Editing El Al (section)

=== 21st century ===
El Al's first [[Boeing 777]] embarked on its maiden flight in March 2000. Later that year the controversy over flights on Shabbat erupted again, when the airline announced that it was losing US$55 million a year by grounding its planes on Saturdays. After privatization of the company began in June 2003, the policy regarding Shabbat flights was expected to change.<ref name="Shabbat" /><ref name="History of El Al" />

The first phase of the long-delayed privatization of the company commenced in June 2003 and by Israel's Government Companies Authority, headed by [[Eyal Gabbai]]. 15 percent of El Al's shares were listed on the [[Tel Aviv Stock Exchange]]. By June 2004, 50% of the company had been sold to the public. By January 2005, a controlling share of the company had been transferred to Knafaim-Arkia Holdings Ltd.<ref name="History of El Al" /> As of October 2014, El Al's major shareholders were Knafaim Holdings (36%), Ginsburg Group (10%) and Delek Group (10%).<ref name="shares">{{cite web | url=http://www.elal.com/en/About-ELAL/About-ELAL/Investor-Relations/Pages/Shareholders.aspx| title=Shareholders|access-date=2015-02-17 | publisher=El Al}}</ref>

In August 2010, El Al and [[JetBlue]] signed an agreement to provide connecting through tickets between Israel and 61 destinations in the United States from October 2010, via [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] in New York.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Business/BusinessNews/Article.aspx?id=184648|title=El Al signs agreement with American Airlines|first=Ron|last=Friedman|work=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|date=13 August 2010|access-date=12 January 2012}}</ref>

In 2015, El Al introduced a requirement that female flight attendants wear high heels until passengers had been seated.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://globalnews.ca/news/2063591/i-dont-think-the-girls-thought-they-could-question-it-high-heels-policy-study-author/|title='I don't think the girls thought they could question it': high heels policy study author |last=Tucker |first=Erika |website=Global News |access-date=16 May 2016}}</ref> The airline's workers' union stated that the requirement would endanger the health and safety of the flight attendants and instructed its members to ignore the rule. Later that year the requirement was removed.<ref>{{cite web |author=Yedidyah |first=Ben Or |date=10 September 2015 |title=El Al Flight Attendants Say Goodbye to High Heels |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/200542 |access-date=2019-06-06 |publisher=Israel National News}}</ref>

In August 2017, El Al made their inaugural flight of the [[Boeing 787 Dreamliner]]. Their first variant of the plane was the 787-9, but in late 2019, they took delivery of the 787-8. The inaugural service was from Tel Aviv to London and Paris, with the transatlantic inaugural flight from Tel Aviv to Newark. El Al introduced a [[Premium Economy]] to this aircraft, in a 2-3-2 configuration. They also launched an upgraded [[Business Class]] with “pods” in a 1-2-1 configuration. This was upgraded from the original 2-3-2 configuration of their Business Class on the 777-200. Their [[Economy Class]] now also featured large personal touch screen entertainment and WiFi. In Business Class, the seats go to a 90° flat bed, have personal service, large touchscreen personal entertainment screens, and storage.

In April 2018 the [[Israel Postal Company]] issued a stamp with different El Al-planes commemorating the 70th anniversary of the airline.<ref>Stamp, 11,60 Sh: {{cite web | url=https://www.israelpost.co.il/PostBoolaee.nsf/HanpakotViewEng/A3CA88FE276AB08CC225825B0043B623?opendocument&L=EN| title= 70 Years of Civil Aviation in Israel| access-date=2020-08-14}}</ref>

In July 2019, El Al retired its sole freight aircraft, a [[Boeing 747-400F]], ending its dedicated cargo flights. The airline plans to use charter services by other airlines for this purpose from now on.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cargofacts.com/el-al-ceases-747-freighter-ops-looks-to-airbridge-and-asl-for-charters-video/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707081600/https://cargofacts.com/el-al-ceases-747-freighter-ops-looks-to-airbridge-and-asl-for-charters-video/|archive-date=2019-07-07|website=cargofacts.com |title=El Al ceases 747 freighter ops, looks to AirBridge and ASL for charters|date=3 July 2019}}</ref>

In March 2020, El Al suspended operations due to the ongoing [[COVID-19 pandemic in Israel|COVID-19 pandemic]]. The Israeli government had announced that all foreign and Israeli passport holders would have to undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival into the country. El Al also converted some of their [[Boeing 787 Dreamliner]] airplanes to serve as cargo flights to transport medical goods from China to Europe through Tel Aviv's [[Ben Gurion Airport]]. El Al also offered some passenger flights to get stranded Israeli citizens home. These flights went from Tel Aviv to Miami, New York, London, Paris, and more. They also offered two services to Australia during the pandemic. This was the first ever nonstop flight from Israel to Australia. El Al offered one flight from Tel Aviv to Perth and Tel Aviv to Melbourne.

