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waytorussia · Frequent Guest Joined: 17 Mar 2010 Posts: 14

About two weeks ago I was going to fly to London from Moscow. Got my Aeroflot ticket and came to Sheremetyevo 2 airport. At the check-in they told me that I have excess luggage and told me I will have to pay. Well, I was not against it, except that according to the rules written in the ticket, I DID NOT have excess luggage. My check-in luggage was exactly 20kg while my hand luggage was fitting in the permitted dimensions. Anyway, I had a choice of either paying extra $70 or not boarding the plane.
However, the problem was that the Aeroflot check-in person was really rude. When I told her that I'm not going to pay she said I'll have to, because her salary depends on how much she'll make on me. Can you imagine? So, I thought "go to hell" and took my ticket and didn't take my flight. By the way, it was delayed 6(!) hours.

On my way back from the airport I went into the office of my airline ticket agent and changed the flight to British Airways, departing the next day. I had to pay about $70 extra, but the feeling of not allowing Aeroflot to fuck me up was pleasant enough to afford that.

I took my BA flight the next day from Domodedovo airport, no problems with luggage whatsoever (I had the same stuff as the day before), the airport itself is really great (nice food, cafes, shops, wireless internet -- checked my mail!).
And British Airways is really great -- good service, without fake smiles you often see on other western airlines, clean plane, and delicious food.

Ok, maybe I'm being too positive, but comparing to Aeroflot and Sheremetyevo, British Airways and Domodedovo are much better.

FYI, there are two airlines currently making regular flights to Domodedovo: Swiss Air and British Airways.

A'Flot defender · Guest

Frnakly i like flying Aeroflot: people are friendly, service is ok, seats space is good, etc...
it's really sad to hear such stories BUT may be it's Sheremetevo airport to blame? With this i would agree for sure. In my opinion it's one of the worst a'ports i've even seen.

waytorussia · Frequent Guest Joined: 17 Mar 2010 Posts: 14

Yes, it's true, I think the problem is in the airport and I can understand that it can be hard for a big company like Aeroflot to teach so fast their staff how to work well. Perhaps, they were pushing too much with the "money-making" motivation... Anyway, the next time I fly with Aeroflot will be with the free ticket I'm getting from their bonus program... It's quite good, actually, cause it's enough to fly 3 times to Irkutsk and back (costs about $900 US for the 3 times) and you have a free ticket to London (return, which normally costs $300 US). So, if you're flying, consider Aeroflot from this viewpoint as well. Besides, when everything goes ok in the airport, the staff onboard is really helpful, they even have buttons to call a steward next to each seat... So, they're good Cool

slippery-chimp

trickster · Just Starting Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 2

i travelled from Moscow to london by TRansaero company, through Domodedovo airport and gotta admit that i was very pleased with their service.
Of course, the plane was far from the 1st class but considering the price i paid for the flight it was well worth it. Transaero are cheaper then Aeroflot.
The airport by itself is very nice, new and the people there are very polite.
And btw the plane arrived in London much quicker then it was expected to.
I like my jouney Mr. Green

Mark · Frequent Guest Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 53

Been twice to Sheremetyevo, first time everything went ok i just walked through passport control.
The second time it took me 2 hrs waiting.
Not being able to speak any Russian and being alone with hundreds of none speaking English around me was something else.
Women with babies kept coming up to me so they could get through quicker telling me to look at their baby so i would feel sorry for them.
I said to one your baby is sleeping so shut up and get back in line.
It's hard trying to get a smile from one of the Russian passport controllers after every 30mins they woukd change and go off for some sort of coffee break.
Iv'e heard good things about Domodedovo airport and also transaero maybe next time ill go with them..
Also at Sheremetyevo when you get a taxi make sure you pay at a taxi office they just take you for a ride if you don't.
My girlfriend turned up late once to meet me i was like a lamb to the slaughter not speaking any Russian the taxi drivers just followed me everywhere....
But it's all fun thats what makes Russia the place it is... Cool

SilversX · Just Starting Joined: 29 Apr 2004 Posts: 1

Hi
I'm sorry to hear that and blam it on Aeroflot, The thing is that in Sheremetovo it's not like in most airports in the world, the check in persons are Airport workers (That's why Aeroflot is pushing the building of terminal 3 for its own)
So most people will think that these are Aeroflot persons..this was due to the privatisation of the Airport.
The fastest thing you had to do is to take the person's name (or even without it) and head to the police booth in the airport, they would've taught here a few lessons in manners..

