AZERBAIJAN AIRLINES review : 15 April 2009 : by Bill Birnie

Customer Rating : 4/5

I have flown AZAL from both Paris and London to Baku but mainly from Gatwick as it was convenient for me. I flew Business class for approx 2 years and found inflight service was normally very good but preferred the old 757's to the new Airbus as the old aircraft had individual wide seats whereas the newer 757's were 3 economy seats divided into 2. My only criticisim would be at the main AZAL office in Baku where I had to chase up my frequent flyer Silver Card - which I still do not have. I also lost my wallet with the original blue card and when reporting it for a replacement AZAL "fined" me 25% on my air miles. Security at Baku was always thorough but fair. I also used BA and BMI to Baku but would recommend AZAL as they are normally cheaper and the Baku flight had plenty of seats from Gatwick to Baku.

AZERBAIJAN AIRLINES review : 1 March 2009 : by J Ole

Customer Rating : 1/5

Tupolev 134 used from Baku to Nkhchivan interior was plastic - the curtains hung with wires in front of the windows. The air conditioning poured steam out of the ventilation. The backrests of my seat was damaged. The table had to be held in place because the fastening to the seat in front of me was damaged. The landing was careful and there was free water served during the long ground stay before we got in the air.

AZERBAIJAN AIRLINES review : 29 September 2008 : by M McCabe

Customer Rating : 4/5

LHR to Tehran via Baku. Planes were clean and appeared newish, and food mostly good, although sandwiches dry and dull. Service was fair at best, but would fly Azerbaijan again as it was the cheapest.

AZERBAIJAN AIRLINES review : 20 June 2008 : by M Korhonen

Customer Rating : 3/5

Tbilisi-Baku and Baku-Tbilisi with ATR (prop) aircraft. Most days they have two flights in each direction, one on the ATRs and one on 737s. The ATR plane was good, clean, fixtures and toilets in fine shape. Inflight service for these short hops consisted of small sandwiches (think a small round sliced bun with sliced chicken breast and mayo inside) plus drinks. Passengers all ordered non- alcoholic drinks, but I assume alcoholic drinks would have been available. The flight attendants were professional and polite, though not bubbly-friendly. Crew all spoke English well. The return GYD-TBS flight had a friendlier, smiling flight attendant. Overall, I’d say the airline gave quite a good service.

AZERBAIJAN AIRLINES review : 7 June 2008 : by G Morrison

Customer Rating : 3/5

Have flown the airline several times via Paris and Istanbul in the past 2 years. General impression is quite positive as planes are clean, service attentive and friendly, food is tasty while beverages are periodically served. There has been a variation in the level of service on the part of airport employees with some being extremely friendly to short tempered and somewhat rude. I wouldn't say that AZAL is comparable to JAL, Singapore, Korean, Thai, Emirates or Qatar at this time. Otherwise, it's a good value for the price and service.

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by Florian Hassel

19 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

My worst flying experience in 11 years of former Soviet Union travel. On January 13, 2008, the airport in Baku was closed, because the airport is not equipped with any modern snow cleaning equipment. Personnel checking us in in Tblissi in Georgia, without telling us anything, with a delay of 7 hours, in order to not let us return the tickets and book an alternative route through Kiev. No food, no drinks, no apologizing. Arriving in Baku after midnight, no information whatsoever, a crowded airport without any modern facilities. No airport representative ever turned up. No food, no drinks, no apologizing. Finally, with a delay of another 17 hours, check-in at the departure lounge, we were forced to wait for 2 hours, without being allowed to go out and use the toilet. Aggressive, unfriendly personnel at the airport. The aircraft was covered with snow, no cleaning equipment was at hand to clean away the snow from the top of the aircraft. Other passengers told us they already had similar experiences when flying from Moscow through Baku. Stay away from Azerbaijan airlines, if you can.

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by A Darby

11 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Paris-Baku-Kabul. I chose the company because of the reasonable prices. Food was wholesome and service accomodating and polite staff. You can invariably stretch out as the flights are rarely full. My return was cancelled after a 6 hour delay in Kabul and had to change ticket at AZAL office in Kabul. Rumour has it the Paris-Baku flights are to be scrapped soon, which is a great pity as I would not hesitate using AZAL again. I also had to smirk on Baku-Kabul leg when, on a flight full of Afghans, we were served a pork sausage breakfast with full-on vodka at 9am in the morning - arrived in Kabul a rather happy camper indeed!

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by D Broessler

13 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

Worst flying experience in a long time. Even though the airport in Baku had been closed due to bad weather at that point already for hours, staff in Tbillisi checked us in without informing us about the expected delay of the flight to Baku. It turned out to be seven hours. After arrival in Baku after midnight, an airport employee at the transfer desk collected our tickets but refused to provide us with any information about connecting flights. Instead he yelled at passengers and said Azerbaijan Airlines would be none of his business. No representative of that airline showed up until boarding of the flight to Moscow with a delay of 16 hours. The situation at the airport was chaotic. No clean toilets, no place to sleep. Nobody ever apologized to the passengers.

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by G Broome

31 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

I have been flying Azal for 4 years now and it beats the British Mediterranean service in that although flights are restricted to 3 per week from London to Baku, they are invariably not full and service is fine. Fares are cheaper than BA and you usually can have a spare seat beside you in economy. Business is akin to a premier economy western airline but at reasonable rates.

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by Parvin Mammadov

5 February 2007

I have flown several times with AZAL and appreciate the way I was served. The prices were eligible as well. Security was at high level and never delayed.

