abrelosojos From Venezuela, joined May 2005, 4918 posts, RR: 55 Posted (2 years 2 weeks 5 days 15 hours ago) and read 16217 times:
Feedback always appreciated.
I > Background:
After an amazing vacation, it was time to leave Tunisia. As I mentioned on the first installment of my Egypt/Libya/Tunisia report (http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/187585/), the three countries I would leave behind would fundamentally change after my departure. In fact, the "story" is still being written for each of them. After arriving from Tozeur and some two weeks in Tunisia, it was time to leave. Feels interesting that I departed Tunis on December 17th, the day Mohames Bouazizi self-immolated, and ignited the revolutions that are still blazing across the Arab world.
There have been a few reports on Tunisair, but this might be the first on its J product between Tunis and Orly.
II > Pre-Flight:
a) Before Airport:
Tunisair (or, Société Tunisienne de l'Air) is the flag carrier airline of Tunisia. Formed in 1948, it operates scheduled international services to European, African and Middle Eastern destinations. From its main base at Tunis, it flies to 53 destinations across Africa, Asia and Europe using a fleet of 31 aircraft.
Flights were booked on Orbitz as I found Tunisiar's site at (www.tunisair.com) rather useless. One could search for flights, price them, select them, and then face a "time out" error. Anyways, my Orbitz generated PNR was good enough and I was able to use it to view my itinerary on the TU site. No facility for choosing a seat however.
b) At Airport:
Tunis Airport reminds me of airports created across the emerging world in the early 1980's. The rather "wanna-be" cool facade and the dark tinted windows lead to a dingy interior. In fact, the outside and the gate areas reminded me very much of Bombay's old terminals 2A and 2C ... and Amman's airport. Inside, the first thing you notice is how "green" the airport is ... and in this instance, not "green" environmentally ... but "green" lighting and effect.
Business class check-in is separate and the lady quickly issued me a boarding pass and lounge invitation card. There was not much pleasantries exchanged, and there was a level of warmth that was solely missed. Anyways, immigration and security checks were rather fast and I was soon airside. It took me a while to find the TU's "flagship" lounge, and again it wasn't much to write home about. There was a TV, some mediocre wine, and some appetizers. Again, it would suffice before a medium haul flight I guess. The lounge attendants were more busy chatting among themselves than caring about the passenger or greeting them. Like the check-in agent, they were not rude ... just indifferent. You might as well have automated the whole process for all I care.
Boarding was delayed for no mentioned reason, and like many other times in this part of the world, commenced without an announcement. Of course, everyone jumped into line and there was no real "priority" boarding.
Upon entering, I was greeted by the crew who smiled very little. J load was around 20% - with almost the entire cabin being Tunisians.
Airport - External:
(Tunis Airport)
*
Check-in:
(TU Check-In Area)
Airport - Internal:
(ALL GREEN)
*
*
*
(FIDS)
(Post Security @ TUN)
*
*
Scenes of the tarmac:
NONE
Lounge: Tunisair's flagship lounge
*
*
*
Boarding:
III> In-Flight:
a) Service Schedule + Impressions:
After take-off, moisten toilet sheets, and then dinner service.
b) Aircraft + Seats:
Tunisair's 320 is well maintained ... but generic. The J-cabin follows the annoying European "curtain" model with a middle seat blocking. The leather seats are comfortable, but both legroom and recline leave much to be desired. While the bathrooms were sparse and contained no amenities, I did appreciate that it was kept clean throughout the flight. Overall, I did not feel the entire hard product had much of a "premium" feel to it.
Aircraft:
(TU 320 - on A.Net)
Views from Aircraft:
(Tunis Airport)
General Seat Views + Seat Legroom
(Seat)
NONE
*
(Legroom)
Seat Recline + Angle View:
(Poor recline)
*
Cabin:
*
(Blanket ++)
NONE
(Bathroom)
c) Meal + Beverage:
Meal service commenced soon after take-off and had a choice of entrées - shrimp or chicken. No fancy menus or anything along those lines. Service kicked off with a rather bland chicken salad, some cheese, and a fruit plate. It was accompanied by a hard cold bread roll. Is it really that hard to serve warm bread in J-class? The shrimp main course was served in a tomato sauce and served with some vegetables. Again, while the portions were satisfactory, the content was rather bland ... and the soggy vegetables did not do anything to enhance the meal.
