El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE:ELAL) has today reported yet another very strong quarter. Building on its high market share at Ben Gurion Airport (38%), El Al reported an 18% increase in revenue for the third quarter of 2026, reaching a new record of $1.27 billion, although profit saw a 14% decline to $172.2 million.
According to El Al, part of the reason for the fall in profit was because the company wrote down the value of its stake in credit card firm ICC-CAL, following the collapse of a deal to sell the company to George Horesh and the insurance firm Harel. This write-down negatively impacted El Al’s third-quarter results by $13.4 million.
The airline’s EBITDAR rose 3% to $367 million. El Al noted that this was achieved despite rising fuel prices and the strengthening of the shekel against the US dollar, which added a substantial $135 million in costs. By the end of the quarter, El Al’s order backlog had reached a new record of $1.1 billion, a 16% year-on-year increase.
Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, El Al anticipates that "strong demand for the group’s flights will continue, alongside intensifying competition." A 10%-14% increase in seat capacity is projected, alongside a 1%-4% rise in fares compared with the same quarter last year. The third quarter is considered the strongest season in the aviation industry, as it includes the summer season. El Al reports that its Available Seat Kilometers (ASK) increased by 9% compared with the corresponding quarter of 2025, following the addition of new aircraft to its fleet, while its load factor remained high at 95%. El Al’s Revenue per Available Seat Kilometer (RASK) rose 7%.
El Al’s cash flow also remained impressive, totaling $161 million, up 27% from the corresponding quarter in 2025. El Al, which was previously loss-making and heading toward insolvency has been a far more stable company; over the past few years. The airline has effectively leveraged the Swords of Iron war, along with its dominance in the skies, to grow its cash surplus to $910 million (NIS 2.8 billion).
Transition to Isracard "exceeds forecasts"
The airline notes that the migration of its Frequent Flyer Club from the operations of CAL-ICC to its rival Isracard, is progressing well. According to the airline, "The rate of enrollment in the Fly Card program has exceeded forecasts." Six months ago, Isracard caught CAL by surprise by signing an agreement with El Al’s Frequent Flyer Club, in which Isracard will manage the program for the next decade. This represents a significant portion of CAL’s profits and a major blow to its business.
According to El Al’s financial report, there were 561,000 credit cards associated with the Frequent Flyer Club at the end of the third quarter, 373,000 of which are issued by Isracard. At the end of the second quarter, Isracard held about 250,000 of these cards; and has since managed to capture an additional 120,000 cards from CAL.
El Al to join Tel Aviv 35 Index tonight
El Al is set to make history this evening as part of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s (TASE) semi-annual index update. For the first time, the airline will enter the TASE flagship index, the Tel Aviv 35. El Al is currently trading at a market cap of NIS 11.3 billion, after a 588% surge in its share price over the past three years.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 5, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.