Hello from Algeria, as I flew Air Algerie’s Airbus A330-900neo business class on the 6hr50min flight from Montreal (YUL) to Algiers (ALG). As y’all know, I like to fly “interesting” airlines, and I try to approach them with reasonable expectations.
I’ve gotta be honest, I hadn’t heard many good things about Air Algerie over the years, though the airline is modernizing its fleet, so I was curious to give the carrier a try, as it has been on my list for a long time. An airline having a bad reputation is no deterrent for me! While I came in with low expectations, the airline still managed to be significantly worse than I was anticipating.
Look, I don’t want to be dramatic. Obviously any flat bed business class is better than economy. But Air Algerie generally has very high business class fares, and the soft product was just so poor across the board. Off the top of my head, in my over five million miles of flying, I can’t think of ever having a worse business class soft product on a long haul flight.
On the plus side, at least the company is consistent — it’s clear that management puts about as much thought into the passenger experience as the crews do! In this post I’d like to share some initial thoughts, and then soon I’ll have a full review.
Air Algerie’s A330neo business class seats are fine
Let’s start on a positive note — I flew on an Air Algerie Airbus A330-900neo in a special livery, and I thought that was mighty cool. That’s just about where the good news about the flight ends, unfortunately. Man, those people in the Montreal Airport terminal got the best deal of all — they managed to experience the best part of Air Algerie without spending a cent.
While Air Algerie is taking delivery of factory fresh A330neos, that’s not what my plane was. Instead, I flew on an ex-Air Belgium A330neo that the airline acquired at the beginning of the year (ah, Air Belgium, good memories!). Air Algerie clearly did nothing to actually customize the interiors, so you really have no clue what airline you’re flying on based on the cabin.
This plane has a staggered configuration, so it’s comfortable enough, and I was in a “true” window seat.
However, the cabin was in rough condition, and it’s clear that zero effort is put into maintaining the interiors. But anyway, the hard product is the least of Air Algerie’s problems.
Air Algeria’s business class amenities are non-existent
Amenity kits, menus, slippers… what are those?! Air Algerie sure hasn’t heard of ’em, as none of them were available on this flight. Seriously, no amenity kit in business class on an overnight flight?!
There were headphones, which were only a little better than economy quality, as they weren’t comfortable, and had no noticeable noise cancellation. They were only handed out 20 minutes after takeoff, and were collected before landing. I’m not sure if the airline thinks people will steal those, or if it’s a “safety” thing?
There was a very large blanket and a decent size pillow. The set wasn’t very high quality, but it was substantial, at least. Unfortunately that’s a double edged sword. The cabin was hot as could be, and there are no individual air nozzles on these jets. I wanted to take my clothes off, not cover myself in a blanket that would keep me warm in Iceland in winter.
Air Algerie’s business class entertainment is terrible
This Air Algerie A330-900neo had Wi-Fi installed, back from the Air Belgium days. Of course Air Algerie doesn’t actually use that, though.
There is seat back entertainment, yet somehow there’s not even a map feature?!
The entertainment system otherwise had 100 movies and 36 TV shows, but it was definitely the “budget” entertainment package. Like, there was a single episode of “Fresh Off the Boat,” and it was the pilot episode, just to give you a sense of how cutting edge the entertainment is. I’m not really an inflight entertainment guy aside from the map, so I spent a lot of time raw dogging this flight!
Air Algeria’s food & drinks are awful
A choice of meals? What do you think this is, a restaurant? On Air Algerie you’re just served stuff, and there aren’t any options. It’s even a bit of a guessing game, because the crew doesn’t actually tell you what they’re serving you. But first, let’s actually step back for a moment.
I didn’t think Air Algerie was “dry” (meaning it doesn’t serve alcohol), but apparently they are… based on searching after the fact, it looks like the airline cut alcohol service a few years ago? Unfortunately that’s only the start of the issues. Diet soda? What’s that? They only have sugary juices and full calorie sodas, so that leaves water as the other option, along with coffee and tea.
