On 5 August 2015, THE AL announced the opening of negotiations to purchase 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. They would replace the old long-haul fleet, to be received during the 2017-2020 period.
No information has been provided on the chosen model yet, but we can estimate a contract worth 3.34 billion dollars, calculated at the catalog price for a Boeing 787-8 (224,6 million dollars). According to a statement made by an EL AL official, the deal would be completed in a few weeks.
Currently, EL AL owns a fleet of 41 Boeing aircraft with an average age of 11 years. On long-haul flights, Boeing 767-300ER, Boeing 747-400 and 777-200ER aircraft are used.
By introducing Dreamliner aircraft into the fleet, EL AL could benefit from increased return on flights to North America (Toronto, Boston, Los Angeles, Newark), but also to Asia (Bangkok, Mumbai, Beijing).