El Al CEO announces he will step down
Days after lamenting flight gap with Turkey, Elyezer Shkedy says he will leave post at the helm of Israel’s national air carrier after four years
Gavriel Fiske is a reporter at The Times of Israel
El Al Airlines CEO Elyezer Shkedy announced Sunday that he was stepping down from his position leading the country’s national air carrier, after four years on the job.
Shkedy, in a letter sent to the El Al Board of Directors announcing his resignation, did not give a reason for his departure, but noted that the position was “one of the most challenging roles” in the Israeli business world. He did not give a timetable for his departure, and said that he would help to select his replacement and continue to work during an overlapping period after the new CEO would start at the airline.
During his first three years in the position, Shkedy, a former IAF commander, earned some NIS 16 million ($4.5 million) at a time when the company lost more than NIS 60 million ($17 million) and shares tumbled by 38 percent, according to a Sunday Globes report.
El AL has faced difficulty in recent years due to stiff competition from alternative, low-cost airlines and other issues. Shkedy, speaking to The Times of Israel last week, lamented the “unacceptable” situation whereby Turkish refusal to accommodate El Al security requirements continues to block El Al from operating flights to Turkey.
While El Al is locked out of the lucrative Turkish market, over 100 flights operated by Turkish air carriers leave Ben Gurion airport for Turkey each week, a situation Shkedy called a “disaster.”
Last week, the airline announced the launching of “Up,” a low-cost, no-frills subsidiary which will offer 55 budget flights to five European cities each week.
