Retail travel agency ISSTA and wholesale charter flight and vacation company Aviation Links have signed an agreement to merge their charter flight and vacation operations. The agreement is contingent on approval from the Antitrust Authority director general.
Under the agreement, the two companies will merge their operations into a single concern for creating and organizing charter flights. The joint body will also reach new agreements with Israeli and foreign airlines and ground service providers at all flight and vacation destinations, create tourism and vacation packages, and organize guided tours and ski packages.
The joint concern will also deal in flights to special destinations and representation in vacation clubs. The merged entity will be incorporated as a separate legal entity.
ISSTA head Guy Kellner said the merged entity's operations would amount to $130 million. The two companies predicted the merger would lead to lower prices.
ISSTA today published its financial report for the first half of the year. The company lost NIS 4.4 million, compared with NIS 7.5 million in the first half of 2001. The third quarter is always regarded as the strongest for tourism; consequently, an improvement is expected in the third quarter results scheduled for publication three months from now. ISSTA earned a NIS 14 million profit in the third quarter of 2001.
Aviation Links operates flights to 80 destinations, with an emphasis on Europe, the former USSR countries, the Mediterranean basin, Scandinavia, and Africa. The company owns 25% of the Rimon Tours wholesale company.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on August 20, 2002