Arkia, Israel’s second-largest airline, will begin operating flights between Tel Aviv and New York JFK starting February 8.
These flights will be in partnership with a new Israeli non-profit organization called TechAir. Arkia will offer competition to the US airline, which has suspended its services, and El Al, which has become the only airline linking the US with Israel.
Arkia’s flights to New York will cost $1,198 round-trip and will operate three times a week, according to the airline’s website. Flights are scheduled to continue until May, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Arkia will operate Airbus A300-900Neo aircraft under a lease agreement signed with TechAir, founded by Israel High-Tech Headquarters, a consortium of Israeli technology companies.
TechAir says on its website that its mission is to ensure affordable and flexible air travel between Israel and the United States and to mitigate the economic and logistical impacts of limited Israel-New York flight availability.
United, Delta and American have suspended flights to Israel due to Israel’s war with Hamas and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, leaving El Al in the market. As a result, El Al’s profits soared despite the war’s impact on demand for travel to Israel.
