Air Algérie

Air Algérie is Algeria's flag carrier, flying from Algiers to a France-heavy European network and around the Mediterranean, with a domestic map that runs deep into the Sahara. The fleet splits cleanly: A330 widebodies for the long and heavy routes, Boeing 737s for Europe and the region and ATR 72 turboprops feeding the interior.

What matters for seat pickers is how seriously the premium cabins are built. Business on every published widebody is a full-flat product where each seat reaches the aisle without a climb, and the 737s carry proper recliners at 44-inch pitch rather than a blocked-middle eurobusiness row. Premium economy exists on the widebodies too, small 38-inch-pitch cabins that bridge a real gap.

The A330-200 and two A330-900neo fits cover long haul. All three carry business cabins built entirely from solo seats with direct aisle access: 18 on the A330-200 and the main neo, and a 30-seat staggered cabin on the newest neo frames, with long, properly flat beds. Premium economy cabins of 14 to 24 seats sit behind them, and economy on all three runs 2-4-2 at 32-inch pitch, which keeps middle seats scarce for a widebody.

The 737-800 and 737-700 each seat 16 in business, two-by-two recliners at 44-inch pitch and 20.5 inches wide, ahead of 3-3 economy at 30 to 31 inches. The ATR 72-600 is a single-class 66-seater in a 2-2 layout for the domestic network.

Long haul is stronger than the airline's profile suggests. A flat bed with aisle access for everyone is the whole widebody business fleet, not a flagship exception, and the A330-900neos add newer, fresher cabins. Premium economy is a recliner at 38-inch pitch in a cabin compact enough to feel semi-private. Widebody economy at 2-4-2 gives couples window pairs and limits every row to two middle seats.

Short haul rides on the 737s' unusually generous front cabin, with legroom most carriers reserve for long-haul recliners. Economy on the Boeings is conventional 3-3 and tight at the base pitch on the 737-800, so the exit rows matter more than usual. The ATR is a simple two-by-two turboprop with no middle seats at all.

On the widebodies any business seat delivers the aisle and the bed, so choose by position: the 30-seat staggered neo cabin alternates rows nearer the window or nearer the aisle. Premium economy front rows pair bulkhead compromises with nearby lavatory doors on some fits; the rows behind are cleaner buys. In economy the bulkheads opening each section hold the legroom, and the mid-cabin lavatory banks spread noise across neighbouring rows.

On the 737-800, skip the tight bulkhead and aim at the overwing exit band, remembering the forward exit row gives up its recline. Several forward window seats on both Boeings miss their windows, including bulkhead window seats on the 737-700. On the ATR the front-row bulkhead gap is unusually deep, and the rear row sits beside the lavatory.