Air Algerie, the national airline of Algeria, is going on quite a new plane shopping spree. The airline has just placed a significant Airbus wide body aircraft order, complementing a recent order for some Boeing 737 MAXs.
In this post:
Air Algerie orders seven Airbus wide body aircraft
Air Algerie has announced an order for seven Airbus aircraft, including:
- Two Airbus A350-1000s; this is the largest version of the A350, and the plane has the range to fly 8,700 nautical miles
- Five Airbus A330-900neos; this is the largest version of the A330, and the plane has the range to fly 7,200 nautical miles
Deliveries of these aircraft are expected for 2025 and beyond, so are only a couple of years away.
For context, Air Algerie’s wide body fleet currently consists of eight Airbus A330-200 aircraft, which are an average of 14 years old. So the planes are by no means old, but I suppose if the airline wants to maintain a modern fleet, this is a sensible move.
These aircraft should also lead to significantly lower operating costs, including 25% reduced fuel burn compared to the current long haul fleet. I would assume that the new aircraft will be used primarily to replace existing aircraft, rather than to just expand the fleet altogether. Currently Air Algerie’s route network goes as far west as Montreal, and as far east as Beijing.
My take on Air Algerie’s aircraft order
This is an impressive aircraft order from Air Algerie, and I’m a bit surprised that the airline is going with two wide body aircraft:
- The A350-1000 has incredible economics and per passenger costs, but it also seems like quite a big plane for the airline
- In terms of fleet commonality and operational efficiency, I’m surprised the airline didn’t just order one aircraft type, as having just two A350s is a pretty small subfleet
I’ve been wanting to fly Air Algerie for years, and now I’ll definitely wait until the airline takes delivery of these new jets. Air Algerie’s existing A330s already have a solid reverse herringbone business class product, so hopefully that is only improved upon with new aircraft.
It sure would be nice to see Air Algerie form some new partnerships, since the airline currently largely operates in isolation. Air Algerie doesn’t belong to any of the global alliances, and has fairly few partnerships aside from interline agreements. It seems like with a bit of effort, the airline could become a better option for those looking to connect through the region.
Bottom line
Air Algerie will be refreshing its long haul fleet, as the airline has ordered two Airbus A350-1000s and five Airbus A330-900neos. The airline currently has a long haul fleet consisting of eight Airbus A330-200s, so that represents quite an upgrade in terms of fuel efficiency, range, and capacity.
I’m excited to see these planes join Air Algerie’s fleet, and can’t wait to learn more about the interiors!
What do you make of Air Algerie’s Airbus aircraft order?
Air Algerie flys 2 flights daily from Algiers To Montreal in the summer. One A350 1000 could cover both flights. Every thing about this airline is horrible. Makes RAM look good.
Author doesn’t seem to realize that Algeria has the reputation of the North Korea of Africa.
In theory, it should be a convenient connection hub. In reality it is not and mismanagement is everywhere : from departure to arrival through ALG airport connection. Did it once, won’t do it again.
So why ordering two 350-1000s? Surprising isn’t it? Well, egotistic mismanagement.
Try something : look for employees per plane ratio at Air Algerie, it’s...
Author doesn’t seem to realize that Algeria has the reputation of the North Korea of Africa.
In theory, it should be a convenient connection hub. In reality it is not and mismanagement is everywhere : from departure to arrival through ALG airport connection. Did it once, won’t do it again.
So why ordering two 350-1000s? Surprising isn’t it? Well, egotistic mismanagement.
Try something : look for employees per plane ratio at Air Algerie, it’s sadly funny.
Then look for average time of flight per day for Air Algerie fleet. It is funny too.
Everything is a mess about this company and their okay size fleet is due to one thing only : oil money. They aim at keeping a similar size fleet than geopolitics rivals Royal Air Maroc, nothing else.
Cathay Pacific Has Lost More Than Half Of Senior Pilots Since 2019
https://simpleflying.com/cathay-pacific-lost-half-senior-pilots-since-2019/
Air Algerie, Toyal Air Maroc, Alitalia… all 3 subsidiaries of AirFrance/KLM!
More seriously, Turkish AirLines, Ethypian, Vietnamian, Philippines Airlines, Malaysian/Garudia have more futur due the excelent Boeing 787 & 777 (section to offer better confort than unsized/overdized never good useful space/ size on Airbus 330/380)!
