Air Algeria in 2012 summary
Jul 18, 2012, 12:49 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Seattle
Posts: 7
Air Algeria in 2012 summary
Intro:
My first trip report, but I will make it a bit short yet to the point. There are no reports of Air Algerie, the carrier of Algeria. Probably because either it is not very known or there are not a lot of tourists in Algeria. However, me not being a tourist but a native who now lives in Seattle, I recently took a trip back to visit family and places and all that. I went with Lufthansa, however, this report is not about Lufthansa, as there are about a hundred if not a thousand reports on the German airline in the database. If I had to describe Lufthansa in one word, it would be: great enough. Instead, this report will be about my first trip to Dubai on Air Algeria. I would also like to note that it is not my first time on this airline. Now I know Emirates started their non-stop service direct from Dubai to Seattle, however as my father is an ex-Air Algeria employee, I have the option of flying free (yes free) with Air Algeria. So why not? As the Emirates service was expensive during the summer months, I said OK. Oddly, yet not surprising, Emirates did not fly to Algiers...
Background:
Air Algerie is the national flag carrier airline of Algeria. With flights operating from Houari Boumedienne Airport, Air Algérie operates scheduled international services to 39 destinations in 28 countries in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as domestic services to 32 airports. Air Algérie is a joint stock company. The shares are totally owned by the Algerian state. Its fleet consists of 5 A330-200, 12 ATR72-500, 5 737-600, 17 737-800, 3 767-300. Their slogan is hugely ironic, you will later read why: "Always Caring for you".
Date: July 5 2012
Sector: ALG (Algiers Houari Boumedienne Airport) - DXB (Dubai International Airport)
Airline: Air Algerie (AH)
Flight: AH4062
Scheduled Dep. Time: 4:30 pm
Actual Dep. Time: 5:05 pm
Duration: 7:45
Scheduled Arrival Time: 1:35 am
Actual Arrival Time: 2:45 am
Seat: 7A (Business)
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200
Reg: 7T-VJV
Airport:
Algiers Airport. Where do I begin. It is small, yet practical for the amount of traffic they have. Not a lot to write about on this one, as it functions like any other airport, but if I had to give it a score out of 10, it would receive a simple 5/10. The airport looks clean from the inside but the restrooms were...not on par with even the least of international standards, so no. Passport control takes a while, either flying in or out, it just moves very slowly and nobody ever figures out why. There were the usual duty free shops and cafes. Other than that, like I said earlier, it is small, therefore getting from passport control to the gate is a very quick process. In my humble opinion, they should make the airport a little more spacious and upgrade the old domestic terminal that still uses stairs and buses, just an idea.
The Flight:
This part was interesting to write about. Let's start off with the aircraft. Its an A330-200. On the outside it looks like any other Airbus. On the inside, it is something else. The aircraft, reg. 7T-VJV, was purchased and brought in 2005 along with 4 other Airbus aircraft.
Lets talk about the cabin. From 2005 when this aircraft was ordered, I do not think it has had any renovation or restoration. No PTV's on First or Business or Economy. No in-flight magazine as well. Seats looked all worn out and looked a bit, as I said, earlier, looked old. Even seats in business class were not that great to be in for seven hours. Cleanliness could have been better and absolutely needs addressing. The picture shows exactly what I am talking about. I mean it, if anybody flies with the airline, they will see the cabin like this. Might not be the same scenario for the newly ordered 737's but the majority are like this. Then again, my flight was free
7T-VKF
Takeoff
Over the Mediterranean...
Sunset
Lets talk about the service. But before I do, let me say this: if ever somebody flies with Air Algeria, there will ALWAYS be a delay of some sort, always. Do not expect a delay, but know that there will be one. The reason, again, nobody has figured out why, only that there will always be a delay of 30 mins or more
. Starting with on board service, it was OK. Nothing less. Flight crew did their job, but professionalism was lacking greatly. The passengers, I noticed, stole other peoples assigned seats or the crew arguing with people who were doing stuff they were not supposed to be doing
. So organisation and professionalism, 2/10. Food and catering: 6.5/10. Air Algerie, for their lack of entertainment, they make up with their on board catering and food service
. I must honestly say that I was full and it was more than satisfactory. Dinner was hot and plenty was on the tray. And many beverages were served.
