“More and more Israelis are coming to Japan and we want to appeal to young Japanese people to come to Israel”

"In Israel there is what we call 'revenge tourism', everyone is looking to make up for the lost time without flights during the Coronavirus pandemic," said Dina Ben Tal Ganancia, CEO of El Al, in a conversation with Adrian Filut at the Calcalist and Discount Bank Israel-Japan Conference in Tokyo on Tuesday. "The world of aviation is recovering quickly from the pandemic. For example, at the end of 2022, we exceeded the numbers from 2019. However, there are still challenges when it comes to manpower and airports across the world. We planned to open the direct flight to Japan already three years ago and never imagined it would take so long."

With the recovery we are witnessing an increase in flight prices. Is a decrease expected soon?

"The prices of fuel, which is our main cost, have increased by 30% compared to 2019, which is a significant factor. There is also the issue of demand, as more and more people want to fly. In addition to this, there is also inflation in the prices of products such as dairy products, the prices of which are rising in Israel, and this means that our costs are also higher.”

What has changed in your strategy since the pandemic?

“Before coronavirus, low cost flights were booming and everyone only looked at the price. Today it is different. We see more demand for flights in the luxury classes and customers also put more importance on schedules. For example, people prefer flights at certain times with comfort in mind. More customers also look at the flight times and understand that maybe it's worth paying more for a flight and then less for two nights in a hotel.”

Are the flights to Japan profitable?

“There is an interesting market here, more and more Israelis are coming to Japan, the flights are full in both directions. Right now there are more Israelis and we want to appeal to young Japanese people to come to Israel. It is important to note that the financing of El Al's five new Dreamliners comes from Japan through ABL, and soon there will be a sixth dreamliner as well.”