Air Algerie review by S Farooq

4 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

Algiers to London, the flight was fine save for the lack of information in English. Lunch wasnt great and the toilet was messy. Aircraft was a newish 737.

Air Algerie review by A Boubekeur

2 October 2006

I have decided to give up on Air Algerie after waiting nearly 3 days for a flight from Heathrow, with 2 small children. The airline is a joke - you have to wait at least 3 hours before they tell you your not flying. We had 2 pay for my 2 young children nearly the full fare and then was told to give up a seat as they had overbooked. I am not from Algeria, my husband is though - Algeria is like my second home. I feel that the Air Algerie gives the country a bad name - it should pull its socks up and start following the other airlines.

Air Algerie review by M Kharbouch

12 September 2006

I am an Algerian living the south East of England for last 24 years. My family and I use to fly Air Algerie from London to Algiers about twice a year. The service and the London office became so bad that it was almost impossible to buy a ticket. When Air Algerie was the only airline flying to Algeria people had to travel to London to buy their tickets. In the last few years more European airlines started to fly to Algeria. A lot of Algerians living in the UK prefer to fly Algeria via a connecting flight (Rome, Milan and Paris) than flying with Air Algerie. The price of the ticket was in most cases more expensive. More recently BA started flying to Algiers from London and this provide us an alternative option. My family and most of our friends fly with BA with travelling to London. I think Air Algerie provides better food than BA, but the FA on the BA flights project a more professional image.

Air Algerie review by Iram Hafri

1 June 2006

The service is a shambles! I have travelled with Air Algerie more than 6 times since July 05. Their systems need to be modernised! No allocated seating, carry your own suitcase to the porters on the runway, cabin crew never smile or ask if you are okay. Baggage allowance for different people. The only positive comment is they serve relatively hot food. What saddens me more than anything is the fact that the flight is so short, it doesn't take alot to make it a good flight! The price you pay is extortionate in comparison to what you receive!

Air Algerie review by Nacer Hanif

22 October 2005

I have never encountered an airline where the passengers themselves have to collect the luggage from the runway! This happened to me thrice with Air Algerie: Lyon to Constantine 2002, Lyon to Annaba 2004, and Constantine to Paris 2005. I am afraid Air Algerie had a lot to learn to be internationally competent.

Air Algerie review by W Miller

16 August 2005

What a disappointment! Air Algerie need to improve if their star rating and credibility with other operators is to be upped. My ticket was purchased in the UK through an independent travel broker. No problems there, but the ticket was not available for collection when I arrived to check-in at Heathrow. The incompetent Air Algerie rep then took one hour to sort this problem out. To add insult to injury, I was flying business class, but did not get to see the lounge or do any shopping, as the check-in desk had closed by the the time my problem had been resolved. Business class on Air Algerie is a joke. The only additional privilege I could see was an extra four inches of leg room. The interior of the aircraft was shabby, the upholstery was dirty and there was even old food and hair in the table stowage area. The food was ok, and the service was relatively attentive, but I couldn't help but think that it was all a bit too much of an effort for the staff. Come on Air Algerie. Get a grip on your customer service priorities, refurbish the aircraft, change the menu, provide service with a smile - and keep the cabin clean!

Air Algerie review by I Boucekkine

29 June 2005

I'm an Algerian living in Ottawa, Canada. I fly with Air Algerie every two years for my vacation to Algeria. I always leave Montreal or Toronto for some European city and then connect with Air Algerie to Algiers. I also use Air Algerie domestically when i arrive to fly Algiers-Annaba. Flying with them every two years has given me the privilege of seeing the airline grow and IMPROVE. The food is great and plentiful even on the 2h flights from Paris and Frankfurt and the 1h30min. flights from Casablanca. Most other airlines don't even offer HOT meals on such short flights. I find their planes to be quite nice and they are trying to improve them. They phased out the 727s and 732s leaving only the newest and best also adding to it the Airbus 332s. The extension of the International terminal at Algiers gives you a more comfortable and modern lounge/check-in area and hopefully with the completion of the new terminal it will be even better. I find their only problem to be frequent delays. Other than that, good service and good planes.

Air Algerie review by Samar Srivastava

25 June 2005

Lyon to Annaba on Air Algerie yesterday. My father who lives in Annaba flies Air Algerie regularly on work and is absolutely fed up with the airline. At Lyon one corner had been allocated for Air Algerie check-in. It seems even the airport authorities have given up on that corner. A good amount of chaos. In the line before the immigration gate few Algerians broke the wire cordon, jumped in and broke the queue in spite of being reprimanded by airport officials. Boarding was disorganized with no priority boarding for business class or for the elderly. Upon entering the plane I discovered that seat numbers meant nothing. My seat was occupied and the FA politely told me I could sit anywhere! Food was horrible. They ran out of water bottles and started serving water in glasses poured out at the back of the aircraft. The water had a fair amount of salt in it. Upon landing at Annaba it took us over an hour to get out of the chaotic airport despite having cleared immigration in 10 minutes. Basically the bags took that long to come out and this when the Lyon flight was the only flight that arrived at the airport that time...when we landed there was not a single aircraft other than ours (domestic or international!!)

Air Algerie review by OmarTayeb

24 May 2005

I live in London . I agree with all the negative points said by the people in the comments and I would like to add that it is impossible for people to get through the phone to contact Air Algerie agency in order to book or to buy a ticket - and if we make a booking through internet we don't get an answer that the booking has been accepted or not !

