Update: The exact flight times of the El AL Los Angeles Tel Aviv route are not set; the post below has been updated to reflect that.
Nearly all foreign carriers exited the Israel market after the 10/7 terror attacks. Contributing factors included the inability to insure aircraft, crew refusing to overnight in a designated war zone, missile attacks from Gaza, and low customer demand.
Several European airlines have figured out those issues and returned to the market this month. They did that by shifting schedules so that flights are double crewed and they can quickly turn around so that the crew never leaves the plane. However, that’s only tenable on short-haul flights, which is why we haven’t seen US or even UK airlines copy that.
While US airlines could potentially copy that strategy by operating flights or triangle routes from Europe to Israel, United has shot down rumors that they would be doing so anytime soon.
That has left El Al flights in high demand. There are only so many widebody planes that they have on hand, though some frames will free up due to the airline suspending South Africa service after March. There are also slot restrictions that limit the ability to add new flights.
In February, El Al will operate up to 17 weekly JFK-Tel Aviv flights and 11 Newark-Tel Aviv flights. That’s more than their typical winter schedule.
In April and through the summer that will climb to 22 weekly JFK-Tel Aviv flights and 11 Newark-Tel Aviv flights.
Twice weekly Fort Lauderdale-Tel Aviv service begins 4/15. Flights from Fort Lauderdale operate on Mondays at 6:15pm, arriving the next day at 1:35pm into Tel Aviv. Saturday evening flights depart at 11:55pm, arriving the next day into Tel Aviv at 7pm. Flights depart from Tel Aviv on Mondays at 9:15am, arriving at 3:45pm and from Tel Aviv on Fridays at 12:05am, arriving into Fort Lauderdale at 6:35am.
I don’t care for that Monday TLV-FLL flight time, but I suppose that’s being done to minimize the time the plane idles in Fort Lauderdale.
From June through October, Boston-Tel Aviv will grow from 3 to 4 weekly flights.
Currently, Boston-Tel Aviv flights depart on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 1:30pm, arriving the next day into Tel Aviv at 6:50am. The new Monday flight will depart at a much improved 8:50pm, arriving the next day into Tel Aviv at 2:10pm.
Currently, Tel Aviv-Boston flights depart on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 1:05am, arriving Boston at 5:45am. The new Monday flight will depart at 10am, arriving into Boston at 2:30pm.
Starting 6/3, El Al will increase Los Angeles-Tel Aviv service from 6 to 8 weekly flights.
Currently, El Al departs from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv from Sunday through Wednesday at 11:30am, arriving the next day into Tel Aviv at 11:25am. Thursday flights depart at 2pm, arriving the next day into Tel Aviv at 1:55pm. Saturday flights depart at 10:55pm, arriving the next day into Tel Aviv at 11pm.
The new flight schedule from LA to Tel Aviv and back is still being determined.
That means this summer El Al will fly 2 weekly Fort Lauderdale flights, 4 weekly Boston flights, 5 weekly Miami flights, 8 weekly LA flights, 11 weekly Newark flights, and 22 weekly JFK flights, for a total of 52 weekly El Al flights between the US and Israel.
Will you visit Israel this year?
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69 Comments On "With US Airlines Refusing To Return To Israel, El Al Will Add More Flights"
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the connecting flights as of now only helps for the way to israel, however on the return since most flights are leaving only in afternoon you cant make european connections..
You can, but you need to stay overnight. There are also some early morning flights now with Lufthansa
Early morning flights are getting cancelled (ask me how I know…)
I have an early morning flight on Lufthansa for my family of ten with a connection in Franfurt (to ATL). From your experience, if they cancel that early morning flight, will they rebook us to afternoon flight? If we are forced to overnight in Frankfurt do they give us a hotel voucher?
Swiss has a noon TLV departure on some days that can make a connection to the EWR flight. Austrian departs TLV at 3:50 AM on some days, which is great for connections.
Also, with Aegean back in the game, you can connect to Emirates for ATH-EWR
When do these expanded elal flights go on sale?
AND WHAT IS THE SCHEDULE?
I’ve been flying with European airlines (horrible overnight connections on the way to USA) but they charge 1/3 of the price. Not sure why ElAl are being so greedy.
