Sundor
{{Short description|Israeli airline}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox airline
|airline=Sundor
{{lang|he|סאן דור}}
|logo=Sundor_Logo.svg
|logo_size=250
|fleet_size=6
|destinations=17
|IATA=LY
|ICAO=ELY
|callsign=ELAL
|parent=El Al
|company_slogan =
|founded={{start date and age|1977}}
|ceased=
|headquarters=Tel Aviv, Israel
|hubs={{nowrap|Ben Gurion Airport}}
|focus_cities=
|frequent_flyer=Matmid
|lounge=
|key_people={{nowrap|Olga Alauof, President}}
|website= [https://www.elal.com/eng/sundor/home elal.com]
|image=|aoc=|num_employees=}}
Sundor ({{langx|he|סאן דור}}, previously styled as Sun d'Or) is an Israeli airline brand and former airline with its base at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of El Al, which uses the brand mainly for seasonal scheduled and charter services, mostly to European destinations. All of their flights are operated by El Al, as Sundor's own license was suspended in 2011.
History
File:Sun d'Or logo.svg in 2024.]]
Sundor was established on 1 October 1977 as El Al Charter Services Ltd., as a subsidiary of El Al at a time when the airline was fully owned by the State. The airline changed its name in 1981 to Sundor (d’Or means "of Gold" in French), and soon after, Uriel Yashiv, the CEO of the airline at the time, chose to add "International Airlines" to the airline's name to create Sun d'Or International Airlines. This additional qualification is not used in Hebrew, however, and both aircraft flown by the company bear solely the "Sundor - סאן דור" title.{{cn|date=February 2025}}
In 1988, Sundor had its head office in the El Al House in Tel Aviv."World Airline Directory." Flight International. 26 March 1988. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1988/1988%20-%200805.html 117] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514035043/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1988/1988%20-%200805.html |date=14 May 2016 }}.
Since April 2001, Sundor had grown to become a significant player in the Israeli charter market. The airline also operated flights for incoming tourists, on behalf of European and Israeli operators. In January 2005, Sundor became a private company following the privatisation of El Al. The airline is licensed for the commercial transport of passengers and cargo on charter flights to and from Israel and owned an Air Operator Certificate to operate two leased planes that were fully serviced by El Al's maintenance.{{cn|date=February 2025}}
Sundor remained a fully owned subsidiary company of El Al and as such its passengers could take advantage of this association. Benefits included the ability for passengers to accumulate El Al frequent flyer points on Sundor flights, and the supplying of food including all types of special meals through Tamam-Catering, an El Al Subsidiary. El Al also provided ground services, air crews and aircraft for Sundor. The airline had introduced a new look website and were to apply the same to their fleet as well.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sundor.co.il/sundor/translations/iw/sundorOffers.htm|title=Sundor Boeing 757 featuring a modified new look in Berlin special fare promotional|access-date=23 May 2011|archive-date=5 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105010351/http://www.sundor.co.il/sundor/translations/iw/sundorOffers.htm|url-status=dead}}
In March 2011, The Israel Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced the suspension of Sundor's operating license effective 1 April 2011. The CAA based its decision citing non-compliance with Israeli and international airline management standards, mainly lack of self-owned planes and crew.{{Cite web|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/03/20/354557/israels-sun-dor-has-operating-licence-withdrawn.html|title=Israel's Sundor has operating licence withdrawn}} Since then, Sundor no longer operates own aircraft but utilizes planes from its parent, El Al.{{cn|date=February 2025}}
In May 2015, El Al confirmed it was in merger talks with its competitor Israir Airlines. While Sundor would be dissolved, El Al would gain shares in Israir instead.{{Cite web|url=http://ch-aviation.com/portal/news/37625-israels-el-al-confirms-talks-to-merge-sun-dor-with-israir|title = Israel's el al confirms talks to merge Sundor with Israir}}
Destinations
{{Main|List of El Al destinations}}
File:4X-ATY Dietrich Eggert DUS 06-1984.jpg, departing from Düsseldorf Airport in 1984]]
File:Sun D'Or Boeing 757-200 Stegmeier.jpg, retired in 2011 and broken up in 2012]]
File:OM-JEX.jpg operated by El Al]]
Sundor branded flights are operated by El Al to the following destinations as of January 2024:{{Cite web |title=Flights Sundor |url=https://www.sundor.co.il/sundor/extInit.do?LANG=EN |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001073808/https://www.sundor.co.il/sundor/extInit.do%3FLANG%3DEN |archive-date=1 October 2019 |access-date=28 January 2019}}
Fleet
{{As of|2025|3}}, the fleet operated under the Sun d'Or brand consists of the following aircraft:{{Cite web |title={{sic|Aircrafts|nolink=yes}} Sun d'Or |url=http://ch-aviation.com/portal/aircraft/search?search=1&cha=7L |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527142916/http://ch-aviation.com/portal/aircraft/search?search=1&cha=7L |archive-date=27 May 2015 |access-date=27 May 2015}}{{needs update|date=February 2025}}{{better source needed|date=February 2025}}
| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; border-collapse:collapse;text-align:center"
|+ Sundor Fleet |
| Aircraft
!In Service !Orders !Passengers !Notes |
|---|
| Boeing 737-800
|6 |— |189 |
| Total
!6 !— ! colspan="2" | |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category-inline|Sun d'Or International Airlines}}
- [https://www.elal.com/eng/sundor/home Official Sundor page on El AL website] {{in_lang|en|he}}
{{Portalbar|Israel|Companies|Aviation}}
{{Airlines of Israel}}
{{Transportation in Israel}}
Category:1977 establishments in Israel
Category:2011 disestablishments in Israel
Category:Airlines established in 1977