Afternoon Coffee or Tea
Dinner
Let's move on to entertainment. For a 7-8 hour flight, one would get bored so one would watch a film or read something. Luckily, I brought my trusty tools of play, iPod and a laptop. No in-flight magazine or newspaper, however, 4.5 hours into the flight, they played 2 Planet Earth documentaries with some clip-on headphones distributed as well as blankets and pillows. I did not watch as I tried to sleep, but again, for some of the flights they do such as the Montreal or Beijing flights they should really invest in some PTV's or at least something to keep the masses occupied. So entertainment: 3/10. Like I said before, their service is not doing them any favours.
Moving on here, the pilot performed a pretty soft landing in Dubai, we landed at 2:45am with the temperature being 33 Celsius. Yes, it is that hot in Dubai at night during the summer. Dubai Airport, a complete contrast to that of Algiers, but its just an airport. Nonetheless, I very much enjoyed visiting Dubai
. In fact, I'm trying to figure out when to go back again. It truly was amazing first time being there, all of the projects they have invested in, the grandeur of the city. All around a great place to go to, the weather was overwhelming at first (being used to the rain and cold of Seattle) but I quickly got used to it, since it was also hot in Algeria near the Mediterranean. The Dubai Mall is just something else, it took me at least 2 full days to see everything. Again, the landscape and city were beautiful, the evidence of oil wealth was everywhere, so much construction and buildings. Any way, here are some photos:
The Gulf, Jumeirah Beach was great to swim in
Tall, tall, tall...Burj al-Khalifa
So there you have it. Air Algerie in a little more than a short summary. My final thoughts are this: if Air Algerie are to ever become a serious airline compared with their next door neighbours Tunisair or Royal Air Maroc or even Egyptair, they have to wake up and completely change their philosophy on so much. It is 2012, and times and things change for the better, unfortunately they have not. Their mentality is not very practical and neither their professionalism or organisation is either and needs a huge adjustment. The airline absolutely needs a complete overhaul and renewal of everything. This trip report was not meant to slander them, but to bring out the reality of what that airline is: a joke. Out of 5 stars: 2/5. In the future, I will try and fly with Emirates. Then again, as I have stated before, it was a free flight...
My first trip report, but I will make it a bit short yet to the point. There are no reports of Air Algerie, the carrier of Algeria. Probably because either it is not very known or there are not a lot of tourists in Algeria. However, me not being a tourist but a native who now lives in Seattle, I recently took a trip back to visit family and places and all that. I went with Lufthansa, however, this report is not about Lufthansa, as there are about a hundred if not a thousand reports on the German airline in the database. If I had to describe Lufthansa in one word, it would be: great enough. Instead, this report will be about my first trip to Dubai on Air Algeria. I would also like to note that it is not my first time on this airline. Now I know Emirates started their non-stop service direct from Dubai to Seattle, however as my father is an ex-Air Algeria employee, I have the option of flying free (yes free) with Air Algeria. So why not? As the Emirates service was expensive during the summer months, I said OK. Oddly, yet not surprising, Emirates did not fly to Algiers...
Background:
Air Algerie is the national flag carrier airline of Algeria. With flights operating from Houari Boumedienne Airport, Air Algérie operates scheduled international services to 39 destinations in 28 countries in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as domestic services to 32 airports. Air Algérie is a joint stock company. The shares are totally owned by the Algerian state. Its fleet consists of 5 A330-200, 12 ATR72-500, 5 737-600, 17 737-800, 3 767-300. Their slogan is hugely ironic, you will later read why: "Always Caring for you".
