El-Al to raise ticket prices by 6.5%

The price of El-Al flights will rise by 6.5% starting in May as a result of record-high oil prices, the airline said Monday.

The company has reported that it will also be raising the fuel levy by 80 US dollars for long-distance destinations, 40 dollars for flights to Europe, and 30 dollars for short flights around the Mediterranean.

For the past ten months, El-Al has raised ticket prices every two months, with the last price hike taking place in January.

In the past, the airline has blamed rising ticket fares on the depreciating US dollar against the Israeli shekel, despite ultimately reporting the highest profits ever since the airline's founding. El-Al made a net profit of 31 million dollars in March 2007, after a 34 million dollar loss in 2006.