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Last update - 09:51 21/07/2009
El Al to offer 'low-cost, no-frills' Europe tickets
By Zohar Blumenkranz
Tags: Israel News, Budget Airlines 

El Al will start selling low-cost, no-frills tickets on its regular scheduled flights, with services such as meals, earphones and baggage offered as extras.

The move is part of an experiment to create a product similar to that of low-cost airlines, in an effort to compete.

Bare-bones tickets will be offered only for tourist-class seats, and not in the more upscale business and first classes. The number of discounted seats in tourist class will be limited, and will be concentrated in a single area rather than scattered throughout the cabin.
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The new product will be introduced gradually on all of El Al's regular scheduled flights.

At the initial stage the company intends to incorporate the discounted seats on flights to nearby destinations like Europe, since it's hard to imagine a passenger would be willing to forgo a meal on longer direct flights to Los Angeles or Sao Paulo, Brazil.

El Al's chief executive Haim Romano says the move is unrelated to an earlier plan by the airline's former CEO, Rafi Har Lev, to operate entire low-cost flights.

This idea was explored, says Romano, but the airline believed it would not be profitable at the time.

The current idea is similar to that implemented by hotels, which offer rooms with half-board, breakfast or no meals at all.

Tickets to European destinations will cost $199. Romano said that the first test case is being offered on flights to Rome in August, and reports that five tickets have already been sold.

El Al's announcement elicited varying responses from its competitors.

The chief executive of Brussels Air in Israel said his airline prefers to focus on the long term, rather than "just filling up empty seats."

Royal Jordanian Airline's Israel director said she would not recommend such a move to her bosses in Amman. "I can already imagine Israelis boarding the planes with picnic boxes. But I don't begrudge airlines that follow in El Al's footsteps, and rightfully so. Low-cost airlines like Easyjet must be outcompeted."

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      1.   Frills?! on El Al 05:06  |  Occasional Flyer 21/07/09
      2.   Next .... 06:43  |  JW 21/07/09
      3.   can i bring my cheese and bacon sandwich with me 07:38  |  SJ 21/07/09
      4.   Frills on EL_AL 07:48  |  Philip 21/07/09
      5.   It`s about time 08:08  |  Ethan 21/07/09
      6.   Baggage offered as extras! Cool... 08:18  |  Jason 21/07/09
      7.   #1 Obviously a fellow-traveller! 08:28  |  English Resident 21/07/09
      8.   Can EL AL convince us . . . 09:14  |  JW 21/07/09
      9.   El Al offers poor quality 09:38  |  DB 21/07/09
      10.   What`s wong with picnic boxes? 09:49  |  tw 21/07/09
      11.   Some people like to complain 11:38  |  Michael 21/07/09
      12.   No frills on El Al 11:47  |  RS 21/07/09
      13.   Don`t worry SJ at #3 12:27  |  G. Ayman 21/07/09
      14.   Welcome Easyjet 12:27  |  Fish 21/07/09
      15.   7 12:45  |  zionist forever 21/07/09
      16.   Well, Mums cooking is still the best to take with you... 18:57  |  Kris Lazar 21/07/09
      17.   No "frills" anywhere in the future 08:19  |  Michael 22/07/09
      18.   An Israeli without food?? hahahaha 09:25  |  Maria 22/07/09
      19.   service el al 12:12  |  andrea 22/07/09
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