Update: El Al capped fares have been extended through 2/28.
Round-trip flights are available from Tel Aviv to Athens for $299, or Tel Aviv to Dubai, Frankfurt, or Vienna for $349. The cheapest fares are for economy LITE fares.
Frankfurt is a welcome addition to the program, with connectivity from airlines like Delta, Lufthansa, Singapore, and United flying nonstop between NYC and Frankfurt:
You can buy a separate flight on El Al for the connection. You may be able to have the airline interline your checked bags to El Al or have El Al check bags through to another airline without having to claim and recheck bags, even on a separate ticket, by just asking the check-in agent and showing them your onward itinerary or boarding pass.
Originally posted on 8/21/24:
El Al and Israel’s Minister of Economy Nir Barkat have come to an agreement to cap fares on select routes from Tel Aviv. With El Al recording record profits and facing accusations of gouging in the media, it felt pressure to come to a capped fare agreement.
Round-trip flights are available from Tel Aviv to Larnaca for $199, Athens for $299, and Dubai or Vienna for $349. The cheapest fares are for economy LITE fares.
From those cities, you can buy flights on dozens of other airlines to anywhere in the world.
While the sale is intended for round-trip flights originating from Tel Aviv, some fares may be available on one-way flights or on flights originating from those cities to Tel Aviv.
Fares are available for all seats on all flights through 12/31/24, but flights are already starting to sell out, so you’ll want to book sooner rather than later. Capped fares are great for most consumers, but they also produce market distortions that cause a scarcity of available seats.
Will you book any of the flights before they’re gone?
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56 Comments On "El Al Extends Capped Fares From Tel Aviv To Select Cities, Including A New Excellent Connection Airport"
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Still insane gouging even with this pittance offer
Why is this gouging? It’s called supply and demand…
as a Travel Agent allow me to explain how I see this.
Airlines divide their economy seats into about 15 booking codes (single letters, you may see it on some etickets and itineraries, but it’s often hidden to the end customer)
Airlines publish fares between 2 cities and each fare has booking code it needs to be booked in.
The highest booking codes (typically Y on most airlines) are very expensive.
When flights are really sold out, Y is typically the only booking code available to book.
Elal has not raised the price of Y, you’ve just never had to purchase Y and now that’s all that’s available.
Many people on that flight, did already get lower booking codes at much lower prices.
Thanks for explaining that .
Are the one-way fairs capped too?
Book a RT and throw away the return segment
You looking for trouble?
would love too but they have the worse website and app out there
Doesn’t help much with zero availability to VIE or DXB.
There was and still is, but it’s all getting snapped up.
That’s the problem with capped fares. It distorts the market, creating other problems.
If you call 1 seat to VIE and zero to DXB still is.
No idea what you’re talking about. Plenty of 2024 dates still have seats there.
I would call having a near monopoly a distortion of the market. The sensible thing would be to buy shares in El Al.
You need to book via a travel agent for better availability.
Let’s add that this agreement follows the fact that El Al hasn’t been paying any taxes to the government on their extraordinary high robbery profits.
That’s media nonsense. All companies in the world carry forward losses to use against gains. Otherwise you would be paying taxes on lost money.
In other words if a company loses $1,000 in 2023 and makes $1,000 in 2024, are you saying it should pay taxes on the 2024 profits? The total real profits are $0 due to the 2023 losses, which are carried forward.
Yes, they carried losses, while the government injecting endless money into the company.
El Al wouldn’t do an eighth of what it did if Israel didn’t have the issues it is facing. El Al point blank is taking advantage of the situation. I never supported El Al (even being a TPL for many years because of company agreements) and have always tried to steer away from them.
https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001487010 for the Hebrew readers.
I don’t get paid by El Al and I’m not invested in El Al, but that’s a giant nothingburger.
Every airline in the world got bailout funds during COVID. The US and most countries gave far more than Israel did and US airlines are even more punitive than El Al.
Personally, I wrote that the US should ask for strings at the time of the bailout, like banning basic economy and requiring notices of devaluations, but I don’t believe the government should be capping fares with price controls as that creates unhealthy market distortions and artificial seat shortages.
The fact remains that El Al is taking advantage of the current situation and should be HELD accountable. The situation is allowing them to make what they’re making. These caps are absolute bull**** and won’t help anyone.
Is it their fault that most foreign carriers have left?
They’re pricing the same as they always do, which is using an algorithm to determine what people will pay to determine the price. It’s the same way every airline in the world prices their tickets and the same as any would do in this situation.
In the meantime, BA and Air France are also making a mint with TLV flights. Other airlines can too if they want.
It is not their fault. Their fault is that they are charging what they are charging. The claim they’re sympathizing to the Israeli people, while they’re just making endless money, which again, they would never and were never able to (subpar product, bad FAs, bad service etc).
Stop fake sympathy and just be bullish and say yes, we’re taking advantage of it. I hope they get what they deserve when all things settle.
They’re pricing according to market conditions, which is how every airline prices their fares.
CLE-NYC can cost $900, but drops to $50 when a low fare carrier tried competing and then goes back to $900 when the network carriers drive them out. Stinks for consumers, but those are the pros and cons of capitalism. Savvy consumers know they can use miles on the route to save a fortune, that’s also capitalism.
If there were socialist style price controls there would be other side effects, such as shortages.
US carriers cancellation are most likely due to insurance costs, Not because don’t want to make the money
More likely due to union/crew issues at this point.
Not to mention that ElAl paid back all of the govt loans
Does this concept of forward losses against future gains apply only to companies and LLC’s or also self employed individuals?
