Air Algérie SpA (, ) is the flag carrier of Algeria, with its head office in the El-Djazair office block in Algiers."Our Branches ." Air Algérie. Retrieved on 10 February 2011. English: "HeadQuarters Address AIR ALGÉRIE 1, PLACE MAURICE AUDIN ALGER- ALGÉRIE" French: "Direction Générale SIÉGE social AIR ALGÉRIE 1, PLACE MAURICE AUDIN ALGER- ALGÉRIE""World Airline Directory." Flight International. 30 March 1985. 33 ." Retrieved on 17 June 2009. "Head Office: 1 Place Maurice Audin, Immeuble El-Djazair, Algiers, Algeria." With flights operating mostly from Houari Boumedienne Airport in Algiers and Ahmed Ben Bella Airport in Oran, Air Algérie operates scheduled services to 33 domestic destinations in Algeria and 42 international destinations in 28 countries across Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Air Algérie is 100% owned by the Government of Algeria.
History
Formation and early years
In 1946, Compagnie Générale de Transports Aériens (CGTA) was established. It started operating flights between Algeria and Europe on a charter basis in 1947. However, by the end of the decade, CGTA was operating scheduled flights serving Algiers, Basel, Bône, Geneva, Marseille, Paris, Philippeville, and Toulouse. In 1952, three 34-seater Bretagnes joined a fleet of seven DC-3s. Meanwhile, Compagnie Air Transport (CAT), a subsidiary of Air France and Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, had been formed in the late 1940s to connect Basel, Lyon, Marseille, Paris, and Toulouse with Algiers, Constantine, and Oran. Seasonal London–Deauville, and London–Le Touquet flights were also undertaken. Following a drop in traffic after 1951, a merging partner was under consideration.
CGTA, and CAT merged on 23 May 1953 to form the Compagnie Générale de Transports Aériens Air Algérie, with a combined fleet that included one Breguet 761, six Bretagnes, five DC-3s, and three DC-4s. Following the merger, Air Algérie commenced seasonal services to Ajaccio, Clermont, Montpellier, and Perpignan. Furthermore, Switzerland was added to the regular schedule, a stop at Palma was performed on a weekly basis in partnership with Aviaco, and most of the trans-Mediterranean routes were operated in a pool agreement with Air France, with the French carrier flying 54% of these services, and the remainder was left for Air Algérie. Flights to the Cote d'Azur were added in the late 1950s.
Two Noratlas aircraft were acquired in July 1957, with a third entering the fleet in the following year. In addition, it became the first private French carrier to order the Caravelle in early 1958, the first of which was handed over by the manufacturer in January 1960. Following delivery, the aircraft was deployed on the Algiers–Paris route. The type was also used to fly Paris–Bône and Paris–Oran services in the subsequent months. By April 1960, Air Algérie's fleet consisted of three Caravelles, three DC-3s, ten DC-4s, two Lockheed L-749 Constellations, and three Noratlases. The Caravelles were gradually deployed on the routes previously flown with the Constellations and the DC-4s, which were used for cargo services or sold.
Algerian independence
Two shipping companies, Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, and Compagnie de Navigation Mixte, were the owners of a majority stake (98%) in Air Algérie until Algeria gained its independence in 1962. Following independence, the Délégation Générale in Algeria and Air France took over a controlling interest. The financial structure changed in March 1963, when the shipping companies and Air France ceded a 31% interest, and the Algerian government took possession of 51% of the company assets, with the airline gaining flag carrier status. In April 1964, the government increased the participation in the airline to 57%. That month, a contract was signed for the acquisition of two Ilyushin Il-18s aimed at operating the Algiers–Moscow service. Air Algérie took delivery of just one of these aircraft, as the contract was later cancelled. The sole Il-18 in the fleet was used by the government. There were eight DC-4s in the airline's fleet by April 1968. That year, four ex-Lufthansa Convair 440s were bought and converted to the 640 version. These aircraft came to replace the ageing DC-4s. Charter operations made up to 20% of the airline activities.
By March 1970, the government was the owner of 83% of the company; at this time, a Boeing 737-200, five Caravelles, four CV-640s, three DC-3s and one DC-4 were part of the fleet. Société de Travail Aérien, a domestic carrier that had been founded in 1968, was taken over by Air Algérie in May 1972. In , three Fokker F27-400s were ordered for £2.5 million. In , with a second Boeing 737 pending delivery, two more aircraft of the type —one of them a convertible model— were ordered. That year, the government of Algeria boosted its participation in the carrier to 100% when it acquired the remaining 17.74% stake held by Air France. A new route to Karachi was inaugurated in 1975. In November 1979, four Boeing 727s were ordered in a deal worth million.
