El Al

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El Al Israel Airlines
אל על
Logo of the El Al
Boeing 777 of El Al
IATA code : LY
ICAO code : ELY
Call sign : EL AL
Founding: 1948
Seat: Lod , IsraelIsraelIsrael 
Turnstile :

Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion

Home airport : Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion
Company form: Corporation
ISIN : IL0010878242
IATA prefix code : 114
Management: * Israel "Izzy" Borovich (chairman)
  • Haim Romano ( CEO )
Number of employees: 6076 (2012)
Sales: 2.101 billion euros (2008)
Balance sheet total: 1.737 billion euros (2008)
Passenger volume: 3.824 million (2008)
Frequent Flyer Program : Matmid
Fleet size: 45 (+ 1 order)
Aims: National and international
Website: www.elal.com

El Al ( Hebrew אל על, Arabic إل عال) is Israel's largest airline ; it is headquartered and based at Ben Gurion Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv . The phrase El Al "is based on a passage in the book of the biblical prophet Hosea." and means upwards , towards God . The IATA abbreviation LY is derived from the former name of the city of Lod ( Ly dda), near which Ben Gurion Airport is located.

Due to the constant threat of terrorist attacks, El Al flights are operated under particularly strict security measures.

history

First years

The first logo of El Al

In September 1948, the future first President of Israel, Chaim Weizmann , attended a conference in Geneva . The plan was to fly him back on a government plane. But the European states and the USA had decided on an arms and ammunition embargo against the conflicting parties to the First Arab-Israeli War , including Israel. The only available civil four-engine machine in Israel was a Douglas DC-4 leased from United States Overseas Airlines with the US aircraft registration number NC58021 , which was used on the airlift flights between Czechoslovakia and Israel.

This DC-4 (a converted military Douglas C-54 B with the serial number 43-17195) was quickly transformed into a machine for a non-existent airline El Al. For this purpose, the aircraft was provided with the label of the El Al / Israel National Aviation Company and additional tanks for a non-stop flight from Geneva to Israel. So you faked a civil return flight and could bypass the embargo. The machine took off from Tel Nof Airbase on September 29 with the aircraft registration 4X-ACA and returned to Israel the next day. This was the first flight that was carried out under the name El Al. After the flight, the aircraft was returned to its original condition.

Lockheed Constellation of El Al in 1951

With leased aircraft, El Al began regular flight operations on November 15, 1948, becoming Israel's first state-owned airline. The first purchase of its own aircraft, two Douglas DC-4s , was agreed with American Airlines in February 1949 . El Al received the first DC-4 on April 3, 1949. The purchase was financed by the Israeli government, the Jewish Agency and other Israeli organizations. Israel elected South African lawyer Aryeh Pincus to chair the company . Pincus was an employee of the Israel Ministry of Transport up to that date. With the route from Tel Aviv to Paris (stopover in Rome ) El Al began its international flight service. El Al only flew to other destinations abroad such as Johannesburg or London in isolated cases in 1949. This changed in 1950 when El Al took a scheduled flight to London on the route network. In the same year El Al bought the South African airline Universal Airways and took up the flight service to South Africa. This measure is mainly due to the existence of a large local Jewish community. In order to strengthen regional flight operations, the Israeli government founded the airline Israel Inland Airlines , in which El Al held a 50 percent stake.

Douglas DC-4 fleet
Aircraft registration Work no. delivery date Remarks
4X-ACA 18395 September 1948 returned to the Israeli military
4X-ACB 10348 1949 Total loss on February 1, 1949 in Tel Aviv
4X-ACC 10410 March 1949 baptized as Rechovoto , sold to Flying Tiger Line in January 1952
4X-ACD 10339 February 1949 baptized as Herzl , total loss on May 2, 1950 in Tel Aviv
4X ADB 10512 May 1950 Total loss in November 1951 in Zurich
4X ADC 18367 June 1950 sold to Flying Tiger Line in April 1952
4X-ADN 10416 - sold to Trans Caribbean Airlines in June 1951
Curtiss C-46 as an El Al cargo aircraft at London Heathrow Airport in 1954
Airmail loading of a Bristol Britannia at Lod Airport in 1958

El Al also took up its first freight connections in 1950 with a former Curtiss C-46 military aircraft . In the passenger business, charter flights could occasionally be flown to the United States of America, which were then expanded into scheduled connections.

The Israeli government used the airline in the early 1950s to transport Jews affected by Arab attacks and pogroms to Israel. Well-known operations are Operation Magic Carpet in Yemen and the transport of Iraqi Jews in Operation Ezra and Nehemiah . Another political action was the transport of the National Socialist war criminal Adolf Eichmann from Argentina , where he had been overpowered and kidnapped by secret agents, to Israel.

