Israir marked a major milestone on Friday when the first of two Airbus A330 wide-body jets it bought landed at Ben Gurion Airport. The aircraft arrived from the United States with an Israir crew led by Capt. Joel Ben Peretz and Capt. Amir Weingarten.
The two A330s were purchased in a deal worth about $85 million. The second jet is expected to join the fleet early next week, and together they will launch Israir into long-haul flying ahead of the start of its nonstop New York route in early August.
The new aircraft will offer three service classes, business, premium and economy, along with a menu designed for long-haul flights. Israir is also finishing training for maintenance, air, ground and service teams, and in July the planes will be used on leading European routes as well.
With the two wide-body aircraft added, Israir plans to operate 18 aircraft, owned and leased, during the summer to expand capacity and meet demand. The company also expects to open ticket sales for the New York route soon and launch a joint credit-card club with Rami Levy and Isracard, allowing customers to earn dollars for flights and vacation packages. CEO Uri Sirkis said,
