 | |||||||
 El AlBoeing 787-9 in the new livery | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | 1948; 78 years ago (1948) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | Ben Gurion Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Matmid Guest | ||||||
| Subsidiaries |
| ||||||
| Fleet size | 47[2] | ||||||
| Destinations | 49 | ||||||
| Traded as | TASE: ELAL | ||||||
| Headquarters | Ben Gurion Airport, Israel | ||||||
| Key people | |||||||
| Employees | 3,027 full-time, 1,583 part-time[3] | ||||||
| Website | elal.com | ||||||
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (Hebrew:אל על נתיבי אוויר לישראל בע״מ),[4] (Arabic:شركة طيران العال الإسرائيلية المحدودة) trading asEl Al (Hebrew:אל על, "Upwards", "To the Skies", or "Skywards", stylized asELעלALאל;Arabic:إل-عال) is theflag carrier of theState of Israel.[5][6] Since its inaugural flight fromGeneva toTel Aviv in September 1948, the airline has grown to serve almost 50 destinations, operating scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights within Israel, and to Europe, theMiddle East, theAmericas,Africa, and theFar East, from its main base inBen Gurion Airport.
El Al is the only commercial airline to equip its planes with missile defense systems to protect its planes againstsurface-to-air missiles, and is considered one of the world's most secure airlines, thanks to its stringent security procedures.[7][8] Although it has been the target of many attemptedhijackings andterror attacks, there has only beenone El Al flight hijacking in history, which ended without any loss of life.[9][10] As Israel's national airline, El Al has played an important role in humanitarian rescue efforts, airliftingJews from other countries to Israel, setting the world record for the most passengers on a commercial aircraft (single plane record of 1,088 passengers on aBoeing 747) byOperation Solomon when 14,500 Jewish refugees were transported fromEthiopia in 1991.[11][12]
In 2012, El Al operated an all-Boeing fleet of 42 aircraft, flying over 4 million passengers, and employed a staff of 6,056 globally. The company's revenues for 2016 were $2.04 billion, with losses of $81 million, compared to a profit of $57 million in 2010.[13][14] In 2018, the company's revenue was $7.7 billion, with a net loss of $187.55 million.[15] In July 2020, having lost hundreds of millions of dollars due to grounded flights and lay-offs as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic in Israel and abroad, the company reached abailout deal with the government, andEli Rozenberg, who purchased a controlling stake (42.85%) in September of that year, with the government purchasing any unwanted shares (15%).[16] El Al offers onlykosherin-flight meals, and does not fly passengers on the JewishShabbat or religious holidays.[17][18]
In September 1948, Israel's firstpresident,Chaim Weizmann, attended a conference inGeneva, Switzerland. Weizmann was scheduled to fly back to Israel in an Israeli government aircraft, but due to an embargo imposed on Israel at the time, an IsraeliC-54 military transport aircraft was instead converted into a civilian plane to transport Weizmann home. The aircraft was painted with the logo of the "El Al/Israel National Aviation Company" and fitted with extra fuel tanks to enable a non-stop flight from Geneva to Israel. It departed fromEkron Air Base on 28 September and returned to Israel the next day. After the flight, the aircraft was repainted and returned to military use.[19]
The airline was incorporated and became Israel's national flag carrier on 15 November 1948, although it used leased aircraft until February 1949, when two unpressurizedDC-4s were purchased fromAmerican Airlines. The acquisition was funded by thegovernment of Israel, theJewish Agency, and other Jewish organizations. The first plane arrived at Lod Airport (later renamed Ben Gurion) on 3 April 1949. Aryeh Pincus, a lawyer fromSouth Africa, was elected head of the company. The first international flight, from Tel Aviv toParis, with refueling in Rome, took place on 31 July 1949.[19][20] By the end of 1949, the airline had flown passengers toLondon andJohannesburg. A state-run domestic airline,Israel Inland Airlines, was founded in 1949 in which El Al had a 50% stake.[when?][19]
From its earliest days, the operation of the airline in keeping withJewish tradition has been a source of friction; when the Israeli prime ministerDavid Ben-Gurion was forming his first coalition, the religious parties would not join unless Ben-Gurion promised that El Al would serve onlykosher food and would not fly on theJewish Sabbath.[21] El Al was named byDavid Remez, the first Minister of Transport, based onHosea 11: "They callEl Al (upwards)."[22]
A regular service to London was inaugurated in the middle of 1950. Later that year, El Al acquired Universal Airways, which was owned by South African Zionists.
El Al's cargo service was inaugurated in 1950 and initially relied on military surplusCurtiss C-46 Commando aircraft. The same aircraft type was used also for passengers transportation in certain routes.[23] The same year, the airline initiated charter services to the United States, followed by scheduled flights soon after.[19]
From 1950 to 1951, El Al expanded its activities in Europe and added new destinations such asVienna andIstanbul,Athens andNicosia. On 31 July 1950, the company celebrated the first anniversary of its regular flight program.
