Class action lawsuit against El Al due to unfair prices it charged as a monopoly in the "Iron Swords" war
- ILAN V
- Jul 7, 2025
- 2 min read
Yesterday, we filed a class action lawsuit against El Al, following monopolistic price gouging that took place during the war. During this period, competition at Ben Gurion Airport (Ben Gurion Airport) almost completely disappeared, thus giving El Al a golden opportunity to take advantage of its monopoly status and the difficult situation that has arisen in the country. El Al, instead of making things easier for its customers, increased ticket prices for all of us, while its own costs decreased in 2024. This conduct is illegal, unethical, and also severely violates the rights of consumers, who found themselves forced to pay particularly high amounts for airline tickets to or from Israel. From our in-depth investigation, we also discovered that during the same period, other airlines around the world chose to lower prices on average, so El Al's claims that prices are rising regardless of its being a monopoly that abuses its power are unfounded.
El Al has ruthlessly and outrageously enriched itself at the expense of its customers, while taking advantage of the difficult security and social situation, and the lack of competition! El Al Airlines has become one of the most profitable companies in the world, by a significant margin over most airlines, not due to innovation or better service, but simply due to the lack of competition and adequate enforcement of the law. In fact, El Al has exploited its monopolistic power given to it by the war, and caused significant economic damage to its customers, who depended on it to reach various destinations.
It appears that El Al tried to cover up its illegal actions, but after very strenuous work that lasted two and a half months, we were able to file a thorough and comprehensive lawsuit. The lawsuit is supported by an expert opinion from Prof. Gila, former Commissioner of Competition in Israel, which provides detailed evidence of El Al's violations of the law.
Prof. Gila's opinion analyzes El Al's improper conduct and points out how it exploited the situation to raise prices without any justification. As mentioned, a price increase during wartime, when El Al's costs have decreased!
To read more about this disturbing case and its implications, we invite you to visit one of the articles in the attached links, which offer additional insights into the issue and additional details about our lawsuit.
Class action lawsuit against El Al
Former Competition Commissioner, Prof. David Gila, authored an economic opinion in support of the class action lawsuit.
The request claims that El Al is engaging in monopolistic price gouging for an essential service.
El Al's monopolistic profit since the beginning of the war is estimated at $483 million.
The profit rate from flying passengers has increased 15 times since the outbreak of the war.
El Al Israel Airlines is facing a class-action lawsuit over allegations of price gouging during a national tragedy, accused of exploiting the situation at the expense of its customers.
This is a story that emphasizes the need for a smart and determined legal and public fight against the abuse of customers by monopolistic forces in Israel, especially in difficult times like the ones we are experiencing.