El Al was established in 1949 as the national airline of Israel. Until recently and unlike any of the domestic carriers in the states, El Al is run by the state of Israel and get most of its funding from the government. It loses money on most all of its flights and is subsidized by taxpayers. It's also worth noting that El Al has never been the victim of a hijacking, due in large part to the stringent security measures adopted by the government and airline

Current Fleet

2 - Boeing 737 - 700 series
Range: 2500 miles

6 -Boeing 747 - 200 series - Of the six, three are passenger only and three are convertible from passenger to cargo
Range: 4500 miles

4 -Boeing 747 - 400 series - 4
Range: 6400 miles

3 - Boeing 737 -800 series - 3
Range 2500 miles

6 -Boeing 767
Range: 5400 miles

7 -Boeing 757
Range: 3300 miles

Some notable El Al moments:

Inaugral flight brings Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann home to Israel from Geneva in September, 1948.

In June, 1961, the first non-stop New York to Tel Aviv flight on a Boeing 707 sets the world record for a non-stop commerical flight. It covered 5760 statute miles in 9 hours, 33 minutes.

In March, 1984, El Al recorded the first international Boeing 767 flight, Montreal to Tel Aviv.

In May of 1988, El Al operated its longest non-stop flight in history. Los Angeles to Tel Aviv, 7,000 statute miles in 13 hours, 41 minutes

In May of 1991, an El Al boeing 747 airlifted a record breaking 1087 passengers - Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa to Israel as part of Operation Solomon.

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