But honestly, does it even matter? Good luck actually getting a drink. There was a single drink service with the first meal, timed oddly, as it came after the appetizers were served, and that was it. My glass sat empty for over two hours. Do you think they once offered a drink refill, or even passed through the cabin, when they didn’t otherwise have a specific task? Nope. I once asked for a refill, but it never came, so I just gave up.
As far as the meal service goes, there were no choices, but instead, everything was just plopped down in front of me, without any sort of an explanation. Below is the starter tray, which was some rather gross (watery and very fishy) smoked salmon, and I say that as someone who likes all kinds of fish dishes, as OMAAT readers can attest to. 😉 Could they put any less effort into the overall presentation of the tray?
Then below is the main course tray. The main course was fish, and I believe it was swordfish, or something along those lines. It was very cooked, dry, and tasteless.
Then there was a cheese course, which wasn’t terribly inspiring. Things were piling up, since they didn’t remove the main courses when they brought out the next course (and I already had to specifically ask them to remove the appetizer).
Then there was a fruit course, consisting of two whole apples. I’m sure they were washed thoroughly, and it’s always fun to try to cut into apples with a dull knife. I mean, I can’t fault them for throwing this in between the cheese and dessert course, it just seemed random.
Then there was a dessert, with three little tarts.
What about bread service? Bread was placed on the tray by hand, rather than using tongs, and for that matter, the tray was disgusting. It clearly wasn’t very clean, and even my knife was sticky when I opened it up from the packaging.
Breakfast just consisted of bread and some fruit.
It was served exactly two hours before landing, with the cabin lights being turned up all the way. Mind you, the initial meal service took nearly three hours (I don’t understand what they were doing), so there ended up being just under two hours between when the lights were turned off and when they were turned back on. Talk about a culinary journey, when five of the nearly seven hours of the flight are dedicated to eating!
To be clear, the food as such wasn’t that offensive. Instead, the issue was the service flow, presentation, cleanliness of items, lack of drinks, lack of clearing things, having to use the same cutlery for all dishes, the insanely drawn out service, etc.
Air Algerie’s service is really subpar
I don’t want to say the crew was rude. I’m sure they were all nice people, and I’m sure they’re very hospitable to others in their homes. But my gosh, on duty, they couldn’t have been more indifferent or less engaging if they tried.
I don’t think I once saw them smile at passengers, or engage in any sort of a typical service interaction you’d expect in business class. Service was just a complete mess. There were never refills, service items were never cleared from the seat, there was no communication about anything, etc.
Everything was just poorly timed. For example, they served the cheese course, and then a full 10 minutes later, they came around with the bread that accompanies the cheese course (again, no tongs!). They served the breakfast trays, and then a full 15 minutes later they offered people coffee or tea. Literally everything was poorly coordinated.
The flight attendant working my aisle also just didn’t speak English. I guess that’s fine because it’s not like she was communicative in the first place. But any time I did have a question, she was of absolutely no help (which is why it would be nice to have menus, so I at least have a sense of what’s on offer!).
“Drink?”
“Do you have wine?”
“Soda, juice.”
“Do you have Diet Coke?”
“Coke?”
“No, Diet Coke.”
“What?”
“Coke Zero? Diet Pepsi? Pepsi Max?”
*stares blankly*
“I’ll have a water, please.”
*serves me Sprite*
“Coffee or tea?”
“Do you have any tea without caffeine?”
“Coffee or tea?”
“Tea please, but no caffeine.”
“Coffee?”
“Tea, please.”
Side note, not that it’s directly reflective of service — I think this may have been my first flight out of North America where there the safety demonstration and announcements weren’t in English. Everything was in French and Arabic. And speaking of safety, the crew didn’t do any sort of pre-takeoff safety checks to see if people were buckled in, etc. But thank goodness we didn’t have access to those dangerous headphones before takeoff. 😉
Honestly folks, this preview would be so much funnier if I were writing this slightly buzzed from onboard the flight, rather than totally sober. But alas, here I am, on Air Algerie. I’m sure things will only get better from here, though, during my layover at Algiers Airport, and my connection on a mystery wet lease operator, before connecting to my downgraded Tunisair flight… right?