Instead of a dessert, service ended with a pack of nuts and a piece of Valrhona chocolate - something I found to be a tad random. Overall, not a memorable meal by any margin ... but something that is adequate to justify the USD 350 premium over Y class I guess.
Oh, and the wine in the beverage service left much to be desired ... just check the color of the wine for yourself in the picture.
d) Inflight Entertainment:
No IFE. Duty free magazine, but in-flight missing?
(“In-flight magazines”, Boarding Passes, etc.)
e) Crew:
The onboard crew continued the air of indifference that was the hallmark of the ground crew. I don't think I saw them smile during the entire flight. Of course they did their work, and diligently responded to all requests, but again there was a distinct lack of smile.
IV> Post-Flight:
Arrival into Paris-Orly was swift and a breeze. Can I just say how much I LOVE Orly when compared to CDG? Immigration (as usual) left much to be desired - the officials clearly asked a lot more questions to those of Arab ancestry ... even if they held a French passport. Kinda sad.
(Exotic-ness of Orly is always "cool")
V> Impressions + Scores:
Tunisair gets you from point A to point B. On this flight, its service was perfectly adequate. None of it is going to be winning any award anytime soon. For a flight of this length, the lack of IFE option was disappointing. More importantly, what seriously is up with the people who work for Tunisair? Throughout the entire process, I did not encounter any smile or anyone with any desire to actually connect with the passenger. Perhaps, they need to go to the streets and reconnect with that famous Tunisian hospitality!
Overall, no thumps up or down ... and, of course, I would fly Tunisair again ... but the price and schedule will have to be perfect ... and in no way would I go out of my way to fly them.
(Note on Codes: Y – Economy, J – Business, F – First :: I/D – International/Domestic :: SR/MR/LR – Short/Medium/Long Haul)
(Note on Date: Dates are modified to be +/- 3 days from actual flight date to not reveal actual flight pattern)
I find the term "Handling" on the plate quite inappropriate.
Quoting abrelosojos (Thread starter): The onboard crew continued the air of indifference that was the hallmark of the ground crew. I don't think I saw them smile during the entire flight. Of course they did their work, and diligently responded to all requests, but again there was a distinct lack of smile.
Quoting abrelosojos (Thread starter): Throughout the entire process, I did not encounter any smile or anyone with any desire to actually connect with the passenger. Perhaps, they need to go to the streets and reconnect with that famous Tunisian hospitality!
ba319-131 From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2001, 8267 posts, RR: 56 Reply 2, posted (2 years 2 weeks 5 days 14 hours ago) and read 16105 times:
Hi Alex,
Interesting read, thanks for sharing.
Your not wrong about the green lighting, very odd!
The lounge looks quite drab, I'd not want a long wait here, looks far from comfortable.
Quoting abrelosojos (Thread starter): Instead of a dessert, service ended with a pack of nuts and a piece of Valrhona chocolate - something I found to be a tad random
- Quite an wierd end to a meal service, very random!
It looks like they have made some form of effort with the meal service, metal cutlery, proper salt and pepper shakers, that's good, though presentation of the meal is weak, that brocolli looks like it's almost gone off!
What was that wine? - very odd colour!
ORY is a great airport compared to CDG, just wish the connections from LHR made it a viable option.
reifel From Germany, joined Feb 2005, 1135 posts, RR: 1 Reply 3, posted (2 years 2 weeks 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 15149 times:
Hi Alex,
once again nice to read a report from you! The green colors in the airport are incredible. I first thought this was Photoshop but this is just awful...
Actually the seats of Tunisair look quite good... For economy class standards I guess... For Business it's definitely nothing special... I guess it's fine for such a short flight.
I love Orly Sud too... It's completely outdated, but I love this yesterday's feelings and all the exotic carriers there, too...
akhmad From Netherlands, joined Sep 2005, 2335 posts, RR: 53 Reply 4, posted (2 years 2 weeks 5 days 2 hours ago) and read 15021 times:
Hi Alex,
Thank you for this great insight review of TU J medium haul service.
