EL AL

[tavster]

LY flight to Hong Kong. Can't really call it 'rescue' , so they call it special instead
May 21st

[shaulyaakov]

Has someone tried to escalate to DoT to demand a refund?

[chff]

Has someone tried to escalate to DoT to demand a refund?

Yes, and nothing happens

[tavster]

The ultimate definition of Hutzpa.. Note how he highlights the 1 billion NIS owed to customers. Meanwhile they are flying cargo and management gets salary

(Bloomberg) El Al CEO Says Government Bailout Terms Will Lead to Dissolution

El Al received new cost-cutting demands from Finance Ministry that are “inapplicable,” whose purpose is to lead to the teetering Israeli airliner’s dissolution, CEO Gonen Usishkin writes in a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, asking the Israeli leader to reconsider the terms of the government bailout.

“As Prime Minister, you bear the ultimate responsibility that, after seventy-two years, El Al will reach the end of the road under your term, so we ask that a decision not be taken without being given the opportunity to present to you the implications of the new requirements of the Finance Ministry”: Usishkin

Dissolution of El Al would damage Israel’s national security because of the loss of an independent national airline

The possibility of layoffs for 10,000 households directly tied to El Al, and another 30,000 households with indirect ties to the company

A 2.5b shekel loss to GDP

Customers would lose out on over 1b shekels of refunds promised to them for canceled flights

[Baglach]

Refunds are coming in

[Dan]

Refunds are coming in

Nice!
Direct purchases? TAs? OTAs?

[yaakov35]

Nice!
Direct purchases? TAs? OTAs?

Def TA's. Was just told by one

[joeb1]

Nice!
Direct purchases? TAs? OTAs?

Please I beg you don’t post on main site until they are giving refunds to all
Otherwise every person waiting for refunds will drive us mad asking when theirs is coming
I know it’s tempting but please don’t post as many have no received yet
So far one consolidator got some refunded so it’s still time before all come in

[Dan]

Please I beg you don’t post on main site until they are giving refunds to all
Otherwise every person waiting for refunds will drive us mad asking when theirs is coming
I know it’s tempting but please don’t post as many have no received yet
So far one consolidator got some refunded so it’s still time before all come in

Why wouldn't I post breaking news? I can add a disclaimer though if that helps.

[tavster]

Def TA's. Was just told by one

Interesting.
I booked direct with LY several tickets and on Thursday I again received the automated answer that they will process refunds when they are back to business

[Dan]

Interesting.
I booked direct with LY several tickets and on Thursday I again received the automated answer that they will process refunds when they are back to business

My guess is the latest DoT guidance moved the timeline up. They can't afford a massive fine.
A bunch of readers emailed me about refunds showing up today.

[joeb1]

Why wouldn't I post breaking news? I can add a disclaimer though if that helps.

Disclaimer certainly helps
Thank you

[tavster]

A bunch of readers emailed me about refunds showing up today.

But only on US routes, right?

[tavster]

Turkey

[ExGingi]

Turkey

You beat me to it. I saw the new item this morning and was going to post about it.

Seems like they're scheduling 2 weekly flights to/from Istanbul. (They've been complaining for years about unfair competition in the TLV-IST route, where they weren't flying passengers due to security concerns).

I've seen the future (of ELAL) and it's here. They are turning into a cargo airline, which might not be so bad, as treating retail customers was never their strong point. They never realized that the passenger airline business is first and foremost a service business.

My guess is that they will keep some sort of skeleton passenger operation, or possibly move to a charter model for passenger traffic, but they will definitely focus on freight.

[Dan]

What happened to not being able to secure IST flights?

[Dan]

You beat me to it. I saw the new item this morning and was going to post about it.

Seems like they're scheduling 2 weekly flights to/from Istanbul. (They've been complaining for years about unfair competition in the TLV-IST route, where they weren't flying passengers due to security concerns).

I've seen the future (of ELAL) and it's here. They are turning into a cargo airline, which might not be so bad, as treating retail customers was never their strong point. They never realized that the passenger airline business is first and foremost a service business.

My guess is that they will keep some sort of skeleton passenger operation, or possibly move to a charter model for passenger traffic, but they will definitely focus on freight.

The current cargo boom isn't going to last forever.

[elya]

You beat me to it. I saw the new item this morning and was going to post about it.

Seems like they're scheduling 2 weekly flights to/from Istanbul. (They've been complaining for years about unfair competition in the TLV-IST route, where they weren't flying passengers due to security concerns).

I've seen the future (of ELAL) and it's here. They are turning into a cargo airline, which might not be so bad, as treating retail customers was never their strong point. They never realized that the passenger airline business is first and foremost a service business.

My guess is that they will keep some sort of skeleton passenger operation, or possibly move to a charter model for passenger traffic, but they will definitely focus on freight.

I'd be surprised if the cargo business model is sustainable for them long term.

[ExGingi]

The current cargo boom isn't going to last forever.

You are right. But the air cargo business does have its place and has been around for decades.

Maybe ELAL will just find their niche, where they don't have to deal with the flying public and be in the retail service business, and rather serve businesses as a transportation company (which is what they always thought they were).

The ability to secure IST cargo slots is just one example of how they can operate cargo without all the passenger "baggage" (pun intended). They might be much less of a terrorist target as a cargo airline than as a passenger airline at IST. They will also very quickly erase the flag off their tail (and other markings) in order to make it even more palatable.

Here's the news item I saw this morning: https://www.port2port.co.il/article/%D7%94%D7%95%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%94-%D7%90%D7%95%D7%95%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%AA/%D7%97%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%AA%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%94/%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%A2%D7%9C-%D7%AA%D7%A4%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%9C-%D7%98%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%9E%D7%98%D7%A2%D7%9F-%D7%A1%D7%93%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%9C%D7%98%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%94/

[Dan]

hey might be much less of a terrorist target as a cargo airline than as a passenger airline at IST.

Why?
Blowing up or hijacking an LY plane would be a big win for any terrorist, even without pax onboard.
The real reason LY left IST is they can't profitably compete on price or product with TK...