North Africa is always an adventure. If Algeria wants to join Egypt in taking a stance against me, it wouldn’t be much of a loss. 😉
Bottom line
Air Algerie might have the all-around worst business class soft product I’ve ever experienced. Honestly, put me on basically any other airline, and I’d have a better flight. I’ll gladly take Turkmenistan Airlines over them. Heck, even stick me on a Delta Boeing 767-300ER, I promise I won’t even say a single bad thing… I’ll even spend the whole flight talking about how premium Delta is, and how no one cares about fast Wi-Fi! I’ll even take that awful “top/bottom” Philippine Airlines A330 business class product, for all I care. Just not this again.
It’s sad, because it seems like fixing this product wouldn’t actually take a huge investment. I mean, it would take a culture change at the airline, which is easier said than done. But the soft product improvements shouldn’t be that hard or costly. Just… stop being incompetent.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at how the refreshing towel that sat on top of my tray for much of the meal had the slogan “Air Algerie — Always caring for you.” I’d love to see what not being cared for looks like!
Lastly, let me just briefly acknowledge one point — Air Algerie is an airline heavily targeted at the domestic Algerian market. Algeria doesn’t even want tourists, they make it a pain to get a visa. Air Algerie isn’t really trying to be very competitive in connecting markets, so maybe this product is “good enough” for their purposes. But still, I can’t imagine anyone who flies other airlines with any frequency would take this flight and say “what a good experience.”
What do you make of the Air Algerie business class experience?
I feel like they can't be faulted for not speaking English, especially on a Montreal to Algiers flight. I'd be curious how service would be for someone who spoke French or Arabic, which might then prevent some of the misunderstandings or "lack of service" per se.
If Air Algerie is really focused on the domestic market, I wonder if ticket prices are lower if originating in Algeria?
As I typed earlier, Albania and Algeria.
Enough said. Why?
Sure seems a lot like AA.
Yeah that's Air Algerie. Did a domestic flight. Felt like a super budget airline. Forced to check my bag, toom 2hrs for bags to come out.
As for food and service, it looks like the average UA Polaris food minus the sundae and non existent service
Yeah that's Air Algerie. To a domestic flight. Felt like a super budget attentive. Forced to check my bag, to 2hrs for bags to come out.
As for food and service, it looks like the average UA Polaris food minus the sundae and noon existent service
I trust you have already departed Algeria; otherwise, hmmm, good luck.
You would be crazy to write something negative about a country while still on the ground.
I’m sure he’s in Marseille by now.
Very western opinion as always ...in algeria you can say whatever you want..you may get nothing but you still can say ..
You should do a comparison with school lunch meals from the 80s. LOL!
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.
Thankfully, those two specifically vile comments are now gone. The new “Report” feature appears to be working. Well done @Jeremy and @Howie as well.
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...
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...
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...
@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,...
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.
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...
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!
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 :D
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.
Oh Honey !! Well, you had to get it " Over With",huh ?
Combined with the hot cabin.... just NO !
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.
"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...
"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.
Wow - this is unfortunate.
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.
Indeed. Because only people from the US follow this blog
On the booze all day today, Hank?
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.
Same tray in McDonald’s. Classy.
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.
I love when someone travels on an airline from the 3rd world ad discovers the 3rd world
Still waiting on Air Afrique's revival.
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, both on AH and in the country itself?! https://liveandletsfly.com/air-algerie-a330-200-business-class-review/
You gaslight Matthew too?
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...
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.
@RealTaylor
Like I said, this Proxima-CIE is good at gaslighting.
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.
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.
This would be hilarious if this were reviewed in Noel Philips video style
Raw Dogging and a language barrier…
Now that’s my kind of fun
It sounds better than all AA flights from JFK to South America since at least the Air Algerie crew wasn't actively rude.
Oh yeah... 'South America', that little town in Colorado... IYKYK.
They probably failed launching an airline because of the French colonisation...
