Trip Reports - Around the world trip report on NW & Skyteam (low content, longish, aeroflot bashing)

Part 1 of 2. I was planning to wait and make a monster post about this journey when I returned to MSP... but I seem to have an extra 22 hours on my hands in a Moscow prison.... er, I mean in a guarded room in the Novotel SVO. So I decided to serialize.

Despite my intentions, I actually did not end up buying a RTW ticket, as I did not have enough stops, only stopping in IST and PVG, just a sequence of one way tickets in J. Cost was around $9,500 all in, pretty good considering the cost of MSP-PVG RT lately. Because of the aeroflot legs, I had to get paper tickets, which has turned out to be a bad thing. My itinerary is:

MSP-AMS (NW)
AMS-IST (KL)
IST-SVO (SU)
SVO-PVG (SU)
PVG-NRT (NW)
NRT-MSP (NW)

MSP-AMS
First flight went off without a hitch. I chose seat 1-J on the A330 b/c I like looking out the window, but also like to go to the WC when I like... Almost got out of MSP with an empty seat next to me... but at the last minute I got a guest. It was her first time flying WBC across the ocean, so we had a good time. I have really been enjoying this chicken curry lately! Spicy! On time arrival in AMS.

Couple hours to kill in AMS, spent it sleepy in the KLM lounge. This place needs an expansion.

AMS-IST
For those of you who haven't experienced it, KLM "business class" in Europe is terrible. 3x3 seat configuration. Luckily, not many people actually pony up for this, so you usually have some space to yourself. This is a long flight to do in this config... at close to 4 hours. I did fall asleep for most of the flight, so I can't complain too much. In-flight team very attentive. Upon arrival, Istanbul airport is easily manageable and fast to the curb, even with checked luggage.

I did a couple non-skyteam flights on Turkish Air while there, in Y (there's only Y):

SAW-ESB-SAW (Istanbul Sabana Gokcen to Ankara)
IST-SZF-IST (Istanbul Ataturk to Samsun)

I enjoyed their "CIP" lounge (no idea what the "C" is for). Lots of tea and snacks. I got plenty of time to check it out, as my Ankara flight was delayed 4 hours. Sabana Gokcen is a small feeder airport on the far east side of Istanbul. Easy parking, check-in, etc. Great option if you are already on that side, although the downside is, if your flight is massively delayed, you have no other options. I found the pilots to be very aggressive in terms of flying style. Good cheese sandwiches served on the flights, had 4 of them in two days!

IST-SVO
Now comes Aeroflot! I was really looking forward to this adventure, bring on the vodka! When booking my flight, I found that the Turkish Air one-stopper to Shanghai was sold out... so I searched for other options, preferably skyteam. They ended up being 1) Backtrack to Paris for AF (only middle seats in J), or 2) Aeroflot with brand new A321 and 767 service, cheap, perfect times, and wide open loads. All other credible options (Emirates, KLM, Lufthansa, etc) were sold out in J several days backward and forward. I had read about the transfer issues in SVO, and took that into account, but it was just too tempting to book the SU.

Upon arrival to the airport in IST, the check in lines were long. Of course, 70% of the business class line were people playing dumb. When the taskmaster at the desk cleared them out, I went straight to the front. I was informed that the flight was running "one hour late" -- scary, I had a 2 hour connection. Waited in the Business Class lounge, which is a bit hard to find. Smoky, but nice. Had some soup, used the internet.

The aircraft didn't land until we were already about 1.5 hours late. I knew I was in trouble... However, I had checked Aeroflot's flight status site and discovered that every flight for the day had already been around 2 hours late... maybe they would hold my flight! I asked the gate agent about my connection. He looked a little concerned, but in the end he said "you will be fine" -- anything to get the flight out I guess. I should never have boarded.

Once on board the A321, I was really wowed. J cabin was more than half empty. Seats we super comfortable lounger-style, and flight attendants were hovering around with menus, hot towels and drinks. This is for a 2.5 hour trip! We boarded reasonably quickly, but sat in a queue of planes for another 40 minutes or so. After takeoff, the impending dread kind of washed away.... the cabin crew was so attentive and the finish of the plane was so perfect... how could anything go wrong? There were at least a couple dozen Chinese people on the plane, who presumably were going to SH as well. Just hold the plane for an hour or two... or maybe that aircraft will be late getting in too. Excellent meal. Salmon and Shrimp appetizer, Salmon and Shrimp Entree (funny with the same ingredients), dessert, and cappuccino(!).

Landed at SVO 2 hrs 20 minutes late. PVG flight was to have left 20 minutes earlier. I rushed off the plane, wanted to be first at the Transfer desk... The agent kind of looked down and away from me as she took my ticket. After a few minutes, hordes of people gathered behind me, and tried to squeeze in and get her attention... some succeeded. I started boxing them out like a basketball player.