After years of using the Lockheed Constellation , El Al agreed to purchase two Bristol Britannia . Thus El Al was after British Overseas Airways Corporation the second airline worldwide to use this type. An advertisement in 1958 that advertised non-stop flights across the Atlantic caused a sensation in the USA. The Atlantic was shown with the advertising message:

“Starting Dec. 23, the Atlantic Ocean will be 20% smaller ”

"From December 23, the Atlantic Ocean will be 20 percent smaller"

- Advertising message from El Al

Up until that date, the travel industry did not use images of seas for advertising purposes, as it was feared that such images would make air passengers think of aircraft accidents. But El Al, among other things, managed to triple sales through this advertisement.

Expansion during the 1960s

Logo of El Al during the 1960s

El Al remained unprofitable despite the purchase of new Bristol Britannias and the introduction of the fastest scheduled non-stop transatlantic flights. When Efraim Ben-Arzi took over management in the late 1950s, the Britannias were therefore replaced by Boeing 707s . The first year in which El Al was able to report a profit was 1960. In that year over 50 percent of all passengers in Israel traveled on El Al's planes. On June 15, 1961, El Al started what was then the longest flight in the world, it led from New York to Tel Aviv over 9269 kilometers, for which the Boeing 707 used took nine hours and 33 minutes. A stopover in London was previously planned for this route. At that time El Al carried an average of 56,000 passengers a year, similar to Qantas and more than the airlines known at the time such as Loftleiðir . In 1961 El Al reached the 35th place in the world for the highest passenger miles (passengers multiplied by miles flown). The airline's cargo division expanded its route network in 1968 with flights to Europe and the USA with surplus Curtiss C-46s from the Israeli military. With Teshet Tourism and Aviation Services Ltd. El Al founded a catering subsidiary. In the late 1960s, El Al was making an average profit of two million dollars a year.

1970s and 1980s

Boeing 707 of El Al in Zurich in 1982
Boeing 747-200 of El Al in old livery

The first Boeing 747 joined the fleet in 1971 in the form of the Boeing 747-200 . The purchase was controversial because, on the one hand, the cost of the aircraft was high and, due to its size, it could be a popular target for terrorists. But by expanding its fleet, El Al was able to successfully expand its route network. The second Boeing 747-200 was used from 1973 on the direct flight from Tel Aviv to New York City . Headwinds sometimes led to 13 hours of flight time, making it the longest commercial flights worldwide at that time.

In the mid-1970s, El Al began operating overseas flights on the Sabbath . The religious parties of Israel condemned this because they saw the Jewish laws broken and El Al had signed the voluntary commitment not to fly that day when the company was founded. The newly elected Prime Minister Menachem Begin wanted to hold on to this commitment in 1981. The non-Jewish community in Israel then threatened to boycott the airline. In protest against the Sabbath flight ban in August 1982, employees prevented Orthodox and Hasidic Jews from entering Tel Aviv airport.

In 1977 El Al founded a charter airline called El Al Charter Services Ltd. , later it was named Sun d'Or International Airlines . Two years earlier, El Al reported negative operating income for the first time since the late 1950s, largely due to the global recession. By the end of the 1970s, the management changed three times when Itzhak Shander was appointed managing director.

When the political situation in Iran worsened for Jews, El Al took over the transfer of Iranian Jews to Israel. As a result, the entire infrastructure of El Al in Iran was destroyed.

In April 1980, El Al was able to offer flights to Egypt for the first time after Egypt had agreed to a peace treaty with Israel.

At the end of 1982, El Al had to stop flight operations after several union strikes. Amram Blum was appointed by the government as an administrator. He began operating in 1983 when El Al reported a loss of $ 123.3 million. In the same year, the shares in the airline Arkia Israeli Airlines were sold.

Operations resumed under the receivership in January 1983. The government ordered the purchase of two new Boeing 737s and announced plans to purchase four Boeing 767s for $ 200 million. Within four years El Al could be made profitable again through the administration of the government.

In May 1988, the record for the longest flight time was broken again with the flight from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv . It took 13 hours and 45 minutes for the approximately 13,000-kilometer route.

In 1989 Poland , as one of the few states behind the iron curtain, and Yugoslavia , were new destinations in the El Al route network.

