Air Algérie Business Class — A Tale of Two Generations

• Airline: Air Algerie
• Class: Business
• Route: Istanbul (IST) to Kuala Lumpur (ZRH) via Algiers (TGD
• Aircraft: Boeing 737-600 & A330-900neo

Air Algérie has been one of the most highly requested airlines on my channel. I previously tried to fly them two years ago on a transit route from Paris to Dubai, but ended up on a wet-leased High Fly aircraft instead. This time, it finally happened: a double-header itinerary featuring their 24-year-old Boeing 737-600 and their brand-new flagship, the Airbus A330-900neo.

With tickets costing around $2,000 for Business Class, the expectations were high. What unfolded was a journey of massive contrast — brilliant hard products and stellar food, completely held back by baffling ground logistics and poor details.

• Aircraft: Boeing 737-600 (24 years old)
• Configuration & Cabin: Very empty flight (only 18 passengers total on the manifest). Business Class offered a private jet vibe as I was the only passenger in the cabin.
• The Seat: Wide, old-school lounge seats that haven’t been refurbished since the plane entered service. While roomy, the lack of deep cleaning was obvious — crumbs, coffee stains, and an overall lack of detail met the eye.
• The Atmosphere: A distinct, unpleasant smell reminiscent of urine hung in the air, heavily matching the lack of deep cabin maintenance.

Service & Catering:

Air Algérie is a dry airline (no alcohol served). The pre-departure beverage was accompanied by a completely dry towel, which was a bit confusing.

Two hours into the flight, the cabin lights came up for breakfast. There was no menu or choice offered:

• The Meal: A tray featuring a croissant, a cinnamon roll, dates, honey, cheese, and scrambled eggs with chicken.
• The Verdict: The scrambled eggs were shockingly good — soft and fluffy. Unfortunately, the chicken was incredibly dry.
• The Crew: They struggled a bit with English (announcements were exclusively in Arabic and French), but they were genuinely warm and smiling.

The Transit: A 16-Hour Algiers Nightmare (Turned Good)

The airline shuffled my original 7-hour connection into a brutal 16-hour layover at Algiers International Airport. Because getting an Algerian tourist visa is notoriously difficult, I was completely confined to the terminal.

The Lounge Expulsion

At 3:00 AM, I made my way to the Air Algérie Business Class Lounge. The automatic scanners didn’t work, and when an attendant finally arrived, he informed me that passengers are only allowed entry 4 hours prior to departure. Despite explaining that the airline changed my flights and that the airport was totally empty, I was kicked out into the terminal for the night.

The Turnaround

When the morning shift arrived, the new lounge staff proved to be incredibly lovely and understanding. They reversed the decision and allowed me to stay for the remaining 13 hours. The lounge itself was old, smelled heavily of smoke, and was poorly maintained (the bathrooms were completely out of toilet paper and tissues), but it offered a quiet space to sleep for 3 hours and get some work done.

Airport Note: Algiers is likely one of the last major international airports where smoking is still freely permitted directly inside the main terminal walkways.

• Aircraft: Airbus A330-900neo (Only 6 weeks old)
• Configuration: 1-2-1 staggered layout with direct aisle access.

The Good: The Hard Product

The cabin was incredibly quiet, and the hard product itself is brilliant. Air Algérie provides an absolute powerhouse of amenities for this long-haul leg: cozy blankets, slippers, a very uniquely structured amenity kit box, and full pajamas in Business Class — an exceptional offering that many top-tier global carriers don’t even match.

The Bad: Maintenance and IFE Failures

Despite this aircraft being essentially brand new, the ground crew is destroying the experience. The windows were heavily smudged, fingerprints covered the screens, loose hair was stuck to the monitor, and scuffs were already present on the premium fabric.

Worse still, there was no In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) and no functional Wi-Fi. Despite having these Neos in service for months, the movie section simply read “Coming Soon.” Paying customers are left with nothing but standard video games for a 13-hour long-haul flight.

The catering on this flagship flight showcased the absolute best and worst of Air Algérie’s soft product. The dinner service kicked off incredibly slowly, taking a full 3 hours from takeoff just to receive the starter. To make matters worse, no menus were provided, and the crew couldn’t explain what the food actually was—leaving me to guess at a starter plate featuring salad, cherry tomatoes, and a mystery meat that looked vaguely like salmon.

When the main course arrived, the presentation was a flawless 10 out of 10 and the plate was piping hot. However, the lack of organization continued: I was given no choice of meal, and the heavy seasoning made it nearly impossible to distinguish whether I was eating chicken or beef.

The saving grace of the entire culinary experience was the dessert—a pistachio cream cheesecake. I’m not going to lie, it was hands down one of the best desserts I have ever had in my life. It was visually a piece of art, perfectly balanced, not too sweet, and absolutely spot on. out of almost 1,000 flights and 250 plus airlines, that specific dish stood out as an absolute triumph.

While the food tasted great, the service flow was exhausting. Dining dragged on for nearly 4 hours into an overnight flight, leaving very little downtime to sleep before the breakfast service started 3 hours later. Furthermore, the crew lacked basic hospitality pacing — empty glasses were left ignored, and no one proactively offered tea or coffee with the dessert.

Note: The long-haul lavatories were a total disaster area later in the flight. They ran completely out of toilet paper and tissues, indicating the crew never checked or refreshed them during the journey.

Air Algérie is sitting on a goldmine of potential. The new A330-900neo hard product is world-class, their catering flavors are excellent, and individual crew members (like a fantastic flight attendant who took great care of me toward the end of the flight) show true hospitality.

However, the airline’s management and HQ need to get their act together. They urgently need to:

1. Fix the IFE and Wi-Fi immediately on the flagship fleet.
2. Implement formal hospitality training for the crew regarding pacing, clearing tables, and explaining meal choices.
3. Enforce strict cleaning protocols for the ground crews and mid-flight lavatory checks.

It is a product well worth flying, but it requires a lot of patience to look past the glaring lack of operational detail.

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This is it guys, wherever you’re off to, have a safe trip!