New aviation agreement increases flights between Israel and France

According to the newly signed agreement, each country will be able to select a second airline to operate between each French and Israeli city besides Air France or El Al
 
Israel and France signed last week a new aviation agreement allowing for additional airlines to operate scheduled flights between the two countries, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz announced early last week.
 
The agreement was signed between Mr. Arik Ben-Ari, senior deputy for international relations for the Israeli Civil Aviation Authority, and his French counterpart Mr. Philippe Dumont.
 
According to the newly signed agreement, each country will be able to select a second airline to operate between each French and Israeli city besides Air France or El Al.
 
In addition, airlines will be able to fly to any destination in France, not just the current limited number of destinations.
 
The two countries also decided to include a special clause in the agreement to prohibit price, capacity and schedule coordination between the airlines so that competition could not be stifled.
 
Transportation Ministry Director-General Gideon Siterman commented that Israel can start immediately to fly to Nice, as El-Al does not go to that destination. Civil Aviation Authority figures show that 732,000 passengers flew last year to France, of which 242,000 were French tourists.
 
Israeli airlines, led by El Al israel Airlines, accounted for 76% of the total air traffic between the two countries. El Al flew 23 weekly flights to france while Air France flew 14 weekly flights. the Israeli charter operators Sundor, Israeair and Arkia flew 11 weekly flights.