El Al has suffered from an online ticketing error that priced hundreds of tickets at a fraction of their cost. The airline has stated that it will honour the tickets and has not yet announced what caused the error.
“Although a review of this occurrence has not been finalized, a decision was made to accommodate El Al passengers who purchased these low fares because we value our reputation of offering excellent customer service,” General Manager Danny Saadon said in a statement. “Hopefully, we have provided an opportunity to many first timers to visit Israel as well as reconnect family and friends.”
Meanwhile, an El Al passenger, Debra Ryder, is seeking NIS50,000 compensation from the airline due to sexual discrimination. In a letter sent by her attorney, Ryder claims she was forced to give up her seat on El Al Flight 8202 from New York to Tel Aviv in mid-June, after a haredi man refused to sit next to a woman. Ryder had already complained to the airline after the incident happened but after receiving no response took the next step of issuing a legal complaint.
El Al has stated to local newspapers that the company implements a strict ban on discrimination against passengers and that it regrets “the attempt to drag El Al into the issue of discrimination against women, as it is known that we respect all of our customers as they are”.