Ex-Cathay pilots fly on this new leaders… Air Algerie missing again an opportunity to get a...
Cathay Pacific Has Lost More Than Half Of Senior Pilots Since 2019
https://simpleflying.com/cathay-pacific-lost-half-senior-pilots-since-2019/
Air Algerie, Toyal Air Maroc, Alitalia… all 3 subsidiaries of AirFrance/KLM!
More seriously, Turkish AirLines, Ethypian, Vietnamian, Philippines Airlines, Malaysian/Garudia have more futur due the excelent Boeing 787 & 777 (section to offer better confort than unsized/overdized never good useful space/ size on Airbus 330/380)!
Ex-Cathay pilots fly on this new leaders… Air Algerie missing again an opportunity to get a performant team all ready to fly: AirDZ is more sized as Srilanka Air or Mauritanius minus league without the beauty of their navigants (rather Vietnam or Philippes Airlines… Manila Airport looks old fashion/overdated, but plenty of brand new Boeing 777 with nice & friendly navigants Cpt./cabin staff, AirDZ could learn more from this «Southern Airliner Asian successful outsiders »)!
Cathay Pacific Has Lost More Than Half Of Senior Pilots Since 2019
https://simpleflying.com/cathay-pacific-lost-half-senior-pilots-since-2019/
Methylated spirits aren't for drinking you know
Free of speach, … without any intention to get married with you ;-) fly safe if you can!
Beechcraft from USA vs « Mangia Figa » from Terro Scicili/Napoli, Algeria dont want, dont need!
Many Italian men suffered from a sort of inferiority complex, and need to use fruit names or bird words to express sexual discomfort! (fig eater, bird/uselle/ucciello=penis…etc)!
Mossad agents from sunken ship on Lake Maggiore, Italy immediately evacuated back to Israel - Aviation24.be
https://www.aviation24.be/airports/tel-aviv-tlv/mossad-agents-from-sunken-ship-on-lake-maggiore-italy-immediately-evacuated-back-to-israel/
Beechcraft from USA vs « Mangia Figa » from Terro Scicili/Napoli, Algeria dont want, dont need!
Many Italian men suffered from a sort of inferiority complex, and need to use fruit names or bird words to express sexual discomfort! (fig eater, bird/uselle/ucciello=penis…etc)!
Mossad agents from sunken ship on Lake Maggiore, Italy immediately evacuated back to Israel - Aviation24.be
https://www.aviation24.be/airports/tel-aviv-tlv/mossad-agents-from-sunken-ship-on-lake-maggiore-italy-immediately-evacuated-back-to-israel/
It’s the opposite. Air Algerie has a ratio of 156 employees per plane. It is 3x the ratio of rival Royal Air Maroc.
Too many employees, aircraft’s that does not fly enough… and now this nonsense order of two 350-1000.
This is clownesque.
There are many airlines around the world not part of any alliance and lack partners.
Few if any transoceanic-operating airlines "lack partners" nowadays.
I hope this airline will be in service in American cities such as New York and Chicago.
It's no surprise that they fly to Canada and not the USA:
The States have only 1/9th the population of native-born/1st generation Algerians as Canada does...
...and while they're heavily concentrated in Quebec in Canada, in the States the much smaller population is further disbursed throughout NYC, Chicago, D.C., and L.A.
I visited Algiers and Constantine in March. Fascinating places and worth the effort to get rhe visa, which they only allowed if I booked a tour through an in-country agency for some of the time I was there. Few other tourists and friendly locals. Loads of ancient Roman history. I loved it and hope to return to see some of the Sahara. I took an internal flight on an ATR-72 and it was a pleasant...
I visited Algiers and Constantine in March. Fascinating places and worth the effort to get rhe visa, which they only allowed if I booked a tour through an in-country agency for some of the time I was there. Few other tourists and friendly locals. Loads of ancient Roman history. I loved it and hope to return to see some of the Sahara. I took an internal flight on an ATR-72 and it was a pleasant experience. Leave plenty of time when departing Algiers though. It take a long time from curb to gate.
They will definitely be doing some mixed fleet flying with the A330neos and A350s. Don't forget that EU issues common type ratings for the A330/A350. Maybe Algeria will do the same.
