- Update, 3/19:
- Tel Aviv’s Terminal 1 will reopen on June 1st. Airlines like Ryanair have said that they will return to Israel once that reopens, as operating fees from Terminal 1 are significantly lower than Terminal 3.
- Update, 3/15:
- Air Canada confirms that they will resume service to Tel Aviv with 4 weekly Toronto-Tel Aviv flights starting April 9th (outbound from Toronto Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, return Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday). From May through September the airline will fly 3 weekly Toronto-Tel Aviv flights (outbound Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, return Sunday, Wednesday, Friday) and 1 weekly Montreal-Tel Aviv (outbound Monday, return Tuesday) flight.
- Airlines that won’t fly to Israel this summer include American, Emirates, Finnair, Ryanair, Turkish, and Virgin Atlantic.
- Airlines that have already returned or will return to Israel by June include Air Canada, Air Europa, Air France, Austrian, Azimuth. Blue Bird, British Airways, Brussels, Delta, EasyJet, Etihad, Ethiopian, FlyDubai, HiSky, ITA, Iberia Express, KLM, LOT, Lufthansa, Red Wings, Shenzhen, Smartwings, Swiss, Tarom, Transavia, Tus, United, and Wizz Air.
- Update, 3/13:
- Delta confirms with DansDeals that they will resume daily service to Tel Aviv on the A330-900neo effective June 7th.
- Update, 3/7:
- Despite media reports that Delta would return to Israel on 5/1, the airline has stopped selling flights to Israel until 6/7. The airline writes to DansDeals that they, “confirm that TLV service is suspended through June 7 and we continue to evaluate all relevant market conditions as we evaluate any potential schedule changes.”
- Those flights will be officially canceled in the coming days, after which you should be able to have Delta rebook the flight onto El Al.
- Update, 3/6:
- Air Canada and Delta share with DansDeals that they are working on their return to Israel plans, but that nothing is finalized. The next Air Canada flight from Toronto to Tel Aviv that is being sold is for 4/8, while the next Delta flight from JFK to Tel Aviv that is being sold is for 5/1. This post will be updated when their return flight dates are confirmed.
- In a few minutes, United will fly their first nonstop from Newark to Israel in 5 months. DDF member B.D.Da’ehu is on the flight and shares that to celebrate, they had complimentary Barkan and Herzog wine as well as Israeli Doritos (Green Chamutz Charif FTW!) at the gate:
- Update, 3/3:
- United flew from Israel today for the first time since October 8th, with a tech stop in Munich to change crew. Nonstops are expected to resume on Wednesday. DDF member Kempmill was on that flight and today’s flight and shares his perspective,
“I am sitting in Munich for a crew change on the first United flight to travel from Israel to America since October 8, to DC. I was on that flight as well. I wonder when was the last time one person was on two consecutive United flights from Israel to America. The feeling of that flight was terrifying. The crew and passengers in shock, constantly checking their phones for news updates as the horrific details of the Simchat Torah massacre emerged. Many of the passengers on that flight were United employees racing to return back to America. Today the feeling is very different. Relief, joy, eyes on the future. I witnessed crew and airport staff embracing and crying. Happy to be back together, and hoping for a more peaceful future. As we pray for the return of the hostages and the safety of innocent people, it’s encouraging to see things moving in a positive direction. Thank you United for returning to Israel sooner than expected, sooner than most. It’s great to have you back.”
- United flew from Israel today for the first time since October 8th, with a tech stop in Munich to change crew. Nonstops are expected to resume on Wednesday. DDF member Kempmill was on that flight and today’s flight and shares his perspective,
- Update, 2/25:
- United’s next scheduled Chicago and San Francisco to Tel Aviv flights are now 10/26 and Washington DC-Tel Aviv is now 10/27. United says these routes will be evaluated for resumption in the fall, so those are placeholder dates for now.
- Brussels Airlines will resume flying to Tel Aviv with 3 weekly nonstop flights between Brussels-Tel Aviv starting 3/24.
- ITA will resume flying to Tel Aviv with 3 weekly nonstop flights between Rome-Tel Aviv starting 3/3.
- Airlines that have yet to confirm a return date but still have scheduled service over the coming months include Air Canada (next scheduled flight 4/8) and Delta (next scheduled flight 5/1). Israeli media reports say they will return on those dates, however, DansDeals reached out to both airlines, and neither would confirm that they will definitively return on those dates.
- Update, 2/21:
- United has confirmed to DansDeals that they will return to Israel, starting on 3/2. Flights from Newark to Tel Aviv on 3/2 and 3/4 will operate with a technical stop in Munich. No flights will operate from Newark to Tel Aviv on 3/3 or 3/5. United will fly from Tel Aviv to Newark on 3/3 and 3/5, also with a technical stop in Munich, with no flights on 3/4 or 3/6. United’s goal is to fly nonstop from Newark to Tel Aviv daily starting on 3/6 and from Tel Aviv to Newark starting on 3/7. Initially, only the early flight 84/85 departures will operate, United hopes to restore the late night flight 90/91 departures in May, with the next flight currently for sale on 5/3. Flights from Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington DC will be evaluated for resumption in the fall.
- KLM will resume flying from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv daily starting on 4/1, with a technical stop in Larnaca. The return flight will operate nonstop.
In this poll from 1/8, only 32% of readers expected a US airline to return by March…let’s hope these flights take off as planned!
- Update, 2/14:
- Emirates has removed Tel Aviv flights from its schedule until 10/27/24. Other airlines with no scheduled Tel Aviv flights until late October include American, Finnair, and Turkish.
- Iberia Express has confirmed it will resume Madrid-Tel Aviv flights with an A321neo on 4/1/24 with 4 weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. As with most other European airlines, it will have a quick turnaround in Tel Aviv, which means you’ll have to overnight in Europe on the westbound flight when traveling to North America.
- Airlines that have yet to confirm a return date but still have scheduled service over the coming months include Air Canada, Brussels, Delta, KLM, and United. KLM has just adjusted their scheduled Tel Aviv departure times from early morning to afternoon, which points to a possible route resumption on 4/1.
- Update, 2/12:
- American and Virgin Atlantic have provided statements to DansDeals confirming the previously reported likely route suspensions. American has generally been willing to rebook on El Al via Europe, while Virgin has generally been willing to rebook nonstop travel on El Al. Update: Readers report difficulty in getting switched to El Al for flights as of April 1st, though persistence does pay off…
- “American Airlines has suspended operations to and from Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV) through October 26, 2024. The safety and security of our customers and team members remain our highest priorities. To provide additional flexibility, we have extended our travel alert allowing customers whose travel plans are impacted by this adjustment to rebook without fees, cancel or receive a refund. We will continue working closely with our partner airlines to assist customers traveling between Israel and European cities with service to the U.S.”
- Virgin Atlantic: “Due to the ongoing situation in Israel, we have taken the difficult decision to extend our pause on flying to and from Tel Aviv up to and including 4th September 2024. The safety and security of our customers and our people are our number one priority and our flying programme to Israel remains under constant review. We would advise anyone booked to travel to check their flight status on the website before travelling to the airport. There are a number of options available to you. If you have booked your ticket directly with Virgin Atlantic and would like a refund, please complete a Refunds Form.“
- Update, 2/10:
- American has stopped selling flights to Tel Aviv until 10/26. The airline has not yet updated its Tel Aviv flight information page. DansDeals has requested comment from American to confirm if that means, as it typically does, that all flights until that date will be canceled. This post will be updated when we receive a response.
- Update, 2/8:
- British Airways has confirmed that they will resume flying between London-Tel Aviv on 4/1/24. However, the route will be downgraded from pre-10/7 multiple daily 787s to 4 weekly flights on a short-haul A320/321 with farcical Euro-business class seating. With this downgrade, full meals will not be offered in economy. Additionally, the flight from London to Tel Aviv will make a 45 minute operational stop in Larnaca, where it will switch crew. That way the crew won’t leave the plane in Tel Aviv and will have leeway in case of a need to divert instead of landing in Tel Aviv. Passengers won’t need to leave the plane in Larnaca. The flight from Tel Aviv to London will operate nonstop. This arrangement will run through at least 5/31/24. Passengers can request a refund if they don’t want to take this flight. BA also announced that effective 3/30/25, passengers will only receive tier points for short-haul flights on this route, for the lowest fare class that means a drop from 20 tier points to 10 tier points.
- Virgin Atlantic has stopped selling flights to Tel Aviv until 9/5. The airline has not yet updated its Tel Aviv flight information page. When asked if that meant flights through 9/4 are canceled, as is often the case when flights are no longer being sold, the airline responded to DansDeals that, “We’re always reviewing our flying programme. As soon as we have a decision regarding Tel Aviv we will be in touch.”
- Update, 2/7:
- Next flight dates available for sale have been updated for several airlines below. (Don’t trust the Newark flight departure boards).
- El Al has confirmed they won’t fly to Dublin or Marrakech this year, due to low demand for those destinations.
- Update, 1/26:
- New: United has finally extended its suspension of Israel service from February 15 to March 1. The airline has been the worst offender at failing to cancel early enough to give passengers time to book alternate plans. United removed their waiver and won’t offer refunds until they officially cancel service, which will still take more time from this point. Luckily, they do now have Star Alliance partner airlines they can rebook onto, or you can request a refund.
- When asked about rumors that United was looking to resume Tel Aviv service via a 3rd country, United responded to DansDeals that “Our Tel Aviv flights will remain suspended until conditions allow them to resume.”
- El Al is suspending flights to Johannesburg indefinitely, in light of plummeting demand in the wake of South Africa’s targeting of Israel’s war against Hamas in the UN’s International Court of Justice. The final Tel Aviv-Johannesburg flight is set for March 27th, after which there are no scheduled nonstop flights between Israel and South Africa. El Al says the suspension will allow them to increase service to existing destinations and potential new destinations.
- Turkish Airlines has extended its flight suspension to Israel. Their next available flight to Israel has now moved from March 16th to October 27th.
- Update, 1/21:
- AA has canceled flights through 4/3
- Delta has canceled flights through 4/30
- Turkish has canceled flights through 3/15
- Virgin Atlantic has canceled flights through 3/31
- This post is tracking all active flights to Israel.
- Update, 1/11:
- BA has canceled flights through 3/30
- United has canceled Newark-Tel Aviv flight 84/85 through 2/14 and Newark-Tel Aviv flight 90/91 through 2/29
- This post is tracking all active flights to Israel, including the return of Air France to the Israel market in 2 weeks.
- Update, 1/3:
- Aegean will resume Tel Aviv flights on 1/11, joining Star Alliance partners Austrian, Lufthansa, and Swiss that will restart on 1/8.
- El Al is now offering free voucher conversion for flights through 4/30.
- United has pushed back their next available flight from non-NYC airports to 3/29.
- Wizzair has pushed back their next available flight to Tel Aviv to March.
- Update, 12/19:
- United has pushed back their next available flight to 2/1. Earlier this week, United confirmed to DansDeals that news reports saying they would resume flying to Israel in January were incorrect. Readers report that when United cancels flights, they (eventually) call passengers and those agents have much more flexibility to reroute or rebook travel for free through the end of scheduling. You should also be able to have United rebook you onto Lufthansa Group Airlines, which plan to resume Tel Aviv service on 1/8.
- Turkish has pushed back their next available flight to 2/16.
- Update, 12/17:
- Delta has canceled all Tel Aviv service through at least March 29th. The airline just launched a new partnership with El Al, and several readers report that Delta rebooked them onto El Al today. One reader used his Virgin points to book a Delta flight that was canceled, and Delta rebooked him onto El Al today as well.
- Skyteam partners Air France and KLM’s policies and next flights have also been updated below.
- Update, 12/15:
- The Lufthansa Group announced that they will resume flights to Israel next month. The exact flight schedule will be published and available for sale on December 18th and service will resume in phases starting on January 8th. The flights will have quick turnaround times in Israel, so that the crew won’t have to overnight there.
