Dina Ben Tal Ganancia's three-year tenure as El Al Israel Airlines CEO was anything but routine. Ben Tal Ganancia began during the Covid pandemic, faced a two-year war with foreign airlines deserting Israel, the need for rescue flights, Iranian attacks, and skies that opened and closed, sometimes at a moment's notice.

She also made history by becoming the first woman to head El Al and then leading the airline to the highest annual profits in its history, of about $950 million during the war. But this achievement brought criticism and fines for price gouging.

Now, in a first interview since stepping down, she discusses what took place, responds to complaints about price gouging, addresses her unexpected departure, and also reveals plans for the future.

We talked several weeks after the Israel Competition Authority imposed a NIS 121 million fine on El Al for excessive and unfair pricing during the war, Ben Tal Ganancia's tenure, when the company recorded phenomenal profit. Shortly afterward, Competition Authority Commissioner Adv. Michal Cohen announced that she was considering imposing another fine on El Al, of NIS 110 million, this time on suspicion of abusing its position as a monopoly in aircraft maintenance hangars and the fact that it did not allow Arkia Israeli Airlines to use them.

Personal sanctions are also being considered on two senior El Al executives, including Ben Tal Ganancia, for hundreds of thousands of shekels apiece.

The company is still expected to try to prove its innocence at a hearing, but if the two fines are implemented, NIS 231 million in total, they would amount to 6.7% of El Al's war profits. A minor impact, perhaps, but with a major message.

"You have to understand what it was like to operate flights in those days, and the security issues we faced. If we could have added flights, we would have added them. But capacity was limited," Ben Tal Ganancia explains what led to the high fares.

"Even when we tried to lower or limit fares, all seats were sold out within 24 hours. If it had been possible to produce more seats and we'd chosen not to do it, to earn more then, wow, you'd be right. But that wasn't the case. Pilots are also a limited resource. A pilot can't do more than 1,000 hours a year, 100 a month. One company can't bridge the gap left by the 100 foreign airlines. This desire to tell people 'Travel wherever you like, no matter what, for' — it doesn't work economically.

Ben Tal Ganancia believes that, in the end, dynamic pricing benefited consumers.

"The simplest thing would have been to set a fixed price, make an average price, and define it as that. But if that had happened, the less privileged wouldn't have been able to fly and, above all, seats would have disappeared months in advance. And then, what would you do about a wounded soldier whose parents are stuck abroad? From the consumer's perspective, this is an Israeli company, and during a war, it should be like [public transport company] Egged. But it's not. We tried to do the best we could, and ultimately, we are being punished for decisions we made under unfavorable conditions in a situation not of our choosing."

As for the allegations of exploiting its position as a monopoly in the hangar sector, Ben Tal Ganancia says, "It was a complete surprise. We are a law-abiding company and would never engage in illegal activity. Every company has its own facilities, and it prioritizes its own needs first, but we did help as much as possible."

The outgoing CEO, while speaking firmly, also reflects on lessons learned. "If we had known this would last so long, and that airlines would not fly here for so long, perhaps we would have acted differently. We even issued a profit warning when the war broke out. When you run a public company, you have a responsibility to investors to keep things balanced."

Balancing a complex reality is nothing new for her. Throughout her tenure, Ben Tal Ganancia faced numerous hurdles. In fact, even her decision to take the position came at the lowest point of the economic downturn, in 2022, the end of the Covid period. The company was in crisis: a small fleet of aircraft, wage and staff cuts, a labor dispute, and cumulative losses of almost $1 billion. All led the airline to demand, and receive, hundreds of millions of dollars in aid. "I felt that if we're going to get through this, I want to take the helm and steer this company," she says.

She was also faced with a labor dispute with the El Al Pilots Association. As part of the agreements signed with the state to secure aid during the economic turmoil of the Covid crisis, El Al committed to implementing streamlining measures that resulted in widespread layoffs, unpaid leaves, and salary cuts. The pilots launched strikes and recurring sick leave, moves that caused a wave of flight cancellations. Ultimately, an agreement was reached with the pilots for a gradual pay scale that restored salaries to their previous level by January 2023, and the company entered a period of industrial quiet.

