Summary
- EL AL plans to expand its international routes to incorporate Seattle, Manila, and Melbourne in the following five years, aiming to extend passenger numbers by 50%.
- The airline intends to bounce back strongly after the pandemic, with g each 7.7 million passengers and boosting its presence through its leisure carrier, Sun d’Or.
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In the following five years, Israeli airline EL AL has hinted at its international expansion plans that would see the Star of David touching down in Seattle, Washington, Manila within the Philippines, and Melbourne, Australia.
The carrier is trying to bounce back with a vengeance post-pandemic, with ambitions to extend passenger numbers by 50% in the following five years out of its base at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV), seeing passenger numbers hit 7.7 million. The carrier has identified that it should also boost its presence through its leisure carrier, Sun d’Or.
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One other US gateway
With Seattle on the cards, this could make it the primary time that the 2 cities have been served, and change into the airline’s seventh US gateway, with EL AL already serving Boston Logan, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, Recent Jersey, and Recent York John F. Kennedy airports, along with Fort Lauderdale which is about to take off from September this 12 months.
Data from Sabre noted that in 2009 over 36,000 passengers traveled between Seattle and Tel Aviv, citing the demand from the US west coast, with San Francisco, one other critical market, currently utilizing a one-stop itinerary to Tel Aviv.
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A choice of the carrier’s expansion has been made possible by neighboring countries relaxing the Israeli carrier’s flyover rules, with Saudi Arabia and Oman (amongst others) relaxing their airspace restrictions which have reduced flights to Asia by as much as two hours for EL AL.
The airline took off for Tokyo Narita this March, and Recent Delhi may even join the route map in October. Heading further East, Manila and Melbourne will change into the carrier’s first non-stop services to those nations, with Melbourne’s longest route at 8,538 miles.
Loads of growth on the cards
EL AL recently signed a letter of intent with the state of Victoria, proposing to launch the anticipated Melbourne service by June 2024. Initially, it will serve the town 3 times every week. If the connection were to come back to fruition, it will facilitate as much as 44,000 direct seats per 12 months and produce as much as AU $48 million ($31 million) into the Victorian economy.
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Taking a look at Sun d’Or, seasonal routes are set to attach Tel Aviv and Paphos, Tivat, and Ljubliana by the top of the 12 months, alongside ambitions for the carrier to go to Istanbul, Porto, Naples, and Zagreb.
With 5.5 million passengers within the last 12 months, its ambitions to hit seven million passengers by 2028 will likely be facilitated by EL AL’s plans to grow its fleet, increasing its 787 Dreamliners from 16 to 22 and 737-800 from 28 to 31.
Sources: Aviation Week