LY777

Innocent Abroad

Well, it depends when you land. Domestic service will begin on Feb.4 for landings after 18:45 and from Feb. 18 all domestic flights will be moved to Ramon. International flight are scheduled to begin in April.

hnussbacher

Scheduled to land around 13:15 so I guess I land at the old airport but leave Feb 7 from Eilat which will then probably be via Ramon.

BATLV

Seems to me that this airport will provide further incentive for those who live in the centre, to drive to Eilat rather than to fly. The time between airside and landside will be higher ( bussing) and another 20 mins added to the drive from the terminal to the city. So I would say the duration of the trip will be 30-35 minutes longer than before, on average. So If a drive takes 4 hours, and the total air trip duration is now at least 2:30 ex SDV and 3:00 ex TLV, more people will opt for the drive. Your thoughts?

joshwex90

Why didn't they build jetways?

Ditto

I think the use cases are different, each of the options have pros and cons, and another 30 minutes added to the flight time is not a big factor in my opinion, but it isn't just the added time, it's also the added costs/convenience.

LY777

BATLV

To what different use cases do you refer?

BATLV

Because they have misplanned and had a limited budget, and because they do not put the passenger convenience anywhere the top of their priorities list.

RedChili

I can't speak for Ditto, but in my personal opinion, people that fly from Tel Aviv to Eilat today don't do so because it's quicker than going there by car. Because even today, the entire trip from your home in Gush Dan until you've finally arrived at your Eilat hotel is almost the same as going there by car. My guess is that some people may fly because they don't have a car, or because of the convenience of flying. Sitting four hours straight in a tiny car may not be everybody's cup of tea. For most Eilat hotels, ETM will add another 15 minutes to a taxi compared to ETH. If you want to rent a car, flying into ETM may even be quicker than ETH because there will be car rental companies in the aiport itself.

Ditto

Exactly that, flying is *usually* more convenient since you don't have to drive yourself, you don't have to be stuck in traffic etc. etc.
For renting a car actually ETH was very easy as the rental companies are across the road, I did it a couple of times when visiting Israel, i.e. return a rental in TLV, fly to ETH and rent a car there, but I'm hardly the usual "tourist" that comes to the north beach hotels, I would usually stay at a cheap hotel in town and drive to the south beach to dive so having a car is very handy and my choice of whether to fly & rent a car or drive all the way was mostly around flexibility & price, how long it took wasn't a big factor.

BATLV

Israelis look at price and convenience. ETM does not add 15 munites - it adds at least 45 minutes: ground taxi time can be longer, you need to be bussed to the terminal, the terminal is bigger and walk time airside to landside is longer, the travel time once in taxi is 20 minutes on top of what used to be in ETH.

The air travel is not self-controllable, while the car trip is. There is nothing more convenient in flying such a short leg added all of the hassle and inconvenience of the domestic Israeli airports ( SDV, TLV1).

By the way, more cars in Eilat, given the lack of proper public transport will hurt the town, add congestion, which may, in turn, become an incentive for air travel despite its inconvenience.

Let's speak in a year or so when we see the loads and profitability of the carriers on TLV-ETM ( SDV as long as remains open still has certain advantages).

BATLV

This is mostly applicable to foreign visitors. I am primarily writing about domestic travel.

Ditto

Why? Do you think that the added 30 minutes or so plays a bigger role in the decision of Israelis about whether to fly or drive any more than it plays a role in a "foreign visitor" decision?

Which one is it, 30 or 45 minutes?
The distance airport to the city entrance is 18KM, assuming the taxi drivers only drive 90 and no congestion that's 12 minutes, from there they skip the "city center" and go on the hotels road so travel time to most north beach hotels from that point should be roughly the same.
What's so inconvenient about SDV/TLV 1?

BATLV

Indeed there is a difference in what 30 minutes do to a 4 hours door to door trip and to an 8 hours trip door to door, given not only the total time but also the mere existence of the driving option, which does not exist for those who fly into ETM from Europe.

The drive time from the terminal to a typically located hotel ( Queen of Sheba) is 25 minutes at no congestion. Google/Waze it. Your assumption on lack of congestion is not based on anything and is, I believe, wrong, certainly on weekends. So 35-45 minutes drive is something that will be typical on weekends. Add the extra time of taxiing, bussing and terminal walking and there you go 30 to (even more than!) 45 minutes difference in time on arrival compared to ETH.

Re inconvenience in SDV/TLV1 I mean the mere time spent ( and you have to spend it there for security etc.) in these no-frills facilities.