American Air Will Cancel Philly-Tel Aviv, Its Only Flight to Israel

American Airways Inc. plans to halt flights between the U.S. and Israel early subsequent yr amid mounting losses on a route that has by no means been worthwhile.

The Philadelphia-Tel Aviv service was a legacy of US Airways Group Inc., which combined with American in December 2013 to form the world’s largest carrier. “We want to give every route the chance to succeed, and we gave it a fair shot, but at a certain point, no matter how much we want to serve a particular route, we have to make the right decision for our business”, the carrier said. In June, El Al added direct flights to Boston to its routes, while Ryanair, one of Europe’s largest low-priced airlines, said in July that it intends to open three routes from European destinations to Eilat’s Ovda Airport starting in November. Fort Value, Texas-based American notified 19 staff in Tel Aviv of the choice on Thursday, he stated.

Despite the continuation of that route, American said it remains committed continuing Philadelphia’s role as an global hub – even after the merger.

In the first nine months of 2015, American Airlines flew about 95 thousand passengers on that route, a 2.74 percent increase compared to previous year. “The reason we’ve had the route in place for six years is because of the tremendous support we’ve had from the city”, including political leaders and the business community. At 5,740 miles, the flight has been the longest in the US Airways system.

“The flights were full for the most part”, Workman said. “It depends on what yield you are getting from your customers”, he said. “We were not getting the revenue from the passenger side of the aircraft that we needed to make this flight profitable”.

Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA-02) commented on the airline’s move, saying in a statement on Thursday, “I am strongly opposed to the decision announced today by American Airlines to cancel this flight route”. “Convenient air travel between the Middle Atlantic States and Israel is an important factor in sustaining future business growth”.