El Al’s record-breaking year continued in the third quarter with revenue just over $1 billion, or 20% more than the second quarter. Net profit was $187 million in the third quarter, compared with $52m. in the same quarter last year, El Al reported Wednesday.
Demand for El Al tickets has surged as foreign airlines have canceled flights to Israel due to the Israel-Hamas War, leaving El Al with near-monopoly status. Many Israelis are reluctant to book with other airlines even if tickets are available, fearing foreign carriers will cancel flights if the security situation changes.
El Al said it was able to increase its available seat kilometers (ASK), a measure of its passenger carrying capacity, by 15% in the third quarter as it worked to meet increased demand.
El Al’s revenue per available seat kilometer (RASK) increased 23% in the third quarter compared with the same quarter last year, it reported, adding that this was “primarily due to a significant and unusual increase in the occupancy rate.”
Increased demand and occupancy rate
This was also due to a 16% increase in income per passenger kilometer compared with the same quarter last year, and a 2% increase when compared with the second quarter, El Al reported. It attributed the growth to increased demand and a high occupancy rate.
Multiple factors contributed to increased net profit, including increased revenue per available seat kilometer, increased occupancy, increased income from freight, pulling planes off lines with lower demand and diverting them to lines with higher demand, and increased available seat kilometers, El Al said.
El Al would continue to offer flat-rate fares to destinations from which passengers can connect to other airlines, and it will also continue to cap prices for its flights, El Al CEO Dina Ben Tal Ganancia said Wednesday.
Setting fixed prices on flights to four destinations – Larnaca, Cyprus; Athens, Dubai, and Vienna – has created flexibility for passengers but also caused the flights to sell out in advance, she said, adding that this creates additional issues.
“Throughout all the months of the war, and especially in the current quarter, we continue to experience heightened demand for El Al flights, significantly exceeding the seat capacity the company is able to offer,” Ben Tal Ganancia said. “We are constantly making operational efforts to increase seat availability as much as possible to find solutions and provide the best possible service to passengers traveling to and from Israel.”
raveling to and from Israel,” she added.