Tunisia's first privately owned airline · all-Airbus A320 family fleet · belly-only cargo carrier
Nouvelair Tunisie (IATA codeBJ) was founded in 1989 inTunisia, Tunisia's first privately owned airline, with headquarters inMonastir, bases at MIR, TUN and DJE, and17 A320 family aircraft, serving more than 40 destinations in Europe and North Africa.It has no freighters; all cargo moves in passenger aircraft belly holds.We provide air freight from China, connecting through European hubs to Tunisia and North Africa.
Nouvelair's official name isNouvelair Société Anonyme, trading asNouvelair Tunisie, founded in 1989 (originally Air Liberté Tunisie, renamed in 1996) andTunisiaTunisia's first privately owned airline. The registered office is in Tunis and the operating headquarters inMonastir, with operating bases atMIR, TUN, DJE, plus NBE as a seasonal point.
The company operates charter and scheduled flights, with France as its core market, plus Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, the UK, Spain and North Africa. The largest shareholder is the Tunisian tourism groupTTS (55%). For cargo, the key point isthat it is a passenger airline with no dedicated freighters, so all cargo comes from passenger aircraftBelly capacityspare space.
This model imposes three limits: first,capacity is what remains after passenger baggage, so space is not stable over time; second,piece size is restricted, with a 150x130x110 cm and 150 kg limit on German routes; third, it cannot carry oversize, overweight or full-pallet cargo. Its value lies incarrying cargo direct to three Tunisian tourist airports, covering the last leg.
On compliance, Nouvelair isa full IATA member(code796) and has passed anIOSA operational safety audit, with an average fleet age of about fourteen years and continuous A320neo additions in recent years. One point is clear:Nouvelair does not fly to China, with Istanbul the only Asian point on its network; mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are all excluded, and it does not fly to the United States. Chinese cargo must first move to a European or Turkish hub before connecting to a Nouvelair leg.
| Full company name | Nouvelair Société Anonyme |
| Chinese name | Nouvelair |
| Country | Tunisia |
| Founded | 1989 (originally Air Liberté Tunisie) |
| Headquarters | Monastir, Tunisia (Dkhila tourist zone) |
| Registered office | 14 Rue Habib Chrita, Tunis |
| Main bases | Monastir (MIR) / Tunis-Carthage (TUN) / Djerba (DJE) |
| Seasonal point | Enfidha-Hammamet (NBE) |
| Main shareholders | TTS 55% / Sofiat 20% / Carte 15% / Marhaba Hotels 10% |
| IATA two-letter code | BJ |
| ICAO code | LBT |
| Air waybill three-digit prefix | 796(796-XXXXXXXX) |
| IATA membership | Full member, IOSA registered |
| Fleet size | 17 aircraft (14 A320-200 plus 3 A320neo) |
| Freighter | None(cargo limited to passenger belly holds) |
| Official website | www.nouvelair.com |
| China destinations | None (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan included) |
IATA two-letter code, used in flight numbers and booking systems; Nouvelair flight numbers are BJ plus digits (for example BJ624 and BJ635).
ICAO three-letter code; the radio call sign isNOUVELAIR, used for air traffic control and flight tracking.
The call sign is the company name, matching LBT one to one, and allows cross-checking flights in public flight data.
Air waybill (AWB) carrier prefix, format796-XXXXXXXX; a waybill starting with 796 is carried by Nouvelair.
As of public data in 2026, the active fleet is14 A320-200 and 3 A320neo, 17 aircraft in total, all single-aisle A320 family passenger aircraft with no widebodies and no freighters. A single type supports high-frequency peak-season operations; average fleet age is about fourteen years, with continuous replacement by A320neo. Actual active numbers are subject to confirmation on the booking date.
Belly load capability.The two lower holds of the A320-200 total about37.4 cubic metresand can take7 LD3-45 positions; leisure carriers often use bulk loading, and piece size is limited by both the hold door and cabin height. The published German-route limit isMaximum 150×130×110 cm and 150 kg per piece.
