As of May 8, 2023, Delta will launch a 3x weekly flight between Atlanta (ATL) and Tel Aviv (TLV).

The flight will operate with the following schedule:

Atlanta to Tel Aviv departing 2:00PM arriving 9:15AM (+1 day)

Tel Aviv to Atlanta departing 11:30AM arriving 5:55PM

The 6,473-mile flight will operate eastbound on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and westbound on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The flight is blocked at 12hr15min eastbound and 13hr25min westbound.

That’s an interesting schedule, by the way — most flights from the United States to Tel Aviv depart late at night and arrive the following evening, while most flights in the other direction are redeyes. In this case we’re seeing an earlier departure from the United States, and a daytime return from Israel. People will no doubt have mixed opinions on that schedule.

Delta will use an Airbus A350-900 for the Tel Aviv route, featuring a total of 306 seats. This includes 32 Delta One business class seats, 48 Premium Plus premium economy seats, and 226 economy seats.

Delta’s route from Atlanta to Tel Aviv complements Delta’s existing service from Boston and New York to Tel Aviv. This isn’t the first time that Delta has operated this route, as Delta last flew from Atlanta to Tel Aviv over a decade ago, in 2011.

While both Boston and New York no doubt have a lot more Israel demand than Atlanta, Atlanta has a lot more connectivity opportunities than the airports in the Northeast. Atlanta is Delta’s largest hub, so for many passengers this will open up one-stop service from the United States to Tel Aviv on Delta.

Tel Aviv is a competitive market among the “big three” US carriers. Initially United had by far the biggest presence there, but American and Delta have been catching up nicely:

United flies to Tel Aviv from Chicago, Newark, San Francisco, and Washington + American flies to Tel Aviv from Miami and New York.