Arkia Launching Tel Aviv To New York Flights With Leased A330neo

There’s finally going to be some competition between Israel and the United States, as EL AL’s monopoly will be challenged…

Arkia will fly to United States as of February 2025

Carrier Arkia Israeli Airlines will start flying to the United States. Specifically, as of February 8, 2025, the airline will fly 3x weekly between Tel Aviv (TLV) and New York (JFK). The planned schedule has a bit of variability, as follows:

IZ991 Tel Aviv to New York departing 12:00PM arriving 6:20PM [Mon, Wed]
IZ991 Tel Aviv to New York departing 11:30PM arriving 5:50AM (+1 day) [Sat]

IZ992 New York to Tel Aviv departing 3:00PM arriving 8:00AM (+1 day) [Tue, Thu]
IZ992 New York to Tel Aviv departing 4:00PM arriving 9:00AM (+1 day) [Sun]

The 5,677-mile flight is blocked at 13hr20min westbound and 11hr eastbound. For now, the service is only being sold through May, though I assume it has the potential to be extended, if it ends up being a big success (then again, perhaps the plane being used has other plans for the peak summer period).

Now, here’s where this gets especially interesting. Arkia is Israel’s second largest airline (after EL AL), and it operates a fleet of just six planes, including two Airbus A321LRs, one Embraer E190, and three Embraer E195s. As you’d expect, none of those planes have the range to operate this service.

As a result, this flight will be made possible thanks to a wet lease agreement with Iberojet, which is a Spanish-Portuguese charter airline. Specifically, an Airbus A330-900neo will be used for this route — Arkia will be marketing these flights, while it’ll be Iberojet aircraft and crew actually operating the flights.

Interestingly, back in 2016, Arkia had signed a memorandum of understanding to order four Airbus A330-900neos. However, the airline never did end up following through on that order.

Arkia is greatly undercutting EL AL on price

It goes without saying that operating flights between Israel and the United States can be lucrative. The demand is there, the problem is just being able to operate the service consistently and safely. EL AL has been operating pretty consistently since October 2023, given the carrier’s unique situation.

Not only is EL AL entirely reliant on the Israeli market to be able to stay in business, but the aircraft at the airline also have special safety features that aircraft at other airlines don’t have.

While Delta and United have tried to resume flights to Israel multiple times, the service was just too inconsistent, as it had to be pulled multiple times over safety concerns. For now, both airlines seem to have suspended the service indefinitely, for all practical purposes.

So it’s worth noting how Arkia is offering a solid value proposition on this flight. The airline is charging fares starting at $1,199 roundtrip, and that includes meals, and a baggage allowance of 20 kilograms per person.

This new service is also being launched with support from AIRTECH, a company linked to Israel’s high-tech industry hub, to help bring down the cost of travel between the two countries. Arkia isn’t the only airline that has been working on launching flights like this — Israir has been working on a similar initiative, but nothing has been finalized there just yet.

I imagine this service will be successful for the time being, at least until more competition returns to the market. Arkia has a significant disadvantage when it comes to connectivity, but the Tel Aviv to New York market is big in and of itself, especially with the limited capacity available.

Here’s how Miri Regev, Israel’s Minister of Transport, describes this development:

“I commend Arkia for positively responding to our proposal and entering the aviation market to the US and Canada. This initiative will expand the availability of flights to North America, benefiting Israeli citizens, tourists, and businessmen by providing accessible prices. The State of Israel will support airlines that choose to operate direct flights to the US, fostering real competition. This means more flights, diversified options for passengers, and lower prices.”

Bottom line

Israeli airline Arkia will be launching flights between Tel Aviv and New York, using a leased Iberojet Airbus A330-900neo. It’s nice to see some competition return to this market, since EL AL has had a monopoly. I’m curious if this service ends up lasting beyond May 2025…

What do you make of Arkia launching Tel Aviv to New York flights?