Israir becomes third Israeli carrier with NYC route, just as US airlines make their return

Israir will next week become the third Israeli airline to operate nonstop flights between Tel Aviv and New York, bringing more competition into the mix against flagship carrier El Al and the smaller Arkia.

After completing all the necessary approvals to operate the Tel Aviv-New York route, Israir will launch the first flight from Ben Gurion Airport on September 15, and not in October as initially planned.

The first flight in the opposite direction, from New York’s JFK to Israel, is scheduled for September 17. Israir’s flights will be operated using wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft. The local carrier is expected to start with three flights per week between the destinations and ramp up to daily flights by the end of October.

Israir enters competition on one of the most popular nonstop routes from Israel, which due to Israel’s ongoing wars had recently been dominated solely by El Al and Arkia. The low-cost carrier’s debut on the Tel Aviv-NYC route comes at a pivotal moment, as US carriers are just starting to resume fights this week, having most recently suspended their services following the outbreak of the US-Israel war with Iran in late February.

Delta Air Lines restarted daily nonstop flights from New York’s JFK on Monday, as its Airbus A330-900neo aircraft touched down at Ben Gurion. US rival United Airlines is scheduled to resume nonstop flight services from New York to Tel Aviv on September 8. American Airlines has suspended the route through March 27, 2027.

The resumption of service by the two US carriers comes just ahead of the Jewish New Year and Sukkot holiday, a popular time for Israelis to travel, followed by national elections in late October, which may bring in expats seeking to cast ballots. While the return of Delta and United and the introduction of Israir will add much-needed seats and flight options, fares are not expected to start descending in the coming peak travel weeks.

“Israir is entering competition on the direct route when ticket prices are kept outrageously high by a few airlines,” Mark Feldman, CEO of the Ziontours Jerusalem travel agency, told The Times of Israel. “Many travelers have already booked their tickets for the upcoming holidays and demand is still high.”

Israir is expected to start selling tickets on the TLV-NYC route late Monday with one-way fares expected to cost $950. Arkia one-way fares on the route departing next week start around $1,099. Depending on the dates, El Al sells round-trip tickets to New York from around $2,700, United from around 2,200 and Delta from around $2,600.

Meanwhile, Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air is expanding its Israel operations with the addition of 46 weekly flights departing from Ben Gurion Airport.

Starting Monday, Wizz Air is resuming flight operations from Ben Gurion to five destinations, including London Gatwick, Venice, Catania, and Cluj.

The budget carrier is also adding flights to existing routes from Tel Aviv to 11 destinations in Europe, including Budapest, Bucharest, Bratislava, Rome, Milan, Naples, Athens, Warsaw and Vilna.