This morning, El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) announced the schedule and fares for its trial non-stop flights between Tel Aviv and Melbourne. El Al will operate three trial flights, taking about eighteen hours, to Melbourne and back. El Al's longest scheduled route at present is a fifteen-hour flight between Tel Aviv and Los Angeles.
The trial flights to Melbourne will test the physical ability of passengers and crew to endure such a long flight, and the worthwhileness of operating the route from a business point of view. The airline says that return fares for the trial flights, including airport taxes, luggage and seating, will start at $1,199. If flights to Melbourne become part of El Al's regular schedule, the fare will presumably be much higher.
The flights will take place in April and May 2020. Passengers flying from Tel Aviv to Melbourne will have to wait three weeks for a return non-stop flight. Flights can be booked with a return trip via Hong Kong or Bangkok instead, subject to adjustment to the price. The aircraft on the trial flights will be a Boeing Dreamliner 787, with three classes of seats: Economy, Premium Economy, and Business.
Outbound flights will take off on April 2, April 23, and May 14, 2020. The return flights will be on April 4, April 25, and May 16. El Al warns that operation of the trial flights is subject to receipt of regulatory permissions.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 10, 2019
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