Delta & EL AL Launch Strategic Partnership

In June 2023, Delta Air Lines and EL AL Israel Airlines signed an agreement to launch a strategic partnership. The main part of this cooperation will be launching shortly, with the introduction of a codeshare agreement and reciprocal perks.

Details of the new Delta & EL AL partnership

Delta and EL AL have a new partnership, intended to offer more convenient connections for customers flying between the United States and Israel.

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With the first phase of this partnership (which has been in place for months), customers connecting onto Delta or EL AL services are able to check-in for their entire journey, with boarding passes issued and bags checked through to the final destination (with the exception of international flights arriving in the United States, where they first have to be claimed).

The next part of this collaboration will kick off for flights as of January 1, 2024:

• The two airlines are launching a codeshare agreement, meaning that the two carriers will place their “codes” on flights of the other airline; this will include all flights between the United States and Israel that are operated by both airlines
• The two airlines are offering full frequent flyer reciprocity, so it will be possible to earn and redeem Delta SkyMiles for travel on EL AL, and vice versa
• The two airlines are offering reciprocal elite perks, including preferred seat selection, extra baggage allowance, lounge access, priority check-in, priority boarding, and more

The partnership will be valid for at least five years, but can be extended beyond that. Furthermore, Delta is reportedly working to sponsor EL AL joining the SkyTeam alliance, though it remains to be seen if that comes to fruition. Unfortunately in the process, EL AL will be discontinuing its partnership with other airlines in the United States, so the Alaska and EL AL partnership is ending as of June 30, 2024.

Here’s how Matteo Curcio, Delta’s SVP for Europe, Middle East, Africa, and India, describes this partnership:

“Working closely with EL AL will further strengthen Delta’s connection to Israel by offering more customers unrivalled access to destinations across the U.S. Enhanced partnerships are integral to our long-term strategy to better connect Delta customers around the world.”

Here’s how Shlomi Zafrany, EL AL’s VP of Commercial and Industry Affairs, describes this partnership:

“We are delighted to offer our customers new ways to discover exciting destinations on both sides of the Atlantic through our partnership with Delta. This partnership marks another important milestone in our long-term strategy and offers our customers unparalleled service.”

My take on this new Delta & EL AL partnership

Admittedly Israel travel has changed quite a bit in the past couple of months, given the ongoing war. So while Delta was growing quite nicely in Israel before that, the airline has now suspended flights to Israel through next spring.

Taking the current situation out of the equation (since this wasn’t a factor when the partnership was announced in June 2023), this definitely doesn’t fall within Delta’s standard approach toward partnerships:

• It’s interesting how Delta is partnering with EL AL, given that the two airlines compete on some routes between the United States and Israel, so it’s not like this is giving Delta access to a market it couldn’t otherwise fly to
• Tel Aviv is all about origin & destination traffic, and isn’t a global connecting hub, like Dubai; in other words, Delta is presumably launching this partnership because of demand to & from Israel, rather than anything else
• Delta typically focuses on partnerships where the airline also gets an equity stake in the airline (Korean Air, LATAM, Virgin Atlantic, etc.) and/or there’s a joint venture, so I’m curious if that could also be coming
• I can’t remember the last time that Delta added an independent airline partner that it wasn’t also investing in or forming a joint venture with (honestly, has there been a single airline in the past decade?)
• It’s interesting that Delta is reportedly sponsoring EL AL to join SkyTeam, given that Delta doesn’t seem to care that much about alliances; for example, Delta bought a stake in LATAM, but there’s no sign of the airline joining SkyTeam, even after leaving oneworld

The frequent flyer reciprocity we’re seeing introduced will be useful, in terms of elite perks, reciprocal lounge access, and being able to earn miles. However, don’t get too excited about the ability to redeem miles on EL AL, since I can’t imagine Delta SkyMiles will have good award rates.

While this partnership is more advantageous for Delta now (since EL AL continues to fly between the United States and Israel), I’m struggling to understand the long term value here. What’s the upside for Delta here? Some incremental revenue from codeshares? But at the expense of many Delta passengers flying with EL AL, where there’s not a true joint venture-style revenue sharing agreement in place?

The only logical explanation I can come up with is that there’s a lot more coming (like a joint venture or equity investment), or that this is simply Delta acknowledging United’s dominance between the United States and Israel, and doing what it can to compete.

Bottom line

Delta and EL AL are launching a strategic partnership. The main part of this partnership kicks off as of 2024, and will offer a codeshare agreement, reciprocal mileage earning and redemptions, reciprocal frequent flyer perks, and more. Unfortunately Alaska and EL AL will be ending their partnership as of June 30, 2024.

What do you make of this new Delta & EL AL partnership?