Originally Posted by
clubman
Well yes. Hence why they are low cost and BA and LY are full service carriers. I'm not arguing BA's prices are not expensive from TLV, they certainly are But LY are no better in that resect.
It's been an expensive route for years and despite the LCC entering the market that hasn't made much of a difference. You realise how expensive it is when you search for a LHR-JFK/LAX-LHR flights and see BA (as well as VS) are selling the route for $350...
Whether VS entering the TLV market will make a difference price wise remain to be seen, but allow me to be sceptic on that front.
There are high taxes both on leaving from TLV and the Air Passenger duty on leaving the UK. APD for a flight to Israel in Economy class is 78GBP or $98 at current exchange rates. IAA shows fees of $26 per departing passenger from Ben Gurion Terminal 3 and $12 for Terminal 1. There are other general fees imposed by the IAA per flight, which airlines probably allocate per passenger as well.