The savings for flight deck and handling commonality are non-negligible (even more so in a smaller airline), but often significantly overstated by aircraft enthusiasts.
Larger airlines often don't even mix their crew for various aircraft sizes due to labor negotiations and seniority, further eroding the concept.
The true money-saved would be in common parts/maintenance commonality; which the A330 and A350 models share very little of.
feel free to let us know Air Algerie's actual policies on pilot staffing since they now operate a fleet of 737s and A330s
as for maintenance, they will be keeping very few parts on hand and won't be doing much maintenance themselves. They are simply too small regardless of whether they had 1 or 2 widebody fleets to cost-effectively do much maintenance. A widebody plane is on the ground in Algeria once for every flight...
feel free to let us know Air Algerie's actual policies on pilot staffing since they now operate a fleet of 737s and A330s
as for maintenance, they will be keeping very few parts on hand and won't be doing much maintenance themselves. They are simply too small regardless of whether they had 1 or 2 widebody fleets to cost-effectively do much maintenance. A widebody plane is on the ground in Algeria once for every flight anyway. They will do contract maintenance and send the planes to Europe or the Middle East for longer term maintenance.
Like I've said before, it doesn't matter who orders what and the amount of orders placed, it's just good to see the world opening up again with airlines renewing their fleet bringing the world closer together again. It's been a difficult past few years everybody being locked down at the house.
This just highlights the strength of Airbus' concept of having standardized cockpits across its product offering (except for the A220 which it didn't design) to allow pilots to be cross-certified on multiple types of aircraft - as most civil aviation authorities allow.
The A350-1000 is a massive and highly capable airplane for an airline the size of Air Algerie but it does match up well with the A330-900. it is doubtful they need the A350...
This just highlights the strength of Airbus' concept of having standardized cockpits across its product offering (except for the A220 which it didn't design) to allow pilots to be cross-certified on multiple types of aircraft - as most civil aviation authorities allow.
The A350-1000 is a massive and highly capable airplane for an airline the size of Air Algerie but it does match up well with the A330-900. it is doubtful they need the A350 for any reason other than ego.
They will send out both planes for major maintenance so maintenance compatibility doesn't matter.
Algeria is a fairly authoritarian and police state. They don't want people visiting or transiting. It can be quite hard to get a visa for tourism from western countries.
Air Algerie was missing a coherent choice for sure, deserving more Boeing B787 & B777 than any unconfortable Airbus made by Deutsch Bank in Hamburg!
Algeria is less autoritarian than China/CCP, where is quiet tricky to get a visa without plenty of inquiries up to all your familly & relatives/professionnal occupation, address, ..etc (thanks Elon Musk, Warren Buffet/BYD, BlackStone/BlackRock/Henry Kissinger, IAI F22/J20 Kfir…), even a lot of corruption drove from Paris (Algeria is not fully...
Air Algerie was missing a coherent choice for sure, deserving more Boeing B787 & B777 than any unconfortable Airbus made by Deutsch Bank in Hamburg!
Algeria is less autoritarian than China/CCP, where is quiet tricky to get a visa without plenty of inquiries up to all your familly & relatives/professionnal occupation, address, ..etc (thanks Elon Musk, Warren Buffet/BYD, BlackStone/BlackRock/Henry Kissinger, IAI F22/J20 Kfir…), even a lot of corruption drove from Paris (Algeria is not fully independent, even getting a lot of support from JFK in early 60’s, againts France… Air Algerie continues to use an over dated flag logo designed by the Air France Army of settlers from the mid-50’s, as seen on DC3/DC4)!
Journey tour to Sahara from low cost charter are open, as well as visiting some ancient Sinagogues if you are Jewish/Hebrew community!
Tebboune accorde la nationalité à l'archevêque français d'Alger - L'Orient-Le Jour https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/1329791/tebboune-accorde-la-nationalite-a-larcheveque-francais-dalger.html
Algeria offers Sahara tourists visas on arrival | Macau Business
https://www.macaubusiness.com/algeria-offers-sahara-tourists-visas-on-arrival/
Air Algérie has to be up to date with their France liaisons, which is also their main market. Offering A350-1000 is satisfying passenger's desires. Offering new A330-900 is also well received by the passengers.