Regards

dc197 · Frequent Guest Joined: 25 May 2004 Posts: 14

Hi
Sorry to hear you missed your flight.

I though Pulkovo airport in St Pete sucked. Tiny little place, where you have to go through metal detectors and the like before even entering the building!

Then one has to wait to be called before you can go though customs* before checking-in.

Then passport control (yawn...) and then to the departure "lounge" whcih is also the same area when flight arrive and people queue to enter the country.
Oh of cource you have to queue for a second metal detector to get to the gate (yeah, as if I was able to buy a gun in duty free!)

*Customs
Having worried the whole week about not getting my declaratsia stamped, and taking out more money than I entered with (by using cash machines and then exchanging my excess), no-one even asked for the exit declaratisa.
Pffff!

Daniel

inder780 · Just Starting Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 1

Hmmm ..aeroflot ...... for da people who dont wanna shell out too much n dotn wanna fuss bout quality or time .......

its like most russian things which have only one objective ....... objective of an airplane is to get u from one place to another ... the motto is ur gonna get there stop cribbing ..lolz...

nyways seats are small ambience isnt beautiful and the food is horrible ...... but then i always find the food horrible on all the planes ........ the best way to travel aeroflot is DRUNK .... u will never know wut happened and yeh the Sheremetovo airport isnt all that great but then it happens to be with in tune with the state of the local government ... I wont crib much coz i have seen much worse in Mumbai .....

renwan · Talk Show Host Joined: 29 Oct 2004 Posts: 204

In russia i prefer Aeroflot or BA, dont fly Lufthansa, they made me pay 20 Euros for each kilogram of excess,which were like 25 Kilograms...
Aeroflot is 50 rubles for each kilogram(at least in Domodedovo), and Bashkirian airlines less than 20.

Fuck lufthansa!

DITTRICH · Posted: Fri May 06, 2005 10:52 am Post subject:

Well my 2c worth.
Aeroflot have always been HOT on excess baggage - both in Russia and in London,whereas BA tend to take a more relaxed view unless the flight is getting full (and heavy). Aeroflot tickets tend to be cheaper, but if you are carrying some excess baggage the differences even out because BA don't always charge excess.
Also Domodedovo was like a breath of fresh air compared to Sheremetyevo. The nicest part about it is the train service to (paveletski)? voksal in moscow for a few roubles which then coonects fairly easily with the metro system. The train isn't that fast but is comfortable and clean. With sheremetyevo you need a car or else the only economy option is the bus service which takes ages and requires a certain fluency in russian. The bus also only connects with the aerovoksal? metro station which is much further out.
Rgds
Les

Vic · Posted: Fri May 06, 2005 10:42 pm Post subject:

I have nothing against Aeroflot. They have extremely good service compared to american/european airlines on domestic routes and are at par or a bit better on international. I also agree that they have bagage issues. What you have to understand - your carry on IS included in the TOTAL WEIGHT ALLOWED. You are supposed to place your carry on onto the scale with your baggage when you check it, and they put a tag on the carry on, or just tell you to take it. This is written in ICAO. But most airlines are lenient on this and do not care too much. You also have to consider the fact that airlines today are not very profitable, and 5 kilos may not be much, but when you have 100 passengers out of 288 on an Il-96 from Pekin to Moscow carrying 5 kilos extra, that is a 7000km route with 500kg Non-Rev cargo that is eating up about $2,000 worth of fuel.
They once gave me a free business class ticket from Frankfurt to Moscow after I missed my Lufthansa connection to Moscow because of an Air Canada delay (of 2 hours) from Toronto! It was funny, I have the Trip Interruption slip from Air Canada saying to allow boarding on Aeroflot, so I come to the gate, and the Purser (Russian guy, bout 35) says "Well, we have a seat in business class." I was flying economy and they gave me a seat in business because they had no left in economy. They did not have to do that, but they did. So I have a good view of them.
Vic

