The airline will go head-to-head in the market with Qatar Airways.
Air Algérie has confirmed the launch of a flights between Algeria and Qatar, opening reservations for a new route linking the countries’ capital cities.
The state-owned carrier, which in May received government approval to purchase 15 new aircraft, intends to connect Algiers (ALG) and Doha (DOH) twice a week from Aug. 4. Flights will operate using Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
A statement previously released by Algeria’s transport ministry said that the airline’s entry to the market was part of government efforts to “strengthen and improve Algeria’s accessibility and diversify Air Algérie’s flights to various countries around the world.”
Data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser shows that Air Algérie will compete in the 4,728-km (2,938-mi.) sector with Qatar Airways, which serves the route four times per week onboard A330-200s and A330-300s.
Qatar Airways currently offers about 2,400 two-way seats between Algiers and Doha and Air Algérie’s entry will add a further 1,000 seats.
According to Sabre Market Intelligence figures, point-to-point traffic from Algiers to Doha totaled 10,564 one-way passengers in 2019. A further 64,300 passengers traveled beyond Doha to destinations in Qatar Airways’ network.
The planned launch of Air Algérie’s new route comes days after the airline announced plans to change its flight program to London amid ongoing capacity constraints at London Heathrow (LHR). A number of the airline’s services to the UK capital have been switched to London Stansted (STN).
For the week commencing July 25, OAG data shows that Air Algérie’s network connects 131 airport pairs. Overall, the airline has 155,900 available seats, compared with 208,000 during the same week three years ago.