1990s and early 21st century

Logo for the 50th year of operation of El Al in 1998
Boeing 767-200ER of El Al
Check-in counter at El Al

Since January 1990, North American Airlines has offered connecting flights from destinations served by El Al in the United States . El Al also held a 24.9 percent stake in the airline, which was sold back to Dan McKinnon in July 2003. At that time, El Al owned a fleet of 20 aircraft, including nine Boeing 747s . At that time, the Boeing 707s were gradually replaced by modern Boeing 757s . With the collapse of the Soviet Union , El Al was able to offer flights to Moscow for the first time . The government did not approve the evacuation of the Jewish population in Russia until 1991, which is why El Al was only able to offer charter flights to Israel for Jewish emigrants from August 1991. Finally, however, vacant seats on scheduled flights were also used by the emigrants; thus El Al, in cooperation with Aeroflot, transported over 400,000 emigrants to Israel over a period of three years.

On May 24, 1991, a Boeing 747 freight plane operated by El Al transported a total of 1,137 Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa to Israel instead of the planned 760 as part of Operation Solomon . This is an unbroken record to this day, because the Boeing 747 is only designed for around half of the passengers. Two children were born during the flight. A total of 14,500 Ethiopian Jews were evacuated to Israel in less than 36 hours .

In 1995, the airline signed a code share agreement with American Airlines . In February of the same year, the forced administration of the state, which had existed since 1982, ended. In 1996 El Al reported a loss of approximately $ 83.1 million; due to the rising cost of security and emerging competition from other airlines offering flights to Israel. In order to maintain flight operations, "flights to nowhere" were invented: sightseeing flights over the Mediterranean were offered with better in-flight entertainment . Day trips to London and various religious places in Eastern Europe to go shopping were also advertised .

The freight department El Al Cargo has been operating under its own operating license since 1997 .

The first Boeing 777 completed its maiden flight for El Al in March 2000. The dispute over the Sabbath flights also flared up again in 2000 when El Al criticized the airline for losing around 80 million dollars in revenue annually due to the flight ban on Saturdays. The first step in the delayed privatization was taken in June 2003 when Israel listed 15 percent of the company on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange . At the same time, Israel made a promise to change the Sabbath flight ban, which has not yet happened. The further sale of shares meant that El Al is no longer a state-owned company since June 6, 2004.

In 2005 El Al carried around 3.5 million passengers, which was a continuous increase compared to 2.4 million in 2004 and 2.8 million in 2003. Around 60 percent of all passengers were of Israeli origin. For the year 2006 the airline reported a loss of 44.6 million US dollars (approx. 33.7 million euros) on a turnover of 1.665 billion US dollars (approx. 1.258 billion euros). In 2007 El Al employed 5,417 people in a fleet of over 30 aircraft. In the same year, the airline invested around one billion Israeli shekels (around 179.7 million euros) in the purchase of two new Boeing 777-200s . For 2007 the airline reported a turnover of 1.93 billion US dollars (approximately 1.31 billion euros) and a net profit of 31.7 million US dollars (approximately 21.5 million euros). The State of Israel sold most of its shares in the airline between 2003 and 2007 on the stock exchange and today holds 1.1 percent of the company. The fleet renewal also progressed in 2008 when El Al agreed to purchase a Boeing 747-400 (delivery in December 2008) and the leasing of four more Boeing 737-800s (delivery in 2009). El Al also signed a contract with the American aircraft manufacturer Boeing on March 16, 2008 to purchase four Boeing 777-200ERs with the option to change the order in favor of the larger Boeing 777-300ERs. The machines will be delivered in 2012 and 2013.

As of March 2009, the largest shareholders in El Al are Knafaim Holdings (39.33 percent), Pinchas Ginzburg (6.85 percent), its own employees (6.26 percent) and the State of Israel (1.1 percent). In addition, the state has a special state share to which certain instructions are linked. For example, El Al is only allowed to employ Israeli employees, has to implement the security measures drawn up by the state and has certain requirements with regard to flight routes. For example, three aircraft must be used on the Tel Aviv – New York flight every day and at least 1000 seats must be available on this route every day. Furthermore, the state has a right of veto when it comes to new shareholders. In mid-2012, it became known that the Israeli Ministry of Transport was considering nationalizing El Al.

In 2008 El Al carried around 3.824 million passengers ( seat occupancy : 82 percent) and 111,000 tons of freight.

In 2018, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of El Al , the Israeli postal company issued a special postage stamp with airplanes from different eras.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, El Al had to cease all operations for an indefinite period on July 1, 2020. The remaining pilots were sent on unpaid vacation, lease agreements terminated and aircraft returned to their lessors.

Subsidiaries

El Al has a total of eleven subsidiaries; each of them works in the aviation industry.

