El Al Israel Airlines is in discussions with Jet Airways and Air India to establish codeshares with the two airlines to further service the Indian market. Yair Berrebi, Managing Director – Asia and Oceania, El Al Israel Airlines, stated that opening new routes in India is a difficult and expensive move for El Al. “We have several security issues and added costs that hinder our growth across Indian skies. For religious and historical reasons, we don’t fly on weekends and holidays. In addition, tight security makes it costly to fly point to point. Our airline also serves Kosher food. All these add to our overall cost, making new routes difficult to introduce and maintain,” he stated.
Speaking about the Indian market, Berrebi revealed that the carrier enjoy 80 per cent load factor from the country. The number of travellers from India grew by 25 per cent last year, he added. “We mostly witness business traffic and Christian Pilgrims from India, and also see healthy return traffic from Israel. The youth of our country loves to finish with their studies and army service and come to India to enjoy their free time in a country so different from their own,” he stated.
Berrebi further mentioned that El Al Israel Airlines will continue to cooperate with the Israel Ministry of Tourism to participate in Indian trade shows to promote the airline and increase visibility and bookings.
