El Al Airlines confirmed its decision to move forward with the airline’s regionalization process in Latin American and is analizing to sign a series of agreements with Aerolíneas Argentinas, or the brazilian`s GOL or TAM.
“We have arrived specially to Argentina to reach an important agreement. We are going to meet with the directors of GOL, Aerolíneas Argentinas and TAM, which are the ones we are interested in making agreements with”, explained the Israel El Al Airlines president and CEO, Aluf Elyezer Shkedy, who just arrived to Buenos Aires.
He explained that the idea is to “create a society with these companies”, but he that TAM is “the one with the biggest part of the responsibility between Buenos Aires and Brazil”.
About the possibility of having a direct flight with Argentina, Shkedy said that it was not likely because the airline “doesn’t have an autonomous airplane to travel to Buenos Aires”.
Besides, he said that there “haven’t been any written agreement yet” between Israel and Argentina.
For over a year and two months, the israeli company has, among his 36 international routs, a flight that joins Tel Aviv with San Pablo, which takes off three times a week. The idea is to make the transit between Buenos Aires and Brazil more fluid so that the argentinan passengers can fulfill the trip.
“We started this flight and now we have to wait to have more earnings because this is a recent process. That’s why we want to close the deal with other companies to make the missing connections”, he said.
The president confirmed a big company’s publicity and promotion launch in Argentina and Brazil. Besides, to advance with the project, which is part of Israel’s state politic that is looking to strengthen the relationship with Latin America, Shkedy is also meeting with authorities of the tourism ministry of the two most important Mercosur partners.
Shkedy, who has been directing the company for seven months, visited AMIA, where he was received bye the prosecretary Tomas Saieg and the treasurer Bernardo Zugma.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the most important organizations of the jew community, such as the DAIA, the Argentina Sionist Organization, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Keren Kayemet Lelsrael.
The Comercial Matters vice president, Eli Cohen, the marketing manager, Assaf Zilcha, and a directive, Dikik Harel, also attended in representation of El Al Airlines.
In the building, in Pasteur 633, Shkedy, who was 33 years in Israel Air Force (which he commanded in 2004 and 2008), couldn’t help referring to AMIA`s terrorist attack.
“I am in a place that in 1994 suffered a terrorist attack, the most terrible in Argentina, that had already suffered another where argentinian jews and israelis died (referring to Israel’s Embassy attack). That’s why the security is so important for us”, he pointed out in an exclusive dialogue with the Agencia Judía de Noticias (AJN).
He also outlined the high costs that the airline spends in guaranteeing the passengers safety.
“It is very expensive and we made a study to learn and understand the safety cost of each passenger between Tel Aviv and San Pablo, and it is of 100 dollars”, he said.
He also expressed that it is impossible to reduce the costs because the planes travel with an israeli flag painted on its tail.
“I always say that it is a privilege to be El Al’s president because this isn’t just a simple company, it is much more. El Al are Israel and the jew people sky’s wings”.
Shkedy pointed out that the israeli company is considered “one of the most safety in the world” and assured to AJN that “despite of the irani threat, America Latina flight´s security is guaranteed”.
“The most efficient security procedures are El Al’s. We have the best pilots, who I know because I was in the Air Force, and it is qualified as one of the most secure in the world. Besides, the technicians are excellent, and the majority of them are also from the force”, he said.
At the same time, company sources confirmed to this agency that the airline security is provided by an elite Israel Army.
To promote the airline to the community leaders, Shkedy said that El Al didn’t operate in shabat (jewish rest day) and that its service includes kosher food.
“We are a jewish company and we shouldn’t travel in shabat. Although it is more expensive, we offer kosher food because we want every jew passenger to have that problem solved”, he finally outlined.