Arkia

Israeli airline

Arkia
ארקיע‎

| IATA | ICAO | Call sign

|
|

IZ  | AIZ  | ARKIA
Founded| 1949 (as Israel Inland Airlines)
Operating bases| Ben Gurion Airport
Hubs| Ramon Airport
Fleet size| 6
Destinations| 32[citation needed]
Parent company| Jordache Enterprises (70%)[1]
Headquarters| Ben Gurion Airport
Tel Aviv, Israel
Key people| Oz Berlovich (CEO)[2]
Employees| 420 (as of 2020)
Website| www.arkia.co.il

Arkia[a] (stylized as arkia), legally incorporated as Arkia Israeli Airlines Ltd, is an Israeli airline. Its head office is on the grounds of Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel.[3] It is Israel's second-largest airline,[4] operating scheduled domestic and international services, as well as charter flights to destinations in Western Europe and across the Mediterranean. Its main base is Ben Gurion Airport, with a hub at the Ramon Airport.[5]

As of 2020, there are 420 employees employed at Arkia.[6][failed verification]

## History

[edit]

Arkia operated the first Israeli civilian helicopter service in October 1959. Eleanor Roosevelt arriving for a visit in Eilat on an Arkia airplane on March 26, 1959

### Foundation and early years

[edit]

Arkia was founded in 1949 as Israel Inland Airlines when it became clear that there was demand for a local airline to connect Tel Aviv with different regions of the then-new state of Israel, especially with Eilat, Israel's important seaport situated on the Gulf of Aqaba.[7] Flights commenced in 1950 with De Havilland DH.89 aircraft, followed by Douglas DC-3s, to inter-connect major towns in Israel from Rosh Pina in the North to the port of Eilat in the South.[7] El Al held a 50% stake in the airline at this time with the Histadrut, Israel's labour federation, being the other shareholder.[citation needed] The airline later adopted the name Eilata Airlines - Aviron, and Arkia Israel Airlines. [citation needed] In its first year of service, Israel Inland Airlines carried 13,485 passengers, using a Curtis Commando.[7]

During the 1950s, the airline continued to grow, upgrading its fleet to the larger DC-3, and operating two flights a day on the Tel Aviv-Eilat route.[7] This allowed Arkia to have annual passenger figures of over 70,000.[7] As Eilat continued to grow during the 1960s, so did the airline, introducing the Handley Page Dart Herald 200 turboprop aircraft to its fleet between 1967 and 1968, enabling Arkia to expand with new routes to Jerusalem, and Sharm-el-Sheikh.[7] A subsidiary, Kanaf Arkia Airline and Aviation Services, was founded when the airline acquired 50% of the stock of Kanaf Airlines and Aviation Services, and, by the end of the 1960s, scheduled flights were in operation across Israel, from Rosh Pinna in the north, to Ofira in the south.[7]

An Arkia Boeing 737-200 at Orly Airport, Paris, France, 1982

In March 1980, Kanaf Arkia acquired the remaining stock of Arkia and merged the two operators. [citation needed] The airline grew quickly during the 1980s, moving both into the international charter market and airline maintenance.

### Development during the 2000s

[edit]

The airline is now owned by Kanaf-Arkia Airlines (70%) and airline employees (30%). In 2006, the Nakash brothers of Jordache Enterprises bought Knafaim's 70% share.[7]

In February 2007, the Israeli Tourism Ministry awarded Arkia a scheduled operator's licence for flights to Dublin, and Larnaca, a destination dropped by EL AL.[8] In July 2007, it was announced that the airline planned to file for further scheduled carrier status on routes to New York City and Bangkok, currently served under charter status.[9] Furthermore, in early 2008, after the Israeli Tourism Ministry opened up the airline market, the airline applied for scheduled carrier status for routes to Barcelona, Berlin, Moscow, and Paris. [citation needed] The licence for Paris was granted in February 2008, and the airline announced that both economy and business class would be offered on this route. [citation needed] At this time, the airline also announced that it would add two Boeing 737 aircraft to its fleet within two years, as well as four Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft it had on order which were to be delivered in 2012.[10] The order for the 787s was moved to a leasing subsidiary owned by MG Aviation and leased to Norwegian Air Shuttle. The order was replaced with an order for 4 A330neo aircraft.[11]

In November 2018, Arkia became the launch customer of the Airbus A321LR when it received its first aircraft of the type.[12] In May 2024, Arkia announced it was wet-leasing a Boeing 737-700 from Ukrainian company SkyUp.[13]

In January 2025, Arkia announced it would begin direct flights between NYC and Tel Aviv starting on 8 February, 2025 using Airbus A330-900 aircraft operated by Iberojet.[14][15]

In May 2025, Arkia announced it would begin a 2nd direct flight between NYC and Tel Aviv starting in June 2025 using Boeing 787-9 aircraft operated by Neos Air.[14][15]

## Destinations

[edit]

Main article: List of Arkia destinations

## Fleet

[edit]

Arkia Airbus A321LR Arkia Embraer 195 A former Arkia ATR 72-500 in an earlier livery version.