Sun d'Or

Boeing 757-200 of the Sun d'Or

Sun d'Or is a charter airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of El Al. It was founded on October 1st, 1977 as El Al Charter Services . The head office is in Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion Airport mainly serves destinations in Europe .

El Al Cargo

Old El Al Cargo logo

El Al Cargo is the freight division of El Al and has been a wholly owned subsidiary of El Al since 1997. As a state cargo airline, it offers destinations in Asia, Europe and North America. The subsidiary uses Liège Airport in Belgium as an additional hub . Until 2001, El Al Cargo had a legal national monopoly, which it had to give up. Since then it has been in competition with CAL Cargo Airlines . El Al Cargo has a cargo aircraft of type Boeing 747-400F . Areas of application are primarily Europe, the Middle East, India, Kazakhstan and the USA, with machines also being chartered out ad hoc . In 2008, the revenue from freight operations accounted for 7% of the total revenue of El Al.

Up

Under the UP brand , El Al offered low-cost flights mainly to Eastern Europe until 2018 .

Tamam and Borenstein Caterers

The two catering suppliers Tamam (Israel) and Borenstein Caterers (USA) have specialized exclusively in the delivery of kosher food . Borenstein Caterers is the largest North American producer of kosher catering for airlines. Up to 15,000 dishes are delivered to 52 airlines from New York every day. El Al is the largest customer for both companies. Tamam and Borenstein Caterers are wholly owned subsidiaries of El Al. The turnover at Tamam is 15.27 million euros and that of Borenstein Caterers 7.342 million euros with a workforce of 294 at Tamam and 89 at Borenstein.

Katit

Katit is a restaurant that is 100 percent owned by El Al; it was opened in 2002 in Kfar Ruth . Chef Meir Adoni mixes Mediterranean cuisine with products from North Africa and uses French cooking methods. In September 2006 the restaurant moved to the Tel Aviv district of Neve Tzedek . The building used to be Tel Aviv's first hotel. Katit also has a branch in the headquarters of El Al and several at Tel Aviv Airport for catering to employees. The food in the King David Lounge is also provided by Katit.

Saber Israel Travel Technologies

Saber Israel Travel Technologies is a ten-year joint venture between El Al (49%) and Saber Holding (51%) founded in 2001. The aim is to give the 600 travel agencies in Israel that use El Al's Carmel booking system access to the Saber international computer reservation system.

Other holdings

El Al owns the British tour operator Superstar Holidays and has a stake in the Israeli tour operators Air Tour Israel (50%) and Kavei Hufsha Israel (20%). El Al also owns a 50% stake in the merger of the Israeli freight service providers at Tel Aviv 's Ben Gurion Airport .

Safety measures

Because of the multiple terrorist attacks in recent decades, El Al and the Israeli domestic secret service Shin Bet developed strict security measures for both ground and air handling. The measures, which cost US $ 100 million annually, have often been criticized by the airline, as many economists up until the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 considered the security measures to be disproportionate. No other airline in the world has taken such strict precautions. Aviation analysts see the high costs as an economic disadvantage compared to competing companies that land at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv from more than twenty countries.

On the ground

Armed federal police officers and an armored vehicle guard an El-Al aircraft at Frankfurt Airport (the image was taken from inside the aircraft)

El Al passengers are required to report to check-in three hours before departure. This is monitored by security forces in civilian clothing and armed police officers or soldiers. They watch out for objects that could contain explosives, but also for possible suspicious behavior by passengers. Before check-in, all passengers have to answer a questionnaire in an interview, whereby trained El-Al employees try to identify possible assassins. The interview often includes questions about the origin of the passenger, what job they do, but also whether they have packed their luggage themselves. In addition to the answers, attention is also paid to the behavior of the respondent. Experts assume that it is hardly possible for an assassin to remain calm in such a situation. The survey is followed by a personal check of the passengers, their luggage and travel documents. The names are checked for possible entries with the FBI , CSIS , Scotland Yard , Schin Bet and Interpol . The luggage is screened and searched if there is any suspicion. The method by which El Al tries to detect possible explosives on the ground is unique: The luggage is exposed to the pressure conditions prevailing in flight in a decompression chamber so that pressure-dependent detonators detonate on the ground. This control is also carried out by El-Al employees at foreign airports, where security is ensured by the respective government or commissioned security companies.

In the air

On board every international El Al flight there are hidden armed security guards, so-called flight security attendants . In addition, most of the pilots are former members of the Israeli Air Force and are therefore trained in weapon handling and self-defense.

