About a week after I paid for a $1600 flight to Israel, the United States and Israel signed an “open skies” deal. The deal opens up the air transportation market between Israel and the United States. This will ultimately lead to more competition and lower costs to travel between the two countries.
From the JTA:
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israel and the United States signed an open skies agreement.
Such an agreement removes restrictions on the airlines that may schedule flights between the two countries, leaving the determination to the marketplace.
“This agreement is good news for both countries,” Ray LaHood, the 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.”
Israeli officials have said that they expect prices to drop substantially as a result of the agreement.
It will probably be quite some time before this is priced into the market, so I would not delay any plans due to a dramatic decrease in price. However, it is good for Israel and those of us who like to fly between the United States and Ben Gurion Airport in the long run. We will probably see a slight increase of flights and slightly lower prices as well.
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