El Al sets four fixed-price destinations to keep skies open amid airline cancelations

Economy Minister Nir Barkat and El Al Israel Airlines agreed on Wednesday that fixed pricing will apply to El Al flights to four destinations through the end of 2024. This is in order to allow Israelis to reach international air travel hubs, as the Israel-Hamas war has kept foreign airlines from traveling to Israel.

El Al will offer round-trip tickets to international travel hubs Larnaca for $199, Athens for $299, and Vienna and Dubai for $349 through the end of 2024. The prices will apply to all seats on the flights, said the airline.

The agreement was made at a meeting Wednesday morning, and reports varied in Israeli media as to what El Al gets out of the agreement. Globes reported that the agreement would keep the Economy Ministry from becoming more involved in the airline's pricing, and Walla reported that the fixed prices would come in place of some taxation on the company.

El Al said that the agreement did not include terms for them and was made to benefit customers.

The Economy Ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the terms of the agreement.

As part of the agreement, prices for seats still available on the airline's flights will also be reduced until the end of September, the company said, adding that they will continue to maintain a flexible cancellation policy.

The meeting followed criticism of El Al's prices, as other airline's cancellations of flights to Israel have given the company near-monopoly status and caused demand for the airline's flights to explode.

El Al reported a nearly 150% jump in profit in a Q2 report released last week, and the carrier posted a second-quarter net profit of $147 million, up from $59 million a year earlier. The company's revenue also jumped 33%.

Increasing flights to main destinations 

The airline said that it would continue to work to increase flights to Athens and Larnaca, which it has defined as two main destinations.

"The idea is to allow Israelis to get out of Israel and reach international airports around the world," said the company, explaining that Israelis can then fly all over the world from these hubs.

The company emphasized that 1,000 international flights leave Larnaca every week, 2,500 flights leave Athens, 4,000 leave Vienna, and 8,500 flights leave Dubai every week.

Steven Scheer/Reuters contributed to this report.