El Al : LY : ELY :

El Al will start selling low-cost, no-frills tickets on its regular scheduled flights, with services such as meals, earphones and baggage offered as extras.

The move is part of an experiment to create a product similar to that of low-cost airlines, in an effort to compete.

Bare-bones tickets will be offered only for tourist-class seats, and not in the more upscale business and first classes. The number of discounted seats in tourist class will be limited, and will be concentrated in a single area rather than scattered throughout the cabin.

NEW YORK, Dec 1 (Reuters) - El Al Airlines ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]) is exploring code-share partnerships with U.S. domestic carriers as it looks to raise its global profile, the outgoing president and chief executive of the Israeli airline said on Tuesday.
El Al, which launched a code-share agreement with AMR Corp's ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]) American Airlines in September 2008, said it hopes to announce partnerships with other U.S. carriers "very soon."
"We're working on developing another two or three special agreements and new relationships with domestic American carriers," Chief Executive Haim Romano told reporters at a New York press event.
Romano is slated to leave his post on Jan. 1. He is to be replaced by Elyezer Shkedi, a former commander-in-chief of the Israeli Air Force.
Code-share agreements allow participating airlines to coordinate on pricing and scheduling.
Part of El Al's partnership with American has been put on hold since the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration downgraded Israel's aviation safety ranking to a category two last December. The designation precluded the carrier from developing new routes in the United States.
Romano said he hopes the full agreement with American will come to fruition by mid-2010. Meanwhile, he is seeking other partnerships. About 40 percent of the airline's expenses are dedicated to security efforts, he added.
Global demand for air travel has waned in the past year, forcing airlines around the world to drop fares to fill seats. El Al's third-quarter revenue slid 18 percent from a year earlier due to lower fares and a weak cargo market.
The airline is also looking toward its Latin American routes for growth and hopes to add a fourth nonstop flight from Tel Aviv to Sao Paulo.
"The economic situation in Brazil is getting better," Romano said. "On the other side, there are two big Jewish communities in Latin America," referring to Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires. [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]

Israeli flag-carrier El Al has cancelled the order for four Boeing 777-200ERs it placed two years ago.

The airline says it has conducted a "renewed examination" of its current fleet and its requirements.

This assessment has been prompted, it adds, by the global changes - notably the economic downturn - which followed its order in March 2008.

It says it has reached a cancellation agreement with Boeing which allows it to put payments already made towards a future aircraft order.All of the twin-jets were to have been fitted with Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines.

El Al had originally intended to take delivery of the aircraft in 2012 and 2013.

El Al plans to forge new alliance with three initial partners

Israeli flag-carrier El Al is initiating formation of a new aviation alliance after abandoning attempts to join one of the three main ones.
Air Transport Intelligence has learned that El Al already has the approval of three airlines to join: Russia's UTAir, Ukraine's AeroSvit and Armenian carrier [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
The airlines have signed a letter of intent to form the alliance - to be called 'Eastern-Western' - and the participants plan to sign a final agreement within the next 90 days.
Israeli sources familiar with the situation say that efforts will be made to persuade a total of 20 airlines to join the new alliance by the end of 2011.
While El Al's policy of not flying on the holy Sabbath, plus its special security arrangements, have been cited for the airline's non-inclusion in the three major alliances, Israeli senior sources state that the main reason is diplomatic.
Neither El Al, nor any of the three would-be alliance members, could immediately be reached for comment.
Earlier this year, El Al declared that it would "dramatically" increase the number of codeshare agreements it had with foreign airlines, as a substitute for membership in the main alliances.
But this effort has had limited success owing to problems with the Israeli anti-trust authorities

El Al to expand 737 fleet with -900ERs

Israeli flag-carrier El Al is to acquire four new [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-900ERs for fleet modernisation, and is placing options on another pair.
The airline states that the decision will increase its 737 operation from 14 to 18 aircraft.
El Al says it has signed an agreement to purchase the -900ERs and values the deal at $215-320 million covering four to six aircraft. They will be used on European regional destinations.
"Under the agreement the company is granted conversion rights to other models," it adds. "At this point the company has not made a final decision about the deal's financing mechanism and is looking at various options."
The 737-900ERs will be delivered from late 2013 to 2016. They will be configured in two classes with around 160 seats, says the carrier.
It is acquiring the CFM International [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-powered twinjets to replace its older short- and medium-haul fleet, including its [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-200s, which are approaching 20 years of age.
El Al's 737 fleet comprises -700 and -800 variants.

El Al adds additional Boeing

El Al has bought a Boeing 747-400 from RB Leasing Company for $23 million, including the cost of adapting the plane to El Al's needs. El Al will take delivery of the jumbo next week, for service on medium and long-haul routes.
The plane was built in 1996. El Al will initially finance the purchase from its own resources, and it is examining alternative financing methods.
El Al said that the purchase is part of its business strategy to meet demand for service to the airline's medium and long-haul destinations