Daria · Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 10:00 pm Post subject:

I was shopping around for a ticket to Moscow.When I phoned Aeroflot office,there was a very rude "baba",saying:"Do not call here,call the agent!"I also came across an add in the paper that Russian airlne was looking for people.I called them up and was told in a very rude manner that they do not want to talk to me and "do not send us your resume..."
I felt like if she was sitting on the toilet and i called,so she had to get up or something like that.

dcunited11 · Frequent Guest Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Posts: 27

Grizzly · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 8:36 am Post subject:

I have always found Aeroflot good although I have only flown internationally with them. I think their level of service is at least at the average level of western airlines, i.e. there are a few airlines I prefer but it is not below the typical level of service one gets on a western flight. In other words if the ticket price were the same I might choose Lufthansa or Air Austria but given a $50 difference I would definitely take Aeroflot.

As far as getting upgraded this is very standard policy by every airline and is in their best interests even though we think it is very generous. I once got upgraded to 1st class to Germany by Air Canada and even though it was the best flight of my life it cost them little other than a few glasses of Champagne and was much cheaper than putting me on another flight. What gave me a lot more goodwill towards Air Canada is I once slept in in Paris and missed a flight for which I had a budget student ticket and though they said on that fare they could not book me on another carrier's plane they would put me on standby for the next day and as long as a free place was available I could fly for no extra charge which I did. It is situations such as this which are more deserving of goodwill because they had every right to cancel the ticket. Upgrades really don't cost the airline very much. Often it is a question of the person you are dealing with though and not the particular airline.

I think Aeroflot's biggest problem is Sheremetyevo. This is a dungy airport that looks 50 years older than it is and reeks of corruption. I think it is an embarrasment for Russia that the majority of foreigners first experience of Russia is here. The customs officials are incredibly corrupt but you also never know what to expect. Sometimes you just walk through without them looking at you and other times you have to explain what is in every book or magazine you have to a unilingual Russian officer. One often sees people going into closed areas where one pays for them to overlook whatever you have in your baggage that you are not supposed to. I always have had the impression that Aeroflot does not have much power in this airport although one would think that it would. I remember once that customs control for leaving the country had far too few posts open and everyone was waiting in excess of 2 hours to get through. The Aeroflot officials were going crazy and pleading with customs to work faster or open more booths but were completely ignored. Aeroflot must have lots tens of thousands on this day due to delayed flights from passengers who had checked in 2 hours previously but couldn't get through customs. Sheremetyevo is definitely one of the worst airports I have flown from and as a word of advice, if you have a flight leaving from here you can never get there too early and go through the checkin as soon as possible when you arrive. The transportation from the airport is also horrible, extremely overpriced taxis or cheap but very bad and time consuming public transport.

I don't understand dc197's complaint about Pulkovo airport as this is in my opinion far superior to Sheremetyevo. It may be small but it is clean and has been renovated so although it is older than Sheremetyevo it looks much newer. The customs call is a bit strange but as a result of the time constraints it places on the officers one usually goes through much faster and with few problems. The customs officers are also much friendlier and more likely to speak another language than Russian than at Sheremetyevo. As far as them not collecting the declaratsia, you should be overjoyed evertime you get through Russian customs without a problem. I think the reason things are so much better is the airport is owned and operated by Pulkovo airlines in whose best interest it is to provide good service to their own passengers as well keep the other airlines flying there happy. I have also flown Pulkovo and it is fine as long as you are not afraid of flying on old Russian planes.

I am planning to fly this summer on Transaero and hope it and their airport are as good as many people say. Again the key factor here is that the airline owns and operates the airport so customer service is more important to them than the Soviet era beaurocrats who operate Sheremetyevo.

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