Israir will open ticket sales overnight Monday for its new route to New York, with the first flight from Tel Aviv scheduled to depart on September 15, just over a week from now.
The launch will mark Israir’s first regular service to the United States, using two Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft that the airline acquired and prepared in recent months.
(Photo: Sivan Farage)
The first flight from New York to Israel is scheduled for September 17. Israir said the aircraft will enter service gradually as the airline begins operations with its new wide-body fleet.
Israir completed preparations to operate the two A330s in about three and a half months. According to the airline, payment for both aircraft was completed on May 27 as part of a total investment of about $85 million, including service-related modifications and a spare-parts inventory.
As part of the preparations, Israir signed more than 60 agreements covering various aspects of the operation and received the required approvals from Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Dedicated flight crews have also been trained to operate the A330 aircraft.