Truly, no area can ever rise above colonization to make a good airline. Just look at Singapore...
I'm surprised you felt comfortable drinking the water, as the tank was likely disgusting even by airline standards. Hope it came from a bottle and you witnessed the bottle being opened. I would have stuck with Sprite despite not liking it. Hope you feel OK.
I do hope you’ve left Algeria before posting this…
So sad to see the state of Air Algerie especially since the country is actually gorgeous and the food delicious, having lived there for five years. Fortunately, during those five years, never once did we fly Air Algerie. What a poor introduction to an otherwise wonderful country.
“ Look, I don’t want to be dramatic.”
Sure, Jan.
I think that flight you took with ZIPAIR in the business class was better than this, and they’re an LCC lol
@ Aaron -- 1000%! I'd choose ZIPAIR's non-business class over Air Algerie business class eight days a week.
I do think that speaking English is important for flight attendants.
But, since this flight was departing Québec, local public opinion would be happy enough with the flight attendants speaking French and not worried at all with their lack of English.
Quebec
Québec
no, its Québec
Actually good point. I guess Ben could not come up with even a few words in French to get his point across.
I live for these reviews that might invite imprisonment!
Third attempt at posting, even changed browsers for this!
As with your Royal Jordanian reviews, I feel that you're being a bit unfair with the airline, not because this is a good service level (it clearly isn't), but because it's quite a short overnight flight and I suspect their regular business class pax wouldn't care a lot about the food or service as they'll have eaten in the lounge and be keen to maximise their sleep onboard.
Perhaps you can challenge yourself to fly them all the way to KUL- that flight's twice as long, it departs early evening and should benefit from hub catering. It might well mean an improvement from comically bad to just about mediocre.
I mean, the same applies to all airlines. Why should these airlines specifically get a pass? In any case, that’s only really a defence if the airline has lower fares in combination, and it does not sound like that’s the case here.
@ Throwawayname -- If only! The cabin was full, and everyone I saw was up for both meals. The thing is, they turn the cabin lights so bright and even announce two hours out how they're going to serve breakfast, so it's kind of hard to sleep through.
Honestly, I would've walked away from the flight with a more favorable impression if they had just said "this is a quiet, no service flight, everyone go...
@ Throwawayname -- If only! The cabin was full, and everyone I saw was up for both meals. The thing is, they turn the cabin lights so bright and even announce two hours out how they're going to serve breakfast, so it's kind of hard to sleep through.
Honestly, I would've walked away from the flight with a more favorable impression if they had just said "this is a quiet, no service flight, everyone go to sleep," rather than spending five of the under seven hours just providing the most underwhelming service imaginable.
@Ben , in that case your comments are more than fair. It really does sound like the worst of both worlds- no sleep and no premium experience either!
@AceQuik , I suspect there are a fair few long domestic/regional flights in the USA, and possibly elsewhere too (Russia?) that are about the same length and offer an similar, or even worse, passenger experience...which might still be less bad overall than what you get on airlines...
@Ben , in that case your comments are more than fair. It really does sound like the worst of both worlds- no sleep and no premium experience either!
@AceQuik , I suspect there are a fair few long domestic/regional flights in the USA, and possibly elsewhere too (Russia?) that are about the same length and offer an similar, or even worse, passenger experience...which might still be less bad overall than what you get on airlines like SAS and LOT when flying Eurobusiness to faraway destinations such as Tenerife and even Kazakhstan!
It’s a 7hr flight… that’s not “regional” or Eurobusiness length. That is formly long-haul territory.
Russia ? Aeroflot's Business Class, whether on short European trips (when allowed), cross country 8 hour flights to Khabarovsk, or long range intercontinental flights, is worth close to 6 stars in Skytrax (which only has 5 levels).
The Aeroflot of communist years when the country was the USSR is long gone.
This makes Air Koryo worth at least 3 stars. (I never understood the "One Star" slapped on them, since they seem to offer...
Russia ? Aeroflot's Business Class, whether on short European trips (when allowed), cross country 8 hour flights to Khabarovsk, or long range intercontinental flights, is worth close to 6 stars in Skytrax (which only has 5 levels).
