BA_Jfan

Anyone know of a good review of Azerbaijan Airlines. In business or coach. They have reasonable fares in coach from JFK-TLV so I am curious to know if they are worth trying.

MichaelBaku

I've flown AZAL a lot and can confirm they are not bad at all. Their Business Class is a match for most, especially on the wide-bodies (I think they use an A340 from NYC to Baku at the moment but they recently got a brand new 787 so that will be used for the NYC run). Economy class is fairly standard with limited bar offerings but the food is not bad. Not sure how full the flights are between NYC and Baku but it's a new route and they have some good fares at the moment from here. F/A's are very attentive and polite though they don't seem to smile a lot. Baku Airport is an easy transit, all in one brand new terminal. The FF programme is limited to AZAL only and you can't earn points on any other carrier's programme. If you stopover in Baku, you'll need a visa - good luck with that!!!!! PM me if you need any more info.

BA_Jfan

Most important questions: is there in seat power? How is Baku airport?
As an Orthodox Jew, would I be likely to face any trouble?

MichaelBaku

Baku Airport is fine. The terminal is brand new and is very quiet. Lots of seating, duty free shop, J class lounge etc. No smoking permitted. All planes use air bridges as far as I remember so no need to step outside.

In-seat power - sorry I don't know that one as I never use it.

As far as being an Orthodox Jew is concerned, you won't have any problems. The majority of the population here would identify as Muslim but you wouldn't know that. There is a Jewish population here, though don't know how big it is. I've never, ever heard of any racial/religious issues here.

I took a look at those fares from NYC/TLV out of interest - they ARE very cheap. It costs nearly as much as that to fly to Istanbul from here. I'd go for it if I were you. You can't beat the price and you'll have no issues with AZAL.

BA_Jfan

Thanks! Where could I find pics of the A340 cabin? On their website the pics are really old and I hope it's not what the cabin actually looks like.

djjaguar64

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...951780&page=13

and Baku airport, looks nice:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...951780&page=12

MSPeconomist

Business class doesn't look so great with 2-2-2 or 2-3-2 seating (can't tell how many seats are in the center section, but it's definitely not all direct asile access with the window and aisle seats on one side of the aisle), but the interiors look new and fresh.

The terminal looks luxurious and empty, with what I suspect is the lounge looking very inviting and interesting.

BTW, I love the livery except for the red paint on the engines or some aircraft.

MichaelBaku

It's 2-2-2 in J class and 2-4-2 in Y class. Apparently they have just introduced a premium economy on the A340 but this isn't yet shown on the seat map (http://www.azal.az/upload/A345.jpg). The engines aren't painted red. They are blue. The red you see are the covers for the engines.

There are 2 lounges at Baku. 1 is for AZAL and the other is for other airlines. I've been in the 'other airlines' one and it was ok but nothing special. The terminal is very quiet but then so was the old terminal (now used for doemstics). Not really sure why they needed the new terminal but for whatever reason, it's very impressive.

On the subject of fares, just did a quick check - the one way fare in Economy JFK/GYD/TLV is almost the same as buying a GYD/TLV.

djjaguar64

I think the interior picture I shared is for their new 787. Now, they do need a new terminal if they are starting their international expansion and would like to grow their tourism industry. Its a great airport but they need to advertize their airline and country. I never heard of Azerbaijani airlines before I read this thread.

BA_Jfan

From the one picture of J, it looks pretty in line with the European carriers I am used to. Their business class is priced the way J usually is, and basically unattainable on miles, but it seems like a very good option in Y. If they have in seat power, that is.
If they are serious about expanding internationally, curious to see if they will join an alliance.

RuRo

Any more feedback on this? Considering business class on this but cannot find much info on seats and safety.
Thanks!

Indelaware

J2 (Azerbaijan Airlines) is neither a Middle-Eastern or African airline. Indeed, Azerbaijan is a member of the Council of Europe though one could argue that it is an Asian country. Regardless, it is not Middle-Eastern nor African. Perhaps moderator can move this to the Other European Airlines where you would likely get more answers.

dr.turkleton

Hi guys,

I am planning on flying tlv-jfk via Azal (a340 I believe) next month and was wondering if economy class was equipped with personal TV's? I haven't really found much info on the web. Also, do you guys know if the arrival times are reliable? I have a somewhat tight connection at JFK (only 2,5 hours)

Thanks folks!!

belfordrocks

The 340's are former Kingfisher (not taken up), so should have the 2-2-2 full flat suite style seats:

trigleek

Did you end up booking AZAL? I flew AZAL FCO-GYD last week but it wasn't a widebody. BTW, when I was researching AZAL, I saw that you can obtain a visa upon arrival ONLY if you fly the JFK-GYD flight. That may be a good option for you if you choose to stopover in Baku. Note though if you have any passport stamp indicating you were in Armenia, they'll ask you questions.
As for my flight on AZAL, it was less than half empty. Each one of us had our own row and I was quite surprised the flight wasn't cancelled. I'm not sure about the JFK-GYD flights but I suspect those aren't that full either given the prices to TLV. I saw cheap prices JFK-TBS via GYD as well.