All El Al aircraft are equipped with a double cockpit door to make entry more difficult for unauthorized persons. Access to the doors is secured with a numerical code. The second door can only be opened if the first door has been closed and the person has received permission from the cockpit staff. As a further technical measure, El Al had the floor plates between the passenger and cargo compartments reinforced in order to protect the aircraft from major damage caused by a bomb explosion.

After a machine of the Israeli charter airline Arkia in 2002 almost by two IR-guided missiles of the type Strela-2 was shot down, is El Al, all aircraft decided in the fleet with the infrared missile defense system Flight Guard (developed by Israel Aerospace Industries ) provide that Detects heat-seeking guided missiles using radar and can deflect them with decoys . Although different missile defense systems now exist, no other airline uses this technology. The system has been criticized and banned by some European countries, especially Switzerland, because shooting down the decoys could lead to a fire on the ground.

criticism

Critics criticize the control of passengers according to supposedly racist criteria and condemn them as unfair, absurd and degrading treatment. Proponents, on the other hand, see no racism in the profiling by the security forces and believe that a closer examination of Arab passengers is often necessary for security reasons. To resolve this, El Al was indicted in a civil trial on March 19, 2008 in the Israeli Supreme Court .

In Hungary , the airline has been charged, where the court complained that the luggage check of the passengers was not carried out in the presence of the owner, which is contrary to Hungarian law. According to this, only authorized officers are allowed to search the luggage.

In Germany , the handling of El Al in 2009 was criticized because Schabak agents at Berlin-Schönefeld airport repeatedly carried out personal checks outside the check-in area, which, in their way, were only carried out by German security authorities as part of the exercise of sovereign law Powers may be carried out.

In June 2011, Denmark banned Israeli security personnel, who are responsible for El Al, from carrying weapons and carrying out special identity checks. Thereupon the Israeli airline Arkia Israeli Airlines stopped the flight operations with Denmark.

The unofficial practice of relocating women at the request of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men was put to an end after an online petition in 2014 and a call for a boycott in June 2018. Passengers who refuse to sit next to other passengers must now leave the aircraft. Such incidents resulted in long delays.

Destinations

El Al flies to around 35 destinations from Ben Gurion Airport ; these are mainly located in Europe . In addition, destinations in Africa and North America are served. In German-speaking countries, there are flights to Berlin , Frankfurt , Geneva , Munich , Vienna and Zurich .

Code sharing

El Al has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

fleet

Boeing 737-900ER of El Al
Boeing 777-200ER of El Al
Boeing 787-9 of El Al in 1960s retro livery

Current fleet

As of March 2020, the El Al fleet consists of 45 aircraft with an average age of 9.1 years:

Aircraft type number ordered Remarks Seats
( First / Business / Eco + / Eco )
Boeing 737-800 16 equipped with winglets ; two operated for Sun d'Or ; four operated for UP 154 (- / 16 / - / 138)

185 (- / - / - / 185)

Boeing 737-900ER 8th equipped with winglets 172 (- / 16 / - / 156)
Boeing 777-200ER 6th 279 (6/35/31/207)
Boeing 787-8 3 1 Delivery probably from 2019 as a replacement for 747 and 767 238 (- / 20/35/183)
Boeing 787-9 12 282 (- / 38/28/222)
total 45 1

Former aircraft types

Previously, El Al also used the following types of aircraft:

Incidents

Aviation accidents

From 1949 to December 2019, El Al suffered six total write-offs of aircraft. 107 people were killed in three of them. Extracts:

  • On November 24, 1951, a Douglas DC-4 of El Al (4X-ADN) on a cargo flight from Rome with textiles on board crashed into a forest three kilometers northeast of Zurich Airport shortly before landing . Six of the seven crew members were killed.
  • On July 27, 1955, a Lockheed L-149 Constellation (4X-AKC) was shot down by Bulgarian fighter planes on its flight from Vienna to Tel Aviv. The El Al pilots mistakenly thought they were over Skopje , but the navigation systems showed incorrect data due to a thunderstorm and the plane was in fact over Bulgarian territory. The plane broke up in an explosion after it was shot down and crashed shortly after the border north of Petritsch . All seven crew members and 51 passengers were killed (see also El-Al-Flight 402 ) .
The crash site of the Boeing 747-200F photographed from the air
  • On October 4, 1992, a Boeing 747-200F El Al (4X-AXG) crashed on the way from New York via Amsterdam to Tel Aviv near Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Four crew members and 39 people died on the ground. In the following years, an above-average number of children with deformities were born in the area. Later it became known that 240 kilograms of the chemical dimethylmethylphosphonate (DMMP) were on board the aircraft. This chemical is mainly used as a flame retardant and fuel additive, but is also the starting material for the production of the nerve gas sarin (see also El-Al-Flug 1862 ) .