Air Algerie review by Reyad Kesri

21 April 2005

Positives : Food quality. Recent efforts to renew the fleet. Crew friendliness Non-smoking restrictions (though I'm a smoker, I consider this a plus) Negatives : Delays (too frequent). Transit lounge (poor comfort). Business & First Class lounge (poor comfort as compared to other airlines). Hygiene on board (dirty WCs, sometimes even dirty seats). Inflight entertainment (non-existent). Seating allocation (non-existent). Algiers airport duty free shopping and facilities (poor standards). One of the most expensive airline for $ per distance.

Air Algerie review by D Ibrahim

6 April 2005

The Air Algerie fleet is totally renewed, they now have brand new A330 on international routes, safe and clean, all flights are non smoking. The airport security is top notch. The food served onboard is good for medium range flights. Contrary to what some people say, Air Algerie does allocate seats like other airlines, but it is true that some passengers seem to not take that into account, which tends to stress the staff into attitudes that are not very friendly during the first 15mns of boarding. Air Algerie has seen a huge improvement in service with the introduction of new planes. I recommend this airline, yet I would like to see them adopt a world class frequent flyer program.

Air Algerie review by Jacques Francois

2 November 2004

What I don't understand is why AIR ALGERIE is not allocating seats when people check in. This creates a big confusion. It is not the passengers fault but it is the airline which doesn't allocate seats. It wasn't used to be like that in the past.

Air Algerie review by Adam Derglish

20 August 2004

My wife and I use Air-Algerie twice a year to go from London to Algiers and we usually use the company for internal flights as well. I can say with confidence that both, security at airport and food during the flight are the best in the world. The Fleet maybe a little old but the level of maintenance carried out on the planes must be very high. The service provided by the crew is probably poor but I can assure you that the worst of Air-Algerie is the quality of the passengers. Everyone thinks the plane is his or her so he/she can seat anywhere, smoke whenever they are pleased, take overweighed hand luggage and use their mobile phones during the flight. I do advice people to fly with Air-Algerie but remember to be a good passenger and you will see how will be treated.

Air Algerie review by Sibiry Traore

14 August 2004

My wife and I travel regularly between West Africa and Europe and about a year ago we decided to try Air Algerie to avoid the burden of Air France's unpleasant staff and ridiculously low checked baggage weight limits (economy: 23 kgs!). We were surprised to enjoy a relatively pleasant experience with Air Algerie (Y class) flying recent aircraft (738 and 735s), with acceptable delays (~15-30mns) and fast connections in Algiers on both legs, for about half the cost of the AF ticket. The only negative side was a cold, uncomfortable transit room in Algiers airport on the outbound flight. On that leg travel time incl. connection was shorter than that of AF. Given the above, plus the quality and quantity of food served onboard highlighted by others, I consider Air Algerie a fair alternative to Air France on Europe-West Africa routes.

Air Algerie review by Benblidia Djamel

13 April 2004

As it's the only option in Algeria, I travel twice a month with Air Algerie and I can’t tell lots of things need to be done within the company itself, for instance all Personnel need to have a worthy training to learn how to treat customers to improve their poor service quality.

Air Algerie review by K Adel

12 April 2004

I fly sometimes with Air Algerie and it is not worst nor better than all other flight companies. For the security all the airplanes in world are submitted to the same safety constraints so it is not more dangerous to fly with Air Algerie than to fly with others (All Air Algerie airplanes are from the last generation Boeing or Airbus). And the greater decision Air Algerie has taken is to eliminate smoking in their airplanes. For the delays I think is problem of security which is taken really seriously by Algerian authorities and also because there are simply not enough parking place at Algiers Airport which will be resolved with the new airport.

Air Algerie review by Sidi Benkhada

31 December 2003

I am an Algerian living in London, I used the the service once from London, it was the most expensive, horrific and time wasting in my life. It was the first and the last, it took me 9 hours where it should have taken only 4. I complained to London branch manager but no action followed nor an apology.

Air Algerie review by Robert Woelken

8 December 2003

As an expat living in Algeria I frequently have to use the services of Air Algérie for going on business trips. As a frequent user I can only confirm what others say about Air Algérie. The planes are 90% of the time late, the service is miserable, and the planes are in a state where most airlines would take them out of service. Only small highlight is the consistent quality of the food, which is not refined but good tasting. Air Algérie certainly is part of the Algeria experience, but those who are scared of flying may not find this the most reassuring airline to go with. A word of advice as a business traveller - take business class, there is a small lounge at the Airport in Algiers where you can at least pass your time when the flight is delayed.

Air Algerie review by G Eckensviller

25 May 2003

I fly Air Algerie on a regular basis - they are habitually late, because of security. For instance, when departing Algiers, all passengers must identify their luggage which is laid out on the tarmac prior to boarding the aircraft. For this, I have no problem. The latest I have ever been leaving Algiers is 45 minutes. It gives me ample time to catch any connecting flights to my next destination. The other reason why they are quite often delayed flying back to Algiers, is because there are simply not enough parking spots at the Airport in for incoming flights, therefore, they wait in Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, etc until a spot can be allocated for the aircraft. The crew is always more than accommodating with refreshments and anything they can do to assist with comfort. They have eliminated smoking on the flights, but some people still light up. When this happens they tell the person to put out the cigarette and if the person refuses, they are told that should they refuse to extinguish the cigarette - then once they arrivedat the destination the local authorities will be contacted, this usually takes care of the problem.