Israeli startups in the field of aviation and tourism have a new vehicle for skyrocketing to the stars: El Al Israel Airlines’ new Cockpit hub and accelerator.

According to Business Development Director Nimrod Borovitz, El Al is one of the first airlines to establish such a hub. “The aim of the Cockpit program is to expose the carrier to new technologies in its areas of endeavor,” he says.

El Al Innovation Manager Rafi Dabush tells ISRAEL21c that Cockpit eventually will host 10 companies. “Each startup accepted to the program will have access to the leading professionals in the aviation and tourism industries, from within and outside El Al, as well as connections that will open doors to the local and international market.”

The startups will also have access and interfaces with El Al systems for development and integration of a beta site, and the option of El Al becoming their first significant customer.

“In addition, we are working on establishing strategic partnerships with other technology giants including aircraft manufacturers, technology incubators and universities,” Dabush says.

The first two startups chosen for the Cockpit program are Shopnfly and BidFlyer.

Shopnfly allows travelers to make duty-free price comparisons and order a range of goods at every stage of their journey, then collect the purchased products at airport stores, on the plane, or at their hotel.

BidFlyer is an advanced public bidding platform that can be integrated into an airline’s reservation system to provide a new channel for ticket sales at attractive prices.

(via Israel21c)

[Photo: Aero Icarus / Flickr ]