SAS plane. 'The company has realized that there is a lot of potential in the Israeli tourist'
Photo: SAS
SAS wooing Israelis with cheaper flights
Scandinavia airline increases number of flights from Tel Aviv to Stockholm and Copenhagen while cutting prices to €110 for one-way ticket.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines'
planes returned to Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport in 2012 after a long absence. The company's successful Tel Aviv-Copenhagen route led to the launch of another weekly seasonal route to Stockholm last summer.
Scandinavia has turned into a popular global destination in recent years, enjoying a meteoric rise in incoming tourism. The interest in the northern European countries in the past decade stems from the growing global interest in design, which is led by the Swedes and Danes, the slew of wonderful museums, the excellent public transportation, the cool weather even in the summer, which allows people to bathe in the beaches in the heart of the cities (although the water is cold), as well as the relative drop in prices.
Now the airline is increasing its number of weekly flights to five, with prices starting at €85 (about $116) for a one-way ticket if you manage to buy tickets by the end of May, and €110 ($150) for the summer months.
Bon Voyage
Israeli airline is offering total of 22 weekly nonstop flights from New York to Tel Aviv, plus increase of three to five daily departures from Los Angeles and four weekly nonstops from Toronto.
In addition, Noma Restaurant in Copenhagen has been named as the world's best restaurant several times, positioning the region as a culinary power.
Stockholm, Sweden (Photo: Shutterstock)
"SAS has realized that there is a lot of potential in the Israeli tourist," says the company's local manager, Yaki Cohen. "In light of the successful activity since its return to Israel, the company has decided to significantly increase the number of flights while offering extremely attractive prices which will allow Israelis to make the easy choice of touring and vacationing in Scandinavia this summer."
Sweden and Denmark were considered until the 1990s as popular destinations among Israeli tourists, who went on family summer vacations in the countries' parks and nature reserves with breathtaking landscapes.
The price hikes in these two countries and in neighboring Norway, as well as the opening of the all-inclusive market in Turkey and the cancellation of direct flights to Scandinavia, led to a significant drop in incoming tourism from Israel.
In recent years, however, with the appreciation of the Israeli shekel and the drop in ticket prices, Denmark and Sweden's tourism offices have been offering families and young people urban vacations in their capital cities, which boast a vibrant and liberal nightlife mainly during the summer. The area has also seen a significant rise in the number of tourists from Asia and North America.
Copenhagen, Denmark (Photo: EPA)
The good news for Israel's local tourism is that the demand for flights is mutual: Older Stockholm residents still remember Eilat, which was the capital of Nordic tourism in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the kibbutz where many volunteered for several months.
Now, as part of the urban vacation trend, Tel Aviv has become a popular destination for a vacation combining beaches with urban attractions.
Articles glorifying Tel Aviv's wild nightlife and its tolerance towards the LGBT community, as well as its excellent food, are often published in the Scandinavian press. In addition, Arkia's Oslo-Tel Aviv route was highly successful last summer.
SAS' flights from Tel Aviv to Copenhagen will offer two economy classes – SAS Go and SAS Plus – and will leave from Terminal 3 at Ben-Gurion Airport. Passengers flying to Stockholm will enjoy the new Boeing 737-800 planes.
The price for a SAS Go ticket includes one free luggage of up to 23 kilograms and mobile check-in and boarding. Water and coffee are served for free on the flight, while other drinks and food are offered for an extra charge.
