Israeli antitrust body to fine El Al $39 million for price gouging during war
#El Al #Price gouging #Israel Competition Authority #Antitrust #Aviation news #War economics #Market dominance
📌 Key Takeaways
- Israel's Competition Authority plans to fine El Al $39 million for alleged price gouging during the current war.
- The airline is accused of exploiting its market dominance after international carriers suspended flights to Tel Aviv.
- Regulators claim El Al significantly raised ticket prices between October 2023 and early 2024.
- El Al denies the charges, citing increased operational costs and national service as justification for its business model.
📖 Full Retelling
🐦 Character Reactions (Tweets)
Avi the AviatorEl Al charging war premiums? More like 'war-rior pricing'! 😂 #PriceGouging #ElAl
Shoshana ShekelEl Al's profits soaring higher than their planes! 💸🛫 #MonopolyMoney #CompetitionAuthority
Ben the Budget TravelerEl Al's pricing strategy: 'If you can't beat 'em, charge 'em!' 😂 #WarProfiteering #TravelTips
Liora the LawyerEl Al's defense: 'It's not price gouging, it's a national service fee!' 😏 #LegalLoopholes #ElAlFine
💬 Character Dialogue
🏷️ Themes
Economy, Aviation, Law
📚 Related People & Topics
Competition law
Law maintaining market competition
Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust law (or just antitrust), anti-monopoly law, and trade pr...
Price gouging
Price increases perceived as excessive
Price gouging is a pejorative term for the practice of increasing the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair by some. This commonly applies to price increases of basic necessities after natural disasters. Usually, this event occurs afte...
El Al
Flag carrier of Israel
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (Hebrew: אל על נתיבי אוויר לישראל בע״מ), (Arabic: شركة طيران العال الإسرائيلية المحدودة) trading as El Al (Hebrew: אל על, "Upwards", "To the Skies", or "Skywards", stylized as ELעלALאל; Arabic: إل-عال) is the flag carrier of the State of Israel. Since its inaugural fligh...
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Connections for Competition law:
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📄 Original Source Content
try{ var _=i o; . if(!_||_&&typeof _==="object"&&_.expiry As Claude disrupts stock market, Anthropic researcher warns ’world is in peril’ Gold, silver prices rise amid U.S.-Iran tensions, blowout January payrolls data Dow halts three-day win streak as blowout jobs data curbs rate cut bets Citi pushes back Fed rate cuts to May after blowout January jobs report (South Africa Philippines Nigeria) Israeli antitrust body to fine El Al $39 million for price gouging during war Stock Markets Published 02/08/2026, 09:51 AM Updated 02/08/2026, 09:54 AM Israeli antitrust body to fine El Al $39 million for price gouging during war 0 ELAL -2.78% By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM, Feb 8 - Israel’s Competition Authority said on Sunday it planned to levy a fine of 121 million shekels ($39 million) on flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines for setting excessive and unfair airfares during Israel’s Gaza war. The fine is the maximum allowed by law. The antitrust body said it reviewed the period from October 7, 2023, through May 2024 and found that El Al operated as a monopoly on 38 of the 53 routes it operated, including to New York, London, Paris, Bangkok and other cities in the United States, Europe and Asia. It found that ticket prices rose by an average of 16% - and as much as 31% - noting that since most foreign carriers had halted flights, the airline "held market power". El Al said it "categorically rejects" the claim that it charged excessive prices during the war. AIRLINE TO ARGUE CASE AT FUTURE HEARING "Even if the Competition Authority’s position is accepted, according to which the average price increase during the war was 16% ... a figure we consider incorrect, there is no precedent for determining that such an increase constitutes excessive pricing," it said in a statement. "El Al will present its full position at the hearing and in any appropriate legal forum, and is confident that its position will be accepted," it added, referring to a further hearing on the case. In a statement t...