Converted to common cargo types: a standard air pallet (with cargo often over 110 cm high) sits at the limit, and mid-size wooden crates, furniture and display stands also need case-by-case checks; where cargo genuinely exceeds the limit, we switch to widebody belly capacity or a freighter.
| Aircraft type | In service | Cabin seats (approx.) | Belly hold volume (approx.) | Range (approx.) | Typical deployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 14 aircraft | 177 to 180 seats (single class) | About 37.4 m3 (7 LD3-45 positions) | About 5,000 to 5,700 km | Fleet backbone: high-frequency short and medium haul routes in France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy |
| Airbus A320neo | 3 aircraft | Public sources list both 140 and 180 seats | Same class as the A320-200 (about 37.4 m3) | About 6,300 km | Longer sectors and the new-generation backbone: Istanbul, Moscow and St Petersburg |
| Airbus A321-200 | Retired | — | — | — | Two were operated historically and are no longer in the fleet |
| Other historical types | Retired | — | — | — | A300B4 (1, once wet-leased to Afriqiyah Airways), Boeing 737-900 (1), MD-82 (1), MD-83 (6) |
The A320-200 is the most numerous type at Nouvelair (14 aircraft) and operates almost every European route, with 177 to 180 seats in single class and a full-load range of about 5,000 to 5,700 km, matching 2 to 3.5 hour sectors from Tunisia to Paris, Frankfurt and Istanbul.
For cargo, its value isreaching tourist airports that freighters do not serve: Monastir and Djerba see no freighter movements, so cargo bound there either travels hundreds of kilometres by truck or uses belly space on aircraft like these, which is what the last leg means.
The A320neo has new-generation engines and sharklets, cutting fuel burn about 15% and noise about half against the previous generation. Nouvelair has 3, the third delivered in April 2026 (TS-INJ), with about 6,300 km of range, some 1,000 km more than the A320-200.
For cargo, A320neo belly capacity is in the same class as the A320-200 and loading conditions are essentially unchanged, so the fuel saving benefits airline cost, not the hold; we treat both types the same.
Nouvelair's business model isbased in Tunisia, selling to Europe, with the network concentrated between Tunisia and Europe (no Asian points beyond Istanbul), so it has no office in China. Cargo sales use ageneral sales agent (GSSA) model: Germany through aFlyUsagent, the UK with WFS for ground handling, andno sales channel for China. Chinese shippers realistically have two routes: work through a forwarder like us, or use its head office and call centre details;the call centre serves passengers, not cargo.
Head office address:Zone Touristique Dkhila, BP 66, 5065 Monastir, Tunisie
Registered office:14, Boulevard Habib Chrita, Cité des Jardins, 1002 Tunis, Tunisie
Head office phone:+216 70 020 900, +216 70 020 925, +216 70 020 920
Customer service email:customer.callcenter@nouvelair.com, call.center@nouvelair.com.tn
Reservations email:reservation.tun@nouvelair.com.tn (Tunis), reservation.mir@nouvelair.com.tn (Monastir)
Commercial email:booking.support@nouvelair.com.tn, agence.tun@nouvelair.com.tn
Official website:www.nouvelair.com
France line:+33 1 87 64 10 00
UK line:+44 204 578 1211
Tunisia line:+216 70 020 920, +216 36 020 920 (international)
Scope:ticketing, changes, baggage and flight enquiries;not a cargo booking channel
Agency:FlyUs Aviation Group (Nouvelair cargo capacity sales agent in Germany)
Telephone:+49 (0) 69 2474248-0
Cargo email:cargosales.de@flyus.aero
Published capacity:FRA, DUS, BER, MUC to TUN
Published loading limits:maximum piece size 150 x 130 x 110 cm, maximum piece weight 150 kg
Nouvelair has no sales office or branch in mainland China and no appointed cargo general agent there.
Give us the volume and requirements and we design the first leg, secure capacity and rates, and arrange handover; the customer deals with one window.
Based on public flight data as of September 2026, the scheduled network consists of3 Tunisian domestic points and 32 international pointsin 14 countries;Istanbul (IST) is the only point in all of Asia, and there are no services to the US, Canada or any East or Southeast Asian city. All 17 aircraft are single-aisle A320s with a maximum range of about 6,300 km from Tunisia, not enough to reach China.
