Israir Airlines just took delivery of its first wide-body Airbus A330 in Israel, setting the stage for something the airline hasn’t done since 2008: fly passengers across the Atlantic to New York.
The aircraft is the first of two A330s the airline acquired for approximately $85 million, and it’s headed for a very specific mission. Israir plans to launch direct flights from Tel Aviv to New York’s JFK Airport starting in early August 2026.
Why now, and why New York
The timing here is not accidental. United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have both suspended their services to Israel, with those pauses extending until at least September 2026. That’s left a significant hole in one of the most heavily traveled international corridors in the region.
Israir isn’t exactly a newcomer to this specific route. The airline previously operated A330 flights to New York back in 2008 before pulling back to focus on regional operations. So this is less of a bold experiment and more of a strategic revisit, nearly 18 years later, under market conditions that are considerably more favorable.
