Steve Jaffe3 days ago3 minHail Emirates -- Whither El Al?The long-awaited and highly anticipated arrival of Emirates in Tel Aviv last Thursday was the crowning aviation achievement of the 2020...
Steve JaffeJun 193 minFirst to Fly – El Al and the Dawn of Commercial Twin-Engine Oceanic FlightsAsk any self-respecting airline geek which airline was the first to introduce commercial trans-Atlantic commercial twin-engine services,...
Steve JaffeJun 23 minReverse Exodus -- Israelis Flock to Egypt with New Flight OptionsThe throngs of Israelis backed up in a nine-hour wait to transit the Taba border crossing from Israel into Egyptian Sinai on the week of...
Steve JaffeJul 29, 20213 minUp, Over, and Around -- Recent Flight Activity of NoteA quick look at some random but noteworthy flights and trends in and around Israel. Enjoy the ride. A rare El Al flight from TLV to DEL,...
Steve JaffeJul 7, 20213 minThe Israelis are coming! Are the expectations for the Israel-Morocco travel boom sustainable? In another demonstration of the tangible benefits of the Abraham Accords, El Al and Israir will both commence regularly scheduled flights...
Steve JaffeJun 1, 20214 minAfter the Rockets Stopped Falling – the Gaza conflict and its impact on Israeli commercial aviationIn many ways, the recent Gaza Conflict that raged from May 10 – 21 was just the latest battle in a long-running war between Israel and...
Steve JaffeDec 7, 20203 minThe Metamorphosis of Gulf AirLast week El Al and Gulf Air jointly announced that they had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to seek opportunities for...
Steve JaffeDec 1, 20207 minIs Dubai the pot of gold – or just the end of the road -- for El Al? The new air service between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain represents a potential breakthrough moment for Israeli national carrier El Al....
Steve JaffeNov 27, 20203 minThe (not so) little airline that could -- a profile of FlydubaiIn case you missed it, Flydubai’s arrival today at Ben Gurion Airport marked the first scheduled passenger flight on the newly...
Steve JaffeNov 18, 20204 minSudan, Tigray, and the importance of strategic airspace redundancyOn Sunday, November 8, El Al flight 5057 flew over Sudan en route from Tel Aviv (TLV) to Entebbe (EBB). The 737-900, which was heading...
Steve JaffeNov 5, 20203 minFlyDubai to be first airline to serve Dubai-Tel Aviv routeflyDubai has announced that it will start service between its home base and Tel Aviv on November 26. With this remarkably fast startup,...
Steve JaffeNov 3, 20202 minIsraeli skies starting to fill with transit flightsIn another historic breakthrough for Israeli aviation, an Etihad 787-10 enroute from Milan (MXP) to Abu Dhabi (AUH) became the first...
Steve JaffeNov 2, 20202 minHebrew language website and kosher food – UAE welcome Israeli travelersThe Emerati travel and tourism industry is putting its full resources into building the marketing and hospitality infrastructure to...
Steve JaffeOct 30, 20204 minNew Middle East airspace agreements – what they are and why they matterEasily overlooked in the wake of the recent breathtaking pace of Arab-Israeli normalization developments are a series of highly...
Steve JaffeOct 28, 20202 minIsraeli delegation lands in BahrainAn El Al 737-900ER transported a team of high-level U.S. and Israeli officials to Manama on October 18 for the signing of significant...
Steve JaffeOct 28, 20203 minIsrael signs air service agreements with UAE and BahrainJust weeks after signing the historic normalization agreements with the UAE and Bahrain, Israel has concluded air service agreements with...
Steve JaffeOct 26, 20202 minFirst passenger flight from UAE arrives in IsraelIn another historic first for Israeli civil aviation, an Etihad 787-9 touched down at Ben Gurion Airport early Sunday morning, October...
Steve JaffeOct 26, 20203 minEl Al lands in Abu Dhabi – breaks two new barriers on historic flightAugust 31, 2020 marked an historic day for aviation in Israel. El Al flight 971, a Boeing 737-900ER arrived in Abu Dhabi from Tel Aviv at...
Steve JaffeApr 26, 20204 minThe New Middle-East Super Connector?For a brief, shining moment over the past few weeks, the El Al route map expanded to nine new cities on world-girdling routes throughout...
Steve JaffeApr 12, 20203 minIsraeli diplomatic breakthroughs start to bear tangible aeropolitical resultsOn March 16, the Jerusalem Post reported that Sudan had authorized direct flights to Israel to overfly its territory. The announcement...
Steve JaffeDec 2, 20192 minThe Kangaroo Route on a Single Hop. El Al to test non-stop flights between Tel Aviv and MelbourneIn a surprise move, El Al announced during its third quarter earnings call on November 26th that it would conduct test flights between Tel A
Steve JaffeAug 5, 20194 minTen New Breakthrough Routes to IsraelNew air service to Israel from far-flung places continues -- some are pure business routes -- others leisure destinations, and a few...
Steve JaffeApr 15, 20191 minThe ultimate in ultra-long haul flying (and you thought your flight was long!)For a brief, shining moment, Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport took the mantle (by far) for the world's longest flight. I we mean really...
Steve JaffeFeb 4, 20192 minLatin flavor adds spice to the Israeli aviation marketSince the 1960s, El Al had interest in flying to Buenos Aires, but its plans never came to fruition, partly due to the circuitous routing...
Steve JaffeFeb 1, 20193 minAsian airlines play catch-up in Israeli marketFor decades, Israel was terra incognita on the route maps of Asian airlines. Based in a region with historically less-developed...
Steve JaffeJan 28, 20193 minIsrael in Africa -- an Airline SagaIsrael is on the cusp of some major airspace access breakthroughs – to the east over the Arabian Peninsula, and to the south and west...
Steve JaffeJan 28, 20195 minEast of Eden -- Seven decades of blockade-busting airlines connecting Israel with Far East It’s well after midnight. A thick layer of humidity blankets suburban Tel Aviv on this sultry July night in 1979. At Ben Gurion...
Steve JaffeJan 16, 20191 minSouthern Exposure -- Eilat's Ramon International Airport OpensThe opening of the brand new Ramon International Airport north of Eilat brings a state-of-the-art travel experience for sun-seeking...