EL AL, Israel’s national airline, introduced the only nonstop flight from Boston and Ben Gurion International Airport.
The new nonstop flights between Boston and Tel Aviv will begin June 28. El Al announced the flight last November and put the tickets on sale in January. The service between Boston’s Logan International Airport and Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport is currently the only nonstop service between the two cities.
The Tel Aviv-Boston route, the shortest between Israel and North America, is being seen as a further boost to the strong economic, academic and communal ties between Israel and Greater Boston and the New England region as a whole. The flights will run three times a week, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. EL AL will utilize Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with a total of 218 seats on this route. Included are 22 new spacious bed-like Business Class seats with ergonomic support.
An Economy Class Plus section will offer more legroom, additional seat recline, and more for excellent value. Flights depart Logan at 9 p.m. and arrive the following day in Tel Aviv at 3:05 p.m. Returns from Tel Aviv to Boston depart on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 12:30 a.m. and arrive in Boston the same day at 5:45 a.m.
The flights will also serve as a gateway to 19 other U.S. cities through El Al’s partnership with Jet Blue Airlines, including Washington, D.C. EL AL offers up to 32 weekly nonstop flights between North America and Israel with gateways in New York (JFK/Newark), Los Angeles (the only nonstop service between the West Coast and Israel) and Toronto.
The Boston area is home to some 200 companies with ties to Israel that contributed $6.2 million to the state’s economy, according to a 2013 report by David Goodtree, a board member of the New England-Israel Business Council. In addition, there are major Boston companies including EMC and Akamai that have established a large presence in Israel.
