Forget flying all the first class cabins in the world, I think your next completionist effort needs to be flying the worlds 10 *worst* business class cabins, with a flat bed seat of course.
Two things are a possible outcome from this.
1. Ben is hired to totally revamp the airlines' in-flight experience.
2. Ben is never heard from again.
Seriously. It is Algeria after all. When we visited Bulla Regia in western Tunisia, the Tunisian police were freaking out about our proximity (as Americans) to the border with Algeria.
Goodness! This could not be a starker contrast to LALF’s Matthew’s wonderful experience on Air Algérie in 2022, where he was welcomed with a big smile and his expectations were greatly surpassed at every step. I cannot even imagine that these two are the same carrier — or did Matt have a one-off wonderful experience?! https://liveandletsfly.com/air-algerie-a330-200-business-class-review/
It didn't seem like Matthew had that stellar of a flight - there was no menu, no meal choice, and no headphones (!) in business class and his seat was dirty. Rather, it seems like he just had an exceptional crew which can make an objectively bad flight pretty good. Also, at the time of Matthew's review, the deficiencies were plausibly due to Covid related cutbacks (that was the excuse given by the crew). In 2026, it is clear that this airline is not still hampered by Covid, they just have a very subpar product.
Still waiting on Air Afrique's revival.
I love when someone travels on an airline from the 3rd world ad discovers the 3rd world
Air Algerie between YUL and ALG serves the back and forth of Canadian-Algerians. My friend flew it once in business also, and even Indian airlines ECONOMY are much better. The plane is consistently full and it's a complete disaster at both endpoints for check-in.
Same tray in McDonald’s. Classy.
This blog just sank to an all-time low. Only a pompous self-important writer would have sufficient shit for brains to waste time and money reviewing a flight on an airline that doesn’t even fly to the U.S. Was the writer on his period when he authored this drivel? Disgusting excuse for journalism.
The main content of this blog is airline reviews. Can you say again why you think this is an inappropriate flight to review?
Many airlines don't fly to the US. You should get out more. The world exists beyond US borders, and hey, it's actually quite good out here.
Wow - this is unfortunate.
"They served the breakfast trays, and then a full 15 minutes later they offered people coffee or tea."
This is actually a cultural thing and very common in North African/Middle Eastern/South Asian countries. It has to do with the culture around coffee and tea being served after a meal, not with it (unlike American breakfast caffiene culture, so I understand the confusion). This is why you will find this service flow on many airlines based in those regions, as this is based on customer preferences for the majority of passengers.
a NEVER to fly airline or visit country, Visa … forget it … just ss you wrote!
BUT i did look at the webpage of this crazy run airline … and they do state, that there is a “toilet bag”. 😉 ha ha ha … whatever that might mean?
… webpage:
Enjoy the comfort of the new ergonomic seats that offer more space. You will have a comfort kit (Blanket, Pillow, headset, toilet bag…) made available to you on our long-haul flights.
Oh Honey !! Well, you had to get it " Over With",huh ?
Combined with the hot cabin.... just NO !
This business class experience sounded like it could be a comedy skit in the Carol Burnett or Dave Chapelle show. Won't be rushing to fly this airline.
If I'm ever going to invent my own religion, alcohol will be permitted, but "diet sodas" are definitely gonna be banned. I still haven't figured out why that stuff exists 😀
Forget the service and value—I would have been SICK with anxiety, wondering whether the pilot was going to drive the plane into the ground or whether some $3 part coming undone would bring the whole thing down.
With that apparent lack of concern for the product, my mind would immediately go to wondering about their attention to safety and maintenance. Maybe that’s unfair, but I know exactly where my mind would go sitting in that cabin.
Ben, you deserve hazard pay for this one!
I hope this gets deleted quickly… admin anyone?
Freedom of speech is protected at One Mile at a Time! 🙂
First off, it was a complete waste of your points or money, time and effort to review this airline. We don't need another review validating wha a shit airline it is.
