El Al Airlines rethinks its strategy

El Al Israel Airlines has had to revise its strategy for the future. This includes its fleet and flight schedule.

El Al Airlines strategy
El Al Airlines has had to rethink its strategy. Image: Pixabay

Due to strong demand and a busy flight schedule, Israel’s flag carrier has had to review future plans.

Many airlines suspended or reduced their air services to Israel last year.

This meant that El Al Airlines had to ramp up air services to various destinations to ensure that Israel was not cut off from the rest of the world.    

REVIEWING EL AL’S STRATEGY

El Al Israel Airlines has had to change its entire strategy since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023.

Since then, connecting Israel with main hubs has become a top priority for the carrier.

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ADJUSTED ROUTE NETWORK

The airline decided to terminate a number of routes in order that it could deploy resources where needed.

The trimmed route network saw destinations with low passenger demand being scrapped.

El Al’s flights to Dublin; Ireland and Marrakesh; Morocco were suspended late last year when air travel to Israel was affected.

However, El Al subsequently decided not to restart these routes.

In March this year, El Al Airlines terminated its scheduled flights to Johannesburg in South Africa.

The company said it would redeploy the widebody aircraft it uses on the route to destinations in North America, Bangkok and Tokyo, while examining other new routes.

STRONG DEMAND FOR EL AL

With a number of airlines having suspended flights to Israel, the country’s national carrier has stepped up operations – to maintain air connectivity.

Aviationweek reports that El Al Airlines is operating its entire fleet to its maximum to meet strong demand.

AL AIRLINES RETHINKS STRATEGY

This is positive news for El Al Airlines. However, it means that the airline has had to go back to the drawing board to rethink its strategy.  

Strong demand and an increased flight schedule have meant that El Al has had to review its strategy.

The airline is reviewing its schedule and fleet amid the increased demand for services.

RENEWED NARROWBODY FLEET

El Al’s board of directors has approved entering into exclusive negotiations with Boeing and aircraft leasing companies for approximately thirty Boeing 737 MAXs. 

The aircraft will gradually replace the airline’s existing fleet of 737-800/900 aircraft.

Aviationweek reports that the deal has an estimated value of $2-2.5 billion over several years, starting from 2027.

This amount includes the purchase and lease of the aircraft, including engines and a supply of spare parts.

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