shuly

Pilots disrupt today's flight schedules in protest over the deadlock in negotiations on a new agreement. More (in Hebrew) here:
http://www.haaretz.co.il/tm/1.2316422

Flight 253 to Munich was canceled. Several other flights are currently delayed.

Shuly

PS - no doubt, just what the airline needed now...

riman

Beside
LY 253 - Munich

Other 3 the same:
LY 571 - BUCHAREST
LY 313 - LONDON- LUTON
LY 2367 - BUDAPEST

ELY001

This situation has been going on for years. The management and owners basically want more perks and salary concessions from the pilots in order to bolster the financial bottom like (pilots are the highest paid front line employees), while the pilots argue that if they have to make concessions in pay and benefits management should as well.

I tend to agree with the pilots. It makes absolutely no sense for pilots, and other employees, to make concessions while management remains bloated and overpaid. Bringing EL AL to profitability should be a team effort, instead everyone is entrenched in their corners while the company continues its decline.

LatusElAl

They just canceled 001 to JFK - on a Thursday night. That's a BIG deal.
This is getting nasty!

ELY001

That's their most important route. This is not good for LY's status on the route.

awayIgo

Their website is showing it leaving at 6:45AM. I wonder how many Shabbat guests my community will be absorbing this week. Those going to NYC will be okay, but anyone making connections is royally screwed!

EL-AL 1971

Some pilots try to land without wheels. Some others fly directly into mountains. In both cases, the flights ended safely thanks to the planes' safety systems and alarms. But such incidents are the signals that things are going very wrong at El Al.

And now, some pilots have started an unannounced strike. Well, maybe they want to be jobless in a few weeks.

Or maybe they're dreaming about 1982.....believing that

1. El Al will go bankrupt

2. the Israeli Gvt will take El Al back into its hands,

3. invest hundreds of millions and

4. buy directly from Boeing 6 new airplanes......(or who knows, maybe 10 this time)


The danger is that point 1. might happen all alone, end of story. This would be extremely sad, but the danger is real.

ELY001

Given that EL AL only has cash on reserve for around 14 days of operations, the company going bankrupt is a very real possibility, but whether the Israeli government will bail it out remains to be seen. With massive budget cuts in the IDF and in social welfare areas, will the Israeli government actually spend money bailing EL AL out? I don't think so.

An interesting detail about this unofficial strike situation is that EL AL pilots are blaming it on the "UP" sub brand and deteriorating work conditions since its creation. The article can be found by clicking this link: http://www.jpost.com/Business/Busine...flights-351736

Not only will "UP" likely be a financial disaster for the airline, but its also causing a logistical nightmare for EL AL's mainline services. I suppose thats what happens when you recycle a proven failed idea from a previous decade and implement it on a small and struggling airline.

clubman

Got to feel sorry for the passengers.

http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/550/2744551

sabbasolo

It's interesting to consider - the govt is buying a plane for the PM and President (and surely soon to be used by a rapidly expanding group - Chairman of the Knesset, ....(to save money)).

Will this change the likelihood of a bail-out?

shuly

LY001 was not canceled, it departed 7 hours late at 7:45 and is scheduled to arrive 6 hours late at 11:25. No other cancelations as far as I can see. But I'm sure this is not over yet.

Shuly

ELY001

The purchase of a dedicated a/c for high ranking Israeli government officials should have nothing to do with a potential bail out of EL AL. For starters, the a/c will likely be purchased and maintained by the Israeli Air Force, not EL AL.

You all have to remember that although EL AL is a national symbol of Israel (for better or worse) it is still a private company which makes its chances for a bail out less likely. On top of that, in recent years the government has made many moves which hurt EL AL's current operations and give the impression that they do not care much for the company. These moves include:

1. Not using EL AL exclusively for foreign travel of government officials (remember their contract with Alitalia a few years ago). President Peres himself often flew other carriers, such as AC, when he went on a state visit to Canada.

2. Open Skies with the EU

3. Expanding the aviation agreement with China which, for the first time, allows Chinese carriers on the route thereby taking away EL AL's monopoly on this lucrative route.

4. Amending the aviation agreement with Russia and Canada which allows for more flights by competitor airlines from each nation to/from Israel.

Given the above, the government has clearly signaled to EL AL that the days of state support (outside of security) are long gone and that the company must reform itself to increasing competition if it is to survive.

NYTA

Is LY subject to EU261 compensation on routes to Europe?

gordo6

Israel has an equivalent law (usually called Tibi law, after Ahmad Tibi), to which LY is subject. I believe it is even more generous than EU261.

All airlines that have offices in Israel (both foreign and local airlines) are subject to that law.

economyman

It may be more generous in certain circumstances but I'm not sure it applies in exactly the same scenarios so there could be circumstances where EU 261 is a better option for compensation and I would assume that it applies to LY flights to and from Europe because that's the wording of the regulation. It applies to all European carriers and all others on flights into and out of of Europe.