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El Al held a near monopoly on flights between New York John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV). Sure, the big three US carriers (American, Delta, and United) flew from the NYC area, but no other Israeli airline touched the route. This meant that airfare was often sky high and during the past few years with conflict in the region, El Al was mostly the only way to get between the two cities nonstop. Arkia already launched flights and now another airline is adding service. Low-cost carrier, Israir, just received approval from the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) to operate flights.
The Jerusalem Post reports that the approval is temporary, but it’s expected that it will be finalized by June. The carrier needs to comply with the regulatory requirements of both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) before this is officially rubber stamped. Israir plans to lease an Airbus A330-200 and operate it with its own crew.
Demand between New York and Israel remains strong and El Al has often been criticized for the high price of its airfare. Arkia will offer airfare for significantly less when it begins flying and Israir will add even more pressure. Many days saw El Al fares around $5,000 in Economy while Arkia offers roundtrip tickets for under $1,200 and include meals and bags. Flights are currently scheduled into May 2025.
Anthony’s Take: Competition is a good thing. It’s obscene to charge $5,000+ for an Economy Class ticket. I get supply and demand, but that’s high. Arkia and Israir will hopefully right pricing here.
(Image Credits: Nati Shohat/Flash90 and Arkia.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