By July 1980, Air Algérie had 5,621 employees and a fleet comprising 57 aircraft, including 14 Ag-Cats, six Boeing 727-200s, ten Boeing 737-200s, three Boeing 737-200Cs, one Boeing 747-200C, one Cherokee Six, two Convair CV-640s, one Douglas DC-8-63CF, one Nord 262 and 18 Queen Airs; at this time, the company offered international scheduled services to Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, Libya, Romania, Spain, the UK, the USSR and Switzerland, among other countries, as well as an extensive domestic network. In January 1981, the carrier ordered three Lockheed L-100-30s; by late the same year, the first of these aircraft was due to be delivered. In November 1981, a Boeing 727-200 and a Boeing 737-200 were acquired. Three Boeing 737-200s were ordered for million in 1983. Air Algérie became Airbus' 48th customer when it placed an order for two Airbus A310s in 1984. That year, a subsidiary called Inter Air Services (IAS) (), an airline that flew domestic and regional services using Fokker F-27 aircraft, was formed. The IAS network was operated on Air Algéries's behalf, and at March 1985 included Adrar, Algiers, Bechar, Bordj B. Mokhtar, Djanet, El Golea, Ghardaia, Hassi Messaoud, Illizi, In Amenas, In Salah, Oran, Ouargla, Tamanrasset and Timimoun; by this time, Air Algérie had 6,788 employees. In 1989, the carrier ordered three Boeing 767-300s for million.
The first Boeing 767-300 was handed over by the aircraft manufacturer in mid-1990. That year, the carrier entered a process of restructuring that would last until 1995, following years of losses that totalled only for 1990, with debts rising to million after a devaluation of the local currency. Restructuring seemingly bore fruit, as the company made a profit of million in 1992.
Air Algérie and Sonatrach created Tassili Airlines in 1998; Air Algérie's 49% shareholding in this airline was handed over to Sonatrach in 2005.
Modernization of the company Air Algérie became a limited company in 1997. In 2006 its capital amounted to 57 billion dinars (about 560 million euros).
The sales network comprises 150 agencies in Algeria and abroad, linked to the booking system and distributed through GDS to which Air Algérie has subscribed. Air Algérie is a Joint Stock Company (J.S.C) the registered capital of which is 43.000.000.000,00 DA.
In November 2010, Air Algérie announced an investment of €400 million to renew its fleet, to be launched in 2011.
Corporate affairs
Business trends The airline is loss-making. Its full Annual Report does not seem to be published regularly; figures disclosed for Air Algérie for recent years are shown below (for years ending 31 December): Year Sales turnover(DA b) Operating profit(DA b) Net profit(DA b) Number of employees Number of passengers (scheduled) (m) Passenger load factor (%) Cargo carried (000 tonnes) Number of aircraft (at year end) References 2007 49.4 2.9 57 14.7 2008 54.3 3.2 2009 58.1 2.2 4.0 8,898 3.5 13.5 39 2010 55.6 2.9 2.3 9,502 3.5 60.5 13.4 39 2011 57.0 2.9 2.6 9,750 3.7 63.6 11.7 43 2012 65.6 2.7 2.8 9,563 4.3 66.4 11.3 43 2013 69.6 1.2 9,469 4.7 66.4 15.7 43 2014 77.6 1.4 9,095 5.2 63.2 14.9 44 2015 80.6 0.1 8,610 5.5 69.7 15.3 54 201691.59,0166.17015.556 201796.08,7686.37217.758 2018113.68,6706.67420.156 20196.675.117.157 202056 20211.973.111.556 20227,9454.67817.958
Ownership and subsidiaries
Air Algérie is a joint stock company, with the shares 100% owned by the Algerian state.
The airline has the following main subsidiaries:
Technics Air Algérie Air Algérie Catering, with 2,000 employees, preparing the meals of all Air Algérie's flights departing from Algeria Air Algérie Cargo Air Algérie Handling Domestic Airlines
The airline also provides charter services in support of oil exploration, and the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca.
Key people , Hamza Benhamouda is the chief executive officer of the company.
Corporate identity The Air Algérie logo was created in 1966 in Algiers. On 21 June 2011, the company officially announced that the logo is a swallow. This bird is a national Algerian symbol. In 2023, the airline updated its logo, with a new typeface and an updated swallow.
Destinations In June 2007, Air Algérie inaugurated the Algiers–Montreal route. Flights to Beijing were launched in February 2009. , Air Algérie has a 46% market share on international routes; the airline was the leading operator for flights between Algeria and Spain, and six of ten of its international routes with highest seat availability served France.
In October 2015, the carrier serves a domestic network that comprises 32 destinations within Algeria, including its hub at Houari Boumediene Airport, plus an international network that serve 43 more cities.
, the airline serves 44 internationsl and 33 domestics destinations.