El Al reveals massive plans: dozens of new flights on the way
The Israeli aviation giant released its financial results for the second quarter of 2026, according to which its aircraft fleet has grown. It also revealed that in the future it expects to add additional aircraft to its fleet, which will allow for the expansion of services.
El Al's financial results for the second quarter of 2026 show an increase in the fleet of aircraft under self-operation, which numbered 50 aircraft at the end of June (49 of them usable, compared to 47 in the same period last year), alongside an increase in the average fleet age to 15 years. 40 of these are owned by the company and 10 are under dry lease.
To meet the increase in demand and increase production capacity, the company expanded the use of wet leasing to an average of 6.2 aircraft per quarter, and at the end of June operated eight narrow-body passenger aircraft and one cargo aircraft under this framework.
Current fleet consists of a mix of narrow-body and wide-body models. In the narrow-body segment, El Al operates 18 737-800 passenger aircraft (average age of 20.9 years; 14 owned and four leased), eight 737-900 aircraft (average age of 11.6 years), and one cargo aircraft. The wide-body fleet includes 17 young 787 Dreamliner aircraft (four 787-8 models and 13 787-9 models), alongside six older 777-200 aircraft with an average age of about 23 years, of which four were upgraded to Dreamliner configuration and one returned to service at the beginning of the third quarter.
The company's equipment plan anticipates continued expansion: during the second half of 2026, four usable aircraft will be added (one Dreamliner, one 777, and two narrow-body), which will bring the usable fleet to 52 aircraft by the end of the year. Starting from 2027, an addition of 13 more aircraft is planned, including the intake of 10 additional Dreamliner aircraft (the first of which in 2027) and 31 new 737 MAX aircraft. In parallel, a gradual phase-out of the old 737 NG aircraft is planned, subject to the exercise of options to purchase up to 11 additional MAX aircraft.
As part of the long-term equipment measures, El Al exercised an option to purchase six additional 787 aircraft (while converting four of them to the larger 787-10 configuration) and holds options for six more aircraft of this model.
The old 777 aircraft are expected to reach an average age of about 30 years at the end of the process, and their continued operation will be examined according to the exercise of the options for the 787 aircraft. The company emphasizes that all forecasts, delivery dates, and aircraft phase-outs are subject to changes, commercial conditions, and third-party factors.
