On Friday, the American airline Delta Air Lines will resume its flights to and from Israel for the first time since the outbreak of war last October. The airline will operate a daily direct flight from New York's JFK Airport to Tel Aviv. Two days later, United Airlines will resume operating daily flights between Newark, New Jersey, and Tel Aviv.
United Airlines resumed flights to Tel Aviv in March, but in mid-April it joined British low-cost carriers EasyJet, Air Canada and Air India in suspending Israeli flights following Iran's attack on Israel. United initially said it would resume flights on May 1, but then the resumption was postponed until June 9.
In contrast, American Airlines, which initially planned to resume flights to Israel in May, announced in February that flights to Israel would not resume until the end of October 2024.
The United States is becoming more accessible
The United States is considered a safe destination for Israelis, and with the newly introduced visa waiver program, it has become even more accessible. In April, 97,552 Israelis traveled to the United States from Ben Gurion Airport – the second most popular destination after Greece.
Despite the visa waiver program, there was a significant decline in the number of Israelis traveling to the United States with 178,000 Israelis traveling there in April 2023, although 8% of total Israeli trips abroad remained unchanged.
With the cancellation of flights and the suspension of US airline activities, the Israeli airline El Al expanded its operations in the United States. El Al diverted its aircraft from other routes that had fallen in popularity since the war (such as Dublin and Johannesburg), to increase the frequency of flights to the United States and to respond to high demand from Israelis.
El Al currently operates more than 50 direct weekly flights to various US destinations. At the beginning of June, in preparation for the summer season, the company increased the number of flights on the Tel Aviv-Boston line to four weekly flights, and on the Los Angeles-Tel Aviv line to eight weekly flights. The airline also operates flights to New York, Miami and Orlando, Florida. But now it appears that El Al's monopoly on flights between Israel and the United States is weakening, although the Israeli carrier still dominates the market.
The resumption of flights to Israel by foreign airlines involves operations on a smaller scale than before the war and is therefore still far from achieving a radical reduction in prices. Meanwhile, tourists are in no hurry to visit Israel, limiting the market to Israeli travelers only.
A Globes examination concluded that prices for flights from Tel Aviv to New York in the first week that the three airlines will operate in Israel at the same time are still too high. El Al tickets from Tel Aviv to New York start at $1,128 and can go up to more than $4,300. United tickets start at $1,081 and go up to $1,335 at most. Delta Air Lines maintains a fixed price of $1,650 throughout the week.
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Prices in mid-September, a period known to be cheaper than the height of summer, are not much lower. On a random week in September, a flight ticket from Tel Aviv (one way) to New York on El Al would cost about $867, on United the same ticket would cost about $1,084, and on Delta about $1,625.
“Tel Aviv-New York is the main route most in demand from Israel. It is hoped that the return of some US airlines to Israel will be a positive sign for other foreign companies,” said Ido Vij, CEO of ISSTA Sport. Which, despite the complex situation, will return to operating flights from Tel Aviv.
“El Al, which currently has commercial dominance, will be challenged by the return of Delta and will have to adjust its prices to match the competition. From June to August, an average flight to New York will already cost El Al more than $1,500.” But Delta's return (hopefully to keep flying continuously for a long time) will, in my estimation, cut prices on the route by 20%, and more in the following months.
“Before the war, a direct flight to New York in economy class was a 'commodity product,' and the price was about $1,000. Hopefully we can return to similar fares in the not too distant future, thanks,” Vig recalls. For the competition that will be created down the road.”
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on June 5, 2024.
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