- “In a first phase, Lufthansa Airlines will initially offer four weekly departures from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt and three weekly flights to Munich. Austrian Airlines is planning eight weekly connections to Vienna and SWISS five weekly flights departing from Tel Aviv to Zurich. In a first step, the Lufthansa Group airlines will thus offer a total of 20 weekly connections to and from Tel Aviv. This corresponds to around 30 percent of the regular flight schedule. For these services the carriers will operate aircraft of the Airbus A320 family. This flight schedule offers good transfer connections from Israel to North America and back via the Lufthansa Group hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna and Zurich. Safety is always a top priority for the airlines in the Lufthansa Group. The Lufthansa Group continues to monitor the security situation in Israel closely and is in close contact with the local and international authorities. Possible flight schedule adjustments must be expected due to changing conditions.“
- Update, 12/14:
- Virgin Atlantic has extended their cancellations to March 17th and their 2nd daily flight is not scheduled to operate in 2024. You can request a full refund, or for tickets purchased before October 16th, you can request to be moved to El Al at no additional charge.
- BA has also delayed their next available flight for sale to February 1st. You can request a refund for canceled flights, or readers also report that BA has been offering rebookings onto El Al for tickets purchased before November.
- Update, 12/11:
- AA is not selling flights to Tel Aviv until 3/30 and has extended their waiver to rebook for free through 4/30/24. Some agents are rebooking passengers on El Al.
- United has pushed their next available flights from Chicago, DC, and San Francisco to mid-February.
- Additional updates are included below.
- Update, 12/4:
- Finnair has officially canceled all flights to Israel through at least 10/29/24.
- AA has extended their waiver to 2/14/24 with free rebookings allowed through 3/31/24.
- United is no longer selling any flights to Israel until 1/9/24. Note that it takes additional time for interim flights to be officially canceled, but they will eventually be canceled and allowed to be refunded.
- Additional updates are included below.
- Update, 11/28:
- El Al is now allowing flights through 1/31/24 to be converted into a voucher valid for use by anyone.
- AA has moved their next bookable flight to 2/15/24.
- United’s waiver is ending, but they are the first to extend elite status for passengers who fly frequently to/from Tel Aviv.
- Additional updates are included below.
Originally posted on 10/19:
By law, all flights that are canceled or have a major schedule change are fully refundable to your original payment method.
No airlines are covering expenses for new flights that you purchase on your own, so always ask your airline for rebooking options before buying tickets for another flight.
- AA: Tickets booked on or before 10/6/23 for travel between 10/7/23-10/28/24 can be changed to travel through 11/24/24 with no difference in fare, or you can request a full refund. Rebooking may also be available on El Al via Europe.
- Next bookable flight: JFK-Tel Aviv on 10/26/24.
- Air Canada: Tickets booked on or before 10/12/23 for travel between 10/7/23-2/29/24 can be changed to travel through 4/30/24 with no difference in fare to depart from anywhere in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa on Air Canada, or you can request a full refund. People have also reported being allowed to change the arrival city as well with no difference in fare.
- Next bookable flight: Toronto-Tel Aviv on 4/8/24. Montreal-Tel Aviv on 5/1/24.
- Air France: Tickets booked on or before 10/7/23 for travel between 10/7/23-2/29/24 can be changed to travel through 3/30/24 with no difference in fare, or you can request a full refund.
- Next bookable flight: Already returned to Tel Aviv with 3 weekly flights from 1/24/24.
- Austrian: Travel waiver has ended.
- Next bookable flight: Already returned to Tel Aviv on 1/8 with 2 daily flights from Vienna.
- BA: Travel between 10/7/23-3/31/24 can be changed to another airline such as El Al if originally purchased prior to November, or you can request a full refund or rebooking on BA.
- Next bookable flight: BA has confirmed that they will resume flying between London-Tel Aviv on 4/1/24. However, the route will be downgraded to a 4 weekly flights on a short-haul A320/321 with Euro-business class seating. With this downgrade, full meals will not be offered in economy. Additionally, the flight from London to Tel Aviv will make a 45 minute operational stop in Larnaca, where it will switch crew, so that crew don’t need to leave the plane in Tel Aviv. Passengers won’t need to leave the plane in Larnaca. The flight from Tel Aviv to London will operate nonstop. This arrangement will run through at least 5/31/24. Passengers can request a refund if they don’t want to take this flight. BA also announced that effective 3/30/25, passengers will only receive tier points for short-haul flights on this route, for the lowest fare class that means a drop from 20 tier points to 10 tier points.
- Brussels: Travel waiver has ended.
- Next bookable flight: Brussels Airlines has confirmed they will fly Brussels-Tel Aviv 3 times per week starting on 3/24/24.
- Delta: Travel waiver has ended. Contact the airline to discuss options or request a refund. You can now be rebooked onto El Al, but you may have to ask for a manager to approve that option.
- Next bookable flight: JFK-Tel Aviv on 6/7/24. Atlanta-Tel Aviv and Boston-Tel Aviv are canceled through end of scheduling.
- El Al:
Travel between 10/7/23-10/28/23 can be converted into a voucher for future travel by anyone, or can be changed to travel through 10/28/23 within the same geographic area with no difference in fare. Travel between 10/29/23-4/30/24 can be converted into a voucher for future travel by anyone, but flight changes are subject to difference in fare.- Next bookable flight: View flights from Tel Aviv here and to Tel Aviv here.
- Emirates: Travel waiver has ended. Contact the airline to discuss options or request a refund.
- Next bookable flight: Dubai-Tel Aviv on 10/27/24.
- Finnair: All flights canceled through 10/29/24, with limited rerouting options or you can request a full refund.
- Next bookable flight: All flights canceled through end of scheduling.
- Iberia: Tickets booked on or before 12/17/23 for travel between 10/7/23-3/31/24 can be changed to travel on other dates with no difference in fare, or you can fly to Athens, Cairo, or request a full refund.
- Next bookable flight: Iberia Express has confirmed it will resume Madrid-Tel Aviv flights with an A321neo on 4/1/24 with 4 weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. As with most other European airlines, it will have a quick turnaround in Tel Aviv, which means you’ll have to overnight in Europe on the westbound flight when traveling to North America.
- KLM: Tickets booked on or before 11/24/23 for travel between 10/7/23-3/30/24 can be changed to travel through 3/30/24 with no difference in fare, or you can request a full refund.
- Next bookable flight: Amsterdam-Tel Aviv on 4/1/24, with a technical stop in Larnaca.
- Lufthansa: Travel waiver has ended.
- Next bookable flight: Already returned to Tel Aviv on 1/8 with daily flights from Frankfurt and Munich.
- Swiss: Travel waiver has ended.
- Next bookable flight: Already returned to Tel Aviv on 1/8 with daily flights from Zurich.
- Turkish: Travel waiver has ended. Contact the airline to discuss options or request a refund.
- Next bookable flight: Istanbul-Tel Aviv on 10/27/24.
- United: Travel waiver has ended. Contact the airline to discuss options or request a refund. Note that readers report that United is calling passengers with canceled flights and these agents have leeway to change dates or routes for free.
- Next bookable flight: United has confirmed it will resume flying the Newark-Tel Aviv early flight on 3/2/24. The next scheduled Newark-Tel Aviv late flight is on 5/3/24 and San Francisco/Chicago/Washington DC-Tel Aviv are on 10/26 or 10/27.
- Virgin Atlantic: Tickets booked on or before 10/15/23 for travel between 10/7/23-9/2/24 can be changed to travel through 12/15/24 with no difference in fare, or you can request a full refund. You can get rebooked on El Al at no extra charge. If your flight has been canceled and you are away from home, we will offer reimbursement for hotel accommodation, and transport to and from the hotel, in addition to meals and refreshments.
- Next bookable flight: London-Tel Aviv on 9/5/24.
Have your flights been affected by the war in Israel?
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639 Comments On "[Terminal 1 And Ryanair Will Return In June] Israel Flight Change Policies And Next Bookable Flights For All Major Airlines"
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Why isnt ELAL allowing full cancellation / refund due to the situations?
Because they’re still operating their full schedule.
Anyway to convert/transfer matmid points to delta or chase?
How will much Turkish refund after the first leg was already taken?
You’d have to ask them for the prorated calculation.
It wasn’t 50%, that much I could tell you! It was considerably less & after a lot of phone calls & wait times. & I had booked through Chase travel. I’m very frustrated. ..
I had the exact same situation – I booked through Chase Travel and did not receive a 50% prorated refund from Turkish. Lots of phone calls/wait times, and complaints have fallen on deaf ears.
I did request Chase Travel to open a complaint for me against the airline to fight the reimbursed amount and get the full 50% reimbursement. No luck yet, however.
The return cost of a ticket can be more or less than 50%, depending on the fare breakdown for which segment was more expensive.
But you can always file an informal or formal DOT complaint if you think you got less than you should have.
I had a ticket booked with them and the travel agent told me they will refund only the part of the trip from TLV to Istanbul. The rest of the trip is still flying. However, to get a refund for that first leg, I would have to cancel the second leg (IST – JFK)
the other leg !
What about an award ticket that was booked with Etihad for travel on El Al
Call Etihad and let us know.
Spoke to them and they don’t know the answer. They have to call me back after they look into the matter. I guess they are not used to partner bookings.
What about asking El Al?
Are there any trick to getting a refund for Israir? I had booked a flight (to Ath) after the war started but was unable to take it as my flight from Athens was canceled and I had to fly a different day
For those who want a refund on el al and have insurance on credit card they used to purchase, i believe a war is a valid reason to get reimbursed in full. Would like to know if anyone has tried yet
You can always try but you should also read the exceptions for the specific credit card you used. Most of the time you can find it on the bank website or calling the number on the card and asking
Amex told me a war is excluded of there policy.
To confirm “act of war” is not covered by cc insurance to get covered by cc make sure to write “act of terror” act of terror is covered by cc insurance, act of war is not covered.
What happens if AMEX approves your claim and you have vouchers issues from ELAL?
A war was declared
FYI if you purchased travel insurance separately from a travel insurance company
You can check whether if a country you want to fly to/from and/or thru is on the us department of state list not to travel to is a covered reason and if country you were booked to travel to/from and/or thru is on the US dept of state list
tried it . purchased on Venture X . War is excluded
As stated above “act of terror” I’d included
But since this is a declared war, “act of terror” does not apply.
Can we keep rescheduling a United return to a week later until they resume flights? What is the best option with a canceled return leg (and the passenger wants to fly back)?
Do u think United will extend out the free changes and the canceled flights?
Yes.
Thank you for this info.
Any idea what the Iberia policy is?
no
I currently have a ticket for 10/22-10/29 from JFK. Instead of a voucher can I transfer the name on the ticket and let someone else purchase it from me for what I paid ($874+tx) which is way less than the cost today?
Do know answer to this?
Typically thought not, but under the circumstances is there any way to do so with elal and/or organization?
I couldn’t reach a human at Elal but I asked a travel agent and it seems not to be an option even now.
No.
I had a one way (return) flight booked from DXB – TLV on Arkia for Oct 11 that I booked using Chase points.
I had to cancel my trip because of the war.
Now Chase says that the (travel agent version of) Arkia website does not have any waivers to cancel because of the war (even though their consumer website states it clearly).
They said that there is “no way possible” for them to cancel for full refund without permission from the airline.
They emailed and called Arkia but of course there was no reply.
Any ideas on how to get the points back?
On ElAl’s updated info page, there’s a mention of a “flight freeze”. Anyone familiar with ElAl’s version of this or how to get it?
2 typos: KLM is 12/31, not 13/31. UA can be changed to ATH, AMM, or DXB.
