Israel’s national carrier El Al announced Wednesday it was postponing the launch of its direct service to San Francisco, which was scheduled for later this year.
In a statement, El Al said the decision was made to allow it to upgrade its fleet of Boeing 767 aircraft, and that it would begin offering nonstop flights to Silicon Valley in May 2019 instead of this November.
El Al had already started selling tickets for the flight, but promised Wednesday to make other arrangements for passengers with tickets booked during the delay period.
The flight was particularly attractive for the thousands of Israeli high-tech entrepreneurs who regularly travel between Tel Aviv and Silicon Valley. In 2014, nearly 30,000 Israeli professionals living in the Bay Area petitioned El Al and other American airlines requesting a direct flight to Tel Aviv.
In 2016, United Airlines launched direct Tel Aviv-San Francisco flights three times a week. The US airline quickly increased the flights to daily due to high demand.
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El Al says it plans to offer three direct flights a week, starting at $1,200.
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