[Almost There]

We are getting ready for our 1st trip to Moscow on 3/25 and are pricing out flights (yeow !!!!). Has anyone flown Aeroflot? I think I have heard mixed reviews about the airline but there prices are about 1/3 the price of the other airlines.

Any thoughts?

[jewel1969]

We flew aeroflot on our last trip. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The food wasn't that great but neither is anyother airlines. The seats were comfortable and the service from the attendants was great. The movies were all in Russian, luckily we had a portable DVD player with us and watched movies on that. The bathrooms were very dirty though, that was one thing I didn't like. It was nice not to have to change planes we flew straight from Moscow to JFK. With a little one we didn't want to have to bother with changing planes twice. They do weigh your luggage the carry ons as well, mine almost had to be checked but explained that my winter coat was in there and they let me take it on. All in all for the price I would fly it again, the price of adoption is high so where ever you can cut costs try and do so. Good luck. Julie

[nungesser]

Search ths forum for "Aeroflot".

[amyfk]

Hi,

We did Aeroflot for both trips direct from JFK to Sheremetyevo/Moscow.

We never even looked into Delta--our agency's agency used Aeroflot. All in all, I felt Aeroflot was ok. Like the other poster said, the movies weren't all so hot, so if youre a movie buff and cannot entertain yourself otherwise during the flight, then you may want Delta. IF you can occupy yourself, then Aeroflot will be ok.

I found that basically the food selection and the service were fine, and basically comparable to other airlines. I have a special diet and had to order special meals and the airline goofed on my allergy, but I have found that that happens on Continental anyway.

I dont think you'll have a problem with Aeroflot. If it's a matter of saving a few bucks, when youre doing a very expensive adoption anyway, then I would go with them.

Amy K, NJ

[TweetyMom04]

Flew them from Moscow to Siberia overnight 8 hr flight.

No frills but thrills Airline! Ceiling tiles were falling down, lights were flickering and would go out and come back on a few minutes later. Provided interesting atmosphere lighting. Table trays were falling down. DH sat down and the leg gave way. So he 'balanced' in his chair for 8 hrs. My seat had very little padding and I felt the springs jabbing me in the back for 8 hrs. I lost to the chair in round 1 of the boxing match, (ha, ha). The seats are very close together, with little or no knee room or foot room. I'm 5' 3" and I felt like a Sardine in a can. The seat between DH & I (3 across) was broken. The back was folded flat down over the seat. Made for a nice arm rest.

They served good food and lots of it.

Everyone smoked in the bathroom, even though there were NO SMOKING signs throughout the plane.

[Pinkie]

I flew 9 hours across Siberia on a night flight. The seats were completely broken and uncomfortable, food was alright, everyone was smoking in the toilets, there was way too much alcohol consumed and people had their mobile phones connected and I saw two people typing text messages out (this is whilst we were flying).

Having said all that, I would use them again if I had to weigh up my options. As someone else said adoption is not cheap!

[mcanvasback]

I was actually on the same flight as amyfk from JFK to Moscow. I have flown alot internationally and had a pleasant surprise. The food was not bad and I was comfortable, even slept. I had two seats, that helped.
The leg room is not great but worth the savings IMHO.
Domestic - different story. I had a horrendous flight from Moscow to Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) but there was no other choice!

[CarRanVA]

We had a good experience overall. Flew from JFK to Moscow then to Vladivostok all on Aeroflot. Both flights were fine except no movies either way. The staff were nice, but not many spoke English on the in-country flights.

[erickk]

I wonder if the in country flights are not quite as nice as the international. We've flown Aeroflot quit a few times (all in country)--it also depends what kind of plane you are in. Our first flight was fantastic--the rest--yikes--different plane all together. Felt like a sardine and the landings were always....interesting (we always seemed to need to brace ourselves on the seats in front of us and discovered all the other passengers doing it to but looking unconcerned). One flight I sat in the bulkhead seat next to the wall--it was -65 degrees outside and when we were on the ground the wall was freezing--when we were in the air the wall was so hot I could not touch it. On the other hand--it was quite the adventure--we made it safely to all our destinations and the food is actually great. Bathrooms were a little scary some times--but that is because some times people carry liquor onto the plane and are a tad tipsy when they are in there.

