El Al sets off for San Francisco

El Al Tel Aviv to San Francisco 

El Al launched flights between Tel Aviv and San Francisco on 13 May. Pictured cutting the ribbon in Tel Aviv before the inaugural departure are Michael Strassburger, VP Commercial and Industry Affairs, El Al; Yisrael Meir Lau, former Chief Rabbi of Israel; and Gonen Usishkin, CEO, El Al. The airline will operate the city pair three times weekly.

• El Al launched its newest transatlantic service on 13 May, commencing a three times weekly connection between Tel Aviv (TLV) and San Francisco (SFO). The carrier will serve the 11,916-kilometre airport pair using its fleet of 787-9s. Competition comes from United Airlines. The Star Alliance member is already serving the route daily this summer using its fleet of 777-300s. It too used to fly the route using 787-9s, before upgrading its services to the higher seat capacity given by the 777-300 on 1 April. El Al will further expand its US route offering later this year, launching flights from Tel Aviv to Las Vegas in June, while a seasonal link to Orlando is scheduled to commence in July. The carrier has also confirmed more flights to the US for 2020, with Chicago O’Hare services expected to begin in March next year. Closer to home, the airline will add a new European service on 26 May when it resumes operations to Manchester, a destination it last served from Tel Aviv in 2001.