Chinese cargo connects to Nouvelair intwo legs: a first leg carries cargo from China to a European or Turkish hub, then after customs transit it is loaded on a Nouvelair flight to Tunisia. First-leg hubs are CDG, FRA, MUC, DUS, BER, BRU, MXP and IST. First-leg choice is broad and rates are competitive, at the cost of one extra transit. Times are local.
Schedules on the Nouvelair Europe-Tunisia sector: point frequencies and some flight times are publicly available. Samples below (actual schedules change with the season and are subject to carrier confirmation on the booking date):
Sample schedule one:Tunis (TUN) to Venice (VCE), flights BJ624/BJ625, twice weekly in the summer 2026 season (Monday and Saturday), A320.
Point frequency reference:The busiest airports are TUN, CDG, DJE, MIR, Lyon, Nice, Dusseldorf, Brussels and Istanbul; Paris has several flights daily and major French and German points about 1 to 3 a day.
| China airports | Nouvelair scheduled flights | Connection method | Destinations served |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Pudong PVG | None | First leg to CDG, FRA, MUC, BRU, MXP and other European hubs, then a Nouvelair A320 to Tunisia (TUN/MIR/DJE) | Three Tunisian bases; onward to other North African countries |
| Beijing Capital PEK / Daxing PKX | None | As above; first leg via Beijing to Paris, Frankfurt or Munich | Same as above |
| Guangzhou Baiyun CAN / Shenzhen Bao'an SZX | None | First leg mainly Guangzhou and Shenzhen to Paris, Frankfurt or Istanbul; if consolidating via Hong Kong, fly Hong Kong to Europe first | Same as above |
| Hong Kong HKG | None | Dense flights from Hong Kong to European hubs make it a viable first-leg exit, with a change to Nouvelair on arrival in Europe | Same as above |
| Macao MFM / Taiwan TPE | None | Neither is on the Nouvelair network; move cargo to one of the hubs above first | Same as above |
| Zhengzhou CGO / Chengdu CTU / Chongqing CKG / Wuhan WUH and others | None | Transfer on domestic mainline to Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou or Hong Kong, then follow the European hub routing | Same as above |
| Istanbul IST (not a Chinese airport but a key connection point) | Yes, the only Nouvelair point in Asia | Several Chinese cities have direct flights to Istanbul, where cargo can change to a Nouvelair flight to Tunisia | Tunisia (TUN / MIR / DJE) |
Taking mainland China to a European hub, Nouvelair belly, then Tunisia: consolidation and export clearance about 1 day, China to Europe about 0.5 to 1 day, European customs transit about 1 to 2 days, the Nouvelair sector about 2 to 3.5 hours, Tunisian clearance and delivery about 1 to 2 days,About 4 to 7 days in total. These are estimates, not commitments, and vary with connection windows and transit efficiency.
There is structural uncertainty in using Nouvelair as the onward carrier:belly capacity is what remains after passengers and baggage. In the peak tourist season (June to September) load factors approach full and baggage volumes are high, so space left for commercial cargo may be very limited or nil; planning solely on Nouvelair is risky, with space one week and none the next.
Our standard practice is therefore tocost two or three options at once: one with Nouvelair on the onward leg (small pieces, direct into Tunisia), one with a carrier offering widebody belly (large pieces, full pallets), and one charter freighter depending on destination and transit time. The larger and bulkier the cargo, the more we lean to the latter two.
Understanding the Nouvelair network comes down to one geographic fact:the whole network is centred on Tunisia with a radius of about 3,000 km, covering southern and central Europe, North Africa and the western Mediterranean. It is point to point and driven by tourist demand, and the point list changes markedly with the season.
The scheduled network covers14 countries, 3 Tunisian domestic points and 32 international points. The core isFrance(Paris and a dozen other points),Germany,Italy(Milan),Belgium,Switzerland,Austria; in North AfricaAlgeria, Morocco and Egypt, and in Asia onlyIstanbul, Turkey.
Three boundaries are clear:no flights to China(mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are all outside the network);no flights to the United States or Canada;only Istanbul in Asia. The fit is narrow:destinations in Tunisia or North African distribution beyond Tunisia, with small pieces, small lots and acceptance of a European or Turkish transit; for anything else we recommend another carrier.