Date: July 5 2012
Sector: ALG (Algiers Houari Boumedienne Airport) - DXB (Dubai International Airport)
Airline: Air Algerie (AH)
Flight: AH4062
Scheduled Dep. Time: 4:30 pm
Actual Dep. Time: 5:05 pm
Duration: 7:45
Scheduled Arrival Time: 1:35 am
Actual Arrival Time: 2:45 am
Seat: 7A (Business)
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200
Reg: 7T-VJV
Airport:
Algiers Airport. Where do I begin. It is small, yet practical for the amount of traffic they have. Not a lot to write about on this one, as it functions like any other airport, but if I had to give it a score out of 10, it would receive a simple 5/10. The airport looks clean from the inside but the restrooms were...not on par with even the least of international standards, so no. Passport control takes a while, either flying in or out, it just moves very slowly and nobody ever figures out why. There were the usual duty free shops and cafes. Other than that, like I said earlier, it is small, therefore getting from passport control to the gate is a very quick process. In my humble opinion, they should make the airport a little more spacious and upgrade the old domestic terminal that still uses stairs and buses, just an idea.
The Flight:
This part was interesting to write about. Let's start off with the aircraft. Its an A330-200. On the outside it looks like any other Airbus. On the inside, it is something else. The aircraft, reg. 7T-VJV, was purchased and brought in 2005 along with 4 other Airbus aircraft.
Lets talk about the cabin. From 2005 when this aircraft was ordered, I do not think it has had any renovation or restoration. No PTV's on First or Business or Economy. No in-flight magazine as well. Seats looked all worn out and looked a bit, as I said, earlier, looked old. Even seats in business class were not that great to be in for seven hours. Cleanliness could have been better and absolutely needs addressing. The picture shows exactly what I am talking about. I mean it, if anybody flies with the airline, they will see the cabin like this. Might not be the same scenario for the newly ordered 737's but the majority are like this. Then again, my flight was free
7T-VKF
Takeoff
Over the Mediterranean...
Sunset
Lets talk about the service. But before I do, let me say this: if ever somebody flies with Air Algeria, there will ALWAYS be a delay of some sort, always. Do not expect a delay, but know that there will be one. The reason, again, nobody has figured out why, only that there will always be a delay of 30 mins or more
. Starting with on board service, it was OK. Nothing less. Flight crew did their job, but professionalism was lacking greatly. The passengers, I noticed, stole other peoples assigned seats or the crew arguing with people who were doing stuff they were not supposed to be doing. So organisation and professionalism, 2/10. Food and catering: 6.5/10. Air Algerie, for their lack of entertainment, they make up with their on board catering and food service. I must honestly say that I was full and it was more than satisfactory. Dinner was hot and plenty was on the tray. And many beverages were served.Afternoon Coffee or Tea
Dinner
Let's move on to entertainment. For a 7-8 hour flight, one would get bored so one would watch a film or read something. Luckily, I brought my trusty tools of play, iPod and a laptop. No in-flight magazine or newspaper, however, 4.5 hours into the flight, they played 2 Planet Earth documentaries with some clip-on headphones distributed as well as blankets and pillows. I did not watch as I tried to sleep, but again, for some of the flights they do such as the Montreal or Beijing flights they should really invest in some PTV's or at least something to keep the masses occupied. So entertainment: 3/10. Like I said before, their service is not doing them any favours.
Moving on here, the pilot performed a pretty soft landing in Dubai, we landed at 2:45am with the temperature being 33 Celsius. Yes, it is that hot in Dubai at night during the summer. Dubai Airport, a complete contrast to that of Algiers, but its just an airport. Nonetheless, I very much enjoyed visiting Dubai
. In fact, I'm trying to figure out when to go back again. It truly was amazing first time being there, all of the projects they have invested in, the grandeur of the city. All around a great place to go to, the weather was overwhelming at first (being used to the rain and cold of Seattle) but I quickly got used to it, since it was also hot in Algeria near the Mediterranean. The Dubai Mall is just something else, it took me at least 2 full days to see everything. Again, the landscape and city were beautiful, the evidence of oil wealth was everywhere, so much construction and buildings. Any way, here are some photos:The Gulf, Jumeirah Beach was great to swim in
Tall, tall, tall...Burj al-Khalifa
So there you have it. Air Algerie in a little more than a short summary. My final thoughts are this: if Air Algerie are to ever become a serious airline compared with their next door neighbours Tunisair or Royal Air Maroc or even Egyptair, they have to wake up and completely change their philosophy on so much. It is 2012, and times and things change for the better, unfortunately they have not. Their mentality is not very practical and neither their professionalism or organisation is either and needs a huge adjustment. The airline absolutely needs a complete overhaul and renewal of everything. This trip report was not meant to slander them, but to bring out the reality of what that airline is: a joke. Out of 5 stars: 2/5. In the future, I will try and fly with Emirates. Then again, as I have stated before, it was a free flight...