1/3 of the price seems not normal. Perhaps you are looking for a flight that is 99% booked on El-Al…
compare ly to what delta and ua usually charge not compared to a stopover
Where are the details on the new NYC flights?
I’m confused about your post about Boston-Tel Aviv flights because I am on a Tuesday flight 16 departing at 8:30pm which contradicted your post. What am I missing?
Is there any reason not to fly Emirates now and transit through DXB?
I don’t think they are flooring to Israel at the monument. It’s also out of the way so you’ll be adding travel time. I flew tlv Athens ewr with Emirates (from Athens to Newark). They fly very old planes, was not impressed with the airline.
Why is United so reluctant to restart the flights?
I have tickets for the summer at under $900 and I don’t want the credit. United Service is much better than elal where in the past I waited on the phone for over four hours just to speak to a representative. United 1K picks up the phone faster than 311.
Are they waiting for something to actually change that they’ll open up the United flight?
Insurance purposes until no more sirens or anti-missile defense system ism’t actively used.
Reminder Malaysia 17
Not a great comparison. The IDF is a bit more sophisticated than the Rassia backed rebels
Just realize that the Insurance Company will really hate the person that decided to resume insuring TLV flights if Heaven forbid something happened. It is safer not to be that person.
I had a TLV-EWR flight 1am on Thurs night 2/16, and Elal moved flight to 7am, making it difficult because of Shabbos. Basically most of that flight emptied out.
Why would they do that?
This is also a big win for delta as the only US airline having direct flights to Israel through their new partner
Alaska…
I just booked a direct JFK > TLV round-trip flight on El Al for my wife and me; I compared prices between El Al and Delta, and for every itinerary I compared, booking the same flight on El Al via Delta was two or three times the price of booking directly via El Al. I didn’t check the miles situation, as I don’t have enough El Al or Delta miles to use for the trip.
I don’t know how this happened, but my ticket indicates that I requested a RGML Regal Meal and my wife requested a SKML Strictly Kosher Meal… I found no way to request a certain type of meal during the booking process, and I didn’t see how to do it in our Matmid Frequent Flyer accounts.
Which is a higher level of kashrus (in both flight directions): RGML or SKML?
Thank you.
How can elal add flights if they don’t own those slots?
What routes are ELAL using the B777 on? Will any of the new flights use this larger aircraft?
No pun intended
I flew this week to TLV on the 1:15 flight from Newark. As soon, as the seat belt sign went off after takeoff, they started their service and did not let us daven mincha till they finished – about hour and half later, at which time it was almost too late to daven, so we were unable to arrange a minyan even though the flight was mostly frum.
Then we wanted to daven maariv, later, when most of the plane was sleeping, and we asked if we could stand in thee back for 8 minutes, and they gave us such a rough time. They said we can only stand on the side next to the bathrooms and not in the kitchen. (basically in a way that it would be impossible to have 10 men daven together). They had absolutely no respect for our religion. I’ve flown to Israel over 50 times, on all airlines, and I never saw such blatant hatred to our religion. United was always very accomodating if we worked with them in a polite way that would not disturb them.
I am an avel and I need to say Kaddish. I would never have taken a flight if that means 2 teffilos without a minyan/kaddish.
I thought things changed in the Rosenberg era…
It’s a greater zechus for your korov that you didn’t take over a whole section of the plane and go against gedolei haposkim.
what are you talking about??? When the whole plane is sleeping, and the kitchen in the back is open, and United allows us to use it for 8-10 minutes because our religion tells us to daven with a minyan if we can, and it does not disturb anyone!
Tell me one posek that is against it!
My religion tells me NOT to daven with a minyan…
So follow your religion. But please don’t disparage others who’s religion tells them too. A little achdus/love goes along way.
I checked with Rabbi Tendler in Monsey and he ruled that if davening with a minyan does not disturb other passengers it should be allowed. Everybody knows that the El Al crew is usually very anti religious.
Hacham Ovadia Yosef ZT”L &
Maran Harishon Letzion Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef
Exactly!
The fact stays fact; other airlines respect our religion and even offer/notify the religious passengers of the upcoming prayers.
Just saying, I once tried to notify the cabin attendant on SQ that I would be praying with the boxes, not to worry. After I finished the purser came over and stressed that on SQ I am not to ask permission before praying, just pray.
