Up (airline) explained

Airline:UP by El Al
Iata:LY
Icao:ELY
Callsign:EL AL
Founded:November 2013
Ceased:14 October 2018
Bases:Ben Gurion Airport[1]
Fleet Size:4
Destinations:6[2]
Key People:Israel "Izzy" Borovich
Website:flyup.com

Up (styled as UP by EL AL) was a low-cost airline brand of Israeli El Al.[3] El Al announced in January 2018 that UP would cease operations in October 2018 to be remerged into El Al.

History

On 26 November 2013, El Al unveiled its new low-cost airline Up,[4] [5] which commenced operations on 30 March 2014, initially to Berlin, Budapest, Kyiv, Larnaca and Prague[4] using five Boeing 737-800s transferred from the El Al mainline fleet.[4] Up was founded by its parent El Al to be used on some routes to Europe where it replaced El Al itself. All flights of Up are operated by El Al, using El Al's call sign and codes with a four digit number.[4] For flights over two hours the airline offers a buy on board service.[6]

In August 2014, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary wanted to develop a Ryanair Israel, connecting Israel with cities across Europe. He said an inhibiting factor in the plan was Israeli authorities protectiveness of El Al from competition. [7]

In January 2018 it was announced that El Al were to discontinue the Up brand. Up was planned to cease operations by October 2018 and all flights and aircraft would return to El Al.[8] El Al therefore introduced a new fare structure to replace the Up offers.[9] The last flights took place on 14 October 2018.

As of 2023, some El Al aircraft that were formerly part of Up still have the cloud livery.

Destinations

Up served the following destinations until 14 October 2018:[10]

Country City Airport NotesRefs
CyprusLarnacaLarnaca International Airport
Czech RepublicPragueVáclav Havel Airport Prague
GermanyBerlinBerlin Schönefeld Airport
HungaryBudapestBudapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport
IsraelTel AvivBen Gurion International Airport
UkraineKyivBoryspil International Airport

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Low-cost airlines welcomed to Israel | News . Breaking Travel News . 2014-07-18.
  2. Web site: Elis . Niv . El Al launches low-cost carrier 'Up' | JPost | Israel News . JPost . 2013-11-26 . 2014-07-18.
  3. "Contact Us." Up. Retrieved on 23 April 2014. "Address: EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd. Customer Care Department POB 41 Ben-Gurion Airport, 7015001 ISRAEL"
  4. Web site: Elis . Niv . El Al starting low cost airline . Jpost.com . 2013-11-26 . 2014-07-18.
  5. Web site: UP livery on a 737-800 . 2014-07-18.
  6. "Menu" (Archive). Up. p. 5/5. Retrieved on 21 August 2014.
  7. News: Israeli market beckons Ryanair. 25 August 2014. 25 August 2014. Irish Sun.com.
  8. https://worldairlinenews.com/2018/01/03/el-al-to-start-nonstop-flights-to-san-francisco-will-drop-the-up-brand/ El Al to Drop the Up Brand
  9. https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/63062-israels-el-al-to-drop-up-budget-brand ch-aviation.com - Israel's El Al to drop UP budget brand
  10. Web site: UP reservations page . 2017-04-23.