Assassinations against El Al

El Al has been a frequent target of terrorist attacks and hostage-taking in its history, but no other incident has occurred since 1985.

  • On July 23, 1968, the first and longest hijacking in the history of aviation and the only successful hijacking in the history of the El Al occurred. Three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacked a Boeing 707 with 38 passengers and ten crew members on the flight from Rome to Lod . The hijackers forced the pilots to fly to Algiers in Algeria . The last seven crew members and five male passengers were released 40 days later, on September 1, against the release of 19 Arabs convicted in Israel.
  • On December 26, 1968, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was again responsible for an attack on an El Al plane at Athens Airport . An Israeli mechanic was killed. The night attack on December 28th at Beirut Airport ( Lebanon ) is a retaliatory strike on the part of the Israeli armed forces . A total of 14 aircraft belonging to Middle East Airlines , Trans Mediterranean Airways and Lebanese International Airways were destroyed on the ground .
  • On February 18, 1969, Palestinian terrorists attacked a Boeing 720 at Zurich Airport , killing a pilot. Security officers shot and killed one assassin, the three others were arrested and brought to justice in Switzerland . A Swissair plane was later hijacked to free the prisoners .
  • Between September and December 1969 there were attacks on El Al offices in Athens , West Berlin and Brussels .
  • On February 10, 1970, during a stopover on an El-Al scheduled flight from Munich-Riem to London, an attack by Palestinian terrorists occurred . Three assassins broke into the transit area of ​​the airport. After futile attempts to overwhelm the crew and passengers there, they detonated two hand grenades. One Israeli passenger was killed and nine other people were injured, some seriously. The attackers were deported to the Arab region in September without any legal prosecution by Germany. The Active Organization for the Liberation of Palestine carried out a total of 13 commando operations in Israel; she also carried out the Riem attack in 1970. From this some comments derived that the three had been pressed free. Sartawi spoke in Stern magazine in March 1970 that he said they would attack Israelis wherever. Sartawi criticized the German authorities for putting “his” Fedayin, the assassin (briefly) in prison. Since Sartawi also alleged a similar attack by his troops on a Yugoslavian airplane in Germany, the government of this country urged the PLO in Beirut for an explanation and received the answer that it should not be bothered by Sartawi's “silly propaganda”.
  • On February 17, 1970, the three Palestinians (Ghana Tabr del Hey, William George and Haddi Hassan) caught the eye of the captain of a Yugoslav aircraft because of their bulging coat pockets. They were then arrested by the Federal Border Police. They too wanted to hijack an El-Al machine.
  • On September 6, 1970, a Boeing 707 with the aircraft registration number 4X-ATB was on the Tel Aviv – New York flight with a stopover in Amsterdam. After taking off from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol just off the coast of England, Palestinian Leila Chaled and her accomplice Patrick Argüello tried to hijack the plane. As the terrorists headed for the cockpit, the pilot brought the aircraft into a sudden sharp descent, which resulted in the terrorists falling. In the scuffle that followed, the accomplice managed to throw a hand grenade. Shortly afterwards, a flight security attendant shot the accomplice. The hand grenade did not fire and Leila Chaled was overwhelmed, so that the pilots landed safely in London unscheduled. The assassin could then be handed over to the local police. Some passengers and crew members managed to overpower the kidnappers and hand them over to the police in London.
  • On August 16, 1972, a bomb, hidden in a portable record player, exploded in the back hold of a Boeing 707 on the Rome – Tel Aviv flight. Despite a hole in the fuselage, the machine was able to make an emergency landing in Rome.
  • On December 27, 1985, a Palestinian terrorist squad carried out an attack on Vienna International Airport . Shortly after nine o'clock, three terrorists stormed up the east stairs into the departure lounge and rolled three hand grenades into the queue of passengers waiting at counters three and four for the El-Al flight to be processed. They then shot around with submachine guns. The police returned fire. Two people died and 47 others were injured in the attack and the subsequent firefight. Among the dead was one of the assassins, his two accomplices were caught by the police after a chase on the highway. At the same time, a second terrorist group carried out a similar attack at Rome Fiumicino Airport, killing 16 people and injuring 67. The Abu Nidal Organization claimed responsibility for both attacks.
  • On April 17, 1986, an attack on the London – Tel Aviv flight was prevented when a bomb was found in the luggage of Irish national Anne Mary Murphy at the security checkpoint. It turned out that it was deposited there by her fiancé Nezar Hindawi. There were indications that Syrian secret agents were involved in the planned attack; the United Kingdom ended diplomatic relations with Syria.
  • On July 4, 2002, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, an Egyptian man who had migrated to the United States in 1992 and applied for and received refugee status there, shot six Israelis standing in line in front of the ticket office at Los Angeles International Airport . Two of them died. Hadayet was shot dead by an El Al security guard. Hadayet supported anti-Israeli views and opposed US foreign policy in the Middle East at the time. The FBI classified the attack, as one of the few after September 11, 2001 (“ 9/11 ”), as a terrorist attack.

