More than five decades after Israel gave the world one of its first female prime ministers, the country’s national carrier has broken a major glass ceiling in aviation, long dominated by a boy’s club across cultures and continents.
Dina Ben Tal Ganancia, who took office in May as El Al’s first female chief executive, traveled to Los Angeles last month to shore up ties with the region’s Jewish community and make an announcement that could make Israel more accessible to Angelenos this holiday season.
Ganacia announced that the airline will offer five weekly scheduled flights from Los Angeles International Airport to Tel Aviv throughout the year. In the past, El Al has reduced its weekly service between the destinations from five flights to three during the winter months. Ben Tal Ganancia made the announcement at an event hosted by Dr. Hillel Newman, the consul general of Israel to the Pacific Southwest.
“The strong connection between El Al and the Los Angeles community demands that we maintain our five weekly flights between Los Angeles and Israel through the winter,” said Ben Tal Ganancia in a press release. “Our customers deserve a taste of Israel on their way to the Holy Land on five flights a week during the winter. We are the only airline that can offer that.”
With few airlines providing the more than 7,000-mile direct service from LAX to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, El Al’s announcement will make it easier for Angelenos to visit the Jewish state while providing economic benefits to Israel in the form of increased tourism.
“El Al is a strategic asset for the State of Israel and has been bridge between the state and the world since the beginning of our nation,” said Newman. “EL AL is critical to Israel’s prosperity also because of its important role of bringing tourists to Israel.”
While in Los Angeles, Ben Tal Ganancia also attended an event hosted by the Women’s International Zionist Organization in honor of the head of its California chapter, Gina Raphael. At the event, Raphael announced that El Al and WIZO California would partner to establish a women’s leadership program that will empower women through education and awareness.
“The program’s objective is to empower women and girls at home as we work on behalf of women and children in Israel,” said Raphael in a press release.
El Al was founded in 1948 as Israel’s national airline and began offering flights to the United States in 1950, opening a new route between Tel Aviv and New York. Today the airline provides approximately 50 non-stop flights per week between Tel Aviv and North America, offering service from major U.S. cities including New York, Boston, Miami and Los Angeles.
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