The EL AL Culture An Interview with Israel Borovich, Chairman of the Board, EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd. Editors’ NotE Israel “Izzy” Borovich was appointed to his cur­ rent position in January 2005, af­ we are ready for the future, we are a new lounge at JFK, with an israeli bank as the ter serving as Presi dent and CEO of ready for the competition, and we are sponsor of the state-of-the-art business center, Arkia Israeli Air lines Ltd., the do­ ready for the open sky. and you really can have a good meal there too. mestic carrier for Israel. He has What are some of the key el- premium passengers appreciate this, because also served as Presi dent and CEO of ements of your plans for EL AL’s many other airlines are cutting corners on food. Arkia’s parent company, Knafaim future? but we spend a lot of money on it, as well as in- Arkia Holdings Ltd, which is also working with a consultant, we de- flight entertainment.w e’re installing on-demand the controlling shareholder of EL AL. veloped some tenets for our new busi- video systems and systems that allow you to call Borovich serves as the Chairman of ness model. First of all, we are testing any other seat on the airplane, and every eL aL the Board of Granit Hacarmel In vest­ and reevaluating our destinations and state-of-the-art 747-400 and 777 aircraft has per- ments Ltd. and Sonol Oil Company, Israel “Izzy” Borovich eliminating non-profitable routes. it is sonal tvs at every seat, in all classes of service. as well as a member of the board of difficult for many airlines to let go of Many airlines now allow passengers to trustees of the Polytechnic University of New York. routes, but you shouldn’t fall in love with any- check in for their flights from home. What Before joining the private sector, he was a profes­ thing in business. at the same time, we are in- sort of technological services does EL AL sor of information systems at Tel Aviv University creasing the frequency of profitable routes, such offer? from 1971 to 2002, and later became a professor as those from Los angeles, where the number of we have invested close to $30 million in emeritus of computers and information systems nonstop flights toi srael will be five weekly as of IT, and it has actually helped us be in better at the university. Borovich holds a bachelor’s de­ the first ofa pril. we are also eliminating certain contact with our passengers. with our new cus- gree and a master’s degree in industrial engi­ aircraft in our fleet and are adding new state-of- tomer relationship management system, pas- neering, as well as a PhD in operations research, the-art airplanes. we have decided to become a sengers can check in from home. in israel, we from the Polytechnic Institute of New York. point-to-point airline. For instance, if you want can even send security to your home to collect to fly from tel aviv to chicago, we’ll fly you your baggage. there is an additional charge for CompaNy BriEf Established in 1948 and nonstop into new york and, through an agree- this service, but it allows you to immediately go based at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, EL AL ment with a leading domestic carrier, send you through customs and board your flight.c ontact Israel Airlines Ltd. (www.elal.co.il) offers flights to your final destination. we recently signed a with passengers is very important, and if we between Tel Aviv and more than 40 cities in codeshare agreement with american airlines for spend less time on the administrative work at North America, Europe, and Asia. With reser­ both europe and north america, for example. the airport, we can spend more time with our vations offices in more than 100 cities world­ so we have achieved our strategic objectives. passengers. we’ve made an enormous effort to wide, EL AL has alliances with some of the Do you feel you are covering the improve the travel experience, rather than just world’s leading airlines, and codeshare agree­ right routes today? Do you anticipate any the product itself. at the end of the day, all ments with Iberia and Swissair. An agreement changes to the list of destinations the air- aircraft fly at the same speed. so it’s clear that with American Airlines is scheduled to begin this line services? personal contact is everything. spring, based on government approval. The com­ we have a very high security cost – about Does the public have an understanding pany also owns kosher catering services, a hotel $45 per seat, regardless of the length of the of how safe it is to travel to Israel? chain, and a charter airline, offering flights be­ flight. so that’s why we got out of short flights. israel is a very safe country. what is shown tween Israel and Europe. we don’t fly to turkey or cyprus. now we fly on TV is not necessarily representative of the only medium-length or longer routes, but we’re truth. the country is very safe and our security Were you pleased with the strength of EL enhancing the frequency of those flights and systems are excellent. 9/11 changed the world AL’s business in 2007, and how is 2008 we’re concentrating on premium passengers, and the way we look at terrorism and risk. after shaping up? from whom a big portion of our profit comes. 9/11, eL aL was the first airline allowed to fly, eL aL just recently completed its three-year- these changes have been very successful. because we met the new strict security require- plus privatization process a few months ago. What sort of food can your passengers ments set by the Faa. we are very happy with the changes that have expect when in flight? As Chairman of EL AL, how do you fo- taken place as well as with the financial results Food is very important to our passengers. cus your time and efforts? in 2007, which were the best in eL aL’s 60-year eL aL offers kosher food that is also tasty and naturally, i spend a lot of time on strategy. history. so i’m very happy and believe we are healthy. we have great menus for breakfast, working for a global carrier, you think about the ready for 2008. our best achievement over the lunch, and dinner. we invested money in those sun a lot. it’s always rising somewhere, so the years has been the change in our culture. eL menus and people are very happy. we conduct business is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. aL became very compact and has been able to surveys to figure out the right things to do. we executives in this business don’t get too many adjust itself to changing situations in the market. believe the passenger starts their trip with us hours of sleep.• big airlines aren’t always able to do that. every when he checks into his flight, so we also offer decision they make takes a very long time. so delicious dinners in our lounges. we just opened The brand new El Al 777 190 Leaders posted with permission. copyright © Leaders magazine, inc. voLume 31, number 2.