The airline was involved in several covert operations: In the early 1950s, El Al airlifted over 160,000 immigrants to Israel fromIran,Iraq andYemen as part ofOperation Magic Carpet andOperation Ezra and Nehemiah.[24] In 1960,Nazi war criminalAdolf Eichmann was captured and flown from Argentina to Israel on an El Al aircraft.[25]
In 1955, after usingLockheed Constellations for several years, the airline purchased twoBristol Britannia aircraft. El Al was the second airline in the world to fly this plane, after theBritish Overseas Airways Corporation. In 1958, El Al ran a newspaper advertisement in the United States featuring a picture of a "shrunken" Atlantic Ocean ("Starting Dec. 23, theAtlantic Ocean will be 20% smaller") to promote its non-stoptransatlantic flights.[26] This was a bold step: the airline industry had never used images of the ocean in its advertising because of the widespread public fear of airline crashes. The advertisement, which ran only once, proved effective. Within a year, El Al's sales tripled.[27]
Despite the purchase of its Britannia and the inauguration of non-stop transatlantic flights, the airline remained unprofitable.[19][further explanation needed] When Efraim Ben-Arzi took over the company in the late 1950s, the Britannias were replaced in the next decade by theBoeing 707 andBoeing 720 jet airliners.
The first year that El Al turned a profit was 1960. That year, more than 50 percent of the passengers flying into Israel arrived on El Al flights.[19] On 15 June 1961, the airline set a world record for thelongest non-stop commercial flight: an El AlBoeing 707 flew fromNew York to Tel Aviv, covering 5,760 miles (9,270 km) in 9 hours and 33 minutes.[24] By this time, El Al was carrying 56,000 passengers a year—on a par withQantas and ahead of established airlines likeLoftleiðir. In 1961, El Al ranked 35th in the world in accumulated passenger distance.[28] El Al's success continued into the late 1960s. In 1968, regular flights toBucharest were inaugurated, and cargo flights began to Europe and the United States. The airline also established a catering subsidiary, Teshet Tourism, and Aviation Services Ltd. All these ventures brought in a profit of $2 million that year.[19]
In 1968, El Al experienced the first of many acts of terrorism that have been perpetrated against the airline. On 23 July, the only successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft took place, when a Boeing 707 carrying 10 crew and 38 passengers were taken over by three members of thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The aircraft,El Al Flight 426, which was en route from Rome to Tel Aviv, was diverted toAlgiers by the hijackers. Negotiations with the hijackers lasted for 40 days. Both the hijackers and the passengers, including 21 Israeli hostages, were eventually freed.[29] On 26 December of the same year, two PFLP members attacked an El Al aircraft atAthens International Airport, killing an Israeli mechanic.[30] TheIsraeli Defense Forces responded to the incident on 29 December, with anight-time raid on Lebanon'sBeirut Airport, destroying 14 planes on the ground belonging toMiddle East Airlines,Trans Mediterranean Airways andLebanese International Airways.[31] The military action was responsible for the demise of the LIA, which had most of its fleet destroyed.[citation needed]
On 18 February 1969, Palestiniansattacked an El Al plane atZurich Airport, killing the copilot and injuring the pilot. One Palestinian attacker was killed and others were convicted but later released. Between September and December of that year, bomb and grenade attacks occurred at El Al offices inAthens,West Berlin, andBrussels.[32][page needed] This wave of violence culminated in the failed hijacking of an El Al 707 byPatrick Arguello andLeila Khaled on 6 September 1970, as part of theDawson's Field hijackings.[33]
| Year | Traffic |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 50 |
| 1955 | 138 |
| 1960 | 413 |
| 1965 | 1331 |
| 1969 | 2070 |
| 1971 | 3027 |
| 1980 | 4590 |
| 1985 | 6507 |
| 1995 | 11287 |
| 2000 | 14125 |
El Al acquired its firstBoeing 747 jet in 1971. Many[who?] felt it was a risky purchase given the high cost of the plane and fear of attacks, but El Al operations flourished after the purchase. Another Boeing 747 was delivered in 1973 and was used to start non-stop service from Tel Aviv toNew York (El Al – Boeing 707s had flown eastward nonstop since around 1961).
EL AL passengers and passengers from other airlines were attacked at Lod Airport in 1972 in an attack known as theLod Airport massacre.
