kinda lost track of this whole discussion but just wanted to say bravo for trying/hoping to get a cure for this ill-infested airline that it is now.

Pretty good privacy (or GPG - GNU's privacy guard).
Very very good tools also for email encryption.

I know it'll come. Some day. Without going OMNI too much, given the last elections, we may need to wait a bit longer, but it'll come. (I guess it'll sneak on us). But then the Israeli economy will boom, tourism will become easier for people, and of course, LY will be able to compete with EK on the skies ;)

I remember that from many years ago... but that it's still in use, great stuff, thx!

That is IMO much closer than it appears, there are just too many signals out, underneath the noise of daily news and wrangling..there are for me two ways forward, either the positive scenario, or a bang which tries to return to the old "way" which has loosing support everywhere..

I am sick to hear on a Sunday noon in TV people shouting "down with Ariel Sharon" (just a few weks ago)... or these other more actual pictures, it does a great disservice to a wonderful country and wonderful people... and normal business relationships, in that regard IMO it was a blunder to privatize LY, they have a burden out of political reasons/nessecities and since they are, one way or another, you either keep your flag carrier, ask the people in a vote if they want to subsidize it, or wind it down. Or someone did put this sweet water fish on purpose in the dead sea... who knows.

Bernie,

I agree with much of what you said. As the political pertains to EL AL operations, I don't see EL AL having much of a regional network for the short, medium, and long term for a variety of reasons. What I do see, however, is EL AL gaining overflight rights so that sectors between TLV and the far east would be on par with other regional airlines. Once this happens, EL AL and TLV will be able to become an east/west transit hub if the security apparatus currently in place could be amended in such a way where the safety outcome remains the same without the intrusive nature of the current security regime in place through use of technology.

To take advantage of the above, LY needs to start positioning itself soon by engaging in the following:

1. Fleet rationalization
2. Hard product standardization
3. Reduce managerial costs/redundancies
4. Reduce employee costs/benefits/redundancies
5. Streamline and rationalize operations for the purpose of efficiency and effectiveness
6. Focus on customer service; including and not limited to improving the Matmid program
7. Expand scope of code share agreements and attain membership in an alliance
8. Promote east/west transit fares through TLV
9. Expand Cargo ops and other sources of revenue either directly and indirectly related to airline ops.

I believe that EL AL, in its current form, will never be able to accomplish the above and perhaps, from a financial standpoint, it is too late to even attempt to do so. Consequently, I am sitting here on the sidelines waiting for the opportunity to step in =)

So much for this plan, unless FIMI were your backers

http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/glob...18878&fid=1725

Shame - I was looking forward to ELY001 taking over so I could get free TOP Platinum status for life plus free F fares. (The FT discount :p )

LOL, don't count me out just yet.

Tell you what Josh, if I do end up taking control of EL AL I promise to bestow upon you the highest Matmid tier level for the duration of my tenure as well as treat you to a one time free upgrade to First without you using miles.

I'm sure you will all hold me to that promise :)

Whether FIMI ends up taking control or not is still up in the air as it is subject to many conditions.

I created a thread about the FIMI buyout topic. Let's take this discussion over there.

That promise I will certainly hold you to :)

I want the upgrade where I get to fly the plane.

You will need to start by going to the Israeli Air Force.

;) ;) ;) ;) ;)

Same reason why many people fly circular routes. It's quite common for people to travel routes like TLV-FRA-Far East. Certainly a flight between say, LHR-TLV-BKK does not have as large of a geographic diversion as TLV-FRA-Far East. If the price is right, the benefits are accrued, and the service is good, people would be willing and TLV could be turned into a hub.

As someone living in Israel, wouldn't you want TLV turned into a hub (if possible) along with the economic benefits thereof?

Not going to happen until peace breaks out. Nobody in Europe is going to add 3-4 hours to their flight to go through TLV.

I've been privy to reports by industry analysts that suggest otherwise. The lack of regional Middle East peace has not stopped Emirates or Etihad from developing hubs the Persian Gulf, which is one of the most politically unstable areas of the world. Again, if Israelis are willing to fly from TLV to FRA to catch a flight to the Far East because Lufthansa offers them a much better fare and perks than EL AL's non-stop service, who is to say that some Europeans wouldn't do the same. Also, if EL AL offers a stopover program that offers transiting pax a day in TLV or Jerusalem, that could also be a draw. Air travel is a commodity, and as such people generally think with their pocketbooks and benefits and many ignore the 3-4 hours of added time.