El Al Offers to Buy Dreamliner Built for Another Customer

DALLAS — EL AL Israeli Airlines (LY) has formally offered to purchase an additional Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner originally meant for another airline.

The Israeli flag carrier has 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in its fleet and has an additional one on the way that was a delivery that was deferred during the pandemic. This will complete the carrier's order for 16 Boeing 787 Dreamliners which the carrier received its first 787 in 2017. 

The airline has recently announced that it is considering adding additional aircraft to increase capacity and meet demand. It has submitted an offer to Boeing for a 787-9 Dreamliner built for another airline. The 787-9 is fitted with two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. 

While LY has not disclosed the identity of the operator, it commented that Boeing would modify the aircraft to the airline's specs. LY expects to take delivery of the type during the second quarter of 2024. This would increase El Al’s fleet to 17 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, including 13 787-9s and four 787-8s.

EL AL Dreamliners

El Al’s fourth Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which is the aircraft that was deferred during the pandemic, is set to be delivered to the carrier in the third quarter of 2023. Originally, the aircraft was scheduled to be delivered during the first half of 2023. 

The carrier uses its Boeing 787 fleet to fly to destinations across North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. In addition to operating the 787, the carrier also operates six Boeing 777-200ERs and 23 Boeing 737s. These are made up of 15 Boeing 737-800s and 8 Boeing 737-900ER, which are used to fly mainly to European destinations. 

El Al is known to be the world’s safest airline. As such, the new Boeing 787-9 will need to be retrofitted to accommodate the carrier's security requirements. It is the only carrier to have a built-in missile system known as Flight Guard, which is installed on the majority of aircraft in the LY fleet.

The system can defend against anti-aircraft missiles and in 2014 was updated to include a Missile Approach Warning System that can detect missiles in the early stage of flight. 

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Featured image: 4X-EDK El Al Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner B789 JFK KJFK. Photo: Francesco Cecchetti/Airways