In the mid 1970s, El Al began to schedule flights from airports outside of Israel that departed on theJewish shabbat and landed in Israel after it had finished. However, the religious parties in the government were outraged by this change believing that it was a violation of Jewish law and contrary to the agreement signed in the early days of the state, in which El Al promised to refrain from flying on the Sabbath. In 1982, the newly re-elected prime ministerMenachem Begin, brought before theKnesset a vote to ban Sabbath flights once again (it passed by a vote of 58 to 54).[34] Outraged, the secular community threatened to boycott the airline. In August 1982, El Al workers blockedOrthodox andHasidic Jews from entering the airport.[21]
In 1977, El Al established a charter subsidiary, El Al Charter Services Ltd., later renamedSun D'Or International Airlines Ltd. Two years earlier, the airline had suffered its first losses since the late 1950s, largely a product of the global recession. The management changed three times towards the end of the 1970s until Itzhak Shander was named president.[clarification needed] As the political situation in Iran deteriorated, El Al began to airlift Jews to Israel. All the airline's infrastructure in Iran was eventually destroyed.[19]
El Al flights toCairo were inaugurated in April 1980, following theEgypt–Israel peace treaty.[24] In late 1982, after a long period of labor disputes and strikes, El Al operations were suspended. The government appointed Amram Blum to run the company, which lost $123.3 million in the fiscal year ending April 1983.[35][19][clarification needed] The airline also sold its stake in Arkia at this time.[citation needed]
Operations resumed in January 1983 underreceivership. The government purchased two newBoeing 737 aircraft and announced plans to acquire fourBoeing 767 jets at the cost of $200 million. Within four years, El Al was profitable again.[19] It broke another record since then surpassed in May 1988 with a non-stop flight from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv, a journey of 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km) in 13 hours and 41 minutes.[24][clarification needed]
Flights to Poland andYugoslavia were started in 1989.[19]
In January 1990,North American Airlines began providingfeeder services to El Al's US destinations. El Al held a 24.9 percent stake in the airline until selling it back to Dan McKinnon in July 2003. By this time, El Al was operating a fleet of 20 aircraft, including nine Boeing 747s, and had begun replacing its aging Boeing 707s with theBoeing 757. Early that year, following thecollapse of theSoviet Union, El Al inaugurated regular flights to Moscow. Noairlifts from the formerSoviet Union were possible at the time but permission was granted in 1991. Charter flights commenced in August 1991, withimmigrants also occupying all available seats on El Al's scheduled routes. In cooperation withAeroflot, El Al flew more than 400,000 Jewish immigrants to Israel within a three-year period.
_-_Ethiopian_immigrants_coming_off_a_Boeing_jet.jpg)
On 24 May 1991, an El Al Boeing 747 cargo plane airlifted a record-breaking 1,088Ethiopian Jews fromAddis Ababa to Israel in the framework ofOperation Solomon. Two babies were born during the flight. The plane carried twice as many passengers as it was designed for.[11] In less than 36 hours, 14,500Ethiopian Jews were flown to Israel.[12] On 27 April 1994, El Al received its firstBoeing 747-400.[19][36]
El Al flights were inaugurated to theFar East[when?] and, in 1995, El Al signed its firstcodesharing agreement withAmerican Airlines.[19] In February 1995, the receivership under which the airline had technically been operating since 1982 came to an end.[37] In June 1996, El Al recorded its first flight from Israel toAmman,Jordan.[24]
In 1996, El Al recorded US$83.1 million in losses, due to the resumption of terrorist activities and the government'sopen skies policy.[19] To keep its planes flying during this period, El Al introduced flights "to nowhere": passengers were offered various kinds ofin-flight entertainment as the plane circled the Mediterranean. One-day shopping trips toLondon and visits to religious sites in eastern Europe were also promoted.[19] In 1997, El Al opened a separate cargo division.[38][clarification needed]
El Al's firstBoeing 777 embarked on its maiden flight in March 2000. Later that year, the controversy over flights on Shabbat erupted again, when the airline announced that it was losing US$55 million a year by grounding its planes on Saturdays. After privatization of the company began in June 2003, the policy regarding Shabbat flights was expected to change.[21][24]
The first phase of the long-delayed privatization of the company commenced in June 2003 and by Israel's Government Companies Authority, headed byEyal Gabbai. 15 percent of El Al's shares were listed on theTel Aviv Stock Exchange. By June 2004, 50% of the company had been sold to the public. By January 2005, a controlling share of the company had been transferred to Knafaim-Arkia Holdings Ltd.[24] As of October 2014, El Al's major shareholders were Knafaim Holdings (36%), Ginsburg Group (10%) and Delek Group (10%).[39]
In August 2010, El Al andJetBlue signed an agreement to provide connecting through tickets between Israel and 61 destinations in the United States from October 2010, viaJohn F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.[40]
In 2015, El Al introduced a requirement that female flight attendants wear high heels until passengers had been seated.[41] The airline's workers' union stated that the requirement would endanger the health and safety of the flight attendants and instructed its members to ignore the rule. Later that year, the requirement was removed.[42]
In August 2017, El Al made their inaugural flight of theBoeing 787 Dreamliner. Their first variant of the plane was the 787-9, but in late 2019, they took delivery of the 787-8. The inaugural service was from Tel Aviv to London and Paris, with the transatlantic inaugural flight from Tel Aviv to Newark. El Al introduced aPremium Economy Class to this aircraft, in a 2-3-2 configuration. They also launched an upgradedBusiness Class with "pods" in a 1-2-1 configuration. This was upgraded from the original 2-3-2 configuration of their Business Class on the 777-200. TheirEconomy Class now also featured large personal touch screen entertainment and WiFi. In Business Class, the seats go to a 90° flat bed, have personal service, large touchscreen personal entertainment screens, and storage.
In April 2018, theIsrael Postal Company issued a stamp with different El Al planes commemorating the 70th anniversary of the airline.[43]
In July 2019, El Al retired its sole freight aircraft, aBoeing 747-400F, ending its dedicated cargo flights. The airline plans to use charter services by other airlines for this purpose from now on.[44]
In March 2020, El Al suspended operations due to the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic. The Israeli government had announced that all foreign and Israeli passport holders would have to undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival into the country. El Al also converted some of theirBoeing 787 Dreamliner airplanes to serve as cargo flights to transport medical goods from China to Europe through Tel Aviv'sBen Gurion Airport. El Al also offered some passenger flights to get stranded Israeli citizens home. These flights went from Tel Aviv to Miami, New York, London, Paris, and more. They also offered two services to Australia during the pandemic. This was the first ever nonstop flight from Israel to Australia. El Al offered one flight from Tel Aviv to Perth and Tel Aviv to Melbourne.
