Is it any wonder after the massive rises in flight prices that El Al has lost 12 per cent of its market share.
Is El Al heading for a crash landing? The Israeli airline has lost 19% of its market share of incoming and outgoing flights over the past five years, the Israeli Airports Authority reported Wednesday.
According to the report, the slump is largely due to the introduction of low-cost airlines claiming their piece of the burgeoning flight industry in Israel.
If the passengers flying on San Dor, El Al's subsidiary charter airline, are figured into the calculations, it reduces the market share loss to 12%.
"The data reflects the increasing competition in the international flight industry, which has been introduced by the new airlines operating in Israel," an El Al statement said. .
El Al's market share between January and September 2010 was 32.7%, compared to 40.4% over the same period in 2006. The market share of El Al and San Dor combined decreased from 41.7% to 36.6%.
Moreover, while the number of passengers passing through Ben Gurion International Airport has grown by 30% over the past five years, the number of passengers using El Al grew by only 4.66%. Once San Dor's passengers are factored in, the increase is of 13.4% – still significantly lower than the market growth.
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