Israir Airlines : El Al should not be allowed to use Israeli flag as trademark

Israir Airlines, Israel's third largest airline addressed a letter last week to Interior Minister Ophir Pines-Paz arguing that Israel Airlines should be instructed to remove the Israeli flag from its airplanes.
 
Israir's move against El Al comes within the framework of the raging commercial war between the two airlines following Israir's request to gain a permit that would allow it to offer regular flights to New York.
 
Lawyers on behalf of Israir argue in their address that the recently privatized airline was no longer a government company, and therefore El Al should not be allowed to use the national flag as its trademark.
 
The lawyers argued further that the displaying the Israeli flag on El Al's fleet, constitutes a violation of the Israeli Flag Law and misleads local and foreign consumers by making the airline appears to still acts on behalf of the State of Israel.
 
El Al CEO Haim Romano said in reply that "El Al is a national symbol of the State of Israel".