Israir (TASE: ISRG) has received a license to operate flights from Tel Aviv to New York. The airline joins fellow Israeli carriers El Al, which operates 28 weekly flights to New York and Arkia, which operates five weekly flights on the route. Next week, US carrier United Airlines will resume flights on the Tel Aviv – New York route with 14 weekly flights – recommencing a service that was halted at the beginning of May after a missile fired by the Houthi rebels in Yemen fell in the grounds of Ben Gurion airport.
In April Israir announced that it had received a temporary license from the US Department of Transport. The Israeli airline told “Globes” then that it expected to operate flights on the Tel Aviv – New York route “from Passover 2026, and perhaps earlier.”
The reason for the delay, Israir then claimed, was that the Israeli airline plans to operate Airbus A330 aircraft that it will lease on a “dry” lease, with the company’s own flight and maintenance crews, and therefore it depends on the availability of the aircraft, and the preparation is expected to be long. Estimates are that the number of Israir’s weekly flights will be significantly lower than the regular airlines operating on this route.
Israir’s advantage
The advantage of Israir, which is controlled by Rami Levy, lies in the operating model it is planning, a “dry” lease – leasing a foreign aircraft while using the company’s own Israeli flight and maintenance crews. This is unlike Arkia, which operates the route on a “wet” lease – a foreign aircraft with foreign crews.
During the war, one of the main reasons that has caused foreign airlines to suspend operations in Israel was the refusal of foreign crews to come to the country. With the “dry” lease, Israir guarantees more independent and flexible operating capacity even in times of crisis, unlike Arkia, which may encounter operational difficulties if foreign crews refrain from flying to Israel.
In the past 18 months, US airlines have not operated reliably in Israel, and demand to fly to North America has exceeded supply. Delta Airlines is not expected to return before the beginning of September and American Airlines has not announced a date that it is returning.
At the start of the war, El Al was the only airline operating flights to the US. Subsequently, Arkia commenced US flights, making an important addition of service that allowed for increased competition, even when foreign companies were not flying to Israel.
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Not the first time
Israir has previously operated direct flights to New York. The service began in 2004, when the company operated charter flights. About two years later, the service was upgraded to a scheduled route, and the company leased aircraft for the purpose.
In 2008, the route was discontinued, together with its long-haul route to Bangkok, due to lack of economic viability. According to estimates, the route to New York resulted in Israir losses of about $14.8 million.
“Operating charter flights to the US and long-haul destinations is a dangerous model. This is a complex operation, involving high risks, both from a security and economic perspective,” notes a senior industry official. “Competitor Arkia also tried to operate flights to Bangkok using this model in 2018, and they were discontinued for the same reason.”
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on July 16, 2025.
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