Summer is fast approaching. Like every year, members of the Algerian diaspora abroad are expected to flock to Algeria to spend their vacations.
At Air Algérie, many things have changed compared to last summer. Osra offer, baggage allowance, price, seat availability…Here are four things to know before going to an agency of the company or logging onto its reservation website to buy your plane ticket.
Osra: Air Algérie’s promotional offer this summer
To respond to the strong demand for flights, but also to expectations on the prices of plane tickets, Air Algérie has taken several measures for this summer. The first concerns the launch of the Osrah offer and the strengthening of its fleet via aircraft chartering.
Constantly criticized for its flight prices, the national company ended up responding by launching the Osrati formula, dedicated to family travelers. Available for booking online and in an agency, the offer consists of capping prices depending on the airport of departure and destination: from €199 departing from France for example.
But be careful: the capped fare only concerns passengers from the same family: couples without children, a parent with at least one child or a baby and couples with several children, aged up to 20 years, reminds Air Algérie of its published conditions on its reservation website.
Reservations under this offer, available across the company’s entire international network, must be made before August 31, for a travel period between June 1 and September 30.
Concerning the other conditions, Air Algérie specifies that families benefiting from this fare must travel together on the outward and return journeys. The fare is non-refundable and the itinerary cannot be changed.
Concerning the change of travel dates, it is authorized for all members of the same family on the same reservation file, at least 24 hours before the travel date. Beyond this deadline, penalties will be applied.
In an update published on its website, Air Algérie indicates that in accordance with its general conditions of transport, “ we reserve the right to refuse registration to you in the event of non-compliance with the eligibility conditions of this Osra Offer “.
To ensure the availability of the Osra offer online, we carried out a simulation for a return flight (June 1 – July 31) from Paris-Roissy to Algiers airport. The price displayed for a reservation for a family made up of two parents and two children is 955.92 euros.
Please also note that the Osra fare includes a baggage allowance of 23 kg in the hold, in addition to one piece of 10 kg in the cabin for each passenger on the same reservation.
Baggage allowance: Air Algérie is less generous this summer
In October 2023, the Algerian national flag changed its entire baggage policy, moving from the weight system to the piece system. From now on, Air Algérie passengers are only entitled to one piece of checked baggage of 23 kg and one piece of cabin baggage of 10 kg. Beyond that, it pays off.
If the checked baggage allowed free of charge exceeds the number and dimensions allowed, or if the passenger wishes to carry more baggage, additional charges will be applied at the time of flight check-in.
When baggage exceeds 23 kg (maximum 32 kg), an additional fee of €80 applies on flights departing from abroad to Algeria. In the opposite direction, that is to say when departing from Algeria abroad, the excess baggage fees are set at 12,000 DZD.
To add a first or second baggage, in addition to the 23 kg allowance, prices vary depending on two criteria: the time of baggage check-in and the country of departure.
On the France network, adding a first additional bag 24 hours before the flight costs €40 and at the airport €80. To add a second bag, in addition to the free allowance offered, the cost is €75 24 hours before the flight and €150 at the airport.
Price of plane tickets excluding Osra fare
As the Osra formula is intended exclusively for families, many travelers will be subject to usual flight prices this summer. So what are the flight prices outside of the Osra offer?
A Paris-Orly – Algiers round trip (June 2 – June 30) is displayed on the Air Algérie reservation site at €477.70 for a single person, with one bag in the hold and another in the cabin. It is much more expensive than the Osra fare, capped on this line at 250 euros.
Still at the Economy Flex rate, a return flight from Paris-Orly airport to Oran (June 1 – June 19) costs around €303.06. Departing from Marseille to Constantine, a round trip (June 3 – June 24) is priced from only €144.33 (cheaper than the Osra fare capped at €199 from Marseille).
On this line, we see that flight prices have dropped considerably compared to the prices displayed a few weeks ago. A one-way ticket starts at €78.77 on several dates during the month of June.
For the months of July and August, on the other hand, the peak period on connections between France and Algeria, the Paris-Algiers lines display much less availability on the reservation site of the national airline.
Air Algérie strengthens its fleet: 6 planes chartered for summer 2024
To meet the strong demand for flights, particularly after the launch of the Osra offer, Air Algérie has opted for aircraft chartering. After having received three medium and wide-body aircraft (Airbus A320 and A330), the national airline should receive three other aircraft in the coming days.
This was revealed on Saturday May 4 by a Source within the company to the Arabic-language newspaper Echorouk. These are three large and medium-sized aircraft, probably of the Airbus A330 or A320 type, which brings the total of aircraft chartered for the summer of 2024 to six aircraft.
If necessary, Air Algérie will charter other aircraft, specifies the same Source. These aircraft charter operations take place while awaiting the delivery, from 2025, of 15 aircraft ordered from Boeing and Airbus.
