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We're off to Russia a week on Saturday, flying Aeroflot from Heathrow -> Moscow, and then back Vladivostok -> Moscow -> Heathrow a couple of weeks later. Their reputation used to be terrible, have they got any better?
Have a look on PPRuNe for updates and opinions.
Yeah, I've flown them a few times over the last few years (to Armenia and Kazakhstan).
The London-Moscow leg has been fine - short and sweet on new medium sized aircraft with entertainment console etc.. From Moscow onwards its a bit of a lottery in my experience. The aircraft have tended to be older. Food is pretty ropey. In general, flights have been OK but there are annoyances, like people getting pissed up, both legitimately and from openly drinking spirits from duty free (ok that was only one flight).
Flying Aeroflot tends to be cheap, but as my destinations tend not to be in Russia I prefer to go via other carriers when I have the choice. Its not just the in-flight experience, but the airports in Moscow are lacking and a pain to navigate. God help you if you have to change airports!
Cheers Bonni
From Moscow onwards its a bit of a lottery in my experience. The aircraft have tended to be older. Food is pretty ropey. In general, flights have been OK but there are annoyances, like people getting pissed up,
The 8 hours from Vladivostok to Moscow could be fun then...
They fly into the UK and are not on the banned list for flying in Europe so that means they must be fairly safe.
I do Moscow a couple of times a year with aeroflot ... TBH it is pretty good. Newish planes, not too tatty and haven't crashed yet.
Food is rubbish ... but on a 4 hour flight you can ignore it. And it is no more rubbish that KLMs offerings.
Within Russia, never been .... but pissed up russkies on a plane would be no surprise ....
With the tightening restriction on Russia there are not too many other alterantives. Easyjet stopped acouple of years ago ...
Aeroflot's reputation come from the 70s ... but I think Ryan Air has taken that crown ...
I did Munich to St Petersburg with them last year. It was fine. Not sure about the internal flights though. I’ve heard of mixed experiences.
pissed up russkies on a plane would be no surprise ….
I've done Moscow on BA a few times, and there were plenty of them on board there as well!
I did Heathrow-Moscow-Ulanbataar a couple of years ago.
First leg was fine, as good as any other airline. The second leg was 8hours and basic. No entertainment, ropey food, average seats (think Easyjet). Had books, snacks and a tablet so it was fine.
We did an internal flight in mongolia and that was an experience. Felt like a downgrade from the horses we'd been riding.
Sounds like luxury compared with the domestic flight I took on Air Zimbabwe from Harare to Bulawayo. The elderly Chinese turbo-prop looked to be 50% plastic padding.
I've only done it once and I was a little nervous about it in advance. Luckily I had food poisoning from the hotel in Moscow which left me sat on a plane soaked through in a cold sweat and filling sick bag after sick bag throughout the flight to Paris. If you get on board already dying then there is no longer anything to worry about.
An old school friend's dad died on Aeroflot Flight 593 back in March 1994, which apparently was all down to the consequences of a pilot's son, getting a "tour" of the cockpit, turning off the autopilot. 🙁
I hope they've improved, in 1989 I made several flights and as above the international flights were ok, the internal flight was 'different'.
No baggage check, in fact after checking in I was handed back my case and told to go to gate 'B'. Gate 'B' was a door to the tarmack righ next to door 'A'.
Walk half a mile to the plane, hand my bag up to the baggage handeler in the hold. Find a seat. None of that allocated seat thing.
Once the seats were all full the last few passengers sat on the floor or stood! Standing room on a plane?!
The flight itself was ok until the go about on landing! I never did learn why we aborted from inside the peremeter fence.
But I'm sure it's fine these days....
Flew on them lots as a kid. On my first flight the seat next to me had no back to it and it took ages to get going because the pilots were haggling with the fuel guys....
Also all the wrecks on the side of the runway apparently weren't wrecks... just donor aircraft.
And most of the other passengers seemed to always be in a 'jolly' mood..... like really hammered...
I'm sure they are OK these days though.
Aeroflot’s reputation come from the 70s … but I think Ryan Air has taken that crown …
I pretty sure that’s what most here were probably thinking...
The planes they use internationally have to meet international standards. The ones they use internally, don't...
I've always flown BA to Moscow anyway, so no direct experience.
Both the Moscow airports were crap when I was last there - was over 10 years ago though...