Last edited by azzurri10; Aug 24, 2012 at 12:05 am
Jul 18, 2012, 1:48 pm
#4
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: London
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Posts: 2,343
Jul 18, 2012, 4:53 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Seattle
Posts: 7
Thanks. I really wanted to know what people thought of it. It was an interesting journey to write about, but I do not think they (the airline) will be getting any foreign tourists on their flights or any recognition in the near future from what I saw. Don't know why they just can't copy other airlines and try and improve a little, esp. for being a national carrier. I remember a certain Indonesian carrier Garuda that used to be in the past, in a similar situation, then they completely changed the framework and now they are a completely different airline and are going to be SkyTeam members.
Here is an online review of them if you are curious: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...d.main/221590/
Here is an online review of them if you are curious: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...d.main/221590/
Jul 18, 2012, 7:39 pm
#7
Join Date: Mar 2003
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Posts: 5,523
Jul 18, 2012, 7:46 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Seattle
Posts: 7
. If had been strict I would just give a 5/10. Like I have been saying, they are not really doing themselves any justice especially for a national carrier. In the future, there might be a newer airline that can take over, who knows.
May 4, 2017, 4:21 am
#9
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: LHR
Programs: HH D,CC,SPG,AZ: Gold;BA Silver, TK Elite
Posts: 809
Resurrecting this thread, I have flown on AH a couple of days ago, in economy and to compare to the above TR things are getting worse:
Plane condtition deteriorating compared to the picture: filthy and broken lavs, seat shifting across cabins(pax in Y moving to J with the cabin crew completely indifferent to it), food is worse, airline completely dry
First time I've seen the overheads on an A330 wobbling upon landing...
AVOID at ALL costs!
Plane condtition deteriorating compared to the picture: filthy and broken lavs, seat shifting across cabins(pax in Y moving to J with the cabin crew completely indifferent to it), food is worse, airline completely dry
First time I've seen the overheads on an A330 wobbling upon landing...
AVOID at ALL costs!
May 4, 2017, 12:55 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Seattle
Posts: 7
Resurrecting this thread, I have flown on AH a couple of days ago, in economy and to compare to the above TR things are getting worse:
Plane condtition deteriorating compared to the picture: filthy and broken lavs, seat shifting across cabins(pax in Y moving to J with the cabin crew completely indifferent to it), food is worse, airline completely dry
First time I've seen the overheads on an A330 wobbling upon landing...
AVOID at ALL costs!
Plane condtition deteriorating compared to the picture: filthy and broken lavs, seat shifting across cabins(pax in Y moving to J with the cabin crew completely indifferent to it), food is worse, airline completely dry
First time I've seen the overheads on an A330 wobbling upon landing...
AVOID at ALL costs!
The last time I flew with them, I did the Algiers-Istanbul route. I flew on a 767 which was ok, seats were decent, the plane was older than 20 years but the cabin, I think, was in better condition than their old A330s. I didn't touch the food. On the return leg, delay of 2 hours, they used an old A330, the business section of the cabin had seats that were a disaster (torn leather, twisted metal, broken lavs).
I've heard much much better things about Tassili Airlines (the other carrier based in Algeria).
Last edited by azzurri10; May 4, 2017 at 1:09 pm
Nov 23, 2017, 7:37 am
#12
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: France
Programs: too many
Posts: 686
https://www.liberte-algerie.com/actu...dalarme-281682
Article in French talking about the current issues the airline is facing.
Their migration to Amadeus is scheduled for December according to Google News. A step in the right direction to get more traffic, but won't bear the expected results if the mindset at the company is not reversed
Having worked for them in the past I pity the poor soul in charge of this project...
Article in French talking about the current issues the airline is facing.
Their migration to Amadeus is scheduled for December according to Google News. A step in the right direction to get more traffic, but won't bear the expected results if the mindset at the company is not reversed
Having worked for them in the past I pity the poor soul in charge of this project...