El Al To Order New Aircraft Soon

El Al Israel Airlines is reportedly finally nearing a decision on purchasing new aircraft.

The significant aircraft order has long been rumoured, with the airline seeking short-haul aircraft to bolster its operations across future decades.

Previously, El Al had pitched Airbus and Boeing to put forward their best alternative, with the A320neo and 737 MAX jets as the favourites.

However, a decision on which direction to take has been delayed considerably. The airline cites ongoing conflict as a reason why finalisation has been unable to occur.

Now, thanks to comments from the Chief Financial Officer, Yancale Shahar, the airline is nearing an order of 30 short-haul aircraft. The decision on which aircraft to order is likely to occur in a matter of weeks.

Notably, the airline’s decision-making comes following the reporting of its first-quarter financials, which have seen the airline swung to a first-quarter profit, with revenue rising by 48% to 738 million due to increased passenger load factors.

Despite these significant improvements year over year, the airline is open to requests from foreign airlines to resume flying to the location. El Al says if more airlines returned, they would be able to be under less pressure.

Ultimately, demand is fast outpacing capacity, and El Al cannot meet the required capacity. However, many foreign airlines have long suspended services to Israel amid a greater focus on the safety of their passengers and aircraft.

El Al only has just over 40 aircraft to its name, and while this fleet has served it well for some time, the rapid increase in its market share has left it unable to cater to all the demand.

As cited by the airline, its operations to/from Israel were previously hotly contested with other foreign airlines, but with so many departing the market, El Al’s numbers have risen.