Israel airfares skyrocket for holiday flights

With the Jewish High Holidays approaching next week, the list of foreign airlines canceling flights to Israel is growing as Hezbollah rockets reach further south. The Lufthansa Group (including Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings) has cancelled all flights for the next three weeks, while Wizz Air, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, LOT and AZAL (Azerbaijani Airlines) have temporarily cancelled flights. Other airlines including easyJet, Ryanair, Delta, United, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Air India and Turkish Airlines have also announced long-term cancellations.

Expensive alternative to Israeli airlines

The uncertainty surrounding flights to and from Israel operated by foreign airlines means that travelers prefer to book with Israeli airlines. Cancellations by Israeli airlines have been few and far between and chartered aircraft are usually involved. For the most part, Israeli airlines have access to comfortable insurance coverage and have been able to maintain their flight schedules.

But choosing Israeli airlines comes at a cost. “For the high-demand destinations, especially through Israeli airlines, there are only a few seats left, and only in business class, and that drives up prices,” says Yoni Waxman, vice president of Israeli travel company Ophir Tours.

For example, holiday fares on El Al are sky-high. This is because of the way the industry prices tickets: early bookers pay less, while prices rise as time goes on and seats become scarce. The same goes for business class.

El Al explains that since the war broke out, the pricing system has been adjusted, including reducing the maximum economy class price per flight. However, economy class is almost fully booked for the upcoming holidays, with the few available seats priced at very high prices. In premium and business class, El Al has not reduced the maximum ticket price.

El Al admits it simply can’t keep up with demand. According to the Israel Airports Authority, El Al’s market share at Ben Gurion Airport in August was 43%. The highest fares are at destinations where El Al currently has a monopoly, including New York and Bangkok.

Only premium class seats left,

Globes has been looking to buy tickets for the Sukkot holiday in the second half of October. The cheapest round-trip ticket to New York was $7,000, and prices have risen to $9,000. There are no economy seats available. Round-trip economy tickets to Bangkok are available, but for a whopping $3,700.

Flights from Tel Aviv to Europe are also expensive. Globus found tickets to London in economy class, but there were only return tickets in premium class, making the round-trip ticket price $1,700. Return fares to Paris were somewhat cheaper, with round-trip tickets available for $900. In general, outbound flights are cheaper, while return fares are much higher.

Despite this situation, there are cheaper alternatives, says Waxman. “If you want to cut costs, there are connecting flights that can be found with longer layovers, or you can try flying with one airline and flying back with another. Air France offers a convenient stopover in New York, and Flydubai offers cheaper connections to Bangkok. Another possibility is to fly to Bangkok for less with Ethiopian Airlines with a longer layover in Addis Ababa.”

Prices have risen by up to three times compared to last year before the war, Revital Ben Natan, CEO of Ofakim Travel and Tourism, told Globes.

This article was published in Globes, Israeli Business News – en.globes.co.il – on September 25, 2024.

© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.