service

Matmid

The frequent flyer program Matmid has existed since 2004 when the earlier programs were merged. Matmid contains five different ranks: Matmid, Matmid Silver, Matmid Gold, Matmid Platinum and Matmid TOP Platinum. The points collected can be redeemed by the participants for flights and upgrading to a better cabin class, but can also be used for discounts on car rental, overnight stays or shopping. You can also donate the points to a good cause. In addition to the possibility of collecting points on the El Al flights, you also receive points with partner airlines, certain hotels and when shopping with a special credit card. The partner airlines include American Airlines (with its regional subsidiary American Eagle Airlines ), South African Airways , Sun d'Or and Qantas . Also on codeshare -Flügen El Al and on flights with Aeromexico to Madrid, Miami, New York, Paris and Mexico City, passengers can earn points for Matmid.

King David Lounges

For passengers in the higher cabin classes, El Al offers lounges under the name King David Lounge at the five airports Tel Aviv , Paris-Charles de Gaulle , New York City, John F. Kennedy International Airport , London-Heathrow and Los Angeles . These offer drinks, light snacks, foreign and Israeli newspapers and magazines, and in some places wireless access to the Internet. At Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv the lounge is located in Terminal 3 and has a separate area for first class passengers, which is equipped with a telephone, showers and a spa area. The name King David is derived from King David , the second king of Israel.

See also

literature

  • Arnold Sherman: The El Al Story . Ed .: Arnold Sherman. Vallentine Mitchell & Co, 1973, ISBN 0-85303-168-1 , pp. 204 (English).

Web links

Commons : El Al  - collection of images, videos and audio files
 Wikinews: El Al  - on the news