Shame that you did not manage to do business directly with the airline as the website looks well arranged and one would not expect any time error during booking process.
The airport’s green lighting… hmm , I don’t know. Perhaps purple would have been nicer or just plain white like the post security area.
The airport’s website says that there is a single VIP lounge available. I assume it must be the Flagship Lounge. How big is it? Would it be sufficient to cater all premium passengers? By the way, did you depart outside rush hour?
The J cabin somehow reminds me of BA’s one. The legroom looks pretty tight for J. Could it just be 32 inch?
Pity that the food and beverage service was disappointing. The presentation was not bad, though. I like the crockery.
Like Mark, I wish there was a direct flight to ORY from AMS.
LondonCity From United Kingdom, joined Nov 2008, 1203 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (2 years 2 weeks 4 days 23 hours ago) and read 14814 times:
Interesting report. As flights to mainland Europe are considered short-haul then that is why TU offers the product it does. If you fly the likes of AF, BA and LH you will also get short-haul standards in C class.
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 2): ORY is a great airport compared to CDG, just wish the connections from LHR made it a viable option.
Don't forget you it's also possible to fly ORY-LCY.
ordjoe From United States of America, joined Aug 2010, 584 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (2 years 2 weeks 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 14582 times:
Great TR as always Alex, too bad J was sort of a let down, but for the $350 premium, I suppose not bad for a business seat. Have had the privilege of using ORY once, spotting wise it was one of my favorites due to all the airlines I have not heard of
And I will chime in what is up with the green at the airport, almost seems like an acid trip
RvXKaz From Singapore, joined Apr 2011, 184 posts, RR: 3 Reply 8, posted (2 years 2 weeks 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 14058 times:
Hello abrelosojos,
Its nice to read yet another report on yours and I am glad to read that you've flown with yet another very exotic carrier. The airport's green hue is just really bizzare. Are we checking-in in Tunis or on Mars?
Is that diced cabbages accompanying the shrimps? I must say the meal presentation doesn't look good at all. Like you said, it looks poor for C but too good for Y. Sorry to hear that the crew weren't too friendly as well (maybe it didn't help it was a red-eye).
It may be alittle disappointing but anyhow, kudos for trying a new airline and I enjoyed your very systematic style of writing. It makes easy reading.
Glad to hear that you would fly Tunisair again if you can.
Cheers,
RvXKaz
They say that I'm a dreamer. But I'd only Dreamt Skyward.
TS-IOR From Tunisia, joined Oct 2001, 3298 posts, RR: 7 Reply 9, posted (2 years 2 weeks 4 days 5 hours ago) and read 13898 times:
You may expect a better service and a warmer welcome in your next TU trip. The overthrown president and his family and fellows were ruining Tunisair. They have taken over the catering branch and service went down since. Also the lounge was owned and directed by the friend of a daughter of i don't know whom and that explains the bare accomodations.
J class is now getting a special interest and the airline wants to rely on business travellers to upgrade its image.
The latest destination that has been upgraded with a J class service is FRA, starting the first week of May. Besides, new A320 was accepted 2 days ago and is part of a A320/A330/A350 order.
The777Man From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 6088 posts, RR: 56 Reply 10, posted (2 years 2 weeks 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 13105 times:
Hi Alex !
Nice report with nice pictures! The airport in Tunis looks very nice except for the green color......
Seat does not look great at all and meal looks okay but not great. As for the wine, I guess yout have to be happy that they have wine at all; I thought they were a dry airline.
Hopefully things will change now.....
