Boston Logan lands another international carrier: El Al
Boston Logan International Airport has landed another high-profile international route.
The latest comes from Israeli airline El Al, which plans to add nonstop service to Tel Aviv next summer. The carrier did not detail an exact start date, but says it plans to start with three weekly Boston-Tel Aviv flights starting in June. El Al will use Boeing 767-300ER aircraft for the flights.
"Non-stop service to Tel Aviv will open up new commercial and economic opportunities for Massachusetts and the region," Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick says in a statement. "This and similar service expansions are how we bolster the Commonwealth's competitiveness."'
Tel Aviv joins a growing roster of international destinations offered by airlines at Boston Logan. In just the past 30 months, the airport has landed new routes to Tokyo, Panama City, Dubai, Istanbul and Beijing. Another high-profile overseas route will launch in May, when Cathay Pacific launches nonstop flights to Hong Kong.
On that note, The Boston Globe writes the Tel Aviv route "is one of 13 nonstop destinations that have been added to Logan's flight list since Patrick took office and focused on connecting Boston to major international markets."
"Nonstop international flights to and from Logan stimulate our economy and our region," Thomas Glynn, CEO of the Massport agency that runs Logan, adds in a statement. "This new service helps open new doors and new possibilities. Logan is truly New England's gateway to the world.''
Glynn made a point to note that Boston competes with other major U.S. airports to land such routes.
"Chicago wanted this route," Glynn says to the Globe about the just-announced Tel Aviv service. "San Francisco wanted this route. Miami wanted this route. There were a lot of other cities shooting at us."
El Al's Tel Aviv route still must be approved by the company's board of directors, which is scheduled to meet later this year. Approval is expected, which would make Boston El Al's fourth U.S. destination. The airline already flies to New York JFK, Newark Liberty and Los Angeles.
And, once the carrier does begin Boston service, El Al hopes to grow its schedule there.
"We hope we will be as soon as possible (at) five flights a week," El Al CEO David Maimon says to Boston TV network NECN.