Planning to fly abroad from Israel soon? Several airline companies are planning special fare deals for both business and tourist classes, even in excess of normal seasonal fare reductions. Due to decreased demand, especially on departing flights from Ben Gurion Airport, companies such as British Air and Lufthansa are offering both reduced rates as well as additional frequent flyer bonus miles.

British Air is offering special deals for business class flyers to both the U.K. and to New York. For a business class flight to New York, for example, costing $ 3,465, including taxes, a traveler will receive 130,000 bonus miles, which is the value of round trip business class ticket from Tel Aviv to New York, or 3 round trip fares to London, via business class, or 6 tourist-class fares to London. If a business flyer’s destination is London, the fare of which begins at $1,841, he/she will receive 65,000 free bonus miles, equivalent to one round trip business-class fare or 3 tourist-class fares.

Lufthansa also has special deals for travelers flying to Frankfurt, and who are members of their Miles & More frequent flyer club. For example, for each 1,800 actual flight miles, a traveler will receive an additional 2,500 bonus miles. If the traveler flies by business-class, the bonus miles increases to 5,000 additional miles. This deal will be in effect until the end of November, 2006.

Air Canada has a special air deal beginning January, 2007, in which bonus flight miles will build up for a longer period, i.e., for seven years instead of the current four. Flyers will be allowed to receive one free bonus flight per year in accordance with their actual bonus mile accumulation. Additional cash bonuses are planned as well.

Those seeing full details should contact the business offices of the particular airline, or their travel agent, as the above mentioned flight deals have departure date restrictions (such as before national holidays) and are for a limited time only.