On 1 July 2020, after returning substantial amounts of leased aircraft (and canceling current leases) the airline canceled all flights and suspended operations indefinitely.[45] On 6 July, the company announced it had worked out abailout deal with the government to make up the hundreds of millions of dollars it had lost due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Israel and abroad. The proposed deal would net the airline $250 million in government loans (with a guarantee for 75 percent of the loan in case of defaults) and an additional $150 million from its own sale of company shares which, if not sold, would be purchased by the government.[46] The deal was approved by aKnesset committee. On 17 September, it was announced that Kanfei Nesharim, a company owned by 27-year-oldEli Rozenberg (son of US Centers Health Care nursing home chain founder Kenny Rozenberg), had bought a controlling 42.85% stake[47] in the airline with a $107 million offer. Under the prior negotiated bailout deal, the Israeli government, which had committed to buying any unwanted shares as part of a rescue package, bought $34 million worth of shares, for a stake that equals roughly 15% of the company. The holdings of El Al's owners before the bailout, Knafaim Holdings, fell to 15.2% from 38%.[48] The new management will seek to emphasize "punctuality" and work to upgrade food services across all classes.
On 17 April 2022, El Al started its first direct flight between the Israeli coastal city ofTel Aviv and Egypt's Red Sea resort ofSharm el-Sheikh. Flight 5193 is operated by El Al subsidiary Sun d’Or.[49]
In October 2023, following the need for the urgent return of reserve soldiers due to the start of theGaza war, El Al gainedhalachic approval from theChief Rabbinate of Israel to break a 40-year policy of not flying onShabbat, with the last time it flew on a Sabbath being in 1982 during theFirst Lebanon War.[50][51] They also flew on the Sabbath following the attacks on Israeli football supporters in November 2024.[52]
2024 brought a record profit of $545 million to the company, as many competitors cancelled flights to Tel Aviv due to theGaza war. Critics charged that El Al was engaged inprice gouging, but El Al denied the charge, saying it capped its prices. El Al also blamed the rise in ticket prices on a global "shortage of aircraft, engines and parts and supply chain delays".[53]
El Al's headquarters are located on the grounds ofBen Gurion Airport inCentral District,Israel, nearLod. In 2022, El Al announced it would be moving its U.S. headquarters from New York to Miami.[54]
During 2005, the airline transported 3.5 million passengers, a rise from 3.2 million in 2004 and 2.8 million in 2003.[55] 60% of the airline's passengers are Israeli.[56]In 2006, El Al posted a $44.6 million loss on revenues of $1.665 billion.[57] The company is facing four lawsuits, two of which have been approved asclass actions, which could cost the company $176.2 million.[when?][58] El Al spends $100 million a year to conform with airline security measures required by Israel'sShin Bet security service.[59] In early 2007, El Al opened a newKing David Lounge at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. New lounges at Heathrow Airport in London and JFK International Airport in New York had also opened in late 2007.[60]
In 2007, El Al investedNIS 1 billion in the purchase of two newBoeing 777-200s that included an updated El Al decal. The aircraft are fitted with upgraded seats with adjustable headrests and legrests. Each seat is equipped with a touch-screen entertainment system. The first aircraft, named "Sderot", completed its maiden flight from New York to Tel Aviv on 26 July 2007. The second, "Kiryat Shmona", was delivered at the end of August 2007.[61]
After the United StatesFederal Aviation Administration downgraded Israel'saviation safety rating to 2 in February 2009, anIATA member warned El Al, as well as competing airlines Arkia andIsrair, that they may appear on theEuropean blacklist of banned carriers.Giora Romm, head of theCivil Aviation Authority of Israel, responded to the claim, stating: "We are in close contact with the Europeans." He added: "I don't know what the fuss is about. The Europeans' e-mail is strange. We are doing everything we can to improve security." TheEuropean Union has yet to make an official statement on the matter.[62] El Al uses theAmadeus CRS system for reservation, inventory, check-in and online bookings.[63] In November 2012, the United States FAA restored Israel's category 1 rating.[64]
El Al has a cargo branch, El Al Cargo, which became independent in 1997. As the national cargo airline of Israel, it operates between Tel Aviv,Liège, and New York, plus ad hoc worldwide charters with oneBoeing 747-200F aircraft. Before 2001, when the Israeli air cargo market opened up to competition, El Al Cargo enjoyed a monopoly. Now, its main competition comes fromChallenge Airlines IL.[19]
