Trip Report: AZAL Airlines, Lahore to Baku
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I was in Pakistan and looking for a place to travel so was looking at direct flights from Lahore. Recently, AZAL Airlines started direct flights from Lahore to Baku and Azerbaijan has been on my list so decided to check out the airline, the city and the country. I booked my ticket online through the AZAL website directly and since AZAL is a full-service airline, each ticket came with a free seat selection, complimentary meals as well as complimentary 23-kg checked baggage. You could add additional baggage online if needed (I did need it and it was convenient to have this process done online prior to the airport so that airport check-in is easier). During the booking process, I was able to select my seat - there were regular seat selection as well as priority seat selection; later on I figured out these were exit row as well as in the front of the plane seats that required costs to select them.
The flight was scheduled to depart at 2am and arrive into Baku at 5:40am and was to be operated by an Airbus A319 for a flight time of 4 hours. The flight only 2-3 times a week so its essential to make the flight. I got to the airport 3-hours in advance, quickly checked in and received my boarding pass, and went to the gate. Boarding was to commence at 1:15am but it started late and was a bit chaotic but we ended being boarded for an on-time pushback. The plane is an Airbus A319 with a small business class upfront in a 2-2 configuration and economy in the back in a 3-3 configuration. The first 3 rows of economy as well as the exit row were designated as premium - so even though some of them sat empty they would not allow people to move there unless they paid an upgrade. There was a family separated and instead of rearranging seats to get the family to sit together as well as accommodate other passengers, the airline insisted everyone take their assigned seats and kept the family separate throughout the entire flight!
The seat itself was basic as it had an adjustable headrest, a tray table, as well as a storage pocket but that was it. There was no USB nor charging ports and no additional amenities. The legroom was decent, not great but not terrible, and the seat comfort was ok for the first 2 hours but then it got uncomfortable afterwards for the remaining two hours. Service onboard was average as they were not mean but were not nice, and communication in English was definitely an issue. AZAL provides a complimentary meal on all their flights - and that is a nice gesture especially in today's time. You can preorder special meals based on religious and/or dietary restrictions. On this leg, one meal service was going to be conducted; we took off on-time and it was a late night flight so instead of serving the food quickly and letting people sleep, or letting people sleep and then serve food before we landed into Baku, the airline decided to keep the cabin dark for an hour, let everyone sleep, and then an hour after takeoff start the meal and drink service. It was a really odd choice and after the meal service coffee and tea were offered, and again that took a while so hour 2-3 of your flight was taken up by the meal service.
The meal provided was basic but decent and for my special meal included a salad, fresh fruit, the main dish, as well as a piece of bread. The main meal was a smaller portion but decent for the 4-hour flight but was a bit bland and needed some flavor; the bread was not warmed but was decent. Complimentary drinks, including alcoholic drinks, were served and coffee and tea were offered afterwards. After the meal service, the lights were turned off again for the remaining flight time to do what you wanted. They did have screens above that showed the flight map, and you could connect to the entertainment system on your own device. The entertainment system was present but extremely limited as it only offered a handful of movies and other programs; it was basically bring your own entertainment. We landed in Baku on time and quickly exited the plane and cleared through customs and immigration.
I took AZAL again when flying between Baku and Tbilisi and the overall experience was the same but there were a couple of differences. The plane operating this route was an Embraer E190 and it was newer so the seat pitch and comfort were better; all regional flights operate out of Terminal 2 which is the older terminal and you can definitely feel that; and the Embraer did not have the 'stream to your device' entertainment option. In the end, it was an average and basic flight was AZAL. There are some things that were good including the price which was not expensive, each flight took off and landed on-time, the complimentary seat selection and luggage allowance, and the complimentary meals and service on both flights. Service could have been better but airlines within this region are not known for their service; generally if they get to your destination on time in a clean and comfortable space then they did their job and AZAL does the job.
I was in Pakistan and looking for a place to travel so was looking at direct flights from Lahore. Recently, AZAL Airlines started direct flights from Lahore to Baku and Azerbaijan has been on my list so decided to check out the airline, the city and the country. I booked my ticket online through the AZAL website directly and since AZAL is a full-service airline, each ticket came with a free seat selection, complimentary meals as well as complimentary 23-kg checked baggage. You could add additional baggage online if needed (I did need it and it was convenient to have this process done online prior to the airport so that airport check-in is easier). During the booking process, I was able to select my seat - there were regular seat selection as well as priority seat selection; later on I figured out these were exit row as well as in the front of the plane seats that required costs to select them. 
The meal provided was basic but decent and for my special meal included a salad, fresh fruit, the main dish, as well as a piece of bread. The main meal was a smaller portion but decent for the 4-hour flight but was a bit bland and needed some flavor; the bread was not warmed but was decent. Complimentary drinks, including alcoholic drinks, were served and coffee and tea were offered afterwards. After the meal service, the lights were turned off again for the remaining flight time to do what you wanted. They did have screens above that showed the flight map, and you could connect to the entertainment system on your own device. The entertainment system was present but extremely limited as it only offered a handful of movies and other programs; it was basically bring your own entertainment. We landed in Baku on time and quickly exited the plane and cleared through customs and immigration.
I took AZAL again when flying between Baku and Tbilisi and the overall experience was the same but there were a couple of differences. The plane operating this route was an Embraer E190 and it was newer so the seat pitch and comfort were better; all regional flights operate out of Terminal 2 which is the older terminal and you can definitely feel that; and the Embraer did not have the 'stream to your device' entertainment option. In the end, it was an average and basic flight was AZAL. There are some things that were good including the price which was not expensive, each flight took off and landed on-time, the complimentary seat selection and luggage allowance, and the complimentary meals and service on both flights. Service could have been better but airlines within this region are not known for their service; generally if they get to your destination on time in a clean and comfortable space then they did their job and AZAL does the job. 
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