UA removed DXB according to their latest notice.
in my experience, United is still allowing me to change to DXB with no fare difference. also, one rep said there is a recent memo with instructions to allow them to rebook on ELAL subject to availability but only within 48 hours of desired departure time (which makes it unlikely there would be much, if any, availability)
Austrian is the same as LH/LX
Are there any options to get reimbursed for the new flight that had to be purchased due to the cancellation? Original flight home that was cancelled was booked through Chase.
What about a retun leg on a ticket. I have an elal Ticket which the outbound was flown already and return is scheduled for 10/22
BA what does that mean can change to another airline? I can have them put me on elal?
Call and ask.
They will put you on Elal from LHR and TLV. Although, it took me about 10 hours and a lot of HUCA to get them to do it for me
wow. bh they put me on El Al, with being them on the phone for half an hour, maybe as time passed they got a clearer policy
Why isnt Delta offering a refund?
They offered me partial refund for return that was canceled
Numerical appreciated. Please share
What about ITA Air, canceled flight because of the war.
Have you heard anything about flight cancellations through Air Morroc?
Virgin will rebook you on ELAL if for the LHRTLV or TLVLHR segment/s if you are stranded out of your home country, otherwise you need change to their metal (on another date) or request a refund.
AA has updated their official policy to allow rebooking on direct NYCTLV or vise versa with ELAL only for Business class tickets, tickets in other cabins can be rebooked for any route via Europe using AA, BA, IB (maybe Aer Lingus as well) and only for the Europe – Tel Aviv and vice versa can you rebook with ELAL
Please Help! I have 4 BIZ tickets for United for 11/22. called today and requested Refund and was told i can only get flight credit
The waiver only goes to 11/15 now. Just wait and it will probably be extended.
Thanks, will wait.
Following the thread. I am set to fly with family in mid-Dec and waiting for travel waiver is extended.
Dan,
Any idea how I can get full refund?
Not likely they will be flying on 11/22. Wait till they cancel the flight and then they will issue you a full refund.
Following the thread. I am set to fly with family in mid-Dec and waiting for travel waiver is extended.
Dan, have you heard or has anyone on your forum know if Elal changed their policy how often you can change the date or “push” out a departure date. I’m asking since as of this Tuesday when I go into my reservation either through the Elal app and website it’s not allowing me to change the date nor does the calendar come up, but makes me attempt to get a voucher. Whereas before Tuesday I was able to make changes to my departure date on multiple occasions….thanks
I have tickets for November 8 Witt El al I assume they will keep on flying
I’d assume so, though perhaps with service reductions.
I think you have a typo on Delta.. you prob meant 12/31/2024
Nope.
@Dan i spoke to delta chat yesterday and was told
“Great news! I was able to get an update which states that as of 1 April 2024 our flights to/from TLV will be resumed. These flights will include a stopover at Cyprus’ Larnaca (LCA) airport, operating to TLV only, until at least 19 May 2024.”
The flights are not yet bookable but seems oddly specific to not be someone leading towards the right direction…
I have tickets to Te lAviv on Lufthansa for 12/13. I called them and they said it’s not refundable
You can request a refund here:
https://www.lufthansa.com/de/en/refund
@Dan have any airlines committed to beginning Israel flights again no matter the situation with the war?
Most airlines are not allowed to fly to war zones due to insurance restrictions.
some airlines are resuming on Nov 15 others on Dec 1 or even Jan1, latest is AA on Jan10
this dicision is because of the insurance, seems like every airline has a different ins. policy?
If I am trying to get AA to rebook my flight with ELAL would I have to pay the price difference in what I paid vs the new ticket price?
No, but in most cases in coach they’re booking people on El Al to Europe and then on AA from Europe to the US.
if i had a flight booked thru AA with a stopover to israel 2 weeks ago- and want to change to next week now how do i make sure they dont charge the fare difference? my tavel agent said they are charging $400 for the new flight. (not direct also stopover). does this make sense?
What about flights on AA booked for after 12/4/23, such as the end of December?
Same here. I see AA no longer shows flights to Israel ( operated by AA ) through the end of 2023, but they don’t state that they are cancelled. Any thoughts on this?
I took first flight of round trip ticket delta from tlv to jfk and then the return on 10/11 was cancelled. They only e credit. Is there a way to get refund?
Yes, call back and ask for it.
AA booked my brother and his whole family back to EY on Elal at no additional charge.
elal direct? what were they supposed to fly? AA direct?
Original flight was AA through Madrid (with Iberia). Iberia cancelled MAD-TLV, AA rebooked them direct on AA. Once AA canceled that too, they rebooked them on Elal. (All after hours of phone time with CS)
Thank you Dan. Very kind of you to gather and pay all this information!
In a theoretical, if Spirit and Frontier flew to Israel their policy would be “a voucher to be used in the next 60 days. Voucher can only be used off the base fare…”.
Hi I booked about 25 tickets thought chase travel using my point on elal to Israel. chase is requiring me to cancel the flight on elal website for a voucher but its only giving me a voucher minus the chase commission the receive. does anyone have any idea what to do?
My sister had same thing w travel agent they weren’t giving back the full amount of the ticket
Ask Chase for a refund of the difference?
How much is it?
what about ITA
Did El Al change the dates for full credit voucher? With no penalty for price changes?
What are the policies for new tickets? I want to book flights for end of Dec. Are the standard cancellation policies in affect for new tickets? (United, Delta, British, Air Canada, AA) ?
Can we cancel tickets from US to TLV purchased on El Al within 24 hours? I’m not seeing that option on the website, but thought that it’s a US law that we can do this.
Yes. You can book on Priceline/Orbitz and cancel online, but with El Al you’ll have to call them to cancel.
And needs to be more than 7 days before the flight
I recently had an Elal ticket that was purchased on Priceline, and we wanted to cancel the next day (was around 26 hours after booking, but before 12pm), and there was no option to cancel through Priceline (even with the print itinerary).
Don’t know if the option was there until 24 hours after booking or not
Does “next bookable” mean that they will resume flying to TLV as of that date? Or totally not?!?
That’s when they would like to resume, but nothing is set in stone.
Once a flight is cancelled there are more options for refunds and reroutings.
Does Israeli air compensation apply if a flight is cancelled within 14 days?
Is it best in the case of a Delta flight booked through the chase travel portal with miles to request your full refund from Delta customer service or chase customer service?I had a flight booked for December Chanukah from atl to tlv.
Following
Call Chase for a refund.
When getting a refund for a ticket booked with Amex platinum, do they automatically clawback the 35% points rebate?
i would like to know if i have a ticket booked to isreal from before the war even started with american operated by british via lhr but i still want to keep the first leg and save the other leg for a later date, is this even possible, dan?
I was also wondering. Some of us paid big numbers (think 20k for families) to rebook after sukkos to come back to NY. Yes we got refunded for cancelled flights but thats a drop in the bucket. Is there any way to get that reimbursed?? Any ideas?
Maybe Hamas will reimburse? airline are losing out, they are doing a chesed by operating/ refunding/ or lose all flights due to cancelations. so no. you cant ask for more.
I have an AA flight to return to JFK 12/26/2023 and it isn’t showing as being canceled and I haven’t received any notifications either so I’m curious where to find the information you are posting here about AA canceling flights through 2023. Thanks!
When airlines stop selling seats on a flight, it almost always means a cancellation is forthcoming.
AA is very slow at showing a flight is canceled. I wouldn’t expect that to process for some time still.
Thank you for the information. G-d willing the Jewish people will hear good news today!
So Delta is now offering refunds?.. I have round trip ticket for end of November.. is this now refundable? Thanks
Yes
United just canceled my round trip Nov 15-24
seems like the 1:30 PM from EWR-TLV yesterday was diverted to Egypt.
https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/ELY28/history/20231025/1740Z/KEWR/HEAZ
No, just bad tracking.
Do we have anything on EasyJet or Wizz?
hi first of all yes united cancelled our flight tlv-ewr on oct 31 and thnx to you we got a new ticket on el al – second of all we have another ticket for tlv-ewr on dec 11 whats your take on that are we ggod to go or will they cancel it? third of all we had a flight with easy jet tlv- to london and had luggage delayed and had a wedding so had to buy tons of stuff and clothing and we made a claim with easy jet but they did not respond its 2 months already so we made a claim with chase and they said that first they need that easy jet denied our claim and only then can they pay the claim is that correct ? is there any way around it?
thnx again
I had a ticket on Elal that I made a change on through chase and Elal charged $200 price fare difference. Changed from This past Tuesday to this past Saturday. Does that make sense?
Any Flight on ELAL departing before October 28, could be changed without fare difference on another flight before October 28.
Thanks. So how do I go about getting them to refund me?
Ask Chase.
Hey @Dan, Looking now for tickets back to Yeshiva on the week of Nov. 5, Should I book with European airlines (like Lufthansa, Austrian, BA or virgin)? Or they’ll Eventually also cancel those flights? cause is sounds like the situation won’t change until then
We have booked a Trip to TLV from ewr with united before 10/6 to fly to tlv on 11/23
Returning to ewe on 11/30
The travel wafer on my reservation shows the following
Canceling your flight before your current departure date by selecting “Cancel flight”. If you cancel, you’ll get a travel credit you can use to book a new trip that must start on or before Aug 27, 2024.
Dan , can’t we get a full refund of method of payment instead of a travel credit?
Hey Dan – when I go to AA.com for 12/26/2023, the system seems to allow
Me to buy a ticket for that flight. Of course, I’m not actually completing the purchase but it looks like they are selling seats in 2023. Is this correct?
United.com is only showing available tickets starting 11/18. I have a reservation for 11/11 and have not gotten any cancelation email yet
Will ElAl be extending their time frame for rebooking tickets for the same fare?
Currently it’s only until 10/28, yet the fighting has only gotten worse since then R”L.
is turkish safe now due to their ties with hamas?
The airline and airport are safe. Whether you want to support them now is another story.
Certainly not sympathetic
I have a reservation on Delta for December 5, via Boston. So far, they have not informed me that my flight as been canceled or that my itinerary has been changed.
Contact your booking agent for change or refund options.
What about Iberia Airlines? Any info?
Added to post.
El Al: . Travel between 10/29/23-12/31/23 can be converted into a voucher for future travel by anyone, but flight changes are subject to difference in fare.
anyone can use the voucher? can i sell the voucher to someone then?
Anyone can use it.
anyone know of any travel agents buying them? and what they usually offer? i assume not 100% of the amount.
Try calling some.
You can also offer them for sale on DDF.
would you be able to use 2 vouchers for 1 ticket. for example, now you want to fly business or the ticket is more expensive
Yes, you can merge them together.
Thanks
also VV. if you have a voucher of a big amount you can use it up to 9 tkts
i booked through chase and tried to cancel the flight. it states Cancel this flight and receive a flight credit
Total credit for all passengers: $****.**
What do you need to know about your flight credit?
Your credit is only valid for air travel on El Al Israel Airlines.
Your new travel must be completed on or before August 02, 2024.
You must travel with the same passengers as your original flight to book using your credit online.
Additional payments cannot be deducted from the credit value and must be paid for using your credit card.
Any credit left over after rebooking this flight will be forfeited.
In case of additional changes or cancellations, the fare rules with the most restrictive conditions (between the original and any new bookings) will apply.
it seems like if you used points i only have until August 2nd 2024 to fly.
Try cancelling via the link in this post and let us know how it goes.
Dan,
Regarding United – I’m waiting for my 11/20 flight to be cancelled. I would actually go if they fly it as I got RT for 68.8K. Will they let me know, or do I have to keep checking?
Thanks
Very unlikely that they’ll fly.
Keep checking.
I can log in and change my seat – they’d even take my money to upgrade (I think, I didn’t actually check out), but my flight is no longer bookable. I cannot travel again before January 2024, and I already have a 68.8K pt round trip booked for then. Is there a point in keeping the Nov 20 reservation or should I just take the points/fees back? (I realize that you cannot answer all of these queries, but I definitely appreciate all you do regardless)
Does UA no change fee apply to miles? If they cancel my flight will I potentially have the option to book for a later date at the saver rates?