But your review just reinforces that your reviews, especially regarding food and drink, really add no value.
First off, you are a fussy eater and won't eat most of the food on an airline, You fuss over most food, talk constantly about how you don't eat this or that and its usually fish or chicken.
You are not really an adventurous drinker, therefore all of these fancy first and business class (non US and non Shit airlines) have no value.
Then you ridiculous American perspective of the world. Diet Coke, Sugar Free Coke - you are not going to get these choices on foreign airlines, they don't drink this shit... Tea without caffeine - what planet do you live on ? 98 percent of the world drinks real tea --- thats the point, and to quibble that you couldn't get decaf tea-- oh brother its Algeria - Don't you do ANY research on the host country airline that you are flying ? They are a real coffee and real tea culture and thats it.
You have already been laughed at for these crazy 5 star hotel reviews where you never step foot in the country you visit, never eat the local food, never interact with the local people.
How you survive in Miami is a miracle, you must never leave the house.
Oh, I get it, you're the type who thinks that an "authentic travel experience" only happens when you're squatting over a hole in the ground squirting bloody diarrhoea while trying to swat away Tsetse flies at the same time, who got there flying economy class with seven intermediate stops because it saved a grand total of $57 over the more direct option, and besides flying economy minimises your carbon footprint. Never mind the malaria relapses you still get after that camping trip in Nigeria where you eschewed drug prophylaxis because you didn't want to damage your gut micrbiome, or the liver parasites that the gastroenterologist just can't cure. Those people who fly first class and stay at the Four Seasons? You can look down your nose at them as your malaria fever hits 105 and that horrible cramping pain starts in your lower abdomen again, because you're an AUTHENTIC traveller.
Gee, I have flown a fair amount overseas and I never experienced an airline nor Country that did not have Diet Coke or similar. It is quite often Coke Zero albeit some Nations have differing ingredients since Cyclamate sweeteners are permitted.
“Coke Zero” can only be sold with an acesulfame potassium sweetener, globally. That’s the reason it is marketed differently from Diet Coke. Ace-K is a friendlier sweetener, although I’d still avoid it as I would all of the others. I know this because I own the patent and the license to Coca Cola. Part of the agreement states that should they change the sweetener, they must change the name. Diet Coke on the other hand may optimise sweetener based on market and cost.
You're funny.
Coca Cola was never patented.
It is protected by a recipe trade secret which is owned by the company.
But you are still funny.
All sugar-free drinks from the big brands have different sweeteners in different markets to account for different tastes.
@Timo @PeteAU
Read carefully and maybe do not argue when you are simply wrong. Coke Zero is a trademark. The trademark cannot be used if Coca Cola decided that it wants to use a sweetener other than Acesulfame Potassium. The Acesulfame Potassium is a patented sweetener. I’m one of the inventors who owns the patent, which is licensed to a company called Celanese, who further license it to the Coca Cola Company with the stipulation that all Coke Zero trademarked products must use this sweetener. Diet Coke may use sweeteners based on local tastes, cost and regulations but all Coke Zero products can only use Ace-K.
@Timo What’s funny is how confidently you spout the little information that you know (or actually don’t know).
I believe TK has no zero sugar / diet cola. Just a regular Pepsi (at least on European routes), which is bad enough already since they've replaced part of sugar with that alternative crap. It makes no sense to stock fringe drinks that will take space and add weight just in case one random person will want them.
The entire concept of "diet soda" is frankly ridiculous. If you care about your energy intake, there's ton of drinks that have low calories and are healthy. No need to poison yourself with a "Coke Zero" but I guess Americans can't phantom the idea of drinking something not produced by a SAP500 corporation. But of course "sugary juices" are a horror, because god forbid we'd drink something made of fruit...
Ya know, you could have not read it. That would have taken far less time than analyzing it and responding to the post.
Some exceptionally vile comments here, hopefully removed since. Sorry Lucky that you have to deal with those. You do a great job. Keep it up.
You should do a comparison with school lunch meals from the 80s. LOL!