Did the expectation pay off? After many months of waiting, Israeli airlines received permission to fly over Oman and in recent months have been doing so to various destinations, the most prominent of which is Thailand. Many waited for the flight to Thailand to be shortened in the hope of lowering prices, but our examination shows that flight prices are still very high and on some dates reach almost $ 2,000 in economy class. The flight to Thailand was shortened from about 11 hours to less than eight hours.
At a press conference held this morning with El Al's management, we asked the company's CEO, Dina Ben-Tal Ganencia, why flight prices to Thailand are not decreasing in accordance with the shortening of flight time, the company's CEO explained that prices are due to many parameters, the most significant of which is supply and demand.
Despite the high prices, EL AL planes are still packed with flights to Thailand (illustrative), Photo: Getty Images
EL AL planes are still full of flights to Thailand despite the high prices, and the airline would be happy to add additional flights to the destination in order to meet demand. This means that despite the shortening of flight times, there is no drop in flight prices to the beloved destination and it is doubtful that there will be. EL AL is the only airline that operates direct flights to Thailand, and it does so to Bangkok and Phuket.
At the same time, El Al reported very impressive numbers for the first quarter of 2023. The company's revenue grew 17% compared to the first quarter of 2019 and for the first time since 2005, exceeding operating income of $9 million. The company's sales totaled $674 million in the first quarter of the year.
At the press conference, we also asked the company's CEO about the leased planes that the company operates on some of its flights, and she explained that there are three leased planes that the company uses during the requested months. El Al makes sure to place a Hebrew-speaking crew member on those flights, and the company aims to increase its fleet to 60 planes over the next five years, which will enable the use of the company's equipment in a higher percentage of flights.
El Al hopes to launch direct flights to Melbourne this year, El Al flight (illustrative), photo: Coco
To the question we asked about direct flights to China and Hong Kong, it seems that El Al has no intention of operating direct flights to these destinations in the near future. El Al is seriously examining the operation of direct flights to Melbourne, Australia, as early as next year, in parallel with its intention to operate direct flights to Manila, the capital of the Philippines, but apparently at a more distant date.
Yesterday, EL AL won two prestigious awards in the MIEL competition for excellence in service and customer experience, when it won first place in the category of "Service as a strategic partner" and first place in the category of "Service in exiting a crisis". The awards follow the company's impressive rankings, including the APEX global ranking and the BRAVO Consumer Award.
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