El Al VP: There is imbalance between supply and demand

El Al Israel Airlines Ltd (level:Ellal) Although the domestic aviation industry is beginning to stabilize, global problems will negatively impact Israel, Vice President of Marketing, Digital and Communications Nadav Hanin told Globe reporter Ella Levy Weinrib at the Israel Business Conference.

“There is an imbalance between supply and demand in the world. There are shortages in the supply chain, both for aircraft and engines. Companies like Virgin have had to ground part of their fleet due to the lack of engines. It has been announced that the shortage will hurt the companies’ overall revenues by about $11 billion.”

To explain the shortage, Hanin cited data from aircraft manufacturers: “Total aircraft orders in 2024 reached 15,000 aircraft. Boeing was able to produce 1,100 aircraft. To bridge the gap between supply and demand, they needed 2,100 aircraft. “If the gap does not narrow due to increased production, there will be no balance between supply and demand,” Hanin said.

“We didn’t want to be here alone.”

Amid this very difficult global situation, the Israeli market is slowly returning to normal: “Compared to the 24 companies that operated here during the war including Flydubai, which was flying all the time, there are now 60 companies operating at Ben Gurion Airport. This number will grow, and we are about to stabilize.” Hanin stated that there are also important companies that will not return at the present time, as Turkish Airlines and Ryanair have removed Israel from the map, and EasyJet will not return until March 2026.

Regarding Wizz Air’s plan to establish a hub in Israel, Hanin said that El Al demands that alongside the increasing competition from the Hungarian airline, there must also be equality. He said: “A foreign company that wants to establish a hub, such as Wizz Air, will be subject to different regulatory laws. Aside from security costs, every company that wants to fly to a new destination must obtain a security clearance. Often this is not possible, there is no workforce, and even more so, Israeli companies cannot do it. Wizz Air can fly wherever it wants and whenever it wants.”

Hanin rejected allegations that El Al took advantage of the war to forcefully raise prices. He said: “Our reports are public, and according to them, the average ticket price has increased by a maximum of 16%. This is the realistic number.” “The market behaved abnormally. We did not want to be alone here. El Al also faces a certain difficulty when there are no airlines and we have to offer the entire State of Israel solutions abroad. It is not as if there were planes on the ground and we did not provide a solution. In the end, it is a matter of supply and demand and the gaps are not large, and sometimes we are cheaper.”

He added: “You have to look at the overall package, what the product includes, because in the end there is a difference between flights. Our flight times are the best, flights to Europe in the morning, you have a whole day to use abroad. Many foreign companies take off in the afternoon, you lose a day and pay for a hotel. El Al’s prices include cabin baggage and a backpack, and the cabin crew is Israeli, and at these times, you don’t know what will happen tomorrow. When you have security, not only in terms of the flight, but also the cabin crew including the medical crews are Israeli, The pilots are Air Force pilots and there are no better pilots in the world than them.

Full disclosure: The conference was held in cooperation with Bank Hapoalim and the Phoenix Group and sponsored by Bezeq, El Al, Tnuva, Electra, Armis, Haifa Group, Hamilton Lane Israel, Doral, Shikon & Pinoy, BlackRock, Bazin, Pagaya, KPMG, Nespresso, Egged, Ziker, ICL and the Israeli Medical Association, with the participation of the Ports of Israel. Mekorot Company, Ashdod Port, and the Israel Innovation Authority.

Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on November 23, 2025.

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