UAE and Israel Normalise Relations

Status
Not open for further replies.
A nice development.

Yes, I would certainly expect that Emirates and/or Etihad might start flights to Tel Aviv. That's a large market of connecting traffic that they're currently missing out on. The new competition could well hurt El Al and Turkish Airlines though.
 
If EK pick up this sector, it should make one stop connections between TLV and AU much better. Suspect it will also hurt RJ on the TLV-AMM route where they charge extortionist fees for a very short flight.
 
Score 10,000 Bonus PayRewards Points on your business spend!*
Elevate your business spending to first-class rewards! Sign up today with code AFF10 and process over $10,000 in business expenses within your first 30 days to unlock 10,000 Bonus PayRewards Points.
Join 30,000+ savvy business owners who:

✅ Pay suppliers who don’t accept Amex
✅ Max out credit card rewards—even on government payments
✅ Earn & transfer PayRewards Points to 10+ airline & hotel partners

Start earning today!
- Pay suppliers who don’t take Amex
- Max out credit card rewards—even on government payments
- Earn & Transfer PayRewards Points to 8+ top airline & hotel partners

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Good news for the region and air travel (once it resumes).

For years the shortest ways to fly from Australia to Israel were either KE (the only Asian airline flying to TLV) or QF/LY via BKK or HKG. In recent years it became easier to redeem OW points flying CX all the way. Another option is SQ/TK via SIN and IST which is very good KF redemption but adds another stopover. I hope EK will fly one of their 777s with F to TLV because there was no way so far to get all the way from Australia in F and it also may be a decent QF points redemption.
 
Hopefully, any new route will be on sale when it is introduced
 
boomy said:
Good news for the region and air travel (once it resumes).

For years the shortest ways to fly from Australia to Israel were either KE (the only Asian airline flying to TLV) or QF/LY via BKK or HKG. In recent years it became easier to redeem OW points flying CX all the way. Another option is SQ/TK via SIN and IST which is very good KF redemption but adds another stopover. I hope EK will fly one of their 777s with F to TLV because there was no way so far to get all the way from Australia in F and it also may be a decent QF points redemption.
Click to expand...

From PER you can one stop to TLV via LHR. BA have F in their 777s from LHR to TLV too, so F to TLV from AU is possible, just not one stop though.

From PER, the CX option via HKG has horrendous layovers if you want to go all the way with CX, which is rather unfortunate.

I wonder if LY will still push ahead with their direct flight to MEL when travel returns to normal?
 
Daver6 said:
From PER you can one stop to TLV via LHR. BA have F in their 777s from LHR to TLV too, so F to TLV from AU is possible, just not one stop though.

From PER, the CX option via HKG has horrendous layovers if you want to go all the way with CX, which is rather unfortunate.

I wonder if LY will still push ahead with their direct flight to MEL when travel returns to normal?
Click to expand...

Ah right forgot about BA. Guess I never even considered this option due to the huge cost in points and taxes and because BA F is... not great to be polite ;)

LY is currently in deep financial crisis. They just extended the grounding of their fleet and all 6,000 employees until 30 September. Hopefully they will find a buyer willing to be majority share holder and someone who is interested in expansion (unlike VA new owners who want to go the other way).
 
boomy said:
Ah right forgot about BA. Guess I never even considered this option due to the huge cost in points and taxes and because BA F is... not great to be polite ;)

LY is currently in deep financial crisis. They just extended the grounding of their fleet and all 6,000 employees until 30 September. Hopefully they will find a buyer willing to be majority share holder and someone who is interested in expansion (unlike VA new owners who want to go the other way).
Click to expand...

Maybe a bit OT now, but I don't see LY failing. I think the government would nationalise the airline if it came down to it. There is no way Israel would be without a national carrier.
 
Daver6 said:
Maybe a bit OT now, but I don't see LY failing. I think the government would nationalise the airline if it came down to it. There is no way Israel would be without a national carrier.
Click to expand...


LY will definitely survive but nationalisation will be huge step backwards hence will be done as last resort. Hopefully they’ll find a serious investor.
 
A great development for peace in the Middle East - credit to the Israeli/UAE/US governments for making this happen. As travellers hopefully we get more options on EK and EY too; if we can fly QF coded AU-DXB-TLV that would be great!
 
One comment about potential DXB-TLV flights, will EK have access to either Saudi airspace for such flights? I presume so, as although CX seems to give the area a wide berth on HKG-TLV, AI overflies Saudi Arabia enroute from DEL-TLV.
 
dajop said:
One comment about potential DXB-TLV flights, will EK have access to either Saudi airspace for such flights? I presume so, as although CX seems to give the area a wide berth on HKG-TLV, AI overflies Saudi Arabia enroute from DEL-TLV.
Click to expand...

Most likely they will. Saudia, UAE and Israel are in the same camp when it comes to mutual interests in the ME.
 
boomy said:
LY will definitely survive but nationalisation will be huge step backwards hence will be done as last resort. Hopefully they’ll find a serious investor.
Click to expand...
Well get ready for that step backwards.
www.flightglobal.com

El Al could be renationalised as it opts for share issue

Israeli flag-carrier El Al has given up pursuing a $400 million state-backed loan and opted for an alternative fundraising package which could result in the airline being renationalised. El Al's board has chosen a $250 million bank loan, which would have a state guarantee, alongside a $150...
www.flightglobal.com www.flightglobal.com
 
I just had a look and, in normal times, TK flies 9x per day between TLV and IST. 3 daily flights are even on widebodies.

I'm quite sure that most of this is connecting traffic, which Turkish is in a unique position to capitalise on due to no competition from the ME3 in the Israeli market. Clearly this is going to change soon!
 
Quite a turn around.

When I flew MEL-DBX-IST in 2014, the IFE system moving map had a big black unnamed hole on the screen where Israel would have been.
 
Mattg said:
I just had a look and, in normal times, TK flies 9x per day between TLV and IST. 3 daily flights are even on widebodies.

I'm quite sure that most of this is connecting traffic, which Turkish is in a unique position to capitalise on due to no competition from the ME3 in the Israeli market. Clearly this is going to change soon!
Click to expand...

Even 10 daily flights during peak season, 4 on widebodies. Used be one of my favourite J redemptions BNE-SIN-IST-TLV and vv using KF miles.
 
I see far more politics than traveller needs/desires in this. I think that this is so far beyond frequent flyer analysis as to make the topic moot.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.

Recent Posts

Currently Active Users

Total: 872 (members: 27, guests: 845)
Back
Top