El Al Israel Airlines is heading back to San Francisco International Airport after a five-year break, launching thrice-weekly nonstop flights between Tel Aviv and the Bay Area on October 25. The route, which the airline has flown on and off since 1996, last operated in 2020.

The flights will run on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner configured with 32 Business, 35 Premium Economy and 204 Economy seats — 271 seats per departure. Westbound flight LY49 leaves Tel Aviv at 11:00 AM and lands in San Francisco at 4:55 PM after just under 15 hours in the air; the return leg is quicker at 13 hours 40 minutes. That works out to 813 seats each way per week, and El Al will be the only airline on the route for now.

The San Francisco return fills out an El Al US network that already covers New York JFK, Newark, Boston, Los Angeles and Miami. It's not the only change in the Israel–US market, either. Israir, Israel's low-cost carrier and the country's second-largest airline, has just started thrice-weekly A330-200 service to New York JFK, ramping up to six weekly flights by December. Expect a no-frills product: checked bags, seat selection and meals all cost extra. United Airlines is also planning to re-enter the San Francisco–Tel Aviv route, possibly as early as 2027 — back when it flew the pairing, it carried close to a million round-trip passengers.

For context on how busy this market has become: in November, El Al alone plans 42 weekly flights each way between Tel Aviv and the US. Its biggest route is New York JFK with 16 weekly departures, followed by Newark with 11. United counters with 18 weekly Newark–Tel Aviv services, while Delta flies daily from JFK and Arkia adds four weekly New York frequencies. Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Miami and Los Angeles are on the board too.

Why it matters for travellers: anyone flying between the West Coast and Israel now has a one-stop-free option again, and competition from Israir's low-cost model plus United's planned return could put downward pressure on fares across the whole Israel–US market. If you're booking, the new San Francisco flights give travellers from the western US a direct alternative to connecting through New York or Newark.