Tunis: Tunis-Carthage International Airport (TUN) - the capital hub with the most routes and the widest transit choice
Monastir: Habib Bourguiba International Airport (MIR) - the company's main operating base, next to Sousse and the coastal resorts, with the largest number of points
Djerba island: Djerba-Zarzis International Airport (DJE) - the southern tourist gateway
Enfidha: Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport (NBE) - seasonal point
These four are the airports Chinese cargo is most likely to reach on Nouvelair; other Tunisian airports are not in its scheduled network.
France: Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Lyon (LYS), Marseille (MRS), Nice (NCE), Toulouse (TLS), Nantes (NTE), Lille (LIL), Bordeaux (BOD), Strasbourg (SXB) and Basel/Mulhouse (BSL)
Germany: Frankfurt (FRA), Dusseldorf (DUS), Berlin (BER), Munich (MUC), Hanover (HAJ), Stuttgart (STR) and Leipzig (LEJ)
Italy: Milan Malpensa (MXP) and Bologna (BLQ)
Belgium: Brussels (BRU)
Switzerland: Geneva (GVA)
Austria: Vienna (VIE) and Salzburg (SZG)
Spain: Barcelona (BCN)
Poland: Warsaw (WAW)
United Kingdom: London Gatwick (LGW)
Algeria: Algiers (ALG) and Oran (ORN)
Morocco: Casablanca (CMN) and Rabat (RBA)
Egypt: Cairo (CAI)
Turkey: Istanbul (IST) - Nouvelair's only point in Asia and a practical entry point for Chinese cargo
Nouvelair serves three Tunisian airports, so for consignees around Sousse, Monastir and Djerba the belly hold delivers to the nearest gateway and saves an inland leg and handling, which is its most concrete value.
Nouvelair serves more than twenty points in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, the UK and Poland, with several flights a day to Paris and 1 to 3 a day to major French and German points. Chinese flights to Europe are frequent, so the chance of connecting is good and windows are flexible.
Bulk belly loading needs no palletising, which is more flexible than waiting to build a full pallet for a freighter for customers with many small shipments and frequent departures (samples, e-commerce parcels, spare parts), provided each piece stays within 150x130x110 cm and 150 kg.
Its European cargo agent publishes the loading limits (150x130x110 cm and 150 kg per piece), so checking whether a shipment fits needs only a tape measure and a scale rather than waiting for the carrier, which reduces rejections found only at the warehouse.
The cost structure is first-leg market rate plus onward belly rate. The first leg is a mainstream China-Europe or China-Istanbul lane with many carriers and competitive rates; the onward narrowbody belly space is small and has limited effect on total cost. For two or three samples or an urgent shipment of a few dozen kilos it is usually cheaper than blocking a full pallet on a freighter and transhipping.
For the following we recommend another carrier outright:
1. Oversize or overweight cargo:pieces above about 150x130x110 cm or 150 kg.
2. Large single shipments:about 1 to 3 tonnes sellable per flight and variable, so anything above five tonnes at once cannot be handled.
3. Destinations in the US, Canada or Asia:Nouvelair does not fly there.
4. Very tight deadlines:the two-leg routing adds a transit and is not suited to 48-hour delivery.
5. Dangerous goods:passenger belly holds are restricted by IATA rules and accept fewer classes than freighters.
6. Large volumes in peak season:belly space is taken by baggage in the tourist season and cannot be planned.
In practice we assess four dimensions:First, whether the destination is Tunisia(a clear advantage for direct landing around Monastir, Sousse and Djerba);second, whether any single piece exceeds size or weight limits, because one piece over the limit means the whole shipment has to be re-costed;third, total volume and frequency, where tens of kilograms to one or two tonnes in several batches suits the option;fourth, acceptable transit time, where 4 to 7 days is workable and a 2 to 3 day requirement points to widebody belly capacity first.
Nouvelair builds its network around Tunisian tourist traffic to European points and carries cargo in the belly holds of those same flights.The strength is not in cargo product design. It has no time-definite tiers, cold chain or outsized cargo programs of the kind a dedicated cargo airline runs; the value is in points and frequencies that others do not offer.
