Israel's flag carrier airline, El Al signed a codeshare agreement with Romanian state-owned TAROM Airlines on Tuesday.
Under the agreement, EL Al's flight code (LY) will be added to TAROM-operated flights between Tel Aviv and Bucharest.
The number of weekly flights on the route will increase to 18, and the first flight under the new agreement will travel on April 1.
One benefit of the codeshare agreement is that members of El Al’s frequent flyer program, including new enrollees, will be able to earn points on flights to Bucharest.
The signing of the agreement was held at El Al's headquarters at Ben-Gurion Airport and was attended by Romania's Ambassador to Israel, Radu Ioanid.
אנחנו גאים להכריז על שיתוף פעולה חדש עם חברת התעופה הלאומית של רומניה, TAROM. מעכשיו תוכלו להזמין כרטיסי טיסה מתל אביב לבוקרשט (או מבוקשרט לתל אביב), באמצעות אל על, גם כשאתם טסים עם TAROM. כלומר, אל על וטארום, במסגרת הסכם קודשייר (קוד משותף), מאפשרת ללקוחות לרכוש כרטיסים לטיסות… pic.twitter.com/BEhwklSgx0
— EL AL אל על (@EL_AL_ISRAEL) March 18, 2025
El Al and TAROM's history of collaboration
The two airlines initially began collaborating during the COVID-19 pandemic, El Al's press department commented.
This new codeshare agreement "underscores both airlines’ commitment to providing safe and efficient air travel while fostering economic and tourism ties between Romania and Israel." the statement continued.
El Al's CEO, Dina Ben Tal Ganancia, commented that the agreement is "another important step in executing our strategy to expand our outbound flight network from Tel Aviv."
"As part of our strategic plan for the coming years, we continue to partner with leading airlines worldwide to increase our flight offerings and destination map. Thanks to this cooperation, our customers will enjoy greater accessibility and an improved travel experience to Bucharest and beyond,” she added.
TAROM CEO Costin Iordache added, "This marks the first step in expanding commercial cooperation between our airlines, and we plan to extend it to additional destinations in the future.”
Existing codeshare agreements
El Al has 22 existing codeshare and cooperation agreements, including Delta Air Lines (joint flights and reciprocal loyalty program benefits), Air France-KLM (codeshare flights and loyalty program collaboration), Azerbaijan Airlines (codeshare flights), and Virgin Atlantic (codeshare on the Tel Aviv-London route and loyalty program cooperation).
TAROM is part of the SkyTeam, which includes Air France, China Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Saudia, Virgin Atlantic, and others. Notably, Russia's flag carrier, Aeroflot, was part of SkyTeam before their suspension at the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.
TAROM background information
TAROM is legally enshrined as Romania's national flag carrier.
It is a state-owned company, with approximately 97.25% owned by the Romanian state via the transportation ministry and 1.4% owned by Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport.
El Al was also a largely state-owned company until September 2020, when a private investor bought 42.85% of the controlling stocks.
The Israeli government agreed to buy shares the public doesn’t want, has bought shares worth about NIS 100 million, giving it a 12%-15% stake in the company.
