[Amysue1112]

We are looking into flights and wanted to hear others' experiences. Did you go through a travel agency? Which airline? Is business/first class worth the money? Did you get your tickets through the airline or through low fare sites? Anybody have a good suggestion about getting credit card type "skymiles"? Ways to get upgrades?
(we are referring to the international flights)
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR IDEAS!!

[nicksmom03]

We flew Delta for both trips last year. We found that the prices were the same whether we used a travel agency or called the airline directly. We felt more comfortable with the agency because we knew it was likely we would need to change our return flights and we could get a hold of them by email from Russia. We upgraded on our first trip to business class and it was wonderful. We had very expensive seats though ($1500) because we had to book on short notice. Luckily we were at least able to use our Delta miles to upgrade. Business class was wonderful. For trip 2, we bought coach seat for $612 - big difference. These were not upgradeable but by that time, Delta had made it more difficult to upgrade. We would have had to pay a lot more for an upgradeable fare and we would have needed a lot more miles. This change occured in early '04. We accumulated most of our points with my company AMEX card. It was a Delta card and I traveled a lot at that time so accumulated a lot of Delta miles that way. Hope that helps.

Lynne

[kryslm]

We are using a travel agent who specializes in adoption travel. She adopted a little boy herself from Russia a few years ago, and sets up adoption trips for several different agencies. You can PM me for contact info, if you'd like.

We are flying on Delta next week for our second trip. Given the late notice, we were still able to get good fares ($900 per person, RT for us, plus $900 more for the two kids, one-way from Moscow). Our travel agent also got us good deals on our first trip ($800 per person, RT).

Mike

[kbrandi]

We called the travel agent that the agency suggested and their rate was higher (even with the adoption rate discount). We are traveling on the weekend so the cheapest way was to make 2 stops. We're going to Moscow via France. I don't think this is a bad idea because I'd like a break from the long plane ride. We used Orbitz to book the flight. You can pick your seats right on the internet. We're traveling on Dec. 26th. We will check out the travel agency's prices again for the second trip because we need exchangeable seats then. Good Luck!

Tina

[knicholson]

Hi!

We just returned from Russia the second week of November and also flew Delta. We were also able to get an adoption rate (I think about $300 less a ticket) because we had to book last minute so I'd suggest you ask Delta about this offer. We did have to take our I600 form to the Delta ticket counter before they'd issue discounted tickets but it was the worth the savings. As with trying to redeem many types of discounts, you may need to be extra persistent and patient for the agent to come up with a price for you.

Good Luck!
Kelley

[bopeck]

Hello,

I own a travel agency and I just adopted 2 boys from St. Petersburg. We traveled in June with 5 days notice and of course thats the most expensive time to travel. Luckily I was able to use skymiles to fly business class all the way. The great thing about business is that they will provide a crib that will hook into the wall in front of you if you can get on the exit row. Also, theres a little more room to move around.

If you want to use frequent flyer miles, don't give up after one phone call. Availability changes from minute to minute. Try to lock in whats available and keep calling back and hopefully, a seat will come open.

Whoever you book through (and of course I recommend an a good travel agent), just make sure that you can get in touch with them when you need them via email. Thats the disadvantage of going through a giant internet site such as orbitz, etc. If you tell the agent that someone is offering a lower fare, they will usually go out of their way to find that fare for you.

Good luck!

Belinda

[Waiting4Skip]

We flew Delta and AirFrance and got "cribs" and WERE NOT in business class. When you book, be sure to request a bulkead seat and ask for a crib.

Judy

[GoCathy]

Anyone fly Aeroflot? I have to go on very little notice, over this coming weekend, and I could either fly Delta coach or Aeroflot business. Anyone flown Aeroflot business (nonstop JFK to Moscow)? Is it worse or better than Delta coach?

[mileigh]

Congratulations on your trip. We flew business on Aeroflot a few months ago and I would say that it is much nicer than Delta coach. The seats are wider side to side and front to back, they recline farther, the food was wonderful and the service was typical business class service. You get the normal business class packet of socks, toothbrush, sleeping mask etc... along with beverages whenever you want them.

Have a great trip!
Leigh

[GoCathy]

Leigh, Thanks for calming my fears about the Areoflot flight! Now, has anyone flown aeroflot domestically in Russia (we are going from Moscow to Ekaterinburg)?

[magnet]

We flew Aeroflot both trips and had good experiences all around. We used a travel agent and she was able to get us better deals than I could find on the internet. For trip 1, we flew coach both ways. It was a bit squishy, but bearable. And the food and service were excellent. For trip 2, we flew coach TO Russia, but upgraded to business coming home. I definitely recommend business if you fly Aeroflot home. The seats were roomy enough that we didn't need to get an extra seat for our toddler. We sat bulkhead and got a crib, but he hated the crib! Ended up sleeping on my chest - which I absolutely loved!

We also flew Aeroflot in-country on trip 2. It was a very short flight (I'm not good w/ geography, so I don't know how yours compares w/ ours). Anyway, think Indiana Jones. Our little plane was at least 40 yrs old and we took a bus from the terminal out to the plane. No one spoke English, so we listened carefully for our destination to make sure we were on the right plane. I was scared at first, but we made it safe and sound. Don't know if I'd recommend it, but sometimes you just do what you gotta do. (Personally, I prefer the train even though it makes the trip longer. It's so much more relaxing.)

[GoCathy]

Thanks. I don't have time to take the train, so I have to fly a domestic airline. Is Areoflot the best, or are others better (we could take Ural Airlines instead domestically to Ekaterinburg)