Yes, within the stated date range.
Does that apply if they extend it?
Ie does the rebook date go by the waiver when they cancel or the later time they will push it to? Just debating how long to keep my miles tied up before asking for a redeposit.
Hopefully Dan will answer as well – but I’m seeing just about the entire month of January into February as being 68.8K miles round trip from Newark to Tel Aviv on United. If you wish to travel before then, you should use the waiver, as the rates for the remaining flights in November and December are insanely high. BTW, I’ve been booking and cancelling a lot on United using miles and they always seem to credit any fees I paid back to my CC (after a few days), and the points go back into my Mileage Plus account immediately.
Won’t work. Had to have been booked before 10/7.
YMMV. I had some saver awards booked after 10/7 for a flight which eventually was canceled, and a phone rep switched them to a later date (way past the range) to a flight which did not have saver space avail.
Ask nicely
True. Agents can always make exceptions!
My son and his wife completed their first leg of a TLV-MAD-ORD-NYC-TLV trip to attend a family simcha. He was called back for reserve duty on October 7th while in Madrid. They managed to purchase an EL AL ticket in Madrid and return to TLV on the 8th.
Their NYC—>TLV leg was cancelled by the airline (AA). I understand that we should expect a full refund for that leg from AA.
The MAD-ORD-NYC flights were on Iberia and AA.
Any advice on how to recoup our costs for those flights would be greatly appreciated.
Ask the booking agent for a refund?
Thank you; we already did, but I’m wondering whether there’s any basis for being reimbursed for flights they never boarded.
Do you think delta will be flying thanksgiving time?
Doubtful.
Any advice will be appreciated: I had a flight with Delta from Boston to TLV and back from 10/17-11/03 and I booked separately the flight on ELAL from TLV to Naples and back to TLV with ISRAAIR through Expedia from10/20-10/24 . My Delta flights were cancelled and fully refunded while the ELAL and ISRAAIR I had to call and cancel, the tickets were non refundable so I got the ElAl flight credit on the Expedia account and ISRAAIR somehow was given me the flight credit for HNAN Air which I tried to contact with Expedia and directly with no response
I have no idea what to do with that HNAN AIR
Editing my post:HAHN AIR
an Israeli travel agent said Air Canada is still not flying. yesterday I booked flight for late November. if they cancel do you know if they’re obligated to give refund?
They are.
FYI Air Canada has very reasonable fares end of Nov $650 RT (extra $100 to pre book seats for the TLV-Toronto RT segments), incl one carry on
We have booked a Trip to TLV from ewr with united before 10/6 to fly to tlv on 11/23
Returning to ewe on 11/30
The travel waiver on my reservation shows the following
Canceling your flight before your current departure date by selecting “Cancel flight”. If you cancel, you’ll get a travel credit you can use to book a new trip that must start on or before Aug 27, 2024.
Dan , can’t we get a full refund of method of payment instead of a travel credit?
Contact your booking agent for a refund.
do you have an update as to when United will start flying from Israel? or do they keep pushing off the date?
El al flight 11/15 booked on chase points – do same rules apply, ie. I’ll get a credit good for anyone 9not just names on flight) good through 2025?
This link should work:
https://www.elal.com/en/PassengersInfo/Pages/CreditSteps.aspx
Worked, thank you so much!!
How long did it take to get the voucher?
BA Has now cancelled till 4th December.
Although not yet formally announced, I had three flights this month cancelled today – when I spoke to the team on the Gold Line, they confirmed this for me.
only canceled till 22 november at the moment. as from 22 november is available to book online
BA however happily rebooked me for all my flights for ELAL on the same day – at no cost.
When was your ticket booked?
I have tickets booked for Nov18th on United. Although my reservation is still confirmed and I have not received any notice from United otherwise, the flights for the entire week until the 25th no longer have “any availability” It seems strange that for the entire week all flights are booked. I called United and they said the flight is still on.
Any clarification would be so appreciated.
dan–is there an updated list?
Email yesterday from Delta.
“As events in Israel continue to unfold, we are diligently exploring every means possible to assist our customers affected by these events. We want you to know that your safety is our paramount concern, first and foremost, and that you are in our thoughts.
We have made the difficult decision to cancel all flights through February 5, 2024, between Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). As cancellations are processed, impacted customers will receive notifications delivered to the contact information listed in your reservation, and also via the Fly Delta app. Contact our reservations team for assistance with rebooking, changing your travel to another destination, or requesting a refund. Seats on Delta airline partners remain bookable on delta.com and through Delta Reservations when available.
Delta’s waiver for travel booked to or from TLV allows customers to rebook on available flights through September 6, 2024.”
As a data point, AC allowed rebooking TO Athens. They were also willing to route to TLV via Dubai on FlyDubai, but I declined.
Very impressive.
El Al: . Travel between 10/29/23-12/31/23 can be converted into a voucher for future travel by anyone, but flight changes are subject to difference in fare.
Do these vouchers earn a commission for travel agents?
My flight with virgin points was cancelled and refunded, I then booked an elal ticket and sent them the receipt, and virgin refunded the difference!
Whoa. Do you have status with them?
Nope, and I filed the claim as reimbursement, not as compensation.
Just adding a data point on Virgin, I contacted them on web chat about my flight from TLV-LHR on 7th of December, and they rebooked me for a better time Elal flight for free.
I have a flight with United on Dec 28. Will it work for me to change the flight to a flight with a stopover and get missed connection insurance?
booked on virgin from tlv to Lon upper class for 28k points few days ago and it got cancelled few days later and by my second try they put me onto elal tickets on elal website was over 2000 usd. the uk law is that airlines must reroute if they cancel
Nice!
Does this apply to flights booked through Chase Rewards? Had a one way flight with Elal. Canceled it but the travel credit I got only lets me book a one way not a round trip
Why not cancel it on the El Al site for a voucher?
Did United cancel the beginning of December yet or is it just not bookable?
Canceled. Call them to discuss options.
Booked United through Chase portal and they and United are refusing to issue refund , only a credit . How do you get a full refund ?
Did you wait until United canceled the flight?
Why would anyone fly Turkish at this point? I did it once and they can go fly a kite. I’m not giving my money to anti-semites and Israel haters.
Israel should stop Turkish Air flights! They are anti Israel! People should stop flying them even if it means saving a few dollars. The money goes towards helping Hamas and other organizations!
Do you work for El Al?
Dan, I had flights for this Motzei Shabbos Dec 2 for my whole family for chanuka, what’s ur recommendation about going being that they were never there? Also they are on Elal so if I cancel will I be able to sell that voucher for someone else to use or it’s traveler specific? I think in the article you wrote can be used by anyone but I fail to see that on the website.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
An avid dans deals follower and app lover!!
I’d say to go!
“One or more of your American Airlines flights changed, and we were unable to automatically rebook you”.
Just got this email from AA, however ny booking is for Feb 15, not before 1/7. Any advice?
Call them
I was originally booked on AA for the end of November, flight was canceled and rebooked for the end of January. Canceled again, I am trying to get them to book me on El Al. Has anyone had any success with AA rebooking on El Al. I have called several times and all they are offering me is a refund. Is this a HUCA thing? Will I have any better luck texting instead of calling? Any suggestions?
Update – after several HUCA’s I was able to get AA to rebook me on El Al for the end of February for the same price as my original AA flight. Some reps insisted that my flight wasn’t cancelled, even though I was already emailed about it and some told me that it’s not possible to book me on another airline. But eventually I got someone knowledgeable on the phone and was able to rebook.
Hi does any one know or tried if chase sapphire preferred will cover with trip cancelation if united cancelled our flight for Dec 11 tlv- ewr returning on Dec 25 for us to pay the difference between the united ticket and ElAl ticket on the website of united it says cancellation of flights is due to ‘unrest in the middle east” it does NOT say that cancelled because of WAR! [When we called chase they told us that as of Nov 15 they have new guidelines regarding Israel but did not get a straight answer from them!] thnx in advance
Dan, with the cancellations being pushed down the line as time goes on, is it risky to book a mid-January cheaper flight from the US to TLV not on El Al (and knowing that if I can’t get rebooked, I will be forced to buy an El Al ticket last minute)?
I’d book El Al.
Thanks!
Is BA rebooking on LY??
Is the lite fare on ELAL eligible for this voucher as well? Ty!
What do y’all thing the chances are for United currently bookable flights to actually resume on Dec 17? I had a flight on Dec 13 and managed to rebook for Dec 18. Was wondering if the flights will proceed as scheduled.
Very unlikely.
Bummer. They haven’t cancelled yet, so I’ll be keeping fingers crossed just in case. Not sure why would they let people book for these dates 3 weeks ahead of time. I guess they’ll cancel early next week and if not, hopefully resume.
Book something else. You’ll get refunded from United.
BA Policy: They will only rebook you on LY (ElAl) if you purchased your ticket before November. All other tickets will not be rebooked to LY, they only offer a refund or rebooking.
United ewr-tlv now not bookable until Dec 31.
Didn’t yet email cancellations. On hold with chase and waiting for chat agent with united.
United chat agent: “Hi, Thank you for waiting, I do apologize for taking s much of your time. As per checking here, the flight that you have Sir, is still on schedule on the 28Dec. If in case you would like to change the flight since you’ve purchased a ticket from the agency which has various restrictions. It’s non-refundable, and usually carries further restrictions for changes. You will need to work with the travel agency to adjust this booking.”
Read the post
“United is no longer selling any flights to Israel until 1/9/24. Note that it takes additional time for interim flights to be officially canceled, but they will eventually be canceled and allowed to be refunded”
What airlines fly to Israel in January
It sounded like finnair was cancelling ALL their flights until 11/24. You should say TEL AVIV. A friend forwarded me the WhatsApp alert freaking out that they can’t fly to Finland as planned. I suggest tweaking the wording 🙂
Dan can you explain what “AA has extended their waiver to 2/14/24 with free rebookings allowed through 3/31/24” means ?
I got an award ticket for 2/14 does that mean I can change the date free of charge until 3/31? What happens if they don’t fly before 3/31
Sorry, I see now that you have updated in detail below in the post. So my ticket to Isreal is on united on Feb 5, the way back is with AA, only option with united is to get a refund ? They wouldn’t rebook me on elal ?
United’s waiver is over. They won’t rebook on El Al.
So I guess will have to cancel everything
Hi Dan & JJ do you have any info about Lot Polish I have a ticket for December 6 TLV stopping in Warsaw and the flight going to Tel Aviv was canceled tried calling them And they’re only offering a voucher or money back is there any way to Get them to rebook me on a direct flight is there any US regulations or Israeli regulations that will make them eligible on rebooking me a new flight thanks for your help
Is your flight to/from the US?
Anyone with air canada experience? Ticket bought after 10/12, tlv-yul, all they offer is a ticket from anywhere in Europe to yul. Anyone with luck getting onto elal?
Why no mention of the airlines that are restarting service? Like air Europe for example
Hi Dan & JJ do you have any info about Lot Polish I have a ticket for December 6 going from Jfk to TLV stopping in Warsaw and the flight from Warsaw going to Tel Aviv was canceled tried calling them And they’re only offering a voucher or money back is there any way to Get them to rebook me on a direct flight is there any US regulations or Israeli regulations that will make them obligated to rebook me a new direct flight
thanks for your help
At current stopover prices I would book TLV-US for February for a cousins wedding. Which is most likely to return to service first? (If the flight is canceled, I’d be fine – its not a must go at any price situation)
From the US to tlv
Can you post a list of airlines which ARE flying?
@dan looks like Iberia just canceled flights to TLV up until March 1.
