights to the US as it has operated flights in the past on chartered aircraft to the US.
Zakai acknowledges the need for airlines to reduce economic uncertainty by amending the law. He said: “We are talking about long-haul flights, and if there is a cancellation, the risks to the company are very large. The compensation clause represents a big problem for companies, especially those that do not have a large fleet of aircraft.”
But he explains that there are other factors that influence airlines’ success in flying to the United States, including leasing the right aircraft.
He said: “In order to operate flights, American wide-body aircraft are required, which Israir and Arkia do not have. They will have to rent planes using the wet lease method and the idea is that they will fly with an Israeli code.” “.
Zakai stressed that every effort will be made to shorten the procedures in Israel and the United States through which airlines obtain a license to operate flights. In order for this move to be successful, airlines will also have to establish ground handling services in the United States and arrange for crews to remain in the United States and Israel as well.
“For an airline, there are financial risks, it is operationally complex, and to reduce the risks you need to bring in a large number of aircraft,” Zakai added. Also, chartering planes will not solve the problem of foreign crews, who are often afraid and even refuse to travel to Israel.
Through the initial approval sent from the US aviation authorities, it appears to approve the use of aircraft belonging to countries that the US government considers to have a high level of safety, such as the European Union, Canada or Singapore.
There is no point
According to Zakai, the timing favors this step. In winter, the possibility of renting planes increases, due to the decrease in the activity of airlines around the world.
After 10 days, Zakai will meet with the director of the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to confirm the approval process. Meanwhile, airlines will go ahead with leasing aircraft. He said, “Israeli airlines are conducting very advanced negotiations regarding leasing aircraft with foreign airlines.”
Industry sources believe that for the additional flights to provide a satisfactory passenger response, at least 18 weekly flights would need to be added to various destinations in the United States, which would require at least four aircraft to fly to those various destinations.
Aviation industry sources say this move could work, but explained that if it happens, it is important that the flights are not only to New York, because the lack of shared flights with other companies, may make it difficult to compete with airlines such as Delta, which provides… Convenient connections in the United States.
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on November 14, 2024.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
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