El Al & the Histadrut
El Al, IsrAir, and Arkia – Israel-flagged airlines, are on strike.
Israel’s all-powerful union, the Histadrut, is striking at Lod but not Israeli’s other domestic and international airports.
The reason for the work stoppages is a Knesset decision to make flights to and from Israel more price competitive.
The airlines, led by El Al, complain that Israeli airlines have high security costs and, according to an Israel HaYom op-ed piece by Dan Margalit, are prevented from making code share partnerships with any carrier that flies into Arab countries.
El Al has code share agreements with American Airlines, which in turn has agreements with Royal Jordanian and Etihad Airways (flights to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), with connecting flights to Kuwait and Pakistan) and Gulf Air (flights to Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.; Bahrain; Doha, Qatar; Kuwait, and Muscat, Oman). Note: According to the American Airlines Web site, “Due to a regulatory change by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, American Airlines has suspended its code share on flights operated by Gulf Air until further notice.
“This regulatory change does not affect Gulf Air's code share on flights operated by American Airlines, which continues uninterrupted.”
If I read that correctly. It still is possible to board an AA flight to an Arab country.
El Al also has code share agreements with Iberia (flights to Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, and Egypt); SwissAir (flights to Bahrain, Iran *, Kuwait*, Lebanon*, Oman, Saudi Arabia*, Qatar, Doha*, United Arab Emirates; * indicates code share with Swiss Air); and Czech Airlines (flights to Kuwait, Bahrain*, Dubai*, Abu Dabi, Oman*; ; * indicates code share with Czech Airlines), so the restriction obviously is a false one.
El Al also has – or had – a code share agreement with Delta that, like AA, flies into a Arab state (Saudia).
According to HaAretz, “A set number of weekly flights to certain destinations will be added every year. At the end of the five-year period there will be full competition on all routes between Israel and the EU, and every airline from the EU or Israel will be allowed to fly to any destination within the region as many times as it wants. The agreement differentiate between flights that terminate in Israel or the EU and that continue on to a final destination.”
The HaArtez article notes that “There are now direct flights from Israel to 16 EU nations; 57% of all Israeli international passenger flights going to the EU. ( http://tinyurl.com/c4cfh8b )
A Jewish Journal article dated April 26, 2010, briefly described the U.S.-Israel Open Skies agreement that Ray LaHood, then U.S. secretary of transportation, said in a statement last Friday, after the agreement was signed. “Consumers, airlines and economies of both the United States and Israel will enjoy the benefits of competitive pricing and more convenient service.” ( http://tinyurl.com/cwcv45f )
V-22 Osprey – Gift (??) from USA
According to Shlomo Cohen's Daily Cartoon 22.04.2013 in Israel HaYom, US SecDef Chuck Hagel is “gifting” Israel with a so far unannounced number of the V-22 Osprey hybrid aircraft. ( http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_car.php?id=625)
The per unit cost of the V-22 is somewhat above US$100k.
Digging around the internet turns up too many entries of V-22 failures, from design on. The bird, at least in one point in its development, lacked weaponry for any ground support function, specifically a front-mounted machine gun.
Pod-mounted weapons on the aircraft’s wings are of questionable use when the plane is in VTOL (helicopter) more. The size of the propellers may preclude any standard wing-mounted weaponry.
American taxpayers probably will pay for Hagel’s “gift,” but as with most weapons “gifts” from the U.S., Israelis are expected to combat test them for the Americans.
The Osprey has developed, over the years, a nasty reputation for failing to meet its mission.
But perhaps, as Israel has done on other U.S. “gifted” weapons, it will “tweak” the bird to male it into a mission-capable weapon even if not a particularly safe flying machine.
