newstodate.aero

Jan 29, 2024 (newstodate): Notwithstanding the current storms in the M East region, SAS and the Israeli carrier El Al have announced the implementation of a new code-share agreement.
   Planned to take effect from February 1, 2024, the cooperation will see El Al adding its airline designator to European routes operated by SAS from Copenhagen, six from Oslo and nine from Stockholm.
   At the same time, SAS will add its code to EL Al flights from Tel Aviv to nine European destinations.
   Already in June 2023, the two carriers inked a code-share agreement to streamline flights between the two markets for SAS and El Al passengers, according to a twitter post by Anko van der Werff, SAS CEO.
   According to Israel's Ministry of Tourism's Director Nordic Countries, SAS also submitted an official request to Israel's Civil Aviation Authority to operate direct flights from Copenhagen and Stockholm to Tel Aviv, starting by January 2024.   
   Since 2000, direct air services were suspended as El Al and SAS that earlier served the route stopped services.
   SAS then returned flights to Israel on June 4, 2012, with one weekly rotation on the route between Copenhagen Airport and Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport, adding a second weekly flight from July, and increasing to three weekly rotations from October 28, 2012, using Airbus A319 aircraft on the route.
   SAS, however, pulled out again from the summer 2016 schedule, citing excessive operational costs and "political instability".
   Today, both airlines are off-line on direct non-stop routes connecting Tel Aviv and the Nordic capitals that are served instead by alliance partners.