As of December 2022, the company employs a staff of 4,610 globally, and has a fleet of 47 aircraft.[65] The company's revenues for 2023 were $2.503 billion, totaling profits of $263.7 million, compared to losses of $80.7 million in 2016 and a profit of $57 million in 2010.[66][13][14] El Al has offices in 46 countries, half of them in Europe.[67]
El Al hasHebrew language voiceovers andArabic language subtitles in its flightsafety videos, which is followed by another video in English. In 2017, the safety video was presented by mentalistLior Suchard.[68][69]
During the period ofShabbat, El Al observes Jewish religious traditions by refraining from flight operations and occasionally diverting flights or refraining from takeoff if the scheduled arrival would occur on a Saturday.[70] Exceptions to this practice are exceptionally rare, having only occurred twice in the airline's history: first during theFirst Lebanon War and later during theGaza war, when flights operated on Shabbat due to exceptional circumstances.[50][51]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2020) |
The key trends for El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. are shown below (as at year ending 31 December):[71]
| Currency (millions of US dollars) | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017[72] | 2018[72] | 2019[72] | 2020[73] | 2021[74] | 2022[74] | 2023[74] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating revenues | 2.096,3 | 1.655,8 | 1.971,4 | 2.042,6 | 2.015,6 | 2.103,0 | 2.081,3 | 2.054,0 | 2.038,4 | 2.097,0 | 2.142,0 | 2.178,0 | 623,1 | 857,2 | 1.985,8 | 2.503,1 | 100,0% |
| Passenger aircraft, operation revenue | 1.832,0 | 1.489,5 | 1.764,5 | 1.829,5 | 1.827,9 | 1.920,3 | 1.910,6 | 1.874,2 | 1.847,1 | 1.967,2 | 2.035,0 | 2.078,5 | 486,8 | 689,8 | 1.882,4 | 2.400,9 | 95,9% |
| Cargo aircraft, operation revenue | 139,5 | 58,3 | 87,5 | 99,4 | 80,4 | 70,4 | 69,9 | 71,4 | 64,2 | 64,5 | 42,8 | 35,0 | 99,8 | 128,5 | 55,3 | 50,9 | 2,0% |
| Other revenue and Adjustments revenue | 124,9 | 108,0 | 119,4 | 113,7 | 107,3 | 112,4 | 100,8 | 108.4 | 127,1 | 65,3 | 64,3 | 64,5 | 36,4 | 38,9 | 48,1 | 51,3 | 2,1% |
| Operating expenses | 1.776,3 | 1.444,3 | 1.584,6 | 1.764,9 | 1.701,9 | 1.737,1 | 1.802,7 | 1.592,8 | 1.638,4 | 1.735,3 | 1.845,7 | 1.834,8 | 800,4 | 1.177,6 | 1.872,9 | 2.235,8 | 89,3% |
| Gross Profit | 320,0 | 211,6 | 386,9 | 277,7 | 313,7 | 335,9 | 278,6 | 461,2 | 400,0 | 361,7 | 296,3 | 343,2 | −177.3 | −320,4 | 112,9 | 267,3 | 10,7% |
| Selling, Administrative, General and Others expenses/revenues | −325,7 | −286,6 | −299,6 | −321,6 | −301,6 | −310,6 | −291,4 | −291,4 | −289,4 | −332,8 | −333,6 | −340,6 | −187,0 | ||||
| Operating profit/loss | −5,7 | −75,0 | 87,3 | −43,9 | 12,1 | 64,3 | −12,8 | 169,8 | 110,6 | 29,0 | −12,8 | 2,6 | −364,3 | ||||
| Financing expenses/income, net | −44,6 | −26,3 | −25,1 | 0,3 | −37,0 | −25,4 | −26,6 | −26,5 | −23,1 | −20,5 | −28,8 | −81,0 | −196,5 | −102,9 | −127,3 | −142,2 | |
| Share of the profits of subsidiaries, net of tax | 0,5 | 0,4 | 0,0 | 1,4 | 1,4 | 0,3 | 1,1 | 0,8 | 6,0 | 0,2 | -1,7 | 1,8 | −0,8 | ||||
| Profit/loss before tax | −49,7 | −100,8 | 62,2 | −42,2 | −23,4 | 39,2 | −38,3 | 144,6 | 93,5 | 8,7 | −67,7 | −76,6 | −561,6 | −423,2 | −14,4 | 125,1 | 5.0% |
| Profit/loss after tax | −41,9 | −76,3 | 56,5 | −49,8 | −18,2 | 26,7 | −28,1 | 106,5 | 80,7 | 5,7 | −52,2 | −59,6 | −531,0 | −413,0 | 109,4 | 116,7 | 4,7% |
The main business of Borenstein, a company fully owned by El Al, registered in the U.S. and operating at New York's JFK Airport, is the production and supply of kosher ready meals to airlines and other institutions.
Katit (a company fully owned by El Al) is mainly engaged in the production and supply of meals to the company's employees.
The charter operations of the group is carried out throughSun d'Or, a company fully owned by El Al. Sun d'Or operates as a tourist organizer for wholesalers and individuals and markets charter and scheduled flights, both by means of leasing full aircraft capacity to third parties, or aircraft parts' capacity to a number of partners for pre-negotiated prices, or by direct sales. Starting from 2011, Sun d'Or operates as a tourist organizer, while maintaining the "Sun d'Or" brand for scheduled and charter flights marketed by Sun d'Or. In March 2011, The Israel Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced the suspension of Sun d'Or's operating license effective 1 April 2011. The CAA based its decision citing non-compliance with Israeli and international airline management standards, mainly lack of self-owned planes and crew.[75] Since then, Sun d'Or no longer operates own aircraft but utilizes planes from its parent, El Al.
Superstar (a company fully owned by El Al) is a tourist wholesaler that markets tourist package deals to travel agents and passengers, and sells airline tickets at discounted prices for flights on the company's routes.