Nouvelair's bases areMonastir (MIR)— serving Sousse and the central coast;Tunis-Carthage (TUN)— the capital gateway;Djerba (DJE)— the southern gateway; plusEnfidha (NBE)as a seasonal point. When consignees are spread across Tunisia, cargo can enter at different airports instead of being consolidated in the capital and trucked out again.
Nouvelair's core business is tourist charters plus scheduled flights. For cargo this means two things:more charters in peak season means more belly capacity; most rotations are full on the Europe to Tunisia leg, and China exports travel in the direction where belly space is tightest. One point to be clear about:a passenger charter is not a freighter charter, and outsized pieces moving as a full aircraft need a freighter.
Nouvelair appoints agents market by market; published examples include Germany, whereFlyUs Aviation Groupacts as GSSA, and the UK, where WFS took over ground handling in 2022. For a forwarder the practical point is thatbooking is agent to agent: there is no sales desk for the China market, so we know whom to approach, in what format to submit the request and at what point in the cycle.
Nouvelair runs theJasminfrequent flyer program and operates a website and app. These serve passengers, and their indirect value for cargo is thatflight status can be checked: the website and third-party data track BJ flights in real time, so we can judge whether the next sector will depart on time and report back directly.
Airlines generally do not accept small shipments direct from shippers; capacity is sold through the forwarding system.This is more true of Nouvelair: it has no sales organisation in China, and capacity moves with the passenger load on each flight, so a shipper asking directly often gets no usable space. As the agent we turn the shipper's requirement into a booking instruction the carrier can accept, and we are accountable for capacity, rate and connections.
With Nouvelair this goes further:it has no office in China, cargo is by nature sold through agents, and Chinese cargo must connect somewhere, so a customer booking directly with Nouvelair does not work in practice. Once the requirement comes to us the customer has one contact, and we coordinate capacity, rates, connections and exceptions.
For Nouvelair there are three booking routes for Chinese cargo, ranked by operational difficulty and use case.
Applies to:For cargo destined to Tunisia, or needing regional distribution from Tunisia.
Process:Shipper to us, first leg from mainland China (Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and others) to a European hub (CDG/FRA/MUC/BRU/MXP and others), transit customs and document change in Europe, transfer to Nouvelair A320 belly space, direct landing in Tunisia (TUN/MIR/DJE).
Key points:First-leg flights are frequent; the onward leg depends on whether Nouvelair has belly space on the flight,and the transit arrangement at the European hub drives the time cost. Paris or Frankfurt, with mature transit procedures, are usually recommended. The link between the two air waybills, whether pallets are broken down and rebuilt, and ground handling charges are all itemised in the quote.
Applies to:For Chinese cargo that needs the fewest connections, or a shorter first leg.
Process:Shipper to us, first leg from mainland China toIstanbul (IST)(several Chinese cities have direct flights), document change and transit customs at Istanbul, transfer to Nouvelair for Tunisia (TUN/MIR/DJE).
Key points:Istanbul is Nouvelair'sonly point in Asiaand the shortest entry for Chinese cargo into its network, with clear connections and few stops. The uncertainty is weekly frequency, usually lower than to Paris or Frankfurt, which must be checked against each shipping date.
Applies to:For cases with a hard delivery deadline, or where volume exceeds what Nouvelair belly space can take.
Process:Shipper states the requirement, we quote in parallel: (1) the Nouvelair onward plan; (2) a European or Middle Eastern carrier with widebody belly space via Istanbul, Doha or Dubai direct to Tunisia; (3) where necessary a connection through another North African country. We then summarise capacity, transit time and total cost, and the customer decides.
This is thestandard practice for Tunisia. Nouvelair belly space is what remains after passengers and bags, so relying on it alone leaves too much uncertainty. Our proposal sets out the basis, merits and risks of each route rather than pushing a single option.
