American Airlines & El Al To begin Code-Share

The partnership will allow passengers on American Airlines flights to easily connect to El Al nonstop routes. The  code-sharing agreement would begin on September 2
 
American Airlines has entered a code-share agreement with El Al Airlines Israel's national carrier. The  code-sharing agreement between the two would begin on September 2.              
 
El Al president and chief executive Haim Romano said the initial part of the agreement with American would start with 25 destinations from Tel Aviv, including Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco and Miami.
 
The remaining US cities which will be included in the codeshare agreement in fall 2008 are Austin, Cleveland, Denver, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Montreal, Orlando, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham, San Diego, San Jose, Seattle, St Louis and Tampa.
 
Romano said most of the routes would begin operating in September, with the rest in October.
 
The partnership will allow passengers on American Airlines flights to easily connect to El Al nonstop routes.
 
Israel Borovich, chairman of the board at El Al, said: "This codeshare agreement is the most comprehensive and far reaching agreement between El Al and any foreign airline. The new partnership reflects the El Al 2010 strategy, to operate as a global worldwide airline and to grow steadily."   Other benefits of the code share include better airfares, automatic luggage transfer to the connecting flight, and there is no need to purchase a separate domestic ticket.  North America is a major segment of El Al's international market. El Al ended a code-share agreement with Delta Air Lines late in 2007 when Delta began offering non-stop flights between Tel Aviv and New York earlier this year.