The777Man
Need a Boeing 777 Firing Order....Further to fly....GA, T5, CI and LX 777s
eastafspot From France, joined Jan 2008, 473 posts, RR: 4 Reply 11, posted (2 years 2 weeks 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 13038 times:
Nice report about a not so great J product... actually the J cabin looks big...i really like the colors of your pictures (even on the Sevenair TR) glad to see you went to France. i share the same point of view concerning Orly, much more convenient even if it gets rather outdated...i'll be next month there and try to publish something.
btw on most of your reports we can see passenger faces, great , but what about their reactions?
regards
Fly with Air Burundi, Air Tanzania, Air Uganda, Kenya Airways and Rwandair...Jumuiya ya Afrika mashariki
JetBlue777 From United States of America, joined Jul 2009, 1427 posts, RR: 1 Reply 12, posted (2 years 2 weeks 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 12858 times:
Nice report, once again. It's nice to see these TRs from exotic airlines we usually don't hear from.
The airport definitely looks odd, sorta reminds me of Grand Central Station in NYC but with that strange green lighting. The lounge also looks poor, looks very sterile dull.
It's a shame that they have those regular seats for J class! Also, that shrimp main course doesn't look that appetizing. It looks like some random Chinese take-out placed in a Styrofoam with no proper presentation or anything.
Great report though, looking forward to the next one!
It looks like they have made some form of effort with the meal service, metal cutlery, proper salt and pepper shakers, that's good, though presentation of the meal is weak, that brocolli looks like it's almost gone off!
= Presentation was very weak - the shrimp lacked any taste.
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 2): What was that wine? - very odd colour!
= It was one of the strangest wine I have ever had. At first, I asked the FA if she had diluted it. Haha.
Quoting reifel (Reply 3): The green colors in the airport are incredible. I first thought this was Photoshop but this is just awful...
= Doesn't it look random? I don't photoshop any of my pictures.
Quoting reifel (Reply 3):
I love Orly Sud too... It's completely outdated, but I love this yesterday's feelings and all the exotic carriers there, too...
= COMPLETELY AGREE .
Quoting akhmad (Reply 4): Shame that you did not manage to do business directly with the airline as the website looks well arranged and one would not expect any time error during booking process.
= What is strange Suryo is that you can book a ticket on the website of affiliate Sevenair. Go figure.
Quoting akhmad (Reply 4): purple would have been nicer or just plain white like the post security area.
= Purple? Really? I am beginning to question you ...
Quoting akhmad (Reply 4): How big is it? Would it be sufficient to cater all premium passengers? By the way, did you depart outside rush hour?
= I don't know if there really is a "rush" hour at TUN. Perhaps our Tunisian friends can elaborate. At the time of departure, it was quiet.
Quoting akhmad (Reply 4): The J cabin somehow reminds me of BA’s one.
= Perhaps, the blue seats?
Quoting akhmad (Reply 4):
Pity that the food and beverage service was disappointing. The presentation was not bad, though. I like the crockery.
= Agreed.
Quoting ordjoe (Reply 6): And I will chime in what is up with the green at the airport, almost seems like an acid trip
= LOL.
Quoting MilesDependent (Reply 7):
I must say I thought there was something wrong with your camera with those departure airport photos with all the green. Looks really weird.
= Ya - no ... the lighting was just plain weird.
Quoting RvXKaz (Reply 8):
Its nice to read yet another report on yours and I am glad to read that you've flown with yet another very exotic carrier. The airport's green hue is just really bizzare. Are we checking-in in Tunis or on Mars?
= LOL
Quoting RvXKaz (Reply 8): Is that diced cabbages accompanying the shrimps?
= Yes.
Quoting RvXKaz (Reply 8): Sorry to hear that the crew weren't too friendly as well (maybe it didn't help it was a red-eye).
= I don't qualify this flight as a red-eye.
Quoting RvXKaz (Reply 8):
It may be alittle disappointing but anyhow, kudos for trying a new airline and I enjoyed your very systematic style of writing. It makes easy reading.
= Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Quoting TS-IOR (Reply 9): You may expect a better service and a warmer welcome in your next TU trip. The overthrown president and his family and fellows were ruining Tunisair. They have taken over the catering branch and service went down since. Also the lounge was owned and directed by the friend of a daughter of i don't know whom and that explains the bare accomodations.
= Thanks. I hope so! Did not know all the family connections. Is it true that Sevenair was named after his favorite number?
Quoting The777Man (Reply 10): As for the wine, I guess yout have to be happy that they have wine at all; I thought they were a dry airline.
= Tunisia is fairly liberal - actually, question is, will it remain so?