For example: if a person spends all profits he made in 2023 on material/services for his business in 2024, would he be exempt of paying tax in April 2025?
It does. Speak to an accountant.
Kamala wants to bring price controls to America !
What does USA Government (or candidates) have to do with Israeli government wartime decisions and the sole Israeli company in transport operations during high alert periods? A bit of scapegoating instead of acknowledge the profiting off Bibi’s decisions?
The op was rightly pointing out that the seat shortages already developing on those routes due to price controls is exactly what’s going to happen in the US as a result of Kamala’s price control proposals.
No need to get nasty though. If anyone is scapegoating here it’s you. What does Bibi have to do with your inability to grasp the relevance of a post that is over your head?
There are no seats till Sept 8
That’s what happens when there are price controls in effect. Manufactured shortages.
Israeli Combina at its best. first, they don’t pay taxes on their profits. Second, the fares are only for Lite, so no carry-on, no suitcase, no seat selection. Assuming those hubs were made for longer international vacations, then people are not likely to travel with a backpack.
Dan , I know this is not a political blog . However perhaps you can use this as an opportunity to explain to the youth about the economic downside of price controls . This idea is being discussed to be possibly used in the United States in January 2025 .
It would be better to see the Israeli govt helping ElAl source and lease additional planes to improve supply of flights rather than forcing the airline to price cap existing ones
Finally a valid and helpful comment!
Yes, help elal to open more routes and available flights on the USA route.
And when the war is over IYH, and El Al is stuck with a glut of planes it can’t use? They need to balance long-term and short-term interests. Ideally, United, Delta, and AA would work out a short-term revenue-sharing deal where they would provide the planes, and El Al would provide the operations, just until everything settles.
Boeing is backlogged only adding to plane shortages all over
Will CDG (Paris) be any cheaper? Also, if the ticket was purchased already, will they adjust the price paid?
What’s the cheapest mileage award economy ticket from mainland USA to these 4 capped cities? Of course, as Larnaca is cheapest that would be preferred.
I’ve also been hearing these complaints of ELAL pricing, racking in abnormal profits and so on…
But as a TA I know and see that ELAL has been extremely nice with their handling of this situation as they have been capping fares (mostly without promoting at all) for almost all routs including JFK and EWR, I am sure some people think I’m making this up, but TA’s know exactly what I am talking about (capping all flights to lower RBDs even with single seats left) and this is the case now as well as it was then when the war began. Now we all ask how come prices are so high, but the answer to that is exactly what dan has been pointing out to.. and those are the cons.. I won’t go in to long explanations, but If you where being quoted 3K for a ticket NYC-TLV-NYC it was either because Economy was sold out and you where quoted a fare for a higher cabin or because the seats where not available and you had a TA work to get that non existent seat for you, by tracking waitlisting and so on (that’s 1 of the areas where an experienced TA can have a big advantage over the airline website or phone rep) and the TA is the one charging the difference for those sleepless nights…, while ELAL is taking the fire…
looks like EL AL is capping many flights to and from NY at $1999 RT.
I have been searching daily for flights throughout September and October and they were well over $2500 until today – seeing even last eco seat (Y fare) selling at $1999.
Is 4 hours enough time to make flight.. So if scheduled to arrive 7:50 am and the flight to Israel is 12:30 pm on Elal is that enough time?
Sorry, wasn’t so clear on my question. Referring to arriving in Dubai. If arriving say at 7:50 am and the flight to Israel is 12:30 pm is that enough time to make the flight as it seems there is right now only one flight available on Elal from Dubai to Israel every day.
If I book a flight with a different airline to one of those cities and then EL-AL to Israel. I assume I will have to pick up and transfer my luggage in between ?
How much time do I need in between to be safe and not too long?
are all these 4 airports considered safe for Jewish travelers?
hi i don’t know where is the right place to write this but i will write it here because i don’t know where i’m supposed to write this . I was recently on an el al flight from cdg to tlv and I had a horrible experience. i wanted to switch seats with a person not to sit next to a lady and she was happy to do it but the flight atentat made us switch back she said you can’t do this for no reason just because she was anti religious this is crazy i never had this and i know no one that had this on non jewish airlines
i am booked on miles and more award nyc fra arriving 715am connection separate ticket elal 11am how can i get this booked together
You can’t. You can try asking Lufthansa to interline your checked bags to El Al by showing them your separate itinerary or boarding pass.
you cant unless they arent partner airlines =delta/elal
if your flying LH at best perhaps the check in agt will do it for you if you show the 2nd connecting ticket or boarding pass
Planning an upcoming trip. I’ve been avoiding the “separate tickets” thing because I thought it meant that I’d have to claim bags in Europe- which btw also means that you have to clear passport control with your whole family, go get bags, recheck in, and do security all over again- adding hours to the connection and risking missing your flight, and limiting you to booking only very long connections. But based on your interline comment Dan- that means ALL of that can be avoided and you can do an airside transfer and just walk to your next gate, as if it’s one ticket? Are there ways to guarantee they will interline- or get closer to a guarantee- without leaving it to chance the day of the flight? Eg which airlines are partners with ElAL that they are supposed to interline even on a separate ticket? Seems way too risky to hope they do it, and then if they dont, you miss your connection waiting in all those lineups.
Anyone have any recent history of checked bags going through to your final destination on 2 different itineraries that go through Europe?
United flights to/from Athens have a stopover. It looks like their nonstop flights are “seasonal”.
when is UA flying to TLV? Reliable? elal RT fares to include April? we are looking to booking now for APril
UA is not flying to TLV until the war is over.
Was anyone successful in checking the bags thru from united to El al? Would El Al agree to take a bag from an airline without the usual interrogation?