Launching a new airline while the war is raging, hundreds of rockets have fallen on Israel and airlines and tourists are shunning the country, was a gamble that had little chance of paying off. be won.
But that was not the case for Air Haifa, the very first airline to emerge in Israel since the 1990s. And against all expectations, this new company began operations on October 14, with flights to Larnaca, Cyprus. Despite its name, Air Haifa took off from Ben Gurion Airport on the outskirts of Tel Aviv as intense clashes and missile attacks from Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist group, forced airports in the north to ‘Israel to close their doors.
Air Haifa’s co-founder and commercial director and vice-president, Michael Strassburger, says the initial idea was to enter the market as the first low-cost airline in the north, responding to a need urgent – and long-standing – for the locals.
“Who would venture to do something like that, start a new airline during a war? What is the logic behind such an initiative? Obviously, each of us would rather choose to launch such a project at a time when there is some sort of normality in the country,” Strassburger told Times of Israel. “But on the other hand, the current situation, in the Israeli market, as far as local carriers are concerned, the demand is much higher than the supply.”
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“That’s why 2023 and 2024 are probably the best years for the aviation industry – so I think that gives us an answer,” he adds.
The low-cost carrier not only made headlines for launching operations during a war – but because it filled a void for travelers looking to get to and from Israel, the majority foreign carriers having temporarily suspended their flights to the country following the pogrom committed in southern Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
The founders of Israeli low-cost airline Air Haifa (from left): Lior Yavor, Gonen Usishkin and Michael Strassburger. (Credit: Courtesy)
With very few options for going abroad, with prices considerably high, passengers wishing to travel to the United States and other European destinations have found new hubs in Larnaca and Athens – d ‘where they could find connecting flights. Air Haifa operates four daily flights between Larnaca and Ben Gurion Airport, alongside other local carriers such as El Al, Arkia and Israir.
“Israelis use the available routes from Europe to Athens or Larnaca and from there they buy another ticket to return to Israel, which increases demand, and which we benefit from,” exclaims Strassburger. “We see a lot of traffic from engineers and business people traveling to the United States or Europe with a stopover in Larnaca,” he adds.
As foreign carriers have been slow to resume flights to Israel and U.S. carriers have completely halted services, travelers have become almost entirely reliant on Israeli airlines. High demand and low availability of seats have led to a very sharp increase in ticket prices – sparking anger in the country.
“The most annoying problem is not only the price but also the availability of seats, especially for flights to the United States because there is no other choice than El Al. So , if you need to go to New York – or want to – and there are no seats, you have to take a flight with a stopover in Larnaca, Athens or London, and buy two separate tickets,” explains Tali Noy, vice president of marketing and sales of the travel agency ISSTA. “Which doesn’t make the trip any cheaper and often ends up costing the same as El Al flights.”
-Noy notes that the duration of foreign travel has increased significantly, especially for business people.
“In many cases, travelers have to stay overnight in hotels between connecting flights because they cannot rely on charter flight schedules,” says Noy. “If a direct flight to New York from Tel Aviv takes around 11 hours, reaching the same destination with a connecting flight will take at least 20 hours.”
Air Haifa is a company that was co-founded in 2023 by a group of Israeli entrepreneurs that is led by Nir Zuk, the American-Israeli founder of cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks, and Lior Yavor, as well as former senior executives of Israel’s flagship carrier, El Al Israel Airlines, Gonen Usishkin and Strassburger.
Before the airport’s closure, the hope was that launching a commercial air service from Haifa would relieve congestion at Ben Gurion Airport. For the many Israelis who live in the north of the country, such a prospect may provide a closer alternative to the busy airport and help lower the price of short-haul flights. To keep costs low, Air Haifa sells tickets only on its website, Strassburger says.
Tali Noy, vice president of sales and marketing at Issta Israel, a travel and tourism provider. (Credit: Courtesy)
“We don’t have to pay middlemen like search engines, we don’t have commissions, and we don’t sell bundles or packages,” Strassburger says. “Our offer is simple and transparent since tickets can be reserved, modified or even canceled self-service on our website.”
Located to the east of the city, Haifa Airport is managed by the Israel Airports Authority and can serve domestic and international flights – including Eilat’s Ramon Airport, as well as to relatively nearby international destinations. such as Larnaca, Paphos, Rhodes, Crete and Karpathos. It was established by the British in 1934 and was Israel’s first international airport. At the time it served the British Royal Air Force and the British-Iraqi Oil Company.
Following last week’s US-brokered ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah and the recent reopening of airspace in the north, Air Haifa plans to launch its services from Haifa Airport from December 22.
“We are initially aiming for two flights per day to Eilat and three or four flights to Cyprus, while planning to launch flights to Athens,” says Strassburger. “For 2025, we plan to serve Paphos in Cyprus and the Greek Islands.”