And all airports and cities that are safe to connect with other flights
AC canceled to Feb 6
Hi Dan and JJ
Any info on a flight still tonight or tomorrow from NYC to tlv for a decent price I’m going crazy from searching all the European flights I love to be for Hanukkah in Israel thanks for all your help you always do for us
Any idea what to do if AA is refusing to rebook me on Elal for March 31
They emailed me last night that they cancelled my flight
After calling 5 times got an Agent that did a rebooking on ELAL
I have so far called twice, 0 for 2. Was there anything specific you told them that got the last agent to do it? The 2 agents I spoke to so far both told me that the only option they can rebook to is BA through LHR.
Nothing just kept calling them till they did it there was alot of back office involved from what the agent was saying
But its messed up bec they also have me with BA thru LHR and ELAL is tripping me out
when i last called united the rep transferred me to the tlv / israel desk, looks like their is special staff / dept for these flights
It seems like a nice way of saying bye bye tel aviv, שלום ולא להתראות. (You are referring to AA, correct?
AA still fly using LY code share (connecting flights in CDG, BCN, LHR)
Based on how the war seems to be going, what is the logic of cancelling 3 1/2 months out?
Not only did United not call to reschedule when they cancelled my flight, but they didn’t even send me an email. I went on my app one day, and the flights to and from Israel weren’t there. Since they did not cancel my connecting flight in the US, that was still there. I called, and they cancelled and refunded the whole thing, but there was no talk of rescheduling.
I had a United ticket using points from Newark to Israel December 24, returning January 4. I only realized it was cancelled when I checked their app. I looked for the cheapest flights from Europe to Israel and other than tough to get to cities like Larnaca, the cheapest flights seem to be from Milan on El Al and Athens on Israir and Arkia. United has mileage saver options for 35K miles each way from Newark to Milan, so I booked that round trip and bought an El Al ticket for about $500 round trip from Milan to Tel Aviv, giving myself a few hours in Italy to claim my luggage and recheck it. The round trip fares from Athens were under $200. FYI, United was posting available flights using miles from Newark to Israel on Ethiopian Airlines via Ghana and Addis Ababa. Not going to do that and I don’t want to spend the approximately $1,600 non-stop from New York on El Al.
Is there a way to get an El-Al flight to Europe and from there with any other airlines to San Francisco, via code-share and without having to book 2 different tickets?
Yes, via AA
@Dan I’ve heard several 1st hand reports that as of sometime last week BA are no longer rebooking on ElAl .
When were the tickets purchased?
We are getting closer and closer to Pesach dates with these cancellations. If the US and European airlines don’t start flying by Pesach, there is no way that El Al alone could handle the full volume of couples, bochurim, and seminary girls coming home for Pesach
So maybe they should stay. Less financial burden on the parents and families. Many many young couples (including mine!) successfully made Pesach last minute in 2020, and it will be even easier by planning ahead and not under pandemic conditions. Girls for sure should stay – with Pesach so late, there’s hardly any seminary left afterwards.
I agree with crs. When my daughter was in seminary, she turned down our offer to bring her back for Pesach and had a lovely time in Israel. This also may give them the opportunity to spend a full shalom regalia cycle in Israel, which, unless they make aliyah later, they may not get to experience. After my daughter’s wonderful experience, when it comes up, I encourage young people spending a year in Israel not to come back for Pesach.
I booked through virgin for Feb 28 AF jfk-cdg-tlv. If AF cancels will virgin put me on elal ?
“ Update, 12/15:
The Lufthansa Group announced that they will resume flights to Israel next month. The exact flight schedule will be published and available for sale on December 18th and service will resume in phases starting on January 8th.”
does this mean that their insurance started covering flights to Israel and does this mean that U.S. airlines will start flying also especially United which is partnered with Lufthansa?
I hope so. I have a flight with United scheduled for Jan 11 from TLV to EWR. I had to rebook twice – my original flight was early December, then Dec 18, and they cancelled twice. The last time I was chatting with United, they said flights from TLV will resume on Jan 11. They also had to move my return flight to United operated, instead of Lufthansa, as it was booked originally. My guess is they didn’t want to rely on other carriers.
We’ll see.
I can’t see any updates from BA officialy.
On their website it still says January 10th and my flight with them (JFK-LHR-TLV) on the Janurary 21st still booked and valid when I got to manage my booking.
The flight times of Lufthansa group flights make terrible connections to North America.
In September I booked on the CHASE Travel, two Virgin Atlantic Upper Class return tickets TLV-LHR-JFK for travel January 18 – February 5. Chase now tell me that the option to fly out of Tel Aviv to London and back from London to Tel Aviv with El Al (with LHR- JFK on Virgin) only applies if the journey has already started and I am stranded away from home. They say it is not available for new journeys. Virgin say that as the ticket was booked through an agent they have no control of the ticket. CHASE tell me the ticket belongs to Virgin and they should change it. Yesterday a Virgin agent told me she was very sorry for me as I am the pig in the middle and she feels very sorry for me but there is nothing she can do.Dan, what can you suggest?
AFAIK as the booking was done after Oct 7th, your only option is to get a refund for the unused portion and book a one way (might be expensive… try to play with the dates)
No, I said the ticket was booked in September. In the end I got protection tickets from LY but it was a major hassle as no-one at CHASE knew what they were doing.
NP – Chase/Virgin continued. Chase today put El Al flights into my existing TLV-JFK trip but without an airline reference [PNR]. I called Chase who could not give me the info. Virgin says Chase can sort this out quickly and easily by contacting Global Agent Sales Support but they have failed to do so. What is the way out of this quagmire?
I sorted this out by sending a politely angry email to the office of the CEO for Chase’s “Card and Connected Commerce Experience”. Within a few hours I had a competent focused Manager calling me and hey presto all was sorted! It wasn’t worth the stress caused but they even threw me some UR free miles.
If Virgin transferred me to ELAL and then I need to cancel, do I get the refund from ElAl or from Virgin?
is there something not legal about united cancelling the leg of my trip and not giving me an option to bring me to a different country instead?(I.e. Europe)
Hi Dan,
I booked an award flight using skymiles on 10/16/23 for JFK-TLV in February. I called and chatted with Delta today and was told that the best they could do is refund the points and send me to ElAl to book new flights. ElAl will not honor award tickets. Any advice?
HUCA during business hours, ask for a manager.
I HUCAd and had no luck. Supervisor said there simply is no option at the moment to rebook / reprotect reward flights onto ElAl flights. I have a Comfort+ ticket which adds a layer of complication, but ElAl simply has no Delta Award availability on its flights. Maybe HUCA in January?
Booked dl via virgin.
They keep passing the buck.
Any advice?
Hi Dan,
Do you have an idea of the airlines exact insurance policies as in when they would be allowed to travel again? Does the Lufthansa group have a different insurance policy or are all airlines allowed to travel but are holding off at their own accord?
Thanks
Dan, thanks to you we called Delta, as our flight was cancelled, and they indeed rebooked us on El Al
what about air france?
I had a flight for mid Jan booked with Delta (the last leg Air France from Paris to TLV, and Virgin from TLV to London). Saw on the website that the TLV flights were cancelled, chatted with Delta. At first they suggested to move the flights to March when they’re back :). I mentioned that Delta is rebooking with El Al now – so they did, without any further issues.
@dan
I have a flight on Jan 24 with air france from ewr to cdg and then to tlv with air france. They are telling me this flight is still on schedule. But when I try to book another ticket it doesn’t show me this flight and the seating chart looks completely empty. Does this make any sense? When I call them, they are saying it’s on schedule
AF returns to TLV only on March 1st. Some of the reps might not have the updated schedule and / or the system did not update yet.
I just spoke with AF again and they are insisting the TLV flight will depart CDG.
I asked them again, how come I can’t book another ticket for this flight and they had no answer.
You’re dealing with robots. Just wait until the airline gets around to officially canceling it.
I hope Israel doesn’t ever allow a Turkish flight land in Israel territory
Who do you thinks moves almost al the all freight from Israel to Turkey and reverse?
I have round trip on Turkish to Israel 2/5-2/12. Turkish cancelled the IST-TLV and TLV-IST legs. These are saver Business Class tickets. Any chance they will rebook me on United or Lufthansa? I prefer to be rebooked. I am not interested in a refund.
Try it but I doubt it. It is sure worth the try though. Turkish don’t like paying for any sort of claim.
I flew out with my wife and child on American direct to NYC. We got stuck in the US after the war started. American rebooked us on BA (no longer direct) and this flight has been cancelled to date, seven times.
I have asked to be inlined to ELAL each time and was turned down. The amount they want to reimburse me is 460$ which is ridiculous, cause it won’t pay for even half of one ticket.
Dan, you mentioned that some agents are rebooking on ELAL, but that has not been the case for us. Any recommendations on how to make it happen?
We’ve been living out of a suitcase since the war began.
AA also turned me down to get re-booked on ElAl since it’s an award ticket although I a AA platinum pro member
Keep calling, depends on the agent you’re getting – you might get a better luck.
Many people got re-booked on a LY flight (as AA has code share with LY)
United is cancelling flights two weeks in advance. They will only rebook you either within 8 days of your scheduled travel (which they do not have) or for flights within 300 miles of Israel (when they do not have). I hope they will rebook on Lufthansa now. They will refund your money…just annoying when you need to buy a new ticket two weeks before a flight
Always depends on the will of the agent….my friend with a cancelled mid-January UA TLV-EWR flight was just re-booked on LY to EWR
Hey Dan. What is your source? Are these all UNited flights including from Newark? I just spoke to a supervisor and there is no indication from their end that the Newark route is cancelled past January 8…
It takes time for their system to be updated, but it will be canceled.
just tried booking via Lufthansa website for the beginning of march. they are saying they are not flying to tlv. but when I try booking via united, I can pick a Lufthansa flight. bit confused.
Whats’s the story with TAP airlines service to TLV?
Have a TLV-LHR-JFK flight with Virgin. Virgin will ONLY rebook the TLV-LHR part on Elal and then you need to connect to Virgin flight on LHR-JFK.
They will NOT book you on the direct ELAL to the US.
This is a problem since you have to collect your bags at LHR and re-check them. This means clearing LHR immigration, collecting bags and re-checking.
You only need to collect your checked bags if there is more than 12 hours between the scheduled arrival time of the LY flight and the scheduled departure time of the connecting Virgin flight. There is an LY flight from TLV to LHR daily at 9:15am which arrives in London at 12:35pm. There are then several Virgin flights in the afternoon / early evening from London to New York. I would not advise risking VS 153 at 2:05pm as LY lands in T4 and Virgin departs from T3 and the journey between the two takes a long time. On the return you can take VS10 which leaves JFK at 11:00pm, arriving in LHR at 10:55am. The connecting LY flight to TLV is [again from T3] at 2:20pm, plenty of time to make the transfer. You will be pulled aside at LHR to describe your checked baggage. Have your passport and your Teudat Zehut, if you have one, handy as well as the baggage tag receipt. It takes a little longer to go through security but once at the LY gate you are there.
Virgin are doing you a favor by putting you into LY so that you can complete your journey as planned. Other airlines have simply said we are not flying because of the war and refunded your money and left you to find a way to fly on your own, Why should Virgin give up the LHR-JFK revenue sector?
Had RT tickets from EWR->TLV Jan 25. Got notified that United cancelled my outbound flight. In bound was Feb 6 where they cancelled the redeye only – their computer put us on the day flight. I was only able to get them to move us out a week.
DO NOT FLY TURKISH AIR!!!
We used to fly them a lot.
After Oct 7th.
They were offering discounts on the website for terrorists and their families.
That’s incorrect.
https://twitter.com/HonestReporting/status/1716922806649454918
The question is, is it safe to fly through Turkey right now?
It is. Whether you should morally is another question.
True. Are the only people flying in as of now Delta/elal and Lufthansa group?
Booked a flight in November on AA April 5 TLV-JFK, AA first scheduled flight out of TLV is April 2, should I assume it’ll also get cancelled, and if so will there be rebooking options (maybe if IB or BA will fly then)? or I should book LY now cause prices are only going up?