### Current fleet

[edit]

The Arkia Israel Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft as of September 2022[update]:[16]

Aircraft  | In service  | Orders  | Passengers  | Notes

|
|
|
|

Airbus A321LR | 2[16] | —  | 219  | Worldwide launch customer of its type.[17][18]
Embraer 190 | 1[16] | —  | 110  |
Embraer 195 | 3[16] | —  | 122  |
Total  | 6  | —  |

### Historic fleet

[edit]

Arkia Israel Airlines has also operated the following aircraft:[19][20]

Aircraft  | Introduced  | Retired  | Notes

|
|
|

ATR 72-500 | 1998  | 2017  |
Boeing 737-200 | 1982  | 2000  |
Boeing 757-200 | 1993  | 2007  |
Boeing 757-300 | 2000  | 2019[citation needed] |
Curtiss C-46 Commando | 1950  | Un­known  |
de Havilland Canada Dash 7 | Un­known  | Un­known  |
Douglas DC-3 | 1955  | Un­known  |
Embraer 190 | Un­known  | Un­known  |
Handley Page Dart Herald | 1964  | Un­known  |
Vickers Viscount | 1980  | Un­known  |

### Livery

[edit]

In May 2017 Arkia unveiled a new livery, ahead of the delivery of new aircraft, which consists of a lower-case 'a' on the vertical fin, which also features the striping effect and multicoloured stripes on the aft section and the winglets of each aircraft. The colour of the stripes and logo will vary between each aircraft.[21]

## Incidents and accidents

[edit]

* On 28 November 2002, Arkia Israel Airlines Flight 582, a Boeing 757-300, was narrowly missed by two anti-aircraft missiles, fired at it shortly after take-off from Moi International Airport in Mombasa, Kenya. The plane continued onward and landed safely in Tel Aviv, Israel. The incident occurred approximately 20 minutes before the Kenyan hotel bombing.[22][23]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Hebrew: ארקיע; lit. 'I will soar'

## References

[edit]

1. ^ רז-חיימוביץ', מיכל (26 July 2020). "בדרך לסכסוך עבודה בארקיע; העובדים: "הבעלים לא עושים דבר"". Globes.
2. ^ "New CEO at Israeli Arkia Airline: Oz Berlovich Replaces Gadi Teper". Israel Travel News L.T.D. 26 December 2023.
3. ^ "Directory: World airlines." Flight International. 16–22 March 2004. 88 Archived 2012-10-25 at the Wayback Machine.
4. ^ "Financial Mirror dot com - Arkia Airlines starts flights between Cyprus and Israel". Financialmirror.com. 2014-02-03. Archived from the original on 2014-03-10. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
5. ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. p. 77.
6. ^ Jarvis, Howard (18 September 2020). "Israel's Arkia to resume as deal inked on layoffs, pay cuts". ch-aviation.
7. ^ a b c d e f g h "About Arkia". Arkia Israel Airlines. Archived from the original on 2007-05-18. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
8. ^ "Arkia gets scheduled status". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
9. ^ "Arkia to add 2 more Boeing 787s". 2007-07-10. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
10. ^ Dalia Tal (2008-02-12). "Arkia named designated carrier on TA-Paris route". Globes. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
11. ^ "Arkia to Launch Long-Haul with Airbus A330-900neo Deal". Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
12. ^ Hofmann, Kurt (13 November 2018). "Israel's Arkia becomes Airbus A321LR launch customer". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018.
13. ^ "Arkia Israeli Airlines announces B737-700 wet-lease". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
14. ^ a b "Arkia Launches Direct Flights from Tel Aviv to New York - VINnews". 13 January 2025.
15. ^ a b Varley, Len (2025-01-14). "Arkia to Launch Direct Tel Aviv-New York Flights". AviationSource News. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
16. ^ a b c d "Our Story". Arkia. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
17. ^ "Arkia Israeli Airlines takes delivery of world's first A321LR" (Press release). Airbus. 14 November 2018.
18. ^ "Israel's Arkia to take maiden A321neo(LR)". ch-aviation.com. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
19. ^ "Arkia Fleet - Airfleets aviation". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
20. ^ "Arkia Israeli Airlines - Company Profile and History". Archived from the original on 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
21. ^ "PICTURE: Arkia revamps livery ahead of fleet renewal". London: Flightglobal. 15 May 2017. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017.
22. ^ "A History of Terrorism in Israel". Archived from the original on 9 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
23. ^ "Pilot of Arkia Flight 582 Describes What Happened". CNN. Archived from the original on 2007-12-23. Retrieved 2007-05-05.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Arkia at Wikimedia Commons

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