El Al management has reached an agreement with the pilots union - No more flight cancellation

After a long period of internal struggles at the airline that led to the cancellation of over 100 flights since the last Independence Day, the current saga seems to have come to an end. El Al reported on Sunday to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that an agreement had been signed between it and the Histadrut and the pilots' committee, which will apply immediately by the end of 2025. The company stated that "as of this date, the company cannot assess the effect of signing the agreement on its business results." After the report: El Al shares rise by about 10%.
According to the agreement, "pilots' salaries will be returned to the level before the corona crisis (including ESL) by the beginning of next year, in accordance with the previous agreement signed in 2018. In addition, simulator training will be conducted in Israel and pilots will perform rapid training on Boeing 777 aircraft. Aircraft are leased in accordance with the expansion of the company's commercial activity.
"It was also agreed on additional payments to be granted to pilots against the streamlining moves and against their commitment to meet their requirements on issues agreed in the agreement, including wages and terms of employment and maintaining industrial calm and maintaining the flight schedule as planned during the agreement period."
In doing so, the pilots 'demands were actually accepted and the cuts they received in the amount of 30% in the salary and ESL fees were canceled. On the other hand, the pilots waived the requirement for independent representation outside the EL AL General Workers' Committee.
As will be recalled, the negotiations between the parties took place in accordance with the decision of the Regional Labor Court dated 17 June 2022, after the company petitioned against the pilots and in light of the company’s operational needs arising from the need to return to full operation after the Corona crisis.
It should also be noted that while the shares of many airlines in the world have fallen by tens of percent since the beginning of the year, the share of El Al actually rose by 68% in the shadow of the expectation of signing an agreement that will regulate the relationship between pilots and management. At the same time, the company still carries a "live business" note in its reports.
El Al CEO Dina Ben-Tal said that "with the signing of the agreement, we turned forward to tackling the joint forces of all sectors at El Al and together we will face the difficulties and global competition in the aviation and tourism industry. "Although in relation to international airlines EL AL has a very low rate of cancellations, we will always strive to minimize the scope of cancellations."
Chairman of the El Al Pilots Committee, Ran Alkabetz, added that "After two difficult and complex years, El Al pilots welcome the signing of an employment agreement that returns the company and its pilots to normal working relations, trust and full cooperation for the benefit of the company, its customers and employees. We would like to thank the controlling shareholders and the new management, led by CEO Dina Ben-Tal, for choosing to end the disputes amicably, while balancing mutual interests and creating a stable and efficient infrastructure for the broad operational flexibility required to strengthen the company and its growth.
The chairman of the Histadrut, Arnon Bar-David, said in response that "El Al and the other Israeli airlines are an important strategic asset for the country and I welcome the fact that we have reached agreements that will allow efficient and continuous operation of the company's aircraft." "The aviation industry in general, and El Al in particular, have had two difficult years, and now that the demand for flights is at its peak, I am sure that the agreement will be able to return El Al to growth."