El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) new route between Tokyo and Tel Aviv will begin March 2020. El Al will operate three weekly flights on the route. Demand from the business community and recreational tourism for flights to Tokyo has risen in recent years.
Up until now, flights from Israel to Tokyo have been through stopovers by Aeroflot (in Moscow), Turkish Airlines, or via Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific, which offers continuation flights from Hong Kong, as does Hainan Airlines.
Return flights with one stopover are usually priced in the $700-800 range, depending on the season. El Al's direct flights will take 11.5 hours from Israel to Tokyo and 12.5 hours for the return flight.
El Al today published a bargain price to promote early bookings: roundtrip flights for $999, including a $70 airport tax. El Al says that its regular return fare for flights on the route will be $1,200, and a basic ticket without a suitcase will cost $1,000. The starting price in business class is $2,999. The bargain prices are restricted to those making reservations by September 10 for flights beginning in mid-March, and the supply is limited to 500 tickets, according to the registration department for each flight.
Flights will land at and take off from Narita International Airport, located 72 kilometers from central Tokyo. El Al will use Dreamliners for its flights to Japan.
El Al is also stepping up its trans-Atlantic flight operations. The airlines this summer launched flights to San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Orlando, and will begin operating direct flights to Chicago in 2020.
El Al's fleet of 43 planes includes 11 Dreamliners of the 16 it purchased; the rest will be added to its fleet by March 2020.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 27, 2019
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