Quoting eastafspot (Reply 11): i really like the colors of your pictures (even on the Sevenair TR) glad to see you went to France. i share the same point of view concerning Orly, much more convenient even if it gets rather outdated...i'll be next month there and try to publish something.
= COOL! Looking forward to it man. I do love Orly - the opposite of my deep hatred towards CDG.
Quoting eastafspot (Reply 11): btw on most of your reports we can see passenger faces, great , but what about their reactions?
= I have never had anyone ask - but if asked, I will delete the photo.
Quoting JetBlue777 (Reply 12):
The airport definitely looks odd, sorta reminds me of Grand Central Station in NYC but with that strange green lighting. The lounge also looks poor, looks very sterile dull.
= Interesting comparison.
Quoting JetBlue777 (Reply 12): It looks like some random Chinese take-out placed in a Styrofoam with no proper presentation or anything.
= OMG. How right!
Thanks a lot for reading. A very exotic country and report is coming up ... bet no one can guess ...
globalflyer From United States of America, joined Dec 2005, 807 posts, RR: 2 Reply 14, posted (2 years 2 weeks 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 12487 times:
As always another fantastic report! Still waiting for your TR Novel to be published!
Landing on every Continent almost on an annual basis!
stipica From Croatia, joined Feb 2011, 398 posts, RR: 8 Reply 15, posted (2 years 2 weeks 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 12395 times:
Hi A ! ...
I did not know that Tunisair has the euro-business class concept ... is this a standard or just a leased aircraft ... hmmm ... educational as always ...
It's the standard. Aircraft is TS-IMD which has a J/Y configuration, but of course easily convertible to a single Y class.
@ abrelosojos : that's correct. Sevenair was named after his favorite number. It was named Tuninter from 1992 to 2007.
Flight TU724 departs by 19:00 LT which is not a rush hour, but it depends on days and seasons. The TUN rush hour is in the morning up to 9 a.m. (departures) and in the afternoon between 12 a.m. and 3 p.m. (arrivals & departures) and a kind of arrival rush between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.
abrelosojos From Venezuela, joined May 2005, 4918 posts, RR: 55 Reply 17, posted (2 years 1 week 6 days 17 hours ago) and read 11653 times:
Quoting globalflyer (Reply 14): As always another fantastic report! Still waiting for your TR Novel to be published!
= You gonna publish ?
Quoting stipica (Reply 15): I did not know that Tunisair has the euro-business class concept ... is this a standard or just a leased aircraft ... hmmm ... educational as always ...
Quoting TS-IOR (Reply 16): It's the standard. Aircraft is TS-IMD which has a J/Y configuration, but of course easily convertible to a single Y class.
= Curious. What kind of configuration does the AB3's have?
airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 4015 posts, RR: 52 Reply 19, posted (2 years 1 week 5 days 14 hours ago) and read 11261 times:
Hi Alex
nice report also here. TU, not often featured on this site, so your report a warm welcome!
I have been to Tunesia once and my impression at the airport,... hmm let's say it's a below average experience during my arrival and departure, although at MIR.
You're flying the A320's here, but how about their A300 product? That type is still being operated by them, iirc? I expect the business class to be better on these widebodies.
Regards
Eric
"The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going"
TS-IOR From Tunisia, joined Oct 2001, 3298 posts, RR: 7 Reply 20, posted (2 years 1 week 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 11055 times:
@ abrelosojes : A300-600 is AB6. AB3 is A310
Tunisair's fleet configuration is as such :
14x A320 with 32J/114Y or 162Y.
2x A319 with 144Y.
2x A319LR with 16J/90Y.
3x A300-600 with 28J/235Y convertible to a single Y class when needed. (Hajj flights and charters).
11x B737-5/600 with 126Y.
@ stipica : the photos on reply 6 are of the J seats on A319LR. Comparing to 2007, AB6s has now a warmer interior and a meal service similar to that showed here...
Ps76 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 22, posted (2 years 1 week 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 10575 times:
Hi!
