NEW YORK (JTA) — El Al and JetBlue will now offer connecting options for customers traveling between the United States and Israel.
The deal, which was announced Thursday after four months of negotiations, means that beginning in October passengers will be able to buy a single ticket for connecting service between Ben-Gurion Airport and 61 JetBlue flight destinations in North America from New York’s JFK International Airport, The Jerusalem Post reported.
JetBlue CEO David Barger and other executives were in Israel this week to ink the deal.
“The agreement allows us to reach places that we haven’t been able to get to in the past and offers simpler and more-frequent connections through JFK Airport,” El AL CEO Eliezer Shkedy said. “The fact that we are the fifth airline to sign such an agreement with JetBlue, after companies such as Lufthansa and American Airlines, shows that we are on the same level as the industry leaders.”
The Post reported that Barger and Shkedy said the agreement would enable the companies to offer competitive prices.
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