Check commodity, pieces, dimensions, gross weight, origin and destination and transit requirement, and identify special cargo
Measure and weigh each piece against the per-piece threshold (about 150×130×110 cm and 150 kg) to see whether it can go on
Compare the European hub and Istanbul routes and the alternatives, and recommend by time and budget
Obtain the week's rates and available belly space, and quote in full including freight, fuel, ground handling and transit charges
File the booking, obtain flight numbers and booking confirmation, and set out how the two air waybills link and where responsibility sits
Arrange pickup or delivery to the warehouse, complete weighing, measuring and visual inspection, and pack to belly loose-cargo requirements
File the export declaration, complete transit customs and document change after the first leg reaches Europe or Istanbul, and connect to the Nouvelair flight to Tunisia
Clear customs after landing in Tunisia, arrange collection or delivery, hand over and handle exceptions and claims
Goodhope Logistics (China) Limited · Shenzhen, China · goodhope86.com
No.All 17 aircraft are passenger aircraft (14 A320-200 and 3 A320neo),there are no dedicated freighters, so all cargo comes from passenger belly holds and is limited to loose small pieces.
No.Its Asian network reachesIstanbulone point only. Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are not served, and it does not fly to the United States or Canada. Chinese cargo must first reach Europe or Istanbul, then connect to a Nouvelair sector.
NouvelleIt has no office or subsidiary in the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan, and no appointed general cargo sales agent in China, which means no China contactNone available. Cargo is sold through agents market by market; the most practical route for a Chinese shipper is through us, and head office contact details are given in the China contact section.
796 is Nouvelair's air waybill (AWB) prefix; a standard air waybill is 796 plus a 7-digit serial number plus a check digit. Nouvelair's website is mainly for passengers,and no public tracking entry point was found, so waybill verification is done by the booking party with the carrier. Note that 796 is the waybill prefix, BJ is the flight code and LBT is the call sign; the three are not interchangeable.
The published limit isMaximum 150×130×110 cm and 150 kg per piece110 cm of height, set by the belly door and the internal clear height, which is a hard constraint. Limits can differ by station, so send us the dimensions and weight of each piece before booking and we will judge whether it will load.
Only with caution.Carrying dangerous goods in passenger belly holds is tightly restricted by the IATA rules, and a good number of categories are forbidden on passenger aircraft and can only move on freighters, so the accepted list is narrower than on a freighter and each category must be confirmed. Declare batteries, aerosols, paints and chemicals accurately; where belly space cannot take the cargo, we switch to a freighter plan.
On the mainland China to European hub to Nouvelair belly to Tunisia routing: consolidation and export declaration about 1 day, China to Europe about 0.5 to 1 day, transit customs in Europe about 1 to 2 days, the Nouvelair sector about 2 to 3.5 hours, and clearance and delivery in Tunisia about 1 to 2 daysAbout 4 to 7 days in total. This is an estimate, not a commitment; actual times vary with connection windows and transit efficiency.
Belly space is tightest in the Tunisian tourist season (June to September), when flights are full and bag loads are heavy, so cargo space can be nil. The Chinese export peak runs from autumn to before Spring Festival the following year and does not fully overlap the tourist season; October to April may be easier, but that is only a seasonal pattern,not a guarantee. Tell us the planned shipping date and we will check the week's capacity and quote in parallel.
NouvelleWith no office in China, cargo sold through agents by design, and Chinese cargo that must connect somewhere, there is no direct sales channel to end shippers, and the forwarder is what makes the chain work. We handle the first-leg booking, transit customs and document change, the split of responsibility across the two legs, load planning and exception and claims handling.
Average fleet age is about fourteen years, in line with narrowbody fleets at major passenger airlines worldwide. It isa full IATA member and IOSA registered, so its operations fall under international audit standards, and it has kept renewing the fleet with A320neo aircraft. We weigh safety record, compliance and operational stability when selecting a carrier.
Produced by Goodhope Logistics (China) Limited (Goodhope Freight). The Nouvelair name and related marks belong to their respective owners. We are an independent freight forwarder with no affiliation, investment, joint venture or branch relationship with Nouvelair, and we are not its official representative or appointed agent. Information is compiled from public sources, is time-sensitive and is for reference only; it does not form a contract of carriage, an offer of rates or any warranty. Nouvelair's cargo capability comes from passenger belly holds, and sellable capacity varies with the passenger and bag load on each flight; available space and rates are subject to the documents confirmed by the carrier at booking.