TORONTO — Porter Airlines and EL AL Israel Airlines have signed an interline agreement facilitating more options for travel between Canada and Israel.

The agreement takes advantage of the airlines’ joint operations at Newark Liberty International Airport’s Terminal B as a connecting point between Tel Aviv and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Numerous additional Canadian destinations are accessible via Toronto City.

Travellers can check baggage through to their final destination.

Porter offers up to 13 daily roundtrip flights between its downtown Toronto City Airport base and Newark. “Our frequent Newark-Toronto schedule makes this interline agreement an excellent alternative for people looking to connect with Israel and Canada,” said Michael Deluce, executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Porter Airlines. “We plan to provide even more interline options for customers in the coming months to extend Porter’s reach around the world through our partners.”

“We are very excited to introduce our new interline agreement with Porter Airlines to our Canadian passengers. This will further facilitate travel to Israel for those passengers that work or live close to the downtown core. EL AL passengers will be able to enjoy the additional choice of six weekly flights with a convenient connection via Newark, in addition to the existing flight schedule to Toronto,” said Dinah Kutner, General Manager for EL AL Canada.

The agreement, now in effect and ready for sale in all GDSs, was two years in the making. “We’ve been pushing for it,” says Kutner. “It’s a novel product that answers the needs of several different segments of the population, from young Toronto downtowners who don’t want to go to Pearson, to business people who want the convenience. And agents are telling me clients are asking for it.”

Down the line Kutner is also hoping the interline agreement produces more inbound traffic, with Israelis flying EL AL into Newark and then onto Toronto and using this city as a hub for connections to Porter destinations including Mont Tremblant and Myrtle Beach.

EL AL currently offers three flights per week out of Toronto’s Pearson Airport in the winter months, bumping up to four in the spring and summer months. Last year was “excellent” for EL AL, says Kutner.