Just wanted to say many thanks for the report and pics etc. It was nice to read of a slightly more unusual route here on airliners.net. Tunisair looked ok to me but no smiles and no IFE would have been a bit of a letdown. Did they have pull-down screens with a moving map at least? I have also flown to Orly and although it is nowhere near as nice as other French airports like Toulouse and Nice it's much much better than Charles de Gaulle which in some parts is like the airport of my nightmares!
NZ107 From New Zealand, joined Jul 2005, 5672 posts, RR: 40 Reply 23, posted (1 year 11 months 1 week 16 hours ago) and read 9329 times:
Hi Alex,
Sorry for the lateness, finally on holiday. Yet another great report.
That green is rather strange! Going from that green to sterile white would make me quite confused, especially in an airport..
I still don't like the idea of J being called J when it's a Y seat with the middle seat blocked by a table. But I guess offering a more exclusive product in this manner is better than what NZ do and actually give just an economy seat to the highest fare payers in the A320 rather than allowing that extra space by the middle armrest being squeezed in a little.
nice report also here. TU, not often featured on this site, so your report a warm welcome!
I have been to Tunesia once and my impression at the airport,... hmm let's say it's a below average experience during my arrival and departure, although at MIR.
You're flying the A320's here, but how about their A300 product? That type is still being operated by them, iirc? I expect the business class to be better on these widebodies.
Regards
Eric
= Eric - why was your impression below average? I am curious. I thought the 300 would have a better product as well, but as you can see from TU insiders, this is not the case.
Quoting TS-IOR (Reply 20): @ abrelosojes : A300-600 is AB6. AB3 is A310
= Actually, this is not true. AB6 is definitely the 300-600 ... but the AB3 is the generic version of the 300. 310 is usually 310 or 313 ...
Quoting TS-IOR (Reply 20):
@ stipica : the photos on reply 6 are of the J seats on A319LR. Comparing to 2007, AB6s has now a warmer interior and a meal service similar to that showed here...
= Oh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. This is my LEAST favorite J class seat.
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 21): TU looks distinctly lacklustre. The green airport in TUN is pretty bizarre - are the lights just old, or are they deliberatley green?
= Ya - I have no idea. It was kinda weird for sure.
Just wanted to say many thanks for the report and pics etc. It was nice to read of a slightly more unusual route here on airliners.net. Tunisair looked ok to me but no smiles and no IFE would have been a bit of a letdown. Did they have pull-down screens with a moving map at least? I have also flown to Orly and although it is nowhere near as nice as other French airports like Toulouse and Nice it's much much better than Charles de Gaulle which in some parts is like the airport of my nightmares!
Many thanks,
Pierre
= Pierre, thanks. I still like ORY - guess I compare it to CDG - which like for you - is the airport of my nightmares. Though, Frankfurt is FAST climbing up the ranks of "worse" airports ...
Quoting NZ107 (Reply 23): Sorry for the lateness, finally on holiday. Yet another great report.
= Holiday?! What? Can you send some my way?
Quoting NZ107 (Reply 23): I still don't like the idea of J being called J when it's a Y seat with the middle seat blocked by a table. But I guess offering a more exclusive product in this manner is better than what NZ do and actually give just an economy seat to the highest fare payers in the A320 rather than allowing that extra space by the middle armrest being squeezed in a little.
Disappointing about the meal..
Looking forward to reading the next one.
Cheers,
Nicholas
= Nicholas, I am totally with you on this one ... but, you'd be hard pressed to maintain these standards living in Europe. Sadly.
BTW, does anyone know who was the first carrier in Europe to do the whole blocked/convertible middle seat?
Thanks a lot for stopping by everyone.
Saludos,
A.
Live, and let live.
25 NZ107: Haha, head back to being a student! I'll gladly sell some of my holiday - I take USD.. AUD.. GBP.. EUR.. Indeed, it's a real shame. So much to the po
26 AirGabon: To our Tunisian friends, I'm soon flying TU on NCE-TUN-DME (weird routing I agree, but excellent low price vs SU, AF, LO, LH, LX etc.). Any informatio
27 TS-IOR: Hello cool you have chosen TU for flying intra-Europe and we owe you a trip report here... You will get your boarding pass at the check-in desk in NC