The Aeroflot of communist years when the country was the USSR is long gone.
This makes Air Koryo worth at least 3 stars. (I never understood the "One Star" slapped on them, since they seem to offer better than spartan service on 2-hour flights).
I don't think I had mentioned Aeroflot in my comment, and they certainly don't have a monopoly on domestic flights like they used to during Soviet times!
Welp, that answers the ‘which adventure’ question when Ben said “I'm off on a quick adventure” in yesterday’s Weekly Review post.
Next time try a comparison of their prison menu. How much worse could that be? Serious street cred was earned for this review.
I almost felt guilty laughing throughout as i read this. But sweet baby Jesus have i laughed. Ben your descriptions are hilarious.
This really is the true definition of taking one for the team (us OMAAT readers).
Imagine what the food and service in economy class is if this is what they offer in business class.
Sorry you suffered but it is entertaining for us!
Given you started from Canada how do they manage to have such poor food? Or is it catered from Algeria? Does the Canadian caterer say, 'yes sure, we can make a really bad meal service with dirty trays especially for your airline?!?'
This was exactly my thought. How is it possible to find such a bad caterer in Canada?
This is such an interesting angle!
I've flown AV to/from YUL, and the food ex-YUL was way better than ex-BOG. So, yeah, I don't think any reputable caterer at YUL would be able to create "stuff to plop on dirty trays" on demand.
Many airlines leaving YUL seem to find bad catering.
YUL and YYZ have the worst catering. I even prefer to fly out of JFK, IAD or DTW.
I may need to reconsider the ethics of reading OMAAT given how often your pain becomes our pleasure at this point...
“raw dogging”
@Ben is very good at managing his pain. He can always remember previous amenities or delicacies, such as JX's Loro Piana blanket or a Rum Baba at AF's F lounge.
The pain disappears immediately ;)
What did you expect ? lol. Imagine what economy was like
While I can't say this entirely surprises me (Algeria and Algerians have a dreadful reputation here in France), the product really is comically bad, almost parody-like. The one thing North Africa has going for them should be food, and I was expecting them to deliver on this point at least. Sad.
@ VladG -- I do think "comically bad" sums it up perfectly. I just found the whole experience to border on funny, because it was shortcoming after shortcoming after shortcoming.
Reminds me of Copa Air 6 or 7 years ago. Worn out plastic seats, traces of 'pulled whatever' and two overripe cherry tomatoes, non-definable cheese, and a blank stare when I ordered a gin&tonic.
Well, the French don’t have such a great reputation in Algeria, either.
As for “North African food,” I would be careful about generalizing too much. Moroccan food is brilliant but bears little relation to Algerian or Tunisian cuisine, which I find bland beyond belief. Then there’s Egyptian food, which is great when it’s Lebanese food.
The airline quite possibly spends a decent amount on Business Class catering.
WHERE does the money land is worth looking at.
Haha. But it can be said the order way around as well, can’t it? The French don’t have a stellar reputation anywhere and frankly they should be kinder to the immigrants, who are running the country at this point. I’ve been coming to France since the eighties and it’s disappointing to see the state of affairs. Except for the traditional French working in some of the high tech areas, they have stopped trying altogether. Now,...
Haha. But it can be said the order way around as well, can’t it? The French don’t have a stellar reputation anywhere and frankly they should be kinder to the immigrants, who are running the country at this point. I’ve been coming to France since the eighties and it’s disappointing to see the state of affairs. Except for the traditional French working in some of the high tech areas, they have stopped trying altogether. Now, all technical and vocational employment is being fulfilled by the immigrant population, while the French spend more time on rioting about the state of education or unemployment benefits. Not to mention, even within France, people from the different regions do not like the other. Therefore, hardly worth mentioning they don’t like Algerians or immigrants, unless the immigrants help them win the World Cup. The French are big hypocrites - I love coming to France but not interacting with the French. However, I’ve learnt that an air of arrogance and authoritative attitude gets the job done here.