El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) is raising its air cargo prices. From information that has reached "Globes" it emerges that the price hike is as much as 100%.
In 2019, El Al transported 66 thousand tonnes of cargo, representing 35% of the air cargo reaching Israel. The figure is 2.5% below the amount of cargo that El Al carried in 2018.
Like other airlines around the world, El Al is experiencing severe difficulties because of the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The suspension of flights to Beijing and Hong Kong and the reduction in flights to Bangkok have had their effects, on top of cancellations and a severe slowdown in bookings on the part of tourists concerned about the spread of the virus. Many business trips have also been cancelled as a result of the cancellation of conferences and international events such as the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Air cargo traffic has been on a downward trend globally because of the trade war between the US and China. El Al recently signed a cooperation agreement with Atlas Air with the aim of raising its cargo carrying capacity (import and export of agricultural produce) on the Tel Aviv-Liege route. Liege has a large logistics center handling cargo transported all over the world.
El Al said in response to the report: "El Al has not raised prices from destinations in the East from which it carries cargo. Nevertheless, on routes on which transshipment is required on a foreign airline that has raised prices, this is reflected in the final price, but this is not a matter of higher prices or profit on the part of El Al."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 24, 2020
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