El Al Israel Airlines has published its financial report for the fourth quarter of 2006 today. According to Globes, El Al ended 2006 with a loss of $44.4 million. Sales rose 3% to $1.66 billion in 2006, while cash flow from current operations totaled $73.3 million. The airline attributed the results to a number of factors, first of which was the increasing competition in the market which led to a 21% increase in available seats on scheduled flights, while incoming traffic to Ben Gurion Airport rose by just 6%.
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13 Responses
If El Al continue antagonising the frum travellers, who make up such a large percentage of its travellers, they are going the right way for complete financial ruin.
It is wrong that El Al should be the only airline forced to be Shomer Shabbos. All airlines flying into BG airport ought to be playing by the same rules. I think that’s where the real antagonism to frum travelers is found.
esg78: I have news for you. The chilul Shabbos of El Al and BG airport has absolutely nothing to do with antagonism to frum travelers. It has to do solely with a desire to make more money.
Let us check out some of the salaries and pension plans and see if the loses are loses, or money in some CEO’s pocket.
Israel is a country known for the largest difference in salaries between employer and employee. (could have to do with all the strikes & slow downs).
esg78 the other airlines are goyim.
esg78: Hello to you. You are correct that there is no level playing field between Jewish El Al and the other non-Jewish airlines who are not expected to keep shabbos, but i fail to see why you think “this is where the real antagonism to frum travelers is found”. Surely quite the opposite this is where the real SUPPORT from frum travellers will be found.
Ben Gurion should be closed on Shabbos, period. That’s what I mean by a level playing field. Do we allow goyim to drive Jews around on Shabbos? Why should flying be different? The answer is that the Israeli eirev rav govt hates Shmiras Shabbos. There are laws on the books that require most businesses to be closed Shabbos, but they are no longer enforced.
I may be wrong, but I think that not too long ago Ben Gurion was closed Shabbos to all airlines, (not that there were too many other airlines coming in).
44 is dom. Add 100 bruchos that they could have said over the Shabbos -and that would have taken the red out.
L’shana ha’ba’ah b’yerah shalaim!
Isn’t it true that Hotzo’os Shabbos V’Yom Tov are not counted in one’s annual earnings? Doesn’t the same go for a business? How can anyone believe that these losses are due to keeping Shabbos? It would go against everything we believe.
“44 is dom.”
And the observation is dumb.
As though the gematria of the deficit has anything to do with it.
i as a travel agent can attest that el-al still carries 75% of the frum olam to israel
and agree that being their are more options they are slowly losing their monoply but during a busy yomtov season they are still the only airline offering 5 flights a day and the stopover european flights though cheaper fill up quickly as a)they dont add flights b)they use smaller aircrafts from europe to israel and cant really accomodate the origianting USA traffic so their isnt that many options thuough delta is started to fly direct flights out of atlanta
truth to be told el-al flies cargo flights out of jfk every friday night and when you call el-al erev shabbos NY time your calls are transferred to Israel causing someone in eretz yisroel to be mechallel shabbosd(though they are working to get this fixed by offering a special option to talk to someone in usa will be offered only friday’s )
Maybe it’s time for the to sell….
While non Jewish airlines are allowed to fly on Shabbos, maybe it would be right and proper that Ben Gurion airport stays closed on Shabbos, unless all the workers are non Jews and I don’t think national security can allow that.