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Website of the El AL / 1940s. In: elal.com/de. Retrieved August 19, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Hos 11.7  SLT
  3. ↑ fundinguniverse.com - El Al Israel Airlines Ltd.
  4. ^ El Al Israel Airlines. In: Flightpath. 3, 2004.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k answers.com - EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd. (As of May 2008)
  6. ^ The Jewish Agency for Israel - Pincus, Aryeh Louis (1912–1973) ( Memento of July 28, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ a b > US Centennial of Flight - El Al, the Israeli Airline ( Memento from April 24, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ a b History. elal.co.il (English)
  9. ↑ The Beast in Chains . The Times , June 6, 1960
  10. ↑ Adman's Adman . ( Memento of April 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) The Times, March 31, 1958
  11. ↑ Doyle Dane Bernbach ciadvertising.org
  12. ^ Gates to Jewish Heritage - El-Al, Israel's Airline, August 22, 2008 ( Memento of February 22, 2001 in the Internet Archive )
  13. ^ Sde Dov / Tel Aviv. globalsecurity.org, August 22, 2008
  14. ↑ a b christliche-autoren.de - The Operation Salomon, 2/2008
  15. ↑ elal.com - Financial Data (English)
  16. ↑ flightglobal.com - Flag carrier El Al thrives despite high fuel costs and competition, February 11, 2008
  17. ↑ Standard & Poor's El Al Income Statement Data ( Memento of October 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  18. ↑ elal.co.il - El Al 3rd Quarterly Report 2007 page 3 (English), accessed on November 20, 2007
  19. ↑ Fact Sheet 2007 elal.co.il (English) accessed on March 16, 2008
  20. ↑ From all over the world . airliners.de, August 3, 2012
  21. ↑ Annual Report 2008 Section B-7 Item 3.2 (PDF; 3.4 MB) elal.co.il
  22. ^ Special postage stamp: 70 years of El Al and aviation in Israel. In: israelpost.co.il. Retrieved August 19, 2020 .
  23. ^ El Al Suspends Operations Indefinitely. July 1, 2020, accessed on July 2, 2020 .
  24. ↑ EL AL Airlines - Subsidiaries (English)
  25. ↑ El Al airfleets.net (English), accessed on June 18, 2016
  26. ↑ bcelal.com - About us (English)
  27. ↑ Web presence of the Catit
  28. ↑ Professional Travel Guide - Tel Aviv Dining Guide: Catit ( Memento from July 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  29. ↑ Dallas Business Journal - Saber, EL AL Israel Airlines form venture, May 2, 2001 (English)
  30. ^ The Jewish Press - El Al World's Most Secure Airline, February 6, 2008 ( Memento of April 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  31. ↑ Israeli-style security might have averted hijackings. USA Today , September 13, 2001
  32. ↑ El Al wants to do own bag screening at Newark . USA Today , May 12, 2006
  33. ^ El Al sets security standards . BBC , July 5, 2008 (English)
  34. ^ Model for air travel security may be El Al . CNN , September 26, 2006 (English)
  35. ↑ Terrorists hunt Israelis . Spiegel Online , September 10, 2009
  36. ^ The threat from portable missiles . BBC News , September 10, 2009
  37. ^ Missile defense for El Al fleet . CNN , May 24, 2004 (English)
  38. ^ Europe objects to El Al's anti-missile shield . Ynetnews , February 26, 2006 (English)
  39. ↑ Al Jazeera - Israeli Arabs 'racially profiled', January 13, 2007 (English)
  40. ↑ Doubtful identity checks by Israeli agents . Spiegel Online , October 24, 2009.
  41. ^ Arkia , accessed December 9, 2018
  42. ↑ Israel may halt flights to Denmark over security row , Haaretz.com, June 26, 2011 (English). accessed on December 9, 2018
  43. ↑ Zohar Blumenkrantz: Arbitrariness in high air . In: Tachles - the Jewish weekly magazine . No. 40 . Jewish Media, Zurich October 3, 2014, p. 15 .
  44. ↑ If you don't want to sit next to women, you can't fly , accessed on June 28, 2018
  45. ↑ flight plan. In: elal.com. Retrieved September 3, 2019 .
  46. ↑ Codeshare Agreement. elal.com; accessed on August 22, 2017
  47. ^ El Al Israel Airlines Fleet Details and History. Retrieved March 22, 2020 (English).
  48. ^ Orders and Deliveries. Boeing, accessed June 18, 2016
  49. ↑ Our fleet elal.com; Retrieved June 19, 2016
  50. ^ David Kaminski-Morrow: El Al shifts 787 fleet further towards -9 variant. November 21, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2018 (UK English).
  51. ↑ Boeing, EL AL Israel Airlines Agree on 787 Dreamliner Order, October 29, 2015 Boeing , accessed June 19, 2016
  52. ^ Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp airline-fleets international . Zurich Airport 1967–2007.
  53. ↑ Accident Statistics El Al Israel Airlines , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on December 21, 2019.
  54. ↑ Accident report DC-4 4X-ACD , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on December 21, 2019.
  55. ↑ Accident report DC-4 4X-ADN , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on December 21, 2019.
  56. ^ Accident report L-149 Constellation 4X-AKC , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on December 21, 2019.
  57. ↑ Accident report B-747-200F 4X-AXG , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on December 21, 2019.
  58. ↑ Israel: "Everything is not entirely kosher" . In: Der Spiegel . No. 41 , 1998 ( online ).
  59. ↑ Patent EP316736 : Use of methylphosphonic acid diphenyl ester (DPMP) as a flame retardant in the production of isocyanate-based plastics. ‌
  60. ↑ Accident report B-747-200F 4X-AXG , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on December 21, 2019.
  61. ↑ The most spectacular hijackings . Spiegel Online , December 27, 1999
  62. ↑ 1968 PFLP Hijacking of El Al Flight about.com (English)
  63. ↑ security database Aviation Safety Network , August 21st 2008
  64. ↑ Sartawi claimed that his then Active Organization for the Liberation of Palestine AOLP see the center of the website
  65. ↑ Approved CIA documents (PDF; 5.9 MB), here p. 62 f. - Sartawi was a nasserist , pro Kreisky border crosser of the PLO, who was sometimes in the PLO / Fatah, sometimes outside. See next position.
  66. ↑ Munich 1970: Germany should have been warned by the PLO . Welt Online , July 17, 2012.
  67. ^ Incident report B-707 4X-ATB , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on December 21, 2019.
  68. ^ The Day a New Terrorism Was Born. ( Memento of September 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) In: The Jewish Journal. February 23, 2006 (English).
  69. ↑ Kreisky, Arafat and the Terror. hagalil.com, November 5, 2004.
  70. ↑ LAX terrorist in US in amnesty exemption. wnd.com, July 11, 2002 (English)
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This article was added to the list of excellent articles on September 2, 2009 in this version .