Tamam (a company fully owned by El Al) is mainly engaged in the production and supply of kosher ready meals to airline companies.
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On 26 November 2013, El Al unveiled its now-defunct low cost airline "Up",[76][77] which commenced operations on 30 March 2014, initially toBerlin,Budapest,Kyiv,Larnaca andPrague[77] using fiveBoeing 737-800s transferred from the El Al fleet.[77] Up was founded by its parent El Al to be used on some routes to Europe where it replaced El Al itself. All Up flights were operated by El Al, using El Al's call sign and codes with a four digit number.[77] For flights over two hours, the airline offered abuy on board service.[78]
In August 2014,Ryanair CEOMichael O'Leary foreshadowed the development of a Ryanair Israel, connecting Israel with cities across Europe. He said an inhibiting factor in the plan was Israeli authorities' protectiveness of El Al from competition. The CEO of Up wished to recreate the airline business world.[79] Ryanair started servingOvda Airport andBen Gurion Airport in the winter season 2017-18 from several airports throughout Europe.
Up ceased operations on 14 October 2018. All of its six destinations and fleet were reintegrated into mainline El Al operations.[80][81]
Israel's airport security measures were instituted in 1968 after theEl Al Flight 426 hijacking by thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. It was the first aviation attack motivated by political aims.[82]
El Al employs stringent security procedures, both on the ground and onboard its aircraft. These time-consuming procedures have won El Al's security reputation.[10] In 2008, it was named byGlobal Traveler magazine as the world's most secure airline.[7]
Certain El Al planes have been fitted with counter-measures againstanti-aircraft missiles since the early 2000s, with the initial system known asFlight Guard.[83][84][85][86] In 2014, El Al began to fit some of its planes that fly on more sensitive routes with an updatedmissile approach warning system (MAWS) that employs an infrared missile-tracking camera, an "infrared (IR), ultra-violet (UV), or radar missile-approach warning sensor to detect a missile launch in the very early stages of an attack" and a laser system to act as a counter-measure.[87] In November 2014, under the Israeli government's SkyShield programme,Elbit's Commercial Multi-Spectral Infrared Countermeasures (C-MUSIC) system was adopted by El Al.[88]
There are four layers of airport security procedures in Israel: early detection outside the airport zone, airport access control, passenger and baggage screening, and on-board security. In the first layer, El Al Staff screen passenger lists before passengers' arrival at the airport.[82]
At Israel'sBen Gurion Airport, plainclothes and uniformed agents monitor the premises for explosives, suspicious behavior, and other threats. Armed security personnel also patrol El Al terminals overseas. Inside the terminal, passengers and their baggage are checked by a trained team. El Al security procedures require that all passengers be interviewed individually prior to boarding, allowing El Al staff to identify possible security threats. Passengers are asked questions about their place of origin, the reason for their trip, their job or occupation, and whether they have packed their bags themselves.
Passengers have to show up at the airport three hours before their flight, in order to be checked at a barrier on the road to the terminal.Arabs, includingIsraeli Arab citizens, are checked more stringently than any other ethnic group.[89] At the check-in counter, passengers'passports and tickets are closely examined. A passport without a sticker from the security checkers will not be accepted. At passport control, passengers' names are checked against information from theFBI,Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS),Scotland Yard,Shin Bet, andInterpol databases. Luggage is screened and sometimes hand searched. In addition, bags are put through a decompression chamber simulating pressures during flight that could trigger explosives.[90] Even at overseas airports, El Al security agents conduct all luggage searches personally, even if they are supervised by government or private security firms.[91]
Undercover agents (sometimes referred to assky marshals) carrying concealed firearms sit among the passengers on every international El Al flight.[92] Most El Al pilots are formerIsraeli Air Force pilots.[93][note 1] The cockpits in all El Al aircraft have double doors to prevent entry by unauthorized persons. A code is required to access the doors, and the second door will open only after the first has closed and the person has been identified by the captain or first officer.[93] Furthermore, there are reinforced steel floors separating the passenger cabin from the baggage hold.[94]
In April 2013, the Israeli government increased payments to El Al to secure 97.5% of the airline's security costs ahead of the Open Skies agreement to take effect in 2014 with theEuropean Union.[95]
The airline was criticized by Hungarian courts for refusing to search luggage with the passenger present, acting against Hungarian domestic laws stipulating that only authorized officials are able to undertake such searches.[96]
In 2008, a civil case was brought to theSupreme Court of Israel by theAssociation for Civil Rights in Israel, which alleged that El Al's practice ofethnic profiling illegally singled out Arab passengers for tougher treatment.[97] The group had petitioned "for the complete elimination of racial profiling" by the airline.[98] In 2015, the court dismissed the petition on procedural grounds, accepting in part the government's argument "that it could not completely change without heavily burdening all travelers," but reimbursing the Association for Civil Rights in Israel a total ofNIS 30,000 for its legal fees, and finding that the petition "had already gotten security to be less discriminatory".[98] The court left the door open for a renewed petition in the future if required.[98]
