El Al Fares and a Captive Public

Round-trip economy-plus seats from Tel Aviv to New York for December 7-15 were listed at about $4,000, while business-class fares averaged $9,000, Sherwin Pomerantz wrote in an opinion article. Some economy seats cost less than $1,500. He said economy-plus and business-class fares were roughly double their levels a year earlier.

The Cost of Staying Connected

Pomerantz said he made aliyah in January 1984 and had worried a future war could leave him unable to find airlines flying into or out of Israel. El Al had shown, he wrote, that when possible it would keep flying so people could leave and return even when other airlines weren't operating. The airline's continued service mattered to him. So did the price of using it.

He said he hadn't expected airfare costs to make vacations or family visits abroad unaffordable, particularly since COVID began and was followed by three years of war. Older or infirm travelers face a particular challenge, he wrote, because they may be unable to use tourist-class seats on long overseas flights. A fare that makes travel difficult for them isn't simply a premium for extra comfort; it can determine whether the trip is possible.

For his comparison, Pomerantz chose the period between Thanksgiving in the United States and Christmas, which he described as roughly two to three weeks when air travel and seat costs are traditionally somewhat lower. Airlines attributed sharp increases to surging fuel costs, reduced competition from budget carriers, constrained aircraft capacity and a strategic shift toward higher-margin fares. Pomerantz said jet fuel costs had doubled over the past year and were the largest factor.

Geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East had tightened global oil and fuel supplies and pushed jet fuel prices to multi-year highs, he wrote. Fuel accounts for up to a third or more of an airline's operating expenses, and carriers pass increases to customers through higher fares and fuel surcharges. Those costs land on travelers whether they have much choice of carrier or not.

Profit, Pricing and Oversight

Pomerantz argued that the fuel cost of flying a Boeing 787 from Tel Aviv to New York was more or less independent of how many passengers sat in each cabin. On that basis, he said, a fuel surcharge should be a fixed addition per passenger, not a larger charge for a business-class seat. He argued that airlines, including El Al, were driven by profit rather than civic responsibility.

The financial figures he cited show a carrier with strong returns alongside high fares. El Al's revenue per available seat kilometer rose 12 percent year on year to $0.1156 in the second quarter of 2026, the latest period with comparable data, according to Pomerantz. Revenue rose 27 percent to $986 million, supported by forward bookings of 1.4 billion and high load factors. Net profit doubled to $132 million from $66 million in Q2 2025, despite regional conflicts and higher jet fuel prices.

El Al fares remained elevated compared with pre-crisis historical baselines, Pomerantz wrote, partly because foreign carriers had scaled back or delayed a full return to Tel Aviv. Returning competitors weren't offering lower prices, he said, because El Al had set fares travelers were willing—or, as he put it, “forced”—to pay. El Al continued to hold nearly half the market share at Ben-Gurion Airport, while public criticism and oversight attention followed the high fares.

Pomerantz called on travelers to petition the Transportation Ministry to meet with El Al. He said the airline could be taken to court and ordered to “show cause” for doubling premium-ticket prices rather than applying the same fuel charge as on economy tickets. He argued a successful case could lead competitors to follow the same approach, bringing competitive prices and more tourists. The proposal is his; the article does not say the petition has been filed or that a court has acted. Pomerantz said airlines have a right to return earnings to shareholders, but also an obligation not to take unfair advantage of what he called a “captive public.”