Israelis are seeking new and less expensive ways to fly to New York following several international and US companies’ canceling their flights to Israel due to the ongoing war, which helped create an expensive monopoly of El Al on flights to New York.
Since the October 7, 2023 attacks, lines between Israel and the US continued to operate, albeit with disruptions, but recent escalations in the summer have prompted several companies to freeze their operations in Israel altogether.
Currently, El Al is the only airline that operates direct flights to New York after all US airlines have canceled their flights to and from Israel. American Airlines removed all its flights to and from Israel from its schedule until the end of September 2025. United Airlines has canceled its flights to Israel until further notice, and Delta has no plans for flights to Israel until March of next year.
The cost of a plane ticket to the US on an El Al flight currently starts at close to $1,000 and the flights are packed, as was reported by this Tweet:
**Personal Share from the Flight**
El Al flight, packed to the brim.
By the way, as per my previous tweet, the cost was $880.I sat down and found myself surrounded by several families, with very cute kids, bringing a smile to my face.
I love pure souls.Then we took off,… pic.twitter.com/pi1mxzNaa9
— daniel hanukha (@israelifihther) September 3, 2024
Israel Hayom reported that IsraAir is conducting negotiations to lease two planes to fly to New York and back, planning to operate direct flights on the Tel Aviv-Newark route this winter.
However, the report emphasized that the lease agreement has not yet been signed and several significant conditions need to be met for it to come into effect.
The Israeli Civil Aviation Authority has commenced contacts with the US authorities to obtain the required approvals, a process that normally takes about three months, but the Israeli side hopes to shorten the process and obtain agreements as quickly as possible.
Another new way to fly from Israel to New York may be through chartered flights organized by Israeli hi-tech companies. Globes reported this week that several hi-tech companies have come together and are seeking to establish a new airline that flies to New York.
The hi-tech companies conduct frequent business relations with the US and depend on the flights. They are despaired by the current high prices of the flights, and especially their low frequency, and want to open a line to New York to solve the problem. The initiative is expected to include six flights a week using leased planes. They hope the ticket cost will begin at $800.
