Getting from Miami to Marseille normally means one sensible connection. But one frequent flyer is plotting something far more roundabout: at least four flights on three separate tickets, all to squeeze in a flight on Air Algerie, an airline he's been curious about for years despite its rocky reputation.
The plan runs like this: get to Montreal, then book an Air Algerie business class fare from Montreal to Tunis via Algiers, then continue to Marseille separately. The draw is Air Algerie's newly modernised long-haul fleet — the airline is taking delivery of Airbus A330-900neos with a hard product that looks genuinely good. That's a notable shift for a carrier long known more for poor service than for premium cabins, and for fares that tend to be high despite the mediocre product historically.
There's a wrinkle, of course. The short Algiers–Tunis hop isn't even operated by Air Algerie's own aircraft: it looks like a wet-leased Airbus A320 from Bulgaria's Fly2Sky, which is not part of Air Algerie's fleet. Our traveller would have preferred the airline's rare Boeing 737-600, a genuinely uncommon type. To salvage the experience, he's considering adding a Tunisair flight on the A320neo, an aircraft he hasn't flown with that carrier.
The real question is whether to turn it into a proper trip. He last visited Tunisia nearly a decade ago and has fond memories, so a night or two in Tunis is on the table. On the shortlist: the Four Seasons Tunis in the coastal Gammarth area — one of the brand's more affordable hotels globally, though still steep by local standards — and the newer Tunis Marriott, which opened in 2022 but reads as more of a standard city hotel than a resort.
Why should any of this matter to a regular traveller? Because Air Algerie is quietly becoming an interesting option. The A330neo business class is new, and the airline's Montreal–Algiers route is one of the few direct links between North America and Algeria. It's also a reminder that unusual routings and lesser-known carriers can turn a mundane transfer into a story — provided you build in generous buffers, since booking separate tickets means no protection if things go wrong. And Algiers itself, with its French-colonial architecture and Mediterranean coastline, is one of North Africa's less-visited capitals, though travellers should note that Algerian visas are notoriously fiddly. Tunis, meanwhile, pairs easily with the ruins of Carthage and the blue-and-white village of Sidi Bou Said just up the coast.
Would we recommend detouring via two North African capitals to reach the south of France? Probably not for most people. But if you've ever wondered whether the lesser-flown airlines of the world are worth a try, this is exactly the kind of experiment that produces an answer — and Air Algerie's shiny new A330neo might just be the excuse you need.
Via One Mile at a Time