The eastern Europe and Israeli attitude is that the customer needs the store more than the store needs the customer. Remember El Al’s slogan, we are not just an airline, we are Israel. This definitely applies to (non-existent) customer service
fly ly tons and there is always a minyan even for selichos so not sure what you are talking about
Don’t know which crew you had but I flew LY many times and they always allowed minyan in the kitchen especially in the past few years, one time they even started serving breakfast while we davened shachris and they kindly asked us the try to finish quickly and they moved carts in and out while we were davening, no airline other then ELAL would allow such a thing.
The question is how to deal with a crew that is nasty. With all the stories going on of people getting banned from flights because altercations with flight crews, no one wants to fight.
If El Al’s policy is to allow minyanim in the back, at times when they are not using the kitchen, and no one will be disturbed, how do we deal with a flight crew that makes their own policy? Do we complain to El Al? Is there documentation anywhere that El Al does allow it?
ELAL should rent Etihad’s unused A380’s to increase capacity.
First, does LY have pilots qualified for a 380? Should they hire Emirates planes and crew?
Is TLV equipped with gates that could handle a 380?
Not all gates can handle a 380 and the delays waiting for the gate caused a European airline to go bankrupt due to mandatory refunds under European law.
TLVs new concourse E is designed with the a380 in mind (which never actually happened)
however Israel past a law banning four engine aircraft in its airspace (besides some exceptions)
Insane that there’s nothing direct from Toronto!
I’m guessing the chances of this are low, but it would be nice for them to expand to DC and fill the vacuum from the United flight.
+1
Also Philly! US Airways A”H!
I just wish they never exited Toronto. Did you ever get an understanding of why they did that?
It wasn’t profitable.
any idea when would be the best time to book for pesach
Probably sooner rather than later. I just booked a one way return trip for my son, Thursday April 4th, Tlv direct to JFK for $1003.00 basic ticket. It was fluctuating between $1133 and 1003. I grabbed it this morning when I saw it at 1003.
but aren’t they adding more flights?
Seems like they added flight, but the TLV-EWR flights stayed the same with no additions. Its a real shame as there is allot of demand for those flights and always hard get seats on them
I think that el al should start flying from Chicago instead of opening extra flights on established routes.
why are they doing morning departures on tlv-lax?
why not two nigt departures?
who wants to sit 15 hrs on day flight
Why cant ELAL make use of Deltas jfk-tlv slot to add capacity?
I wish they had WAS but at least they should have more EWR than JFK.
Why’s JFK double EWR?
NYC taxes…
Probably more demand and they can use Delta for feeder flights
Economy tickets are close to $2,000 per ticket on El Al even when purchased 2 months ahead. Clearly there is a supply-demand imbalance. El Al adding more flights makes sense.
When 2 months ahead happens to coincide with Chodesh Nissan…
You can find tickets in the $1200 range for one month from now.
Is it worth waiting with booking pesach tickets to LA, till they change the scedule? would adding flights bring down the price??
They should fly to Philadelphia as well. It’s close proximity to Lakewood would be advantageous to them.
Once again El Al has outdone itself.
We were scheduled to return from Israel on Friday, February 23, departing Israel at 1:00am and arriving in Miami at 7:15am. We were notified yesterday that the flight was changed to depart at 8:25am, arriving in Miami at 3:15pm, Erev Shabbos.
Interestingly, the flights to both JFK and Newark were also changed to approximately the same time frame. And looking at their schedule, it appears that they have done the same thing on many Fridays.
If it was any other airline, I wouldn’t question it, but for El Al to make these changes on Erev Shabbos is disgraceful!!
Unless it’s an emergency, I never fly on Friday.
did thay allready add the flights from jfk or ewr for apr to to may or their going to if yes when bec prices are still sky high
Swiss airline from Tlv to Zurich got canceled
Question to Dan: Hello Dan, I already purchased round TLV-EWR trip with 1 stop for April 3 to 17 (lufthanza-United) for $1,166.55. Prices were getting higher by the day and I decided not to wait. But then as per your post ELAL added more direct flights in April. Do you think tickets prices will come down? I would rather go direct. Thank you so much for your reply!
Who does the Elal Thursday LA-TLV flight leave later than the other days, and end up arriving so close to shabbos?
Is the crew legally allowed to refuse to fly?
Any chance elal (or any other airline) will add more flights from TLV around Apr 5-10?