Israel's national airline, El Al, began its collaboration with Romania's national airline, Tarom, about three years ago during the COVID-19 period, and the partnership has strengthened since. These days, El Al announced that it has signed a new agreement with Tarom, taking their cooperation to new heights.
As part of the agreement, El Al's flight code (LY) will be added to flights operated by the Romanian company from Tel Aviv to one of Israelis' favorite destinations, Bucharest, resulting in a total of 18 weekly flights operated by both airlines. El Al announced that ticket sales for the joint flights will begin on Wednesday (March 19), with the first flight under the agreement expected to depart on April 1, 2025. The shared tickets will be available for purchase on both airlines' websites and through travel agents. Under the agreement, El Al's frequent flyer club members, as well as new members, will be able to accumulate points on flights to Bucharest.
Now, the collaboration between the airlines reaches its peak with the new agreement, which, as mentioned, offers customers of both airlines the opportunity to fly on code-share flights. This agreement was signed in the presence of Romania's Ambassador to Israel, Radu Ioanid, at El Al's headquarters at Ben Gurion Airport, and "highlights the commitment of both airlines to offer safe and efficient flight services and contribute to the development of economic and tourism relations between Romania and Israel," the company stated.
El Al reported that "the collaboration with Tarom joins 22 other code-share agreements and partnerships that El Al has developed in recent years with leading international airlines, including American Delta Air Lines (code-share flights and mutual benefits for club members), Air France and KLM (code-share flights and club agreements), Azerbaijan Airlines (code-share flights), and Virgin Atlantic (code-share on the Tel Aviv-London route and club agreements). El Al is working to expand its network of routes from Tel Aviv through collaborations, alongside increasing the flight schedule to popular destinations."
El Al's CEO, Dina Ben Tal-Ganancia, said: "The new agreement with Tarom is another important step in implementing our strategy to expand the network of routes departing from Tel Aviv. As part of El Al's strategic plan for the coming years, we continue to partner with leading airlines worldwide in order to increase our flight offerings and expand our destination map. Thanks to this collaboration, our customers will enjoy greater accessibility and an enhanced experience on their way to Bucharest and beyond."
Tarom's CEO, Costin Yordaca, said: "This partnership agreement will take effect in April 2025 and will provide passengers from Romania and Israel with additional options, thanks to the integration of the flight networks of TAROM and El Al. Passengers of both airlines will be able to enjoy joint flights 18 times a week on the Bucharest-Tel Aviv route, and also have access to a variety of local and international destinations through the shared code. The agreement is the first step in expanding the commercial collaboration between the two airlines, and we plan to extend it to additional destinations in the future."