Ben Tal Ganancia explains what was behind this. "That year, I devoted everything I had to building trust, because I understood that I was entering a broken company. I told myself that no matter what aircraft deal I make, what dreams I have, what strategies and goals I can bring, in the end, the greatest productivity will come when employees come to work willingly.

"After Covid, people worked a lot from home, but that's not possible in every field. You can't do airplane maintenance from home, and you also need a place to get to, where you can be seen. As I've held many posts along the way in this company, I made the effort to always remember what it's like to be in the position of an employee."

The quiet did not last long. Just as the company was beginning to recover from the COVID damage, October 7 came along.

"At that moment I realized I wasn't the CEO of an airline, which is complicated enough on a normal day, but I was also manager of a small armed force," shares Ben Tal Ganancia. "Cyberattacks, threats to pilots — if a plane gets hit, the damage is crazy, and if it's on the runway, fueled and with passengers — what do we do? After all, there's no protected room on a plane. Here I sit, with my two degrees in economics and business administration and years of experience, and none of that prepared me for this. Moreover, in business issues, I can always pick up the phone to a colleague. In this case, I have zero response time and no one to consult with."

She found a creative solution. "I turned to AI, which is supposed to know everything. I wrote, 'I am the CEO of El Al, I have 47 planes, this is the scenario: X number of employees, high demand, airlines have canceled. What do you recommend I do?" The AI gave up almost immediately. "It answered: Sorry, I can't continue this conversation. Good luck."

To cope with the situation, she needed its entire aircraft fleet. Fortunately, the recovery plan she had implemented resulted in 80% of the fleet being back in operation at that stage — a level without which El Al would have struggled to withstand the withdrawal of foreign carriers that followed immediately. With the outbreak of the war, the skies were nearly emptied, and at least 45 foreign airlines suspended or canceled flights to Israel. The center of gravity shifted to the local carriers.

Within the first week of the war, El Al announced that it and its subsidiary, Sun D'or, would operate more than 600 scheduled weekly flights, along with additional flights, to meet demand and bring home Israelis from abroad. At the same time, the company carried out hundreds of rescue flights, in which tens of thousands of Israelis were repatriated. Apart from the 12 days during the War against Iran in June 2025, El Al continued to operate scheduled flights while all other companies canceled theirs.

But the public viewed this mainly as excessive fare increases in a time of crisis, and Ben Tal Ganancia faced a backlash of anger. "The relationship between El Al and the public has been complex for years. I've actually learned to embrace it. In the end, people complain a lot, but even when they have a choice, most choose to fly El Al. The public has a lot of respect for Israeli pilots, who know how to handle tough situations, and they trust them.

"I can also understand it. It's easier to be mad at those who stayed than with those who left. Entire airlines halted flights. People were frustrated. Whom can they turn to? Only in Israel can you call the CEO of El Al, because you know someone who knows someone. People were frustrated, and they vented their frustration.

"Sometimes the fog of war obscures the fact that there was a very critical infrastructure here that had to be restored in a very short time to achieve what we did. An aircraft isn't something you can move easily during a war. Where would you even take it after it hasn't flown for two years? Only within our own facilities or at Israel Aerospace Industries. Each aircraft like that takes about a month to return to service, and many pilots need to undergo simulator training.

"Two crises in five years, each of which lasted two years plus, with a small break in the middle. That's extreme and had a dramatic impact on the aviation sector."

Ben Tal Ganancia grew up on Moshav Shahar, not far from Israel's southern border. Her family first raised sheep then later, flowers and artichokes. She served in the Israel Air Force where, because she had studied physics in high school, she was initially assigned to air systems operations. Eventually, she trained as a operations administrator and then as an operations officer at the Ramon Air Base. After her discharge, she studied for a BA in economics and business administration (later completing a MBA), and then began her career at TASC Consulting & Capital. From there, she went on to El Al.

