When an airline takes delivery of a shiny new widebody jet, passengers expect the full package — comfortable seats, working entertainment screens, and maybe even Wi-Fi. Josh Cahill, the globetrotting aviation reviewer behind the gotravelyourway channel, discovered the hard way that Air Algerie's brand-new Airbus A330-900neo delivers on the hardware but spectacularly fails on almost everything else. His latest video, "Algeria's NEW SUPER Plane… and NOTHING Works!", published on 13 June 2026, is the kind of must-watch aviation drama that only Cahill can serve up with equal parts frustration and dark humour.

Lounge Drama Before the Flight Even Begins

Before Cahill even set foot on the A330-900neo, things went sideways at the Air Algerie Lounge. According to his experience notes, Cahill was expelled from the lounge and forced to wait inside the terminal for the next 12 hours — a rough start to any flight review, let alone one on a flagship new aircraft. It set the tone for what was to come: a product that looks the part on the outside but struggles to deliver on the inside.

Fellow creator Noel Philips reviewed the same airline approximately two years prior in "I Flew AIR ALGERIE And Instantly Regretted It...", walking away with a similarly mixed verdict and the blunt assessment: "This is so bad." Cahill's 2026 experience suggests that, despite the arrival of new metal, the soft product issues that plagued the airline then have not been resolved.

The A330-900neo: Stunning Hardware, Broken Software

The Airbus A330-900neo is one of the most capable long-haul narrowbody replacements in the sky, and Cahill has flown it on more than a dozen occasions across carriers ranging from Condor to Starlux. But Air Algerie's example stands out for all the wrong reasons. The key claim from the video is damning: Air Algerie's new A330-900neo lacks functioning inflight entertainment and Wi-Fi. On a brand-new aircraft, that is not a minor inconvenience — it is a fundamental failure of the passenger experience.

Cahill's tip for anyone considering the route is blunt: bring your own entertainment for long flights on Air Algerie due to the complete lack of inflight options. For a carrier that has just invested in new-generation hardware, the absence of a working IFE system is the kind of oversight that undermines the entire value proposition of the upgrade.

Catering and Service: A Four-Hour Dining Ordeal

The catering picture is more nuanced. Cahill found the breakfast served on Air Algerie decent, though he noted there was no choice offered to passengers — a common frustration on carriers that have not yet invested in a proper meal selection system. The service, however, was a different story entirely. According to Cahill, the dining experience took four hours to complete — a pace that would test the patience of even the most relaxed traveller on a long-haul flight.

I'm not going to lie, hands down one of the best desserts I've ever had in my life.

That quote — delivered with genuine surprise — is perhaps the most telling moment in the entire review. Amid the broken screens, the lounge ejection, and the glacially slow service, Air Algerie managed to produce a dessert that stopped Cahill in his tracks. It is the kind of unexpected highlight that makes his reviews so compelling: even on the most troubled airlines, there is usually something worth celebrating. But one outstanding dessert cannot paper over the cracks of a four-hour meal service and a completely non-functional entertainment system.

Verdict: A Cautionary Tale for New Fleet Deliveries

Cahill's overall verdict on Air Algerie lands squarely in mixed territory: the dessert earns genuine praise, but the slow service and the complete absence of inflight entertainment are serious black marks.

The broader lesson here is one the aviation world has seen before: acquiring new aircraft is the easy part. Training crews to deliver consistent, timely service, and ensuring that every system on board — from IFE screens to Wi-Fi — is fully operational before passengers board, is where airlines truly differentiate themselves. Air Algerie's A330-900neo is a beautiful machine. But as Cahill's video makes abundantly clear, a great plane and a great airline experience are two very different things. Passengers flying Air Algerie on this new jet would be wise to download their favourite shows before departure — and perhaps pack a book for good measure.