London-Tel Aviv line takes off while prices hurtle down
Competition over the coveted Tel Aviv-London line heats up as British Midland plans daily flights from Ben-Gurion to Heathrow. But travel agents warn that quality of service may drop along with prices
At present time only two companies – British Airways and El Al – maintain the line, along with charter subsidiaries Israir, Sandor Airlines, Thomsonfly and Arkia.
According to BMI an economy-class seat will cost $497 while a business-class ticket will cost around $1,230, including taxes. The daily flight to Heathrow will leave Ben Gurion Airport at 7:15 AM and the return flight will leave Heathrow at 12:55 pm.
Israeli travel agents warned travelers that while the prices may drop, there is a chance that so will the quality of service in the long term.
Furthermore, said the agents, the addition of two separate service providers for the Tel Aviv-London line – Thomsonfly, that launched in November and now BMI – is unwarranted considering the relatively low number of tourists using the line.
According to the British Office for National Statistics, he first half of 2007 has shown a 32% drop in the number of Israeli tourists entering the UK from the same period the year before.
The sharp drop is especially indicative of Israeli tourism destinations as that period showed an overall 10% increase in outgoing tourism. One of the reasons for the decline may be related to the exchange rate of the NIS and the increase of living and entertainment costs in the UK.
Data from the Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics does not provide a justification for the additional seats either: From January to October of 2007, only 141,710 British tourists visited Israel. This figure marks a 3% increase compared with the same period in the previous year when tourism was at a low point due to the Second Lebanon War.
Aryeh Egozi contributed to report.