I booked a ticket last April through Orbitz on VA TLV-JFK for mid-January. Virgin tells me that Orbitz should rebook me on ElAl, but are telling Orbitz that my only options are rebooking for after they resume flights or a refund. Any advice on how to deal with this?
“Those are organizations that have utterly failed in their obligation to check on the wellbeing of the hostages, and won’t even ask to see the hostages or provide them with medication”
Note: they have the chutzpa to knock Israel for “mistreating” the hammas POWs. By forcing all prisoners to strip down to their underwear, IDF is preventing getting bombed (or shot by hidden guns).
Delta just cancelled our post-Pesach return flight TLV-ATL. It seems they may have cancelled the whole route.
Interesting
I booked 2 tix for kids to come home- NY April 8th and return afterwards…
Is that just for the Atlanta route?
“AEGEAN announces that, as of January 11th, direct flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport of Tel Aviv will be resumed.”
Whose airline is that and what is the route?
It’s a Greece airline they don’t fly to America, they have a few nonstop flights a day to Athens, sometimes possible to book as a connection with emirates from Newark
“El Al is now offering free voucher conversion for flights through 4/30.” Pesach ends that day and all return flights after Pesach are after this date. As the return flight is on May 1, does that mean that we can’t cancel our trip to Israel for Pesach?
Dan any take on this story? .JetBlue Says Seat Swap Creates Weight Issues, Throws Jewish Passengers Off Flight
https://vinnews.com/2024/01/03/jetblue-says-seat-swap-creates-weight-issues-throws-jewish-passengers-off-flight/
Sounds pretty bad, if you know the passengers involved I’d be happy to interview them and write about it, as I’ve done in the past with stories like this.
Very similar story happened 3 weeks ago on Jetblue. A friend of mine politely asked the flight attendant a question, and she said “that’s verbal abuse”, and threw him and his family off the plane. He’s not ready to have his name and video all over social media yet, but he’s dealing with it.
All the other passengers on the plane who saw the whole thing said it was straight out antisemitism.
We’re in golus!
Any reports of delta rebooking award bussiness class to elal?
What are the chances that my United February 6 and return February 28 to Israel from Newark is going to happen?
British also showing availability on skyscanner
Ryanair FEB 1
El Al’s website still only shows vouchers through 1/31 travel. Can you please clarify the 4/30 extension? Thank you.
https://www.elal.com/en/PassengersInfo/Pages/CreditSteps.aspx
If I need cancel a ticket that was booked with a voucher, after 24 hours of purchase, how do I do it online or over the phone?
It seems that Elal is currently NOT offering vouchers & they will start again in Feb.
https://www.elal.com/heb/useful-info/peace-of-mind
https://www.elal.com/en/PassengersInfo/Pages/CreditSteps.aspx
This contradicts what they have on their main page
https://www.elal.com/eng/general/press-release/current-events
You expect them to keep every page updated? Hachi babayit baby!
😀
So true! Gotta love them
This is insane and likely illegal. United cancelled our TLV to EWR flight back on 12/21. Since then, they have not allowed us to rebook on another airline or their next available flight quoting some internal policy until a January 8 date. This is not available anywhere on their site or online. How can they literally cancel my ticket and not rebook me for 3 weeks! Our original flight was 01/23. Anyone experiencing this? Would really appreciate some assistance.
If I book an El Al flight using Chase Ultimate Reward Points
And then cancel
Would I get a refund/ points redeposited as well?
Is it confirmed that Austrian, Lufthansa, and Swiss will start flying this week? i want to book for February
Could anyone confirm that luftansa started flying today?
Had the same question, I did a search on flightaware for DLH680. seems that yes.
Until how long before an Elal flight can you cancel for a voucher?
FYI: My Brussels Airlines flight in February from JFK-TLV through Brussels was changed to Lufthansa equipment and I am now flying through Munich. So it’s a Brussels Airlines code share flight
Dan,
A few months ago I booked a rt United mileage flight to TLV for November. They cancelled my flight and they gave me the flexibility to I reook at a hgher cost for Dec 25-Jan 2. Later , they cancelled that flight as well, but they did not give me the flexibility to rebook or not ebven when i called them on the phone. Ultimately, I did not rebook, and I have not yet been credited my miles for that flight. I know that I can call United and get credited back my miles, but is there anything better for me to do?
Delta flight from Tel Aviv to US was canceled and they rebooked me to an el Al flight for free
did anyone book virgin with miles and get rebooked on elal bec on the phone they said only if you book with $ and not with points
Cancelations getting close to or are already affecting Pesach. Good luck to everyone getting their kids home for Yom Tov (myself included)
Lot and lufthansa both have cheap flights
Delta is only canceled thru 4/19
And even if you booked with miles they are re-booking on elal
1. Incorrect.
2. That’s what the post says.
I just got off the phone with them and that’s what they told me ♂️
See rule 3.
https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=135511
Delta cancelled our May 1 flight, TLV-JFK
Why would anyone in their right mind want to fly government-owned Turkish Airlines in view of their full-throated support for Hamas. Is it really that important for you to save a few shekels to contribute to the destruction (G-d forbid) of Eretz Yisrael???
Brussels airlines next bookable flight March 4 to and from TLV
Swiss vs. Lufthansa from EWR-TLV…any opinions? Doesn’t matter?
I have booked a flight with 47k Turkish on United, flight is cancelled, and Turkish customer service says that since it’s a star alliance ticket they can’t refund the miles and I need to go to a local ticket office to process a full refund. Doesn’t make any sense, is there any other way to get the miles refunded?
HUCA?
Otherwise, I’d file a DOT complaint.
I had the same problem. TK customer service phone number was not being helpful. What I did is fill out the feedback form on the TK website explaining the problem. Then a week later I got an email saying that the fact that UA is not operating the route anymore has been noted on my ticket and I can now call back up TK phone support to cancel as normal without paying cancelation fee. Called up and they were able to cancel right away.
Thanks, I emailed a few ticket offices and got a reply from the NYC office asking to fill out a form and send back together with copy of passport and copy of the cc used for the taxes (for the 5.60 refund…). But I’ll first try HUCA and the feedback form, much easier
@DAN do you think delta will put me on to an elal flight if booked my flight through KLM through points?
Please help!!
I have 2 frozen tickets (not vouchers) with EL AL that expire in June.
Is there any way I can get a voucher for this or get them to push off the expiration date? Please share any tips.
[If I get a refund I will lose more then half the ticket (Because part of the ticket was booked with a voucher that has already expired).]
can you cancel el al for free or voucher if u book in the 24 hour of flight departure?
Hi, hoping someone might be able to help with this question. Flying to LHR with an 8 hour layover until El Al flight. NO checked baggage. I have lounge access (both in terminal 3 and 4) – can I stay airside and get from terminal 3 to terminal 4 (and vice versa) without officially entering UK and get my EL AL boarding pass airside in terminal 4? Many thanks in advance…
Do you know why the delta price for el Al flights is significantly higher than the el Al price
@dan, I’m heard today from a flight attendant that United will be opening nonstop flights from Newark to Tel Aviv. Can you please confirm this great news!?
Flight attendants are always the worst source of info.
Hey Dan,
You probably know the answer to this question..
Being that I have a few kids to bring home for Passover And it seems like ELAL is currently the only option,
what stops them or why won’t they just lease another 10 jets and instead of just 4 flights a day,
have 10 to 15 flights a day so they can fill up all those planes and have an option for their customers. Heck, they can probably fill up twenty five planes a day starting from april first going for subsequent few weeks until the holiday….
Same on the return…
I imagine it has something to do with limited routes
available to them as an international airline vis a vis the USA, but I wonder if there is something they can do due to war time to apply quickly for more routes and/or lease jets from the airlines that are not currently using them for these routes?
Would appreciate what you can add to this discussion.
1. Renting a jet isn’t like renting a car. It takes a long time and expense.
2. JFK is slot controlled, they can’t just add flights there.
And Newark isn’t?
Regarding point number one:
they have had many months to figure this out already..
And it is certainly worth the time and expense to go through with it.. Especially at the prices that they are charging now for round trip tickets…
And regarding point number 2, what about newark?
Newark is also restricted.
Since it’s so many months ahead, it would be a huge risk because things may change. What if they charter planes and then the US airlines decide to resume flights?
So does today’s article about ELAL flights being added address this issue?
(I should have asked about Mashiach:)
What are the chances that UA 84/85 will fly in Feb as scheduled. Or should we be moving to ElAl
Highly unlikely.
Thanks @dan I guess hope is not a plan and I will book an elal flight
CLE regards
It’s strange that they’re waiting so long to cancel compared to other airlines. Also does the fact that they only kept flights 84/85 and pushed off 90/91 show that they’re trying to figure out a plan?
They may be working on plans, but without crew that will agree to it, it won’t add up to much.
Pushing off 90/91 frees up planes for other plans.
And now canceled.
The EK/A3 combination seems to be a great connection option to EWR. Would they rebook me since they’re both partners or would they try Star alliance first?
Call and let us know. My guess is they’ll only offer *A.
what is your source of this info?
i have called united as i have a flight 2/29 and they advised the flight is still showing
source? why are my posts not being posted? what is the source for this info?
We have tickets on United for Pesach (April 18 to May 1). Any idea when United will decide about these dates — we cannot rebook on El Al until United cancels and we get refunded.
They have been cancelling within a couple weeks of the flights. Good luck.
following is a direct quote from United CFO on their earnings call held on 1/23 “Service to Tel Aviv will resume as soon as it’s safe for our customers and crew, but no sooner than February 15”
Yup. That’s the same thing.
Is Brussels Airlines flying to Israel? Don’t see it on your list of airlines.
Can be booked with aeroplan.
United just canceled all February flights to TLV.
source?
Dan,
Do you think that by sukkos, they will be flying to TLV? Especially Delta? I understand no one is a נביא. What do you think? If not, what is the alternative to fly direct from NY excluding elal as they will be super expensive…
Thank you.
ELAl are not ” super expensive…” they are actually comparatively cheaper than the US airlines and don’t have the annoying “basic economy” fares that are deceptive in nature (who flies to Israel with no checked bag?!)
Do some research , be flexible with dates- cheap seat fares come and go so need to be alert!
just got notice from AF that my Delta booking in July was cancelled.
Delta not showing availability now thru 2024 – all those award bookings were prob the killer for them.
Hi Dan . I booked before October 7 on United for flight in April TLV. If they cancel on me, will they allow a one time fare difference waive throughout flight scheduling same destinations ?
United rebooked me on Austrian Airlines for a January flight after the flight was officially canceled and after a few phone calls. Original United flight was booked before Oct 7.
I had Feb tickets with United and they refused to rebook me on Star Alliance partner flights like Lufthansa, saying that they “changed their policy regarding this”
Did they book you on another flight?
No all they offered was a refund. They refused to book me on alternative star alliance flights. I had Austrian and Lufthansa options that I was interested in and they flat out refused. Spoke to a supervisor as well.
Hope Israel suspends Turkish Air indefinitely!
I called united and they say our feb 27 return from Israel is still happening. What can we do?
Same here. They insist flight is still showing as active
I have the same issue for UA flight 85 on Feb 22nd. CS saying that they have a waiver only in place till 2/15. This is from corporate. When I ask why I cant see this flight for sale on UA.com (as of 1/28/23)they say that they are sold out. Please advise where the info that was posted on 2/26 is from. It is surprising the CS does not have the waiver extended.
Like I wrote, it takes time for them to actually cancel the flight.
so how do you know and what is your source that feb flights are cancelled but not actually cancelled? not saying this is my source but when you post here, people take your commentary very seriously and expect it to be accurate and then hoping to be able to make changes accordingly. posting here that the flights are cancelled gets people active to look for other options but when calling united, they say we are crack because the flights are still showing active
You realize this pattern has repeated itself a dozen times since 10/7, right?