In September 2014, it was reported that there have been repeated incidents where some ultra-Orthodox male passengers refused to sit next to female passengers, sometimes delaying flights. As a result, a petition was initiated withChange.org to pressure El Al to alter their policy of allowing ultra-Orthodox passengers on flights to negotiate switching seats. The petition reads: "Why does El Al Airlines permit female passengers to be bullied, harassed, and intimidated into switching seats which they rightfully paid for and were assigned to by El Al Airlines? One person's religious rights do not trump another person's civil rights".[99][100][101][102]
Following the incidents, Iris Richman, founder of Jewish Voices Together, a group created to address issues of religious pluralism in Israel and the U.S., encouraged passengers to protest this behavior through the US government, referencing "49 U.S. Code § 40127 – Prohibitions on discrimination: Persons in Air Transportation". According to this directive, she wrote, "An air carrier or foreign air carrier may not subject a person in air transportation to discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or ancestry." Richman contacted the U.S. Department of Transportation, Aviation Consumer Protection Division, and stated the department "is willing to investigate any situation where any employee of a carrier – i. e., asteward/ess – participated in asking someone to change a seat because of their gender".[103]
In November 2014, Tova Ross, inThe Forward,[104] disagreed that this is discrimination against women. She wrote,
If we [women] want the right to pray and practice and dress in the ways we see fit, why do we cast such caustic aspersions on the premise of a man who calmly asks to change his seat in order for him not to stray from his preferred religious outlook? ... A favor for a fellow human being, no matter how archaic we may deem his beliefs. We are indulging a request that we may neither understand nor agree with, but if it doesn't really put us out, if the flight isn't full, and there is in fact someone who will easily volunteer to switch seats, then what is everyone's colossal problem with the mere premise?[105]
El Al said that it would not put a policy in place to handle situations where male Haredim refuse to sit next to female passengers, but would instead attempt to satisfy passengers involved in such incidents on a case-by-case basis.[106]
In February 2016,Renee Rabinowitz filed a successful lawsuit against El Al, after being involved in an incident where an ultra-Orthodox man refused to sit next to her on a flight fromNewark International Airport to Tel Aviv and the flight attendants asked her to move seats.[107][108] Later in 2018, the airline decided to immediately remove any passengers who refuse to sit next to a woman.[109]
Despite the international sanctions imposed on Russia due to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, El Al continues to operate flights to and from Russia. This decision, which was carried out at the request of the Israeli government to enableRussian Jews to travel to Israel, has drawn criticism for indirectly supporting Russia's economy during its military aggression in Ukraine.[110][111]
El Al serves destinations on four continents in 31 countries with a well-developed European network including the transcontinental nation of Russia. The airline serves a number of gateway cities inNorth America such asNew York–JFK,Newark,Miami,Los Angeles, andBoston. They have also expanded their service toAsia such asBangkok–Suvarnabhumi,[112]Mumbai,Beijing–Capital, andHong Kong. From its founding until 2020, El Al's inability to overflySaudi Arabianairspace, along with that of several otherArab andMuslim countries, has reduced their ability to further expand their route network in Asia. In 2018, Saudi Arabia granted permission toAir India to fly a five times weekly flight from Tel Aviv to New Delhi using Saudi Arabian airspace.[113][114] If Saudi Arabia did not allow El Al to use their airspace, El Al might have lost a large share of their Asian market due to other airlines having shorter and cheaper flights. However, Saudi Arabia opened their airspace to Israeli aircraft for the first time in September 2020.[115] El Al also offers services toJohannesburg inSouth Africa andZanzibar.[116][117]
Prior to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Israel, the airline had plans to perform experimental direct flights between Tel Aviv andMelbourne. The service would have been the airline's longest-ever direct flight and the first direct connection between Israel and Australia.
In June 2022, the airline announced that it would permanently terminate flights fromToronto–Pearson effective October 27, 2022. The decision ended an over-40-year presence in Canada. In response, a petition was launched onChange.org to try and reverse the decision.[118] El Al also announced that it was cancelling its routes toBrussels Airport andWarsaw Chopin Airport.[119]
In December 2022, the airline started to sell tickets to its highly anticipated route ofBen Gurion Airport toTokyo-Narita Airport, which was inaugurated on March 2, 2023.[120][121] The route was originally planned to launch in March 2020, but due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the route was delayed until further notice.
