Originally Posted by Globes
Despite a German court ruling that it is subject to EU law, El Al claims only Israeli law, which is much less favorable to passengers, applies to it.
Until now, LY had held (contrary to EU law) that EU 261 only applied to non-Israeli citizens. Now, however, they are ignoring a German court and completely ignoring it, even for EU citizens (not that such a residency/citizenship distinction applies under the law).
Ironically, according to the article, of the 3 international Israeli-based airlines, only LY has offices in Europe (making them fully liable to EU actions), yet are the worst offenders when it comes to dealing with EU 261.
I really don't know what game LY is playing, as it seems clear the law is NOT on their side. The only thing I can think is that as long as Israelis won't fight them in European court, they're saving money. But in the long run, there may be a company willing to fight on a class-action level which would force LY to pay out
bigly, not to mention potential fines.