However, by the end of the decade, CGTA was operating scheduled flights serving Algiers, Basel, Bône, Geneva, Marseille, Paris, Philippeville, and Toulouse.

[10] CGTA, and CAT merged on 23 May 1953 to form the Compagnie Générale de Transports Aériens Air Algérie,[10][11] with a combined fleet that included one Breguet 761, six Bretagnes, five DC-3s, and three DC-4s.

[12] Following the merger, Air Algérie commenced seasonal services to Ajaccio, Clermont, Montpellier, and Perpignan.

Furthermore, Switzerland was added to the regular schedule, a stop at Palma was performed on a weekly basis in partnership with Aviaco, and most of the trans-Mediterranean routes were operated in a pool agreement with Air France, with the French carrier flying 54% of these services, and the remainder was left for Air Algérie.

In addition, it became the first private French carrier to order the Caravelle in early 1958,[13] the first of which was handed over by the manufacturer in January 1960.

[16] By April 1960, Air Algérie's fleet consisted of three Caravelles, three DC-3s, ten DC-4s, two Lockheed L-749 Constellations, and three Noratlases.

[16] The Caravelles were gradually deployed on the routes previously flown with the Constellations and the DC-4s, which were used for cargo services or sold.

[22] By March 1970, the government was the owner of 83% of the company; at this time, a Boeing 737-200, five Caravelles, four CV-640s, three DC-3s and one DC-4 were part of the fleet.

[23] Société de Travail Aérien, a domestic carrier that had been founded in 1968, was taken over by Air Algérie in May 1972.

[27] That year, the government of Algeria boosted its participation in the carrier to 100% when it acquired the remaining 17.74% stake held by Air France.

[31] In January 1981, the carrier ordered three Lockheed L-100-30s;[32][nb 1] by late June the same year, the first of these aircraft was due to be delivered.

[29] The IAS network was operated on Air Algéries's behalf, and at March 1985 included Adrar, Algiers, Bechar, Bordj B. Mokhtar, Djanet, El Golea, Ghardaia, Hassi Messaoud, Illizi, In Amenas, In Salah, Oran, Ouargla, Tamanrasset and Timimoun;[38] by this time, Air Algérie had 6,788 employees.

[47] The sales network comprises 150 agencies in Algeria and abroad, linked to the booking system and distributed through GDS to which Air Algérie has subscribed.

Its full Annual Report does not seem to be published regularly; figures disclosed for Air Algérie for recent years are shown below (for years ending 31 December):[50] Air Algérie is a joint stock company, with the shares 100% owned by the Algerian state, as of December 2013[update].

[78] As of September 2012[update], Air Algérie has a 46% market share on international routes; the airline was the leading operator for flights between Algeria and Spain, and six of ten of its international routes with highest seat availability served France.

It was also reported the carrier's intention of deploying the new A330s on new routes to Johannesburg, New York, Shanghai and São Paulo.

[103] Plans for the purchase of new equipment worth US$762 million (€556 million), including three 250-seater airframes to replace the ageing Boeing 767s, were disclosed again in December 2013;[73] already in November, Air Algérie signed a letter of intent with Airbus for three Airbus A330-200s at the 2013 Dubair Air Show.

[108][109] The ATR order made Air Algérie the largest operator of the type within Africa.