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by John Margerison

1 February 2007

I have flown Azal from Azerbaijan to London and return many times. Some of the Boeing 757's were showing signs of age. Attendants vary just as on any airline - some very nice and some just ignorant. I recently flew Baku-London-Baku on one of their new Airbus - clean and comfortable, food very good and the flight was quicker than BA flight on the same route. Good airline getting better.

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by Mary Matthews

28 August 2006

Moscow (DME) to Baku and it was a great flight. The plane was newer than many I've been on in the US and very clean and comfortable. The service was good, even in economy class, and food was generous and quite tasty. The next flight Baku to Tblisi was also comfortable with excellent cabin crew.

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by Paul Carne

12 April 2006

Dubai to Baku & return. The plane was an A320. It was full, as usual. Food & service were basic but acceptable. It is important to note that economy passengers can only have 20 kgs booked luggage and they weigh your hand luggage (nothing over 10 kgs). Excess baggage charge on the DUB- Baku was quite expensive. On the return flight, I was offered two ways to pay the charge - the fast way (in cash to the nice check in man - $20 which he pocketed) or the slow way by going to the excess baggage counter & paying $50. I always choose the fast way when in the old Soviet republics.

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by Dmitri Atamanov

29 August 2005

I have flown AZAL two times from Moscow - Baku - Moscow. The plane was clean and the crew friendly and helpful. Food was good - not very much different from other airline food. No delays, everything went smooth.

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by Zareh Gnuni

15 August 2005

I flew Azerbaijan Airlines from Tel Aviv to Baku and it was my worst flight experience ever. It could not be worse. The cabin attendants did not know very simple things about the better service and airplane crew. The food was awful, only half-cup drinks, the smell from the cabin reminded the one from a public lavatories in the University of Baku. The seats of the plane were nasty and dirty. The crew was rude and during the flight never announced basic information about the flight. Their English was terrible. In a word, you easily get lost in the Azerbaijan Airlines flights!

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by Thomas Allen

11 April 2005

My first trip with Azerbaijan Airlines was second to none! I experienced warmth from the crew added with an ease of confidence and individuality totaling unique!

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by Michael Gibbs

11 December 2004

I flew with the airline to and from Baku in early December 2004 and was pleasantly suprised. The comfort, food, service and entertainment was superior to many  major airlines. The aircraft was a 757 and on time both journeys. I have no complaints only praise for value enjoyable flights.

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by Andrew Clark

28 November 2004

I have used Azerbaijan Airlines a number of times between Istanbul to London Gatwick; the fares are consistently cheaper than for other airlines (even in busy times it is possible to get a return flight from Istanbul to London for less than $300) and the flights are always on time. They also leave at convenient times. The airline uses a Boeing 757 on these flights, with an in-flight film (more than on Turkish Airlines or BA on the same route). The comfort and food are satisfactory (it is probably time for the cabin to be spruced up) and the service is very good, with drinks provided regularly throughout the flight. I would recommend this airline, especially those who might be dubious about flying on an airline from a former Soviet republic.

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by Lorna Watson

6 October 2004

The gentleman in their London office I dealt with on the phone when making the booking was extremely helpful in explaining the various options to me. On the security front, I was comfortable as x-rays and sniffer dogs were employed at the departure gate. Both flights departed and arrived on time and were comfortable. The food, especially on the return flight was more than passable. The onboard service was excellent - nothing too much trouble for the cabin crew - even when dealing with the incessant demands of the "spoilt brat" male passenger in front of me who I would happily have throttled. These were the most pleasant flights I have made in years.

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by George Santulli

23 August 2004

What a rickety airline - I flew it twice in December 2003, and thought we were going to fall out of the sky. The flight from Baku to Kabul was on one of their typical Russian built aircraft that creaked and groaned the whole way. The return flight was not much better. At Kabul Airport we literally had to load our bags from a pile of luggage just dumped on the tarmac - it was total chaos. Had it not come at the end of a tough visit to Afghanistan it would have been scary - the guy in the cargo hold was just flipping bags everywhere with no regard for weight distribution - I hope I never have to fly this airline again.

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by D Shanklin

13 February 2004

I flew in April/May 2003 and I must agree with the gentleman from 2002 - the service was excellent and the food wasn't half bad for airline food. The plane I flew was a little older than most American-owned planes I have been on - but it was well maintained. The number of flight attendants was the biggest surprise for me - probably 10 - compared to a comparable U.S. flight of 4. And they are definitely attentive. When I flew there was a film on how to go through customs at the Baku Airport (in English) so that was a great help to me.

Azerbaijan Airlines review - by Yevery Naball

27 December 2002

I sat down and waited for about 45 minutes until the crew announced they are starting to board the aircraft. "Oh boy", I said to myself and "the journey of your life is beginning" I thought to myself. I must have been judging it before I even boarded the plane, which by the way, had one of the cleanest salons I have ever seen. But their professional level service and quality shocked me, since it was so much better of what anyone would have expected from a top airline. I mean, a small Airline company of a small Eastern European country has reserved a spot in my top 5 air travel experiences. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't focusing on myself and was evaluating my opinions based on what I have been seeing around me. The crew didn't seem make a difference between passengers. Everyone seemed to be equally important whether they were French, Azeri, English, American or Russian. I asked their hostesses for a bottle of water and some wine several times and I would get the same answer: "Of course!" When they were serving food, I wasn't sure what they were serving. The hostess gave me a natural smile and showed me the samples of servings and explained what was in them. In major airlines that I have flown, the crew would be as robotic as a person can get, totally dehumanized. I felt culture in that although watching an original Hollywood movie with Turkish subtitles felt kind of odd. They must have understood one of them if not both. I know from my experience with airlines that no matter how big they get, the only way to judge them stays the same - Quality of service (including security and assistance) is what counts.