COVID-19 impact on EL AL and Israel routes
#2
Moderator, El Al and Marriott Bonvoy, FlyerTalk Evangelist


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https://m.jpost.com/Israel-News/El-A...-impact-619750
El Al is expected to make 1,000 permanent and temporary staff redundant in the coming days, the Israeli airline said on Wednesday as it rolled out a series of cost-cutting measures implemented to "ensure the future" of the company.The figure represents almost one-sixth of the airline's entire workforce and comes amid a severe decline in revenues as a result of the novel coronavirus outbreak. In addition, company executives and directors will be subject to a 20% wage cut, taking effect retroactively since March 1.
#5
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I don't think so. Israel is unique in that, except for Sinai and a limited Jordanian crossing, there is no way in or out of the country beyond air travel. This is what allowed LY to overcharge for years for what is basically a sub-par product. Even then, its profitability was limited and allowed no room for a major decrease in air travel. Its only hope now is that the government will realize that in a war situation, LY is the only airline that will fly into Israel and therefore must be kept alive by a major influx of government money.
#7
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: UA 1K/MM, CX Silver, LY TL, Marriot G
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It does appear that expert opinion views all these restrictions as a delaying tactic, and once it is prevalent in the community here, the travel restrictions (and the link between travel and preventative quarantine or isolation) will be cancelled.
Since apparently the first community transferred case was identified today, this could be quite soon. As a country, we are better prepared than many, but more sensitive to potoential catastrophe than some other cultures IMHO.
Since apparently the first community transferred case was identified today, this could be quite soon. As a country, we are better prepared than many, but more sensitive to potoential catastrophe than some other cultures IMHO.
#8
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If you define quite soon as 2-3 months, I would agree. I don’t see restrictions easing until other countries are past their peaks for infections because you don’t want to risk letting people in and that leading to an increase in hospitalizations. Airlines are likely to see this as an extended version of the hit they took after 9/11.
#9
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 40
Er.,,, don't see it here, but Israel is now requiring 14 days of quarantine for all arrivals from all countries,which certainly impacts El Al tickets.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...vals-1.8638322
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...vals-1.8638322
#10
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 73
Er.,,, don't see it here, but Israel is now requiring 14 days of quarantine for all arrivals from all countries,which certainly impacts El Al tickets.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...vals-1.8638322
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...vals-1.8638322
#12
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,553
Government recommendation is to call the airline to try to bring this forwards. There is a very good chance flights on BA will be cancelled by then - LH, OS, LX, IB, AF etc have all cancelled flights already,
#13
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 3,058
We are here for my daughter's bat mitzvah on the 19th. Maybe we can fly home from AMM.
#14
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There is an attempt to prevent the cancellation of routes which would stop the flow of supplies and people working to combat the virus. I’m a bit curious why the Internet is not considered a good way to collaborate.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-con...inst-covid-19/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-con...inst-covid-19/
...The prime minister urged the European leaders — Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades — to contribute to the effort if they think they have the scientific and technological abilities to do so.
...The prime minister also suggested creating “safe air hubs” in Europe to mitigate the damage caused by disrupted chains due to constrictions on air travel.
“We can designate airports for us, for all of us. And we say, this is a clean airport. We apply consistent efforts to keep it clean. We scrub it, we disinfect it, all the time — around the clock. And we also test the people who work there all the time,” Netanyahu suggested.
“This can also be a meeting ground for leaders, for technologists, where they could actually meet and not just be reliant on the internet, as we’re doing right now,” he added.
...
...The prime minister also suggested creating “safe air hubs” in Europe to mitigate the damage caused by disrupted chains due to constrictions on air travel.
“We can designate airports for us, for all of us. And we say, this is a clean airport. We apply consistent efforts to keep it clean. We scrub it, we disinfect it, all the time — around the clock. And we also test the people who work there all the time,” Netanyahu suggested.
“This can also be a meeting ground for leaders, for technologists, where they could actually meet and not just be reliant on the internet, as we’re doing right now,” he added.
...
#15
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Absolutely wild. We're truly in unprecedented territory now. If I'm reading this correctly, this basically means that no one will want to enter Israel until further notice, right? I mean, I can't imagine anyone who would want to travel somewhere with a mandatory quarantine...