How come El Al is still operating flights to the USA

Higher risk tolerance?

All El Al planes have had missile countermeasures, flares for 20+years now... So there is likely much higher risk tolerance.

Indeed, and even though LY is privately owned, there are national interests at play, specifically maintaining an air bridge to and from the country and allowing Israeli citizens to return home.

https://x.com/ELALUSA/status/2036764666710442234

Yes. All this, and pilots trained accordingly.

Will AA allow to change flight to ATH?

United and Delta aren't flying it either so.......

Well, thats one fact. Aircraft at TLV often spend a good number of hours on the ground. A plane sitting on the ground is a target.

AA TLV Resumption Update
 

TLV (and DOH) are now tentatively scheduled to resume in early September.
https://bsky.app/profile/xjonnyc.bsk.../3mjcjxtb7322p

Thanks for the update. Please keep us posted as you can.

No. I don't think you change the flight. Just get a refund for next future trips.

Yeah, they aren't flying to Israel. Due to War in Iran. Hopefully soon. They will resuming to TLV in the future. So I don't know.

"AA: Doha and Tel Aviv paused until at least Sept 8"

I wouldn't interpret that as "tentatively scheduled to resume in early September". My reading is "we have no idea what's going to happen in the ME in the forseeable future, so at least until Sept 8 we are going to do something else with our aircraft."

AAs (previous) schedule to TLV and DOH have reasonable turnaround times. Defin nothing like South America!

I would not be terribly surprised to see the freed up widebodies assist with the 77W retrofits. How this would happen is that the widebodies (PHL-DOH was a 789, JFK-TLV was a 772) that were flying to the Middle East could replace the 77Ws on other routes/frequencies, allowing more of the Ws to go in for cabin refurbishment.

Yeah, like GRU, GIG, SCL, and EZE. The aircraft will sits for all day long until they departing flights back to US.