Articles tagged “el al”

Some national flag airlines no longer have a commercial purpose and probably should go out of business. El Al is not one of those carriers. Tourism in the airline's Israel home market is booming, and El Al should be able to ride the wave.

For those still loyal to the travel industry, a new spate of partnerships will now make it easier to earn miles and points across airlines, hotels, and shared cars. And with zero barrier to entry, some passengers may find a windfall.

Alaska is launching a loyalty partnership with yet another outlying international air carrier. At this rate, it doesn't need to fully join an airline alliance.

If they can't beat the online travel companies, airlines might as well try to copy those companies' slickest moves. A couple of carriers are testing the display of flights on rival airlines in an attempt to prevent consumers from clicking away to shop elsewhere.

Artificial intelligence and messaging are the trends of the day that many startup accelerator programs are interested in but there is also plenty of opportunity for aviation-oriented startups, in particular, to swoop in and command the attention they deserve -- and airlines desperately need their help.

ViaSat claims it has the fastest in-flight Wi-Fi available and raising the standard for service in European skies will effectively force other carriers to speed up their service. The El Al deal is one way for ViaSat to kickstart market penetration outside of the U.S.

As part of El Al's techniques, employees ask passengers a flurry of seemingly random questions before they get to the ticket counter, looking for holes in their stories or deception. If trained properly, U.S. airlines would do well in emulating the practice for security's sake.

Given new chess moves such as Emirates' new relationship with Qantas, some would argue that the importance of global airline alliances are diminishing. El Al's best options, however, remain with the global alliances, but they are turning a deaf ear.

This deal, if it holds up, looks like a win-win for El Al and travelers. El Al will face intense competition, but at least the government will foot the bill for its substantial security costs. And travelers flying in and out of Israel should benefit from more choice in carriers and lower fares.

El Al has been piling up losses and faces a very tough competitive environment. The FIMI investment is subject to renegotiation of employee contracts and portends a tumultuous period for the airline.