[SingleMama2B]

I personally flew Delta JFK to SVO, but my sister and BIL flew Aeroflot and said it was good. We did some comparing after they returned 3 weeks after I returned. THey did say the food was good, whereas Delta's was horrid (IMHO)! I had good leg room, whereas, my BIL was uncomfortable. They made better time (25 minutes less in the air, as Areoflot flies more over the "Pond" then Delta (as much over land as possible). They said they would fly them again, and their price was abit better (not that much less in January 2005 then mine with Delta with 14 days notice!). I paid $648 round trip on January 16th 2005, and they paid $625 round with Aeroflot. My first trip with 4 days notice the week of Christmas though, was $2,400 round trip!!! That REALLY HURT, but when they call, YOU GO!! I never have thought I that I would be in Moscow Russia on Christmas day in my LIFETIME!

I think that if there is a BIG difference in Cost, go with the cost factor. Price out BOTH, and then decide.

Congrats, and have a great, safe flight!

Blessings...............

[boatsun]

We actually liked Aeroflot. On trip one I liked the smoked salmon they served and couldn't wait for trip two to have some more. On trip two I didn't like it so much. On the first trip we flew from JFK to Vladivostok via Moscow on Aeroflot. Both the international and domestic flights were fine and comparable to US flights. The only real difference was that there were no boarding gates in Vladivostok, funny but I can't remember if there were boarding gates in Moscow. Buses take you from the airport to the plane and back. One steward even asked me how Aeroflot compared to other international carriers.

The airports are strange in their own ways. The one in Vladivostok seemed like it was built in the 50s or so and never updated. Sheremetyevo in Moscow is split in two. On one side of the airfield is Sheremetyevo 1 which does domestic flights and on the other is Sheremetyevo 2 that does international flights. It cost us $100 or so just to have somebody take us from one to the other. My guess is that they were split to keep people from trying to slip on an international flight during the Soviet era. Domodedovo actually seemed fairly new and modern.

They did show some movies on the flights and there were some that were old Soviet era. They seemed like a Communist Buster Keaton. I wouldn't mind renting a few of them.

[bc22ca]

We have flown Aeroflot 3 out of 4 times for out 2 adoptions. The other flight was with a stopover in Vienna. I much prefer the direct Aeroflot flight and the price was also so much better. The food is fine and the leg room has been comparable to other flights I have been on. I have had movies 50% of the time so if you are determined on movies, then this is not the flight for you. I personally don't care whether I have them or not and for the price difference that was fine with me.

As for domestic and International flights, they are much different. For the international flights they must comply with international laws and so there is no smoking, and the aircrafts must meet the international mechanical requirements. This is not true of the domestic flights within Russia. So as long as its an international flight you are OK.

Just my 2 cents.

Ang

[ddahl]

We flew them from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Had to walk down the Tarmac to the plane then stand there while they were reving the engines over and over before we were cleared to board. The flight attendants were smartly dressed with gloves and pillbox hats. Crowded and broken down seats. All in all in my honest opinion any flight you walk away from is a good flight so I would totally fly them again.

[Almost There]

Thanks for all the help. After some discussions with our travel agent we decided on Lufthansa. We had great success with them on our first adoption.

BTW...we will be in Moscow March 26 - 30 at the Renaissance Olimpskya.

[SingleMama2B]

Originally Posted by Almost There

BTW...we will be in Moscow March 26 - 30 at the Renaissance Olimpskya.

Hi "Almost There".... When I saw that you where going to be staying at the Renaissance, I had to post! I stayed there both of my trips, and loved it there! It's pricey on the food end, but well worth it. You can walk to several places, and was extremely comfortable.

Have a wonderful trip....