El Al profit doubles as many major foreign airlines steer clear after Iran war

Israel’s flagship carrier El Al saw its profit double, as scant competition in Israel’s skies has translated into peak demand and high prices for travelers, with many foreign airlines reluctant to resume flight services to Tel Aviv amid concerns of escalation in the fighting between the US and Iran.

El Al raked in a net profit of $132 million in the April-June quarter, up from $66 million during the same period in 2025, despite reduced operations due to the US-Israel war with Iran, a rise in fuel prices and the negative impact of the sharp appreciation of the shekel. The airline’s revenue in the second quarter increased 27 percent to $986 ⁠million from $777 million a year earlier.

“We concluded the second quarter with strong results, despite having only two months of full operations due to Operation Roaring Lion,” said El Al CEO Levy Halevy. “During the quarter, we experienced strong demand for El Al flights, as reflected in record sales and forward bookings.”

​Local carriers, which are the only airlines reliably flying in and out of Israel in the near future, have been taking advantage of the fragile geopolitical situation and the cloudy horizon for air travel, allowing them to charge customers exorbitant sums. That includes flagship carrier El Al, which has been repeatedly accused of price gouging during wartime since October 7, 2023.

“The demand is so large that El Al and their competitors can charge outrageous prices that we have not seen ever,” Mark Feldman, CEO of Ziontours Jerusalem, told The Times of Israel. “The problem is that just finding seats is the main challenge, and once the average Israeli finds that available seat, he or she will pay almost any price.”

When the US-Israel war with Iran erupted on February 28, Israel initially closed its airspace to civilian traffic completely, forcing all airlines to cancel their flights. After a week, it eased restrictions, though operations were still at only a fifth of pre-war levels, and only Israeli airlines were authorized to operate.

Since the April 8 ceasefire and the reopening of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport to more regular activity, El Al and other local carriers, including Arkia and Israir, gradually returned to full operations in May. El Al reported that damage ⁠from the war with Iran during the April-June quarter amounted to $55 million.

With US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening to carry out major strikes against Iran’s energy sites and repeated skirmishes between the two countries in the Strait of Hormuz, foreign airlines have been slow to resume their flight operations to Israel, ceding the market to Israeli carriers and a handful of other airlines, mostly from the Persian Gulf and Eastern Europe.

Only a few major European airlines, including the Lufthansa group of carriers, started in recent weeks to slowly resume flight services to and from Tel Aviv, albeit on a limited basis.

During the second quarter, El Al’s market share increased to 50 percent, up from 40% a year earlier and 24% during the corresponding period of 2023, before the outbreak of war with Hamas in Gaza.

“The threat of war is what’s allowing local carriers as well as competitors to raise ticket prices, which are higher by 10-15% from last year,” said Feldman. “These high prices are the norm and will not come down until there is much more competition from major foreign airlines, including US airlines, Air Canada, British Airways and Iberia.”

US airlines Delta and United Airlines have repeatedly delayed the resumption of their flight operations on the popular direct route between Tel Aviv and New York and are not expected to restart services until at least September, leaving travelers entirely dependent on Israeli airlines. Earlier this week, American Airlines announced that it will not resume flights to and from Israel before March 27, 2027.

“El Al is the only major player in the game offering non-stop flights from Tel Aviv to New York,” said Feldman. “Tens of thousands of Israelis fly to New York via Dubai or Abu Dhabi or Athens and yet El Al’s planes on the route remain nearly sold out.”

Fueled by a rapid recovery in demand for its flights, El Al saw record sales in April and May of $560 million and $632 million, respectively. The record sales drove the airline’s forward order bookings to a new high of $1.4 billion as of June 30, up from $570 million at the end of June 2023, before the outbreak of war.

During the peak summer July-August ​quarter, El Al expects ​seat capacity to rise by 6% to 10%, it said.

“We enter the second half of the year from a strong financial position, supported by a solid balance sheet and high liquidity,” said El Al Chief Financial Officer Gil Feldman. “Based on current operating trends, our forward-booking balance and continued strong demand, we expect further growth.”