Has Israel a decent domestic market? No.
What have many experienced players suggested? To start with domestic flights.
Doing kind of thinking: is Israel the right place to go for a domestic network?
At this stage, I would say, you know the answer.
I thought that Israel is a good place to learn since I can reach Antalya, Athens, Istanbul and Cairo with my ATR 72-600s. :mellow:
But bear in mind you can't fly to Lebanon, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Oman, Libya, Kuwait, UAE... that cuts out most of the destinations in reach of your ATRs. Look under the forbidden routes tab. Further to the above points, as a Turkish airline, I can tell you that a majority of my passengers flying IST-TLV are connecting pax from Europe, not direct passengers from IST-TLV. Look for a country with the opportunity to fly domestically first, since then you're in a protected market.
And as advices, very frequently Perú, Venezuela, Morocco are free… They have good domestic market and are good place to learn the ropes. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are also frequently free or with little competition, and also have great domestic markets. Even better than Perú and Venezuela.
Looks like I'm wrong about Israel then. Thanks for the tips :D
By the way, last question. Does pricing affect the ORS rating? What if I've got worse service than a competitor but I've got a great price cut, will that increase my ORS rating?
Price does affect ORS rating, but not as much as flight time, service, seats.
Thank you.