American Airlines remains the outlier among the three major legacy carriers and has again pushed back its return to Tel Aviv until next spring.
By Etgar Lefkovits, JNS
U.S. carriers, led by Delta and United, are resuming service to Israel this week, following summer suspensions caused by the war in Iran.
The much-anticipated move, which comes just ahead of the Jewish High Holiday season, a busy travel time, follows the resumption of service to Tel Aviv by most major European airlines.
Delta Air Lines is resuming service to Tel Aviv on Sunday with a daily flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
United Airlines will restart service on Tuesday and will offer two daily flights from its hub at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
A third flight operating four times weekly is scheduled to begin in November.
Travel consultants said it would take time for airfares to drop and that the much-needed competition on the lucrative transatlantic route would most clearly affect pricing after the fall holiday season.
“It is curious that while Delta has aggressively been marketing their return with attractive fares, United has taken the opposite approach,” Mark Feldman, CEO of Jerusalem’s Ziontours, told JNS on Sunday.
“They have priced their flights for the remainder of 2026 at very high prices in their economy, premium economy, and Business classes.”
Service from additional U.S. cities to Israel will resume later this year.
United’s flights from Chicago and Washington, D.C., to Israel will restart in October, while Delta’s flights from Atlanta will begin service in December.
American Airlines remains the outlier among the three major legacy carriers and has again pushed back its return to Tel Aviv until next spring.
By next month, five airlines are scheduled to fly direct between the U.S. and Israel: El Al, Arkia, Israir, United, and Delta.
“This month should prove to be a fascinating exercise in consumer decision-making,” Feldman said.
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