As airlines transition to life after COVID, many are reassessing their networks and launching new routes. In a bold move, Israeli flag carrier El Al has announced it will introduce nonstop flights between Tel Aviv and Melbourne next year.

Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria, is Australia's second-largest city, and the new service will be the first to link Israel and Australia with a nonstop flight. This week, El Al Israel Airlines (El Al) signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the Victorian State Government to launch the route by June 2024.

This will position Melbourne International Airport (MEL) as El Al's hub for passengers traveling to Australia and New Zealand destinations. The LOI calls for three times weekly services using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which will deliver 44,000 seats annually by the middle of next year. At the signing ceremony in Tel Aviv, El Al CEO Dina Ben Tal Ganancia said:

"We look forward to launching our first ever non-stop flights to Melbourne as we position Victoria as Israel's gateway to Australia. We thank the Victorian Government for its support."

A direct route is now open for El Al

El Al initially considered launching the service in 2019, running a handful of test flights to evaluate the route. The arrival of COVID-19 scuttled those plans, but the project has resurfaced with the opening of Saudi and Oman airspace to Israeli airlines. Access to that airspace cut the flight time to around 15 hours eastbound and 17 hours westbound, putting it within direct reach of El Al's Dreamliners.

Current fleet data from ch-aviation.com shows that El Al has a widebody fleet of three 787-8s, twelve 787-9s and two 777-200ERs. The data also lists one Airbus A320-200, sixteen 737-800s and eight 737-900ERs. All but one 737-800 are listed as active.

As the agreement is between Al El and the Victorian government, the announcement emphasized its economic benefits to the state. Victoria's Minister of Industry and Innovation, Ben Carroll, said the partnership with El Al was designed to strengthen business connections and create jobs locally.

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New routes are a valuable commodity

Attracting new airline routes is as much about economic impact as it is about convenient connections for passengers. This agreement is forecast to deliver an AU$48 million ($32.2 million) annual boost to Victoria's economy and create around 155 jobs in the aviation and tourism sectors. Carroll added:

"More international flights to such an important trading partner will power our economy and boost our status as a key destination for tourism, trade and investment."

Australia is also a popular destination for students from Israel, with 45% of Israeli students arriving in Australia choosing universities and institutions in Victoria to pursue their studies.

El Al is not the first airline to benefit from Victorian government support to open new routes. Other carriers partnering with the Victorian government include Australia's flag carrier Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, United Airlines, Bamboo Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways and Scoot.

From the El Al perspective, the new route to Melbourne is another element of its post-COVID network expansion strategy. This month it is launching services from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) to Tokyo, Dublin, Porto and Istanbul.

Will these direct flights be a success? Let us know in the comments.

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