Ben Tal Ganancia spent 14 years climbing the corporate ladder. She began as Director of Revenue Management in the Commercial & Industry Affairs department, and later held a series of senior finance positions. "I wasn't a manager looking for a place — the place defined me as a manager," she says about reaching the top. She served as CEO for three years.

When she talks about her time at El Al, her tone is almost nostalgic. For Ben Tal Ganancia, this was the apex — all of her professional and managerial experience had brought her to the top.

Therefore, when she announced her departure about six months ago, shortly after the skies opened after the Iran war ended in June, many were surprised. It was a period marked by the return of competition to the aviation market, but she describes a sense of exhaustion, alongside disagreements with the owners over the company's vision for the post-war era.

"I have spent half my life at El Al. Every year was so intense, demanding, and full. Even during the war, I understood I couldn't focus only on the war; I had to look ahead and promote a strategy. I said to myself, the world is moving, and if we don't buy aircraft in time, when this is over we won't be in the right place. The intensity of having to operate on so many fronts at once — both on strategy and all these complex issues — drained me.

"The owners also wanted to expand into various areas, and I felt it was perfectly fine to pass on the baton. Sometimes, to move from wartime to a post-war period, you need to bring in new blood and a fresh spirit to the company. I didn't leave. I completed a very long journey."

In the background of Ben Tal Ganancia's departure, there were rumors about her dissatisfaction with salary conditions, and an options package she requested that was not approved. Some said she stayed in the job for the minimum amount of time required to qualify for company-funded flights but she firmly rejects this.

"It's unrelated. I'm entitled to my flight ticket benefits from the period I worked at El Al, not necessarily from my time as CEO. These are standard retirement terms for senior employees. It's a nice perk, but far from the main thing.

"It's possible that without the war I would have stayed longer. Money wasn't the consideration; during Covid I worked on a 50% salary. On the day I took the role, I told my husband we'd see each other in four or five years and that's how it was. He and the children barely saw me. I joined my eldest son for a short stretch of his post-army trip, but I was constantly on the phone."

Ben Tal Ganancia praises her replacement Levy Halevy, former CEO of ICC-CAL credit card company, who know one another from working on El Al's Fly Card business. Halevy will receive an annual salary of NIS 8.5 million, consisting of a NIS 2.94 million base salary, a NIS 2.56 million signing bonus, and shares valued at NIS 3 million. This compensation package is about 30% higher than the one Ben Tal Ganancia received last year.

"I think every situation is different; I don't feel this is gender-based discrimination. In the end, I took the role during the most difficult period in El Al's history. I came in with a salary that was reduced by 20% compared with the previous CEO because his was already cut. We had a funding agreement with the state, which was repaid. People said: only a woman would take the company in such circumstances. I have no complaints.

"A CEO who has previously held a CEO position comes in and demands what he demands. It could be that if I were taking on my second CEO role, things would be different. Also now, with the company's improved financial situation, the institutional investors can afford to pay more."

Ben Tal Ganancia is now hoping to receive a special severance bonus of NIS 830,000, after institutional investors opposed granting her an additional NIS 1 million in compensation. Her salary in 2024 was NIS 6.5 million, half in performance-based bonuses. In the meantime, she has been appointed as an external director at the satellite company Spacecom and more roles may follow.

"Despite all the rumors about offers from [Yitzhak] Tshuva or managing another airline, I haven't jumped into a new job right away. I'm also not planning a career of board positions, not yet. I'm taking my time, to exercise, to think. Back in 2014, in the middle of my career, my husband and I founded a travel-tech business, but ultimately, I stayed at El Al. He's running it now, and there's potential to expand it abroad. I also have a plan for a 'post-El Al trip' with my daughter, who's just finished her army service."