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.