They stop selling seats and then they cancel the flights several days later.
but you said it was cancelled. if it hasnt been officially cancelled, it should be noted. words matter. people rely on this information. and then try to make changes based on it. i am not saying we shouldnt also do our own research etc but if you come out with authority that a flight is cancelled, some support or source for this would be prudent especially since not everyone has the same arsenal and wherewithal or even knowledge as to how to make changes. luckily, i think i can weather the storm but i would be remiss to not suggest that when making statements such as when flights are cancelled, especially in this environment where readers are clearly relying on you, to either wait until its officially cancelled or like you have in the past, say DansDeals reached out to united and we were advised the flight was cancelled or something of that nature
I’ve been reporting for 20 years based on patterns as I see them and have a pretty solid track record. No need to continue reading if that doesn’t meet your standards.
Dan, I have tickets on United for March EWR to TLV. Do u think there is a chance that this will happen?
Doubtful
AA suspended up to May 8th now.
@Dan I’m trying to get rebooked from a flight on 02/21, there is very limited options but united keeps on claiming that it’s still flying, do you mind to share from where is the info that all flights are canceled, is it that all inventory is pulled or it says somewhere where I can point the UA rep. Thanks
This pattern has repeated itself a dozen times since 10/7.
They stop selling seats and then they cancel the flights several days later. Your options are to book something else now and get a refund when United cancels or wait for United to officially cancel and ask for alternate flight options.
If the date of the United cancellation covers only the first leg of the trip (i.e. EWR to TLV) but not the date of the return (TLV to EWR), will they cancel and refund the entire reservation or does one have to wait until they also cancel the return date?
You can cancel the round-trip at that point.
I feel for the SA Jews who want to visit Israel and now cannot fly El Al.
How do you easily find when an airline is starting to book seats? What is the word on AC? Oyyyy it was bad enough that ElAl stopped flying from Canada last year for a whole bunch of reasons, but the lack of direct flights now is really hard.
does anyone know whats with british? would i be safe if i book with them from tlv to lax for pesach?
its simply half the price of el al….
I certainly wouldn’t count on that.
United cancelled my son’s return flight from Israel. Is it possible to negotiate or push back on the $ amount that United has attributed to the return segment? It is less than half of the full roundtrip fare paid. Also, I have not claimed it as a refund yet, wondering if there is any value to keeping it as a credit with United as opposed to taking the refund. Appreciate any advice here.
Also, if the ticket was purchased with points through the Chase Reserve portal, would a refund come back as equivalent points (with the 1.5 factor) or would United send a check or refund the credit card in $? Thanks.
When was he supposed to return that they already canceled it? What date?
I also have tickets on united TLV-NEW for my sons to return for Pesach…
It was mid-January. I can’t recall exactly when they cancelled relative to the flight date. Maybe a couple days or so before.
Hoping someone can respond on question above. One way flights cost much more than the value of a return segment of a roundtrip flight.
What’s the best now to fly from New York to Israel?
@dan if im booked on united to israel for april and they have not yet cancelled, tickets were booked through amex, amex telling me that united will charge $500 per ticket to cancel guessing bec they have not officially cancelled yet. any way around that?
Hi,anybody know if ita (Italian airline) is flying? Tia
+1 @Dan ITA website says they are resuming service to TLV march 1st. is there a reason you did not include them in your update??
I keep trying to roll by United Reservation to whatever they have. They don’t let me do this until the reservation appears as “Cancelled”. Dan updated this thread on 1/26 to say that United removed 2/15-2/29 flights from EWRTLV from being bookable. Oddly, today is 1/30 and my 2/15 reservation to TLV still shows active.
Try calling 1-888-825-7684 -dedicated UA teams for TLV flights
Is Lufthansa flying now?
yes
I WAS ON FLIGHT 90 FOR 2ND WEEEK IN MARCH RETURNING ON FLIGHT 91 AND THEY JUST CANCELLED IT AND REBOOKED ME ON FLIGHT 84 RETURNING ON 85 DOES THAT MEAN THAT THEY ARE GOING TO FLY? !
No
@Dan, do you still believe so?
Do we have to wait for Feb 15 or 16 to learn about March 1-15?
Dan knows his stuff! I just received a United cancelation email for a RT flight from TLV to EWR starting on 2/22. I booked El Al 2 days ago based on Dan’s post. I just checked on EL Al and if I booked today for the same flights the price increased $250! Thank you.
My pleasure, good job!
Is Turkish not flying till October 27 a typo???
And would you recommend not flying on Turkish, even when they resume service, due to Turkey’s belligerence to Israel?
Not a typo.
That’s more of a question for your provider of moral guidance.
Thank you!!!!
AA has canceled flights through 4/3, but isn’t bookable until 5/6. Does that mean that a flight booked for sometime in between those two dates is going to be cancelled?
Doesn’t this all basically means that there is no one reliable for a EWR-TLV round trip except for EL AL for the next few months at least? So why exactly bother looking into anything else?
True. One can hope I suppose.
Not exactly on this topic but looking for some help:
At the end of March, I have an early morning flight on Lufthansa for my family of ten with a connection in Franfurt (to ATL). Lufthansa seems to be cancelling those early morning flights. If they do cancel, will they rebook us to afternoon flight? If we are forced to overnight in Frankfurt do they give us a hotel voucher?
It appears Virgin isn’t flying to TLV in April anymore
Where did you see that update
Next bookable flight is on 9/5/24. I guess existing reservations with flight prior to September 5 will be canceled soon.
BH, United keeps letting me postpone my trip as they keep cancelling flights (hour+ on hold each time). With ElAl (at least on the NYC routes) charging 1.5x what they normally do and yet flights are nearly full 3 weeks out, you’d think United would find a way back to be able to resume this very profitable route. I ended up booking on ElAl for nearly the same dates I have tickets on United for – but if somehow, United does fly before then, I’ll take the El Al Voucher.
Next bookable flight on Virgin Atlantic is now on 9/5/24
Also Iberia canceled today my flight to Israel on April. Apparently they only canceled their second daily flight to Tel Aviv and they still selling one earlier daily flight to Tel Aviv on April.
My daughter has a return flight on March 27th with united from tlv to Newark. I was going to use that for her her return from Seminary in early June. What can I do? Thanks
Can kohanim fly out of ewr, with no meisim on specific flights? Thanks
Hi Dan I had an AA operated by BA flight From Tel Aviv to JFK through London with a 2 hour stopover on April 1 which BA cancelled. AA was only able to reschedule me on a Iberia flight with an overnight layover. Can I claim compensation for a hotel stay due to this? Thanks
You can book BA and then call up to be moved to ElAL due to stopover!
Where did you get that from.
did so myself! i guess only for the lhr – tlv segment
AA just cancelled JFK-TLV till 10/28
AA cancelled my Direct’s flight for October 2024
“Don’t worry, the value of your ticket is safe.
You can apply the value of your unused flights towards a future trip.
AA please we need you back who will give us iiiiii??????
What can you do with a unused voucher that is only valid for the same traveler and is expiring soon and I fly to Israel?
Dan pls quote good news!
BA will be back to 2 daily flights LHR TLV from June 23 on an A320. BA404 departing LHR at 9:15pm staying at TLV from 4:20am untill 6am departing as BA405 arriving in LHR at 9:30am.
”operational stop in Larnaca, where it will switch crew.”
Will the new crew cotinue back to LHR? and what’s about the previous crew? will they return promptly to base?
EazyJet will resume flights to TLV on end of Mar , from LON first only 4 times a week, in May daily flights. other destinations as so.
Where do you see this?
I need help I need to bring my son and granddaughter to Chicago from Tel Aviv on April 8. And leaving on the 15th HELP. He has points on American Airlines but I can’t figure out how to use them If I need to book all of it by money and hold onto the AA points, I will do that
Your best bet is ORD-FRA-TLV
ON 8th and TLV-VIE—ORD on 15th
Around $1400
Im on a virgin flight in april from TLV to JFK booked with virgin points anybody know what thell give me?
Yes. Virgin Atlantic from JFK to LHR and El AL from LHR to TLV
Virgin sent an email today:
Hello,
After careful consideration, we have taken the difficult decision to extend our pause on flying to and from Tel Aviv up to and including 4th September 2024.
We’re sorry for the inconvenience caused. Several options are available, so we need you to tell us what action you would like us to take with your booking. If you booked your ticket directly with Virgin Atlantic and would like a refund, please visit our form.
Sad, received it as well.
After about 10 HUCA and multiple calls made by rep to help desk, AA official policy is not to rebook on a nonstop LY flight. Only connecting through Europe even if they give you LY to Europe they won’t do LY nonstop to the US. Wondering if worth filing a DOT complaint for this as I paid for a non stop flight why won’t they allow it?
Nope, their only obligation is a refund.
Ok thanks!
My Virgin flights for Pesach (booked on points) were cancelled. I called Virgin and they booked me on El Al TLV-LHR and then Virgin LHR-JFK. I asked them to put me on El Al direct to JFK, but they refused.
HUCA?
They said because it was a points booking they could not switch it to direct, but that if it was a cash ticket they would have been able to (this was in upper class).
HUCA?
will wizz actually start flying on march 1
Elal cancel reproduction contract with all airlines. No more getting rebooted on elal after March 30th
Source?
Yes. Virgin refused to rebook me on elal (not even TLV-LHR) for April upper class flight. They only offer me Air France TLV-CDG-LHR-US. They say- no more agreement with Elal in April!
@dan
same
Sounds like they made a policy change today. Shame!
Did you ask for JFK-LHR on Virgin and LHR-TLV on El Al that someone said they got?
Yes
Yes. Spoke few times- Same result. No Elal After April 1
“This is all we have for you. To re-protect you on. We can only re-book you on a AirFrance flight or we can refund you your ticket.
“I am sorry we are not able to do this as policy only offers the El Al flight to be before 30MAR24 due to contract we have. Anything else after 30MAR24 will need to be booked with AirFrance.
“I understand, but communications came back last night that we can only book El Al flights up to 30MAR24”
Virgin
Will you be updating the post, or not yet?
I did.
Update: VS rebooked on LY for April + May travel.
not true, AA booked me on LY LHR-TLV in May
Think Delta will fly in May??
My son has a ticket to return from israel to NYC for Pesach on 4/9. It’s a return of a roundtrip ticket booked last June when he flew to Israel. Now that American officially cancelled the flight I wanted to know if there was any way I could get them to at least book him on a stopover through Europe – lets say on British from TLV to LHR and then on American from LHR to JFK. When I called them they just said it’s cancelled I can apply for a refund, the person I spoke said there’s nothing else she can do. How can I go about getting them to book with a partner airline even with a stopover, or at least to give me a flight from LHR-JFK on American and I’ll purchase something from TLV-LHR. Otherwise buying a new ticket now, closer to travel time will be much more expensive. I wonder how much they would even give me for the cancellation, as the whole roundtrip was around 1,200 and one way was already flown.
TY
Just call back and try HUCA …they should provide some options – supply them with these routes IB 2394 TLV-MAD 530-950 (Iberia codeshare operated by ELAL) and then IB 6251 MAD-JFK 1225-240
Ask for a supervisor to approve if given a rejection…good luck!
Dan, thanx for the advice, greatly appreciated, along with all your help as always.
Tried HUCA, after a little back and forth they agreed to find him another flight. They ended up booking him on ElAl from TLV – FCO, 1:45 stopover, then on AA from FCO-JFK.
Thnx again
Thnx. I’ll try again.
He has a return ticket to TLV May 6, purchased from El Al to fly on Delta direct JFK-TLV. Did Delta cancel that yet? If yes, would El Al honor it on their own flights, or another airlines? TYVM
if purchased from ELAL, sure they will change you to LY metal
metal?
If i have a Delta flight to Israel in May and they end up canceling it, would they provide me a different ticket with a stop??
