Air Algerie has just taken delivery of its first Airbus A330-900neo, marking an exciting new chapter for the airline…
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Air Algerie taking delivery of 10 Airbus A330-900neos
Air Algerie, the national airline of Algeria, is in the process of refreshing its long haul fleet with 10 new Airbus A330-900neos. The first of these planes has just joined the carrier’s fleet, with the registration code 7T-VJD. All 10 aircraft are expected to be delivered by the middle of 2027.
For context, Air Algerie’s wide body fleet currently consists of eight Airbus A330-200 aircraft, which are an average of around 17 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 nearly 25% reduced fuel burn compared to the current long haul fleet. The A330-900neo is the largest variant of the A330, and has the range to fly around 7,200 nautical miles.
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.
Air Algerie rolls out new wide body onboard product
Up until now, we haven’t really known what to expect in terms of the onboard product, though those details have now been revealed as well. Air Algerie’s A330-900neos feature 308 seats, including 18 business class seats, 24 premium economy seats, and 266 economy seats.
In business class, the airline appears to have introduced standard Vantage XL staggered seats, so all seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration and have direct aisle access (though it seems the airline elected to not install doors). This looks like a nice improvement over the old product, but nothing cutting edge.
Meanwhile premium economy and economy look like you’d expect. You’ve gotta love the A330 in economy, thanks to the pairs of seats by the windows.
I’ve been wanting to fly Air Algerie for years, so it seems like with the delivery of the A330-900neo, this is finally the time to give the airline a try. 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. Then again, Algiers doesn’t seem that interested in being a connecting hub, based on the current complexity of traveling through the airport.
Air Algerie no longer acquiring Airbus A350-1000s
I think it’s also interesting to briefly discuss the history of this aircraft order. In mid-2023, Air Algerie initially placed an order with Airbus for two Airbus A350-900s, and five Airbus A330-900neos.
However, at the end of 2024, the airline modified this order, to instead exclusively acquire A330-900neos. If you ask me, this is a pretty sensible move, as the A350 order never made much sense to me:
- 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, having a small subfleet of just two jets isn’t ideal
Personally, I think Air Algerie’s modified aircraft order makes a lot more sense. It’s much more efficient to have just the A330-900neo, as the plane has great economics, and more than sufficient range for anywhere the airline would want to fly the jet.
Bottom line
Air Algerie has started the process of refreshing its long haul fleet, as the airline has 10 Airbus A330-900neos on order. These planes are in a three cabin configuration, including a new staggered product in business class. It’s great to see the airline refreshing its long haul fleet, and in particular, that all planes will be delivered in less than two years.
Here’s to hoping that some soft product improvements accompany the hard product improvements (but I’m not banking on it).
What do you make of Air Algerie’s new Airbus A330-900neo?
Flown A330s on a domestic route. Can confirm that both ways were VERY sparsely filled. Not to mention not all of them even have a business cabin. That said, the reason for flying an A330 into the Sahara on an hour-long route is essentially to form part of what I assume is scheduled charter flights for Umrah (outside of Hajj season) immediately after.
I have a feeling I may be one of your few US readers who has actually flown Air Algérie both internationally AND domestically, on the 738 and, excitingly, the ultra-rare spitfire that is the 737-600.
To the other commenters - yes, typically Algerian tourist visas are among the most difficult in the world - an American friend of mine has been rejected by Algeria 3 times, but got North Korea on the first try. I...
I have a feeling I may be one of your few US readers who has actually flown Air Algérie both internationally AND domestically, on the 738 and, excitingly, the ultra-rare spitfire that is the 737-600.
To the other commenters - yes, typically Algerian tourist visas are among the most difficult in the world - an American friend of mine has been rejected by Algeria 3 times, but got North Korea on the first try. I was fortunate to be traveling there on a special invitation. If you do manage to get a visa, the country is extraordinarily rich in culture, and has several UNESCO sites among other things worth visiting. But based on what I was hearing, they are being very deliberate and measured in terms of managing their opening up. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it - truly a unique place with so much to offer.
Most of Air Algérie's market is local and Algerian diaspora, and given the size of both, they are easily able to support the large network they serve. They have distinctly different experiences on domestic compared to international. I flew them from the EU to Algiers, and then Algiers to a different EU for international, and it was totally fine, standard national airline vibes. The airport in Algiers was recently renovated (recently meaning like ⅞ years ago I want to say), and the airline's team was good. Sidenote - Algiers is BEAUTIFUL, one of the most unique cities I've ever been to.
Like Turkish and a few others, Air Algerie sends all its planes to Europe during the day, leaving them to fly within Algeria or to low-demand monopoly destinations during the wee hours of the night. My domestic flight was on a route that I believe didn't operate at all during daylight hours. Domestic was also fine on the service, but the safety culture was night and day different - it being 3am when we landed, I was asleep, and woke up on touchdown to find that most people's seats were reclined and my own tray table was still down. So there's a bit of a double world there. But it was good as far as similar airlines go, and I'd happily fly them again.
The 736 is, much like the 732 (which was about the same size), another Boeing pocket rocket - unlike the 800/900's, which are long and heavily loaded on the wing (meaning they have to get to ungodly speeds to hover away from the runway), the 736 can pull UPPPPPPP. It was quite possibly the perkiest jet takeoff I've experienced short of an Emirates 772LR that was half-empty on the DXB-DOH hop (I flew the A345 on the return leg, which was funny to have bingoed the longest-range sisters on one of the world's shortest routes). It's a shame the economics were trash, because it's a fun little plane.
Why do you need to be so vague about where you flew? Senseless.
Is getting a Visa to Algeria still expensive and a hasstle?
It'll vary from place to place.
Good luck getting one as a French national, though.
I think the answer to your question " There’s no indication that all TSA agents with good attendance will be getting these bonuses, but I guess we’ll see how this goes…" is easy to answer as it is evident by the folks that took some responsibility and pride in what the do and showed up to work!!
You wrote that they ordered the A350-1000 but in the body you said: "Air Algerie initially placed an order with Airbus for two Airbus A350-900s, and five Airbus A330-900neos." So is it the -900 or the -1000? :)
The issue is that Algeria is one of the least welcoming countries in the world for travellers and has virtually no tourism infrastructure. So unless the country revises its visa policies and starts opening up, I’m not sure an airline can grow beyond serving its diaspora....
Tourism isn't the only reason airlines operate. Perhaps, business, or visiting friends and family (VFR), is more their focus, for now, and that may work just fine for them; or, this is the beginning of a new era of tourism (unlikely) for that country; for instance, back in 1995, no one would have reasonably predicted Rwanda to become an eco-tourism hot-spot in 15-20 years.
Air Algerie is a state-owned airline operating half-empty planes at a loss of 1bn+, (73% load factor in their best years vs an industry average of 84%)....so it doesn't work for them.
The point is that you need to be Algerian to go to Algeria whatever the reason is. It's somewhat more complicated than Turkmenistan or North Korea to go there as a European despite the proximity...
Not being funny but getting the visa is fine when part of a group similar to Turkmenistan and North Korea...rendering your argument absolutely moot.
@1990 - that's true, but given that stopover programme is fairly common among its competitors in MENA region, that might be a considerable disadvantage.
It's a double-edge sword that Algeria is as closed as it is - being untouristic obviously doesn't do anywhere any good economically, but then what IS there is far less crowded and those who DO go are typically far better quality than say Morocco or Tunisia.
Also don't forget Algeria has loads of oil and gas...