El Al to Fight $39 Million Antitrust Fine Over ‘Excessive and Unfair’ Wartime Pricing
Photo Credit: An El Al Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in the skies above New York JFK. Vincenzo Pace
Skift Take
El Al’s dominance delivered bumper profits – now it’s triggering a rare antitrust test of how far airlines can push pricing power during a crisis.
Israel’s competition watchdog has moved to fine flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines for allegedly charging “excessive and unfair” airfares during the early months of the Gaza war.
The proposed penalty of up to NIS 121 million ($39.2 million) is the maximum allowed under Israeli law. It follows a months-long investigation covering the period from October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, through the end of May 2024.
During that time, the authority concluded that El Al effectively operated as a monopoly on 38 of the 53 routes it served, including key destinations such as London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, and Tokyo.
According to Israel’s Competition Authority, ticket prices rose by an average of 16% compared with the previous year, with some routes seeing increases as high as 31%. Investigators also found that fares were raised by roughly 25% on certain economy-class flights even when those departures were not fully booked.
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