El Al offers Low Cost flights to Budapest, Berlin, Prague from March

El Al Israel Airlines is set to enter the Low Cost flight market with effect from March 2014. Initial routes will include Tel Aviv Ben Gurion to Budapest, Prague and Berlin Schönefeld. Cyprus and Greece have also been named as possibilities, though business routes such as London Heathrow and Frankfurt Int'l will not be affected, Jewish Business News reports. 


"If all goes according to plan, regular service to these destinations will be halted as early as Passover, and all ticket sales will be carried out within the low-cost program." The Israeli carrier says the move is necessary in light of the recent Open Skies agreement signed with the European Union which is expected to bring an enormous influx of budget airlines into the Israeli market. 

El Al intends to push ahead with plans to establish its own LCC using a fleet of five B737-800s but has yet to announce a launch date. The attempt is the airline's second; previous attempts to sell no-frills tickets at budget prices failed after three months when the initiatives failed to gain traction.

Source: CH-Aviation