On 14 March 2023, El Al and theVictoria state government signed aletter of intent, in which El Al intents to inaugurate direct flights toMelbourne Airport inMelbourne, Australia. While there is no exact date for the beginning of these flights, the letter of intent stated that these flights should begin by June 2024. These flights will be operated by theBoeing 787 Dreamliner and are expected to add 44,000 seats on flights to Melbourne per year.[122] These flights will take 15 hours eastbound (Israel to Australia) and 17 hours westbound (Australia to Israel).[123][better source needed]
On 26 October 2023, El Al said it will cancel its seasonal routes (Dublin,Marseille,Tokyo) which were due to terminate in the October–November early due to theGaza war and will delay the launch of its plannedNew Delhi andMumbai routes until further notice. El Al said it plans to resume their seasonal routes in April 2024.[124][125] One of the oldest El Al routes, the flights toJohannesburg, South Africa, was terminated in March 2024.[126]
El Alcodeshares with the following airlines:[127]
As of December 2025[update], El Al operates an all-Boeing fleet composed of the following aircraft:[149]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers[150] | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | J | W | Y | Total | ||||
| Boeing 737-800 | 14 | — | — | 16 | — | 150 | 166 | To be retired and replaced byBoeing 737 MAX.[151] |
| 2 | — | 189 | 189 | Operated bySun d'Or. | ||||
| Boeing 737-900ER | 8 | — | — | 16 | — | 159 | 175 | |
| Boeing 737 MAX | — | 20 | TBA | Order with 11 options. Deliveries from 2028. To replaceBoeing 737-800.[151] | ||||
| Boeing 777-200ER | 3 | — | — | 28 | 32 | 253 | 313 | New configuration, being rolled out gradually in the 777 fleet.[152] |
| 2 | 6 | 35 | — | 238 | 279 | Original configuration. First class discontinued; former dedicated seats now used as Business class. | ||
| Boeing 787-8 | 4 | — | — | 20 | 35 | 183 | 238 | |
| Boeing 787-9 | 12 | 3 | — | 32 | 35 | 204 | 271 | Order with 6 options.[153] |
| 1 | 30 | — | 263 | 293 | Taken from anAir China order, retaining its interior configuration.[154][155] | |||
| El Al Cargo fleet | ||||||||
| Boeing 737-800BCF | 1 | — | Cargo | 4X-EKZ.[156] | ||||
| Total | 46 | 23 | ||||||
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El Al used to operate the following types of aircraft as well:
El Al's historic, superseded livery featured a turquoise/navy blue stripe down the side of the aircraft, and a turquoisetailfin with theflag of Israel at the top. El Al's logo was featured above the front run of windows on each side of the plane in the turquoise/navy scheme.[161] The new livery features a blue stripe with a thick silver border on the bottom that sweeps across the side of the aircraft near the wing, disappears over the top of the plane and reappears at the bottom of the tailfin. The El Al logo is part of the design, although it has been changed slightly since then. Most of El Al's aircraft are named for Israeli cities, such as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Bet Shemesh, Nazeret, Haifa, and others. The larger the aircraft – the bigger or more populated the city it is named after. The cities' names are located near the nose of the plane beneath the cockpit windows.[162] One aircraft, aBoeing 787-9 Dreamliner, is painted in the livery that El Al used in the 1960s and 1970s as part of the airline's 70th year of operations, using a gray belly, white roof with El Al titles, a blue cheatline, and the flag of Israel on the vertical stabilizer that was introduced with the introduction of theBoeing 707 to the El Al fleet.[148]
By contrast, El Al's cargo plane livery in the past lacks the painting of Israel's flag and its airline identity; only the word "Cargo" appears on the fuselage. Subsequently, the most recent cargo plane livery (a now retired Boeing 747-400F) was painted white except for the airline's name and "Cargo".
Matmid is El Al's presentfrequent flyer program. King David club cards (red) were issued 1991. It was re-launched in 2004 following the merger of El Al's previous frequent flyer programs. It has five tiers: Matmid, Matmid Silver, Matmid Gold, Matmid Platinum and Matmid TOP Platinum. Points accumulated in the program entitle members to bonus tickets, flight upgrades, and discounts on car rentals, hotel stays, and other products and services.
Points are awarded for travel with El Al flights, partner airlines, as well as for nights at partner hotels and for credit card purchases.[163] Matmid points can be collected on most flights operated bySouth African Airways,Sun D'Or,Qantas and limitedAeroméxico,[164]Delta,[165]Virgin Atlantic,[166]Air France,KLM[167] andSAS[168] flights.
The King David Lounge is the name adopted by El Al for special airport lounges that serve the airline's premium class passengers. In 2007, there were six King David Lounges worldwide at the key airports atBen Gurion International Airport,John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York,Newark Liberty International Airport,Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport,London Heathrow Airport andLos Angeles International Airport;[169] by 2025, these were reduced to just one lounge at Ben Gurion airport, with El Al passengers in foreign airports having to use the lounges of other airlines (predominantly those in theSkyTeam alliance, such asDelta Air Lines,SAS andVirgin Atlantic).[170] The King David Lounge offers drinks, snacks, newspapers and magazines, and freeWi-Fi internet access, and is equipped with a telephone, shower facilities and a spa; until the retirement of First Class in 2019, it also had a separate section for first-class passengers.[171]
El Al offers three types of classes on its planes:
Personal AVOD screens are provided on all Boeing 777-200ERs and Boeing 787s, which also have a Wi-Fi network enabling access to the Internet usingViasat technology. Internet access is only available on flights to Europe, North America, and the Middle East, due to coverage restrictions.
AVOD Streaming via a closed Wi-Fi network (i.e. without internet access) is provided on all Boeing 737s, where there are no personal AVOD screens.
Over its history, El Al has been involved in the following incidents and accidents, involving both the aircraft actually operated by the airline and its outstations abroad. Most of these incidents are related toPalestinian terrorism, particularly in the period between 1968 and 1990, and so incidents are separated by terrorist and non-terrorist incidents. Despite these attacks, El Al has not lost a passenger on any passenger flight since 1955.[172]
The flight's safety video, though narrated in Hebrew, had Arabic subtitles.
El Al, Israel's national carrier and largest airline
His sentence of 45 years is believed to be the longest specific jail term ever imposed by an English court.
| Passenger | |
|---|---|
| Cargo | |
| Defunct | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