I spoke to a few different representatives from Virgin who told me that they can no longer switch you to Elal for any flight after 3/30. Their only opion from TLV-NYC is Air France which has an overnight stay in France
Could be an internal Virgin decision but ELAL did not stop allowing it
I’m guessing Virgin saw all the Pesach tickets booked in April and decided that now was a good time to change the policy.
i had a round trip ticket with virgin april 7th to jfk and may 12th to tlv and they kindly rebooked rebooked me on el al
When did you call Virgin to switch?
Any advice for someone booked on Virgin in June via award from flying blue AF/KLM? will af waive refund fees etc?
i rebooked already on monday, right when they officially cancled me
Update: A canceled AA miles ticket was finally ticketed on ELAL for 4/30. Tried to have it switched to July and now PNR status says “on request” for hours…waiting to see if LY will approve. (An extra seat on separate PNR using first name “Extraseat” was automatically kicked out by LY so no ticket generated there).
I spent a few hours on the phone with virgin today and they told me that they cannot rebook on ElAl even though they offered it yesterday and only offered airfrance with two stops. However I know someone who booked the same flight through a travel agent and was able to book through elal today. (When i told that to virgin they said Elal will probably not honor that .) Is there hope of getting on to Elal or any other options?
HUCACACA
What is the status of Air Canada? I have AC flights to Israel come up in searches. Are they now flying to Israel?
No.
Now Virgin saying can only rebook Lhr to Tlv not Tlv to lhr
Dan, any word from United? For the past few months, I’ve been tracking United’s round trip airfare from EWR -> TLV for their next bookable flights. The round trip coach fares were close to $2k. Suddenly, they are selling tickets for March that are more in line with what we are used to, and significantly less than El Al. Sounds like they are serious. Does that mean they are going to stop postponing flights?
Wondering the same
virgin just rebooked me on elal lon to tlv after trying 8 times
Virgin telling me now “No sorry, the El Al rebooking options are only available if you are currently booked on or before the 30th March, as your booking is after this date, El Al will not allow us to move you to them.”
@dan anyway to investigate if this is true?
It’s not true, just a change in Virgin policy.
HUCACACACA.
After an hour on chat they just now rebooked me Elal TLV-LHR, Virgin LHR-JFK, Self transfer.
But only for a fight in march. (original flight April 3).
They refused with all means on offering Elal direct
I Hucaed and got them to do ly lhr to tlv leg for may 8th. Called Feb 17
Will luggage of such boking be fwd or need to collect and recheck?
Should be fowarded
I booked on delta last year and canceled I have voucher expiring in march any way how to extend it? I have no way to use it now.
Call them?
Why hasn’t ITA returned yet?
Any word from Wizz, Easyjet and Ryanair?
If I’m looking to book tickets for Sukkos, does it make sense to do so with Delta (instead of any of the other airlines with scheduled flight to Israel at such time), since they now have a partnership with El Al, and therefore if Delta is not flying by then, they would put me on a direct El Al flight?
ita are returning in march
i assume the iberia isnt lie flight ? [before oct 7 they often had lie flat…]
@Dan do you have an update on ITA airlines?
Why can’t the European carriers have a quick turnaround with the regular hours they used to: night departures from Europe, early morning departures from TLV? Especially since it appears that NATBAG lifted the night takeoff restrictions.
you could just take morning ly connection ex tlv
they codeshare
Why does Huca help with virgin if it’s a change in their policy?
I’m booked on Virgin upper class via LHR on May 2. They said ElAL no longer an option if after MAR 31. Agent then proceeded to offer me Delta business direct TLV to JFK then came back on phone and said being that it’s an award booking and no award availability on Delta,it wouldn’t work. Although partners not for such a scenario. For award booking onto a cash booking. HUCA’d a few times actually got a smart and happy to help agent and had NOTHING more to offer me.
If you actually want to fly, better push for LY to London than Delta direct.
Is there an EasyJet update
You said that Emirates have3 pulled their flights but they have 2 flights scheduled for tomorrow from TLV
Operated by Aegean Airlines.
Is the Emirates flight from TLV to EWR (through Aegean Airlines – with a stopover in Athens) still flying? Anyone has any experience with that flight leg? TIA
I did EWR-ATH Emirates ATH-TLV Israir self connection, Amazing experience!
I did it with israir late last year. Im personally but a big Emirates fan (flew both economy and business – business was awful economy was ok).
If I need to book tix JFK to TLV that I don’t want cancelled and I’m willing to do stopover in Europe should I make sure second leg is elal or o can trust Air France or Alitalia (for example) to make the second leg to Israel
Please provide a link for Turkish airways not flying through Oct. 27.
I called Turkish, and the rep said my Oct 14 JFK-IST-TLV is still active.
I can’t cancel until I get an email from Turkish saying flight was canceled.
google translate will help…was all over the news in Israel…
https://www.ynet.co.il/vacation/flights/article/s1xffdwqp
Airlines don’t officially cancel until they feel like it, perhaps because they can hold onto your money if they don’t cancel.
Isn’t United well overdue regarding an announcement for TLV travel March 1-15?
Will United fly EWR-TLV in March? No cancellation meanwhile, and in the past they notified at least 2 weeks in advance.
Dan any update on united they still showing starting Mar 1 and they also updated there flight times ?
United now canceled all ORD, SFO till July
Just got Virgin to book Tlv to Lhr on elal then to jfk with virgin booked upper class with points
Date of travel?
@Dan
Will United fly EWR-TLV in March? No cancellation meanwhile, and in the past they notified at least 2 weeks in advance.
Actually still have my direct fight on United business on mar14 that I snatched from here for 70k
Not sure I’ll go though
I have flights booked from EWR on UA90 for Apr 17 – Any ideas when they will cancel those?
When they feel like it 😀
🙂 Thanks! So I am stuck with no refund until then….
If I have an 0091 booked for the end of March, were those flights officially canceled? Can I hope for a refund?
They will be. You can request a refund.
‘Technical stop’ = direct flight briefly stopping for perhaps a crew swap only, without additional passengers boarding or deplaning?
Exactly.
Are these the only confirmed flights? What’s with the following week?
Thanks but no thanks.
El Al stuck it out while the rest of the airlines left Israel high and dry. El Al has earned my business and that’s not going to stop now that the others jumped back in.
Flew to Israel two weeks ago with El Al and had a great experience. Bye United, Bye American and all the others.
(No – I don’t work for El Al or have any affiliations in the airline industry!)
Kol Hakoved! Hopefully the United reentry will bring the prices down across carriers so that even those flying on El Al will also benefit.
They are not interested to lower prices the lack revenue, and you are a good sucker to feed them. If Hitler was alive and had a shop, would you buy goods by him because if was the cheapest or had the best schmaltz herring mit kichels?
Well said well done.
No dealing with Hamas supporters (Crewmen Ibrahim)
Either they are with us or against us.
the United flights for pesach are showing at 3000
What does a “technical stop” mean?
See a few comments before yours with Dan’s response…
@dan
You didn’t mention that the TLV-muc-ewr flights on mar 3 and 5 changed TLV departure (from 11:30am) to 2:25pm, and arrive in ewr 10 pm (instead of 4:40pm), too later to make same day connections to other US cities.
Also, the non-stop tlv-ewr is officially 12 hrs. Even though they say it’s a 1.5 hour stop in Munich, the total time is now 14.5 hours.
so you went all crazy on them yesterday. eat crow
Nope. This does nothing to justify the past 5 months of close-in cancelations or their continued employment of an openly anti-Semitic pilot.
will united flights direct from tlv to newark be taking off or are all those also canceled like the night flights coming from newark?
When are you referring to?
From Jerusalem Post: Brussels Airlines said on Thursday that it will restart flights to Israel from March 24.
Like many other carriers, the Belgian airline stopped flying to Israel after the October 7 massacre by Hamas.
The decision to resume flights was made ‘after careful consideration with all relevant departments,’ it said in a statement.
The carrier, which is a subsidiary of Germany’s Lufthansa, will begin by operating three flights per week from Brussels to Tel Aviv.
why should you believe UA will really operate service to TLV more then till now??
@Dan. Does it make sense a one way ticket on united from TLV to EWR, can only be used from TLV to EWR?
And can’t depart from any other country?
if booked on united.com go to that reservation, select ‘change flight’ and then enter new destination/dates, likely resulting in fare difference…better option is always to cancel flight, get travel credit then re-book with those credits.
If booked through third-party then yes, only TLV-EWR can be used.
Got it!
Thanks!
We had a United return (2 way) ticket TLV to EWR bought in Oct for Dec 2023, we did not respond to emails offering refund etc. Last night we changed original (cancelled) booking & made an unconfirmed booking for March with United rep, everything went without a hitch (we didn’t confirm pending my son’s approval), this morning they (incl supervisor) refused to honor & confirm for price paid. What’s my option now, can I bind them to the conversation whereby they accepted the booking, is there a chance that trying again will work? Will HUACA work?
From my experiance it’s best to call not during busssines hours. (i.e. night or Sunday).
I called united now to change from the MUC stop. They say they have a special dept for TLV flights now b/c they’re getting so many calls about it.
ITA airways to resume service on March 1st
What’s the story with TAP? Is there a reason they aren’t mentioned in this post?
Nit: latest update lists Iberia Express as resuming in March. They’re not starting until April 1.
Dan, what’s the latest on Air Canada? Would you recommend me booking a return flight from Israel to USA now for my daughter from Seminary for mid June using air Canada points?
We have a family Chasuna Tu B’av in Yerushalayim. About 15 of us want to book for Shabbos Nachamu from nyc to tlv roundtrip. Should we do a group? Are Elal prices going down from the $1500 they are now? Will they add more flights? Is it too early to book? Is Moshiach coming? We would like refundable tickets, no such thing? Please advise. Todah!
1) Mazel Tov!
2) Yes
3) No
4) No
5) No
6) YES!!!!
7) Yes, possibly
8) I will check my crystal ball…
BEHATZLACHA!
is it possible to purchase elal tickets with chase points and then add elal protect through elal?
Is ITA actually beginning in Marxch? We just called the airline, and the agent said they don’t see anything scheduled. And there are no flights for March.
Dan, is there any way you could clarify if EasyJet are starting again?
I saw posted that Delta is starting to fly again on May 1, is that confirmed?
United prices are crazy for business and premium economy!
Would you fly United if you don’t know for sure that Ibrahim R. Mossallam isn’t the pilot?
Is there any way to know the name of your pilot before you board the plane?
Any updates on delta or air Canada?
do they need to go down of the plane in MUC ?
i am flying tom. from EWR with that flight and i got 2 boarding passes by online checkin
Anyone know what’s going on with Easy Jet?
What’s the point of the tech stop? Why would the MUC crew be able to fly to TLV but not the EWR crew?
Because then that crew can man the trip from MUC-TLV roundtrip without having to have anyone stay in TLV overnight…
just to make clear can i book already a united ewr to tlv flight for end of march?
Try it and let us know
Flew on the second UA fight to Israel yesterday (via Munich). I think direct flights are starting this week, but the Munich stop was pretty smooth. Flight was relatively empty. When we landed, the ground crew met us holding “Welcome Back United” signs. The return of the foreign carriers is much appreciated.
Anybody have update on Wizz and Easyjet??
Wizz is back already
Anyone know how UA figured out the crew issue? Did they find crews willing to stay in TLV, or do they fly an off-duty crew one way?
They found crews willing to overnight in TLV.
Is it safe for Jews to take Etihad with layovers in Dubai?
Yes
I think you mean Abu Dhabi, but yes
I am very excited to be flying on the first direct flight from TLV to EWR tomorrow. I also got an awesome deal because I booked minutes after Dan posted the anouncement.
Awesome!
I believe Aegean airlines has resumed flights. If you check flight stats, flight 927 departed and arrived yesterday