Air Algerie

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.