On 1 July 2020, after returning substantial amounts of leased aircraft (and canceling current leases) the airline canceled all flights and suspended operations indefinitely.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://airlinegeeks.com/2020/07/01/el-al-suspends-operations-indefinitely/ |title=El Al suspends Operations Indefinitely|date=2 July 2020|publisher=Airline Geeks}}</ref> On 6 July, the company announced it had worked out a [[bailout]] deal with the government to make up the hundreds of millions of dollars it had lost due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Israel]] and abroad. The proposed deal would net the airline $250 million in government loans (with a guarantee for 75 percent of the loan in case of defaults) and an additional $150 million from its own sale of company shares which, if not sold, would be purchased by the government.<ref>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=6 July 2020|title=Israeli airline El Al reaches bailout deal with government|url=https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/rkZZzx111D|access-date=7 July 2020|newspaper=[[Ynetnews]]}}</ref> The deal was approved by a [[Knesset]] committee. On 17 September, it was announced that Kanfei Nesharim, a company owned by 27-year-old [[Eli Rozenberg]] (son of US [https://centershealthcare.com/ Centers Health Care] nursing home chain founder Kenny Rozenberg), had bought a controlling 42.85% stake<ref>{{Cite web|date=17 September 2020|title=El Al's new owner: Eli Rozenberg, a 27-year-old yeshiva student from New York|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/el-als-new-owner-eli-rozenberg-a-27-year-old-yeshiva-student-from-new-york/|access-date=2020-09-17|website=Times of Israel|language=en-US}}</ref> in the airline with a $107 million offer. Under the prior negotiated bailout deal, the Israeli government, which had committed to buying any unwanted shares as part of a rescue package, bought $34 million worth of shares, for a stake that equals roughly 15% of the company. The holdings of El Al's owners before the bailout, Knafaim Holdings, fell to 15.2% from 38%.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Scheer|first=Steven|date=2020-09-17|title=Control of Israel's El Al Airlines bought by 27-year-old student|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-el-al-arlns-issue-idUSKBN26827C|access-date=2020-09-17}}</ref> The new management will seek to emphasize "punctuality" and work to upgrade food services across all classes.

On 17 April 2022, El-Al started its first direct flight between the Israeli coastal city of [[Tel Aviv]] and Egypt's Red Sea resort of [[Sharm el-Sheikh]]. Flight 5193 is operated by El-Al subsidiary Sun d’Or.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-17 |title=Direct flights start between Tel Aviv and Sharm el-Sheikh |url=https://arab.news/vz3c7 |access-date=2022-04-17 |website=Arab News |language=en}}</ref>

In October 2023, following the need for the urgent return of reserve soldiers due to the start of the [[Gaza war]], El Al gained [[Halakha|halachic]] approval from the [[Chief Rabbinate of Israel]] to break a 40-year policy of not flying on [[Shabbat]], with the last time it flew on a Sabbath being in 1982 during the [[1982 Lebanon War|First Lebanon War]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-10-18 |title=El Al operates Saturday flights for first time since First Lebanon War |url=https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/energy-and-infrastructure/article-768799 |access-date=2024-01-14 |website=The Jerusalem Post |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Hajdenberg |first=Jackie |date=2023-10-17 |title=Israeli rabbis are issuing guidance about how to adjust Jewish law during wartime |url=https://www.jta.org/2023/10/17/israel/israeli-rabbis-are-issuing-guidance-about-how-to-adjust-jewish-law-during-wartime |access-date=2024-01-14 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US}}</ref> They also flew on the Sabbath following the attacks on Israeli football supporters in November 2024.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-828412 | title=EL AL funds rescue flights for Israelis from violent Amsterdam attack | date=10 November 2024 }}</ref>

2024 brought a record profit of $545 million to the company, as many competitors cancelled flights to Tel Aviv due to the [[Gaza war]]. Critics charged that El Al was engaged in [[price gouging]], but El Al denied the charge, saying it capped its prices. El Al also blamed the rise in ticket prices on a global "shortage of aircraft, engines and parts and supply chain delays."<ref>{{cite news|title=Israel's El Al Airlines 2024 profit soars to record high amid war|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/israels-el-al-airlines-2024-profit-soars-amid-war-2025-03-12/|date=March 12, 2025|publisher=[[Reuters]]|first=Steven|last= Scheer}}</ref>