Finally, she looked up to me and said "would you like to go to Shanghai tomorrow?" -- which I answered "No". I asked to be placed on the flight to Beijing later in the evening, and she said "But that leaves in only 40 minutes, and we must re-write your ticket". After a while, I realized I wasn't going to break the system... I was here for the night, with no entry visa. I mentioned this to her, and she said, "We will not abandon you, you will be at the Novotel... but you must meet us at gate 19-20 in thirty minutes, maybe an hour" She then took possession of my paper ticket, which really freaked me out. "You will fly at 5:45 in the afternoon tomorrow"... OK, 22 hour delay...

Two and a half hour later, closing in on midnight, about 20 of us are gathered near this gate in the darkest smokiest airport in the world. The reports are not exaggerated. I also was not permitted into the biz class lounge b/c I was not departing on a flight. We were sitting on the floor, stairs, anything but chairs, because there were about 5 chairs for 4 gates. The gate was near the smoke sucking machines, which perversely creates more smoke, since all the smokers come there... and the machines aren't really that effective.

Anyway, a smartly dressed woman shows up and shouts some orders in Russian... I follow like a sheep as she siphons us back upstream through the transfer desk area... where our passports are checked, but not stamped for entry. We stood around for another 45 minutes, then they walked us to a bus and drove 300m over tot he Novotel, where the Aeroflot employee got off the bus, but left us inside for another 30 minutes.

Finally, we walk into to the hotel. They call my name first... I'm thinking.. "must be because I'm in business class, I'm getting suite or something"... not exactly. Interior facing room with three weak lights and a filthy bathroom. About the same degree of luminescence as the airport. Outside the room in the hallway is a guard station! I am still in a sterile zone in their eyes. I can't walk to the lobby, can't go buy a water or or a vodka, can't even see the outdoors. At check-in, they keep my passport, which also freaks me out. Beats the airport floor, I keep telling myself. My room is on the third floor, and next door is the warden's office... I mean the "transfer manager".

I ask her about my checked luggage: "You will get it in Shanghai" (if the SVO thieves don't get to it first)...

Then, overnight, I discover that the flight leaving at 5:45 is actually to Beijing, not Shanghai... in fact they do not have everyday service to SH. I try to address this with my transfer manager, to no avail. She has no information about my flights, "you will find out at the airport, two hours before your flight"

I have to be escorted down to the reception desk in order to pay for my internet service, and do manage to hear the end of the Pat's vs Chargers playoff game on internet radio. I had hoped that a silver lining to this story would be getting to watch the NFL playoff games in some crazy location, like the hotel bar or even my room. This was as close as I got.

For breakfast, we are called to assemble at 9:30. En masse (only about 12 left), we are walked to a conference room, where we are served croissant, coffee and yogurt. (One yogurt at each plate... My neighboring two seats were both open, so I actually ate two and stole another... don't tell the warden)

So... cliffhanger here, how does the story end? I am still sitting in my hotel room, trying not to move too much and make my clothes dirty. No tickets, no passport, no luggage, no idea what my itinerary is... or what the weather looks like. Will my luggage make it to Shanghai with me? WIll all the contents be enclosed? I have actually kind of turned a corner and am perversely enjoying this... I really am getting the true Russian experience with lots of line waiting and secrets. Updates to come.

Cheers for the entertaining read. I'm hoping to do a short stint in MOW soon as I can find reasonable prices out of DTW.

wow, one of the more dramatic trip reports I've read in a while. Sounds like you are at least game for the adventure since you knew what you were getting into, I hope it turns out ok?

Can't wait to read the next chapter of this thriller!

I sure hope you liked all the flights. Seems quite expensive to me, but I guess I'm used to Jumbo's, and cheap biz tickets ex-Asia. I have about 40k of Biz travel in the next few months, and I think it set me back $3200 or so.

Good luck on escaping the Gulag.

Sounds intriguing! But, in the meanwhile, let's send this over to Trip Reports with a redirect left here in the nwa forum. Thanks.

Why not adding one or more stops to bring down the cost buying a RTW? Time constraints?

I was so close to booking SU to India. Until I read part two, I think i'll hold off...

What a fantastic beginning to a TR! What great suspense. There is something fantastic about paying 10K for that kind of adventure.

I hope you eventually get to Shanghai, but the Novotel and Beijing aren't horrible unscheduled stops along the way!:p

Thanks.

This is exciting, thanks for the report! Keep it coming!

I enjoyed their "CIP" lounge (no idea what the "C" is for).

CIP stands for Commercially Important Person. It's what many 'VIPs' (Very Important Person) really are - they are not genuinely important, they just spend a lot of money with that airline, so are (to them) commercially important.

Excellent report! Best of luck to you!

I couldn't help wondering... wasn't there some sort of 24 hour visa available to you? (I've had to get a 24 hour visa on a couple of occasions when stuck in an airport... not in Russia though.)

Well...here's part 2....

SVO-PVG (soon to become SVO-PEK-SHA)

After spending the morning typing previous post, the phone rang in my Novotel prison cell. It was about 2:00, "Please come meet at guard desk with your bags". The remaining 10 or 12 of us walked together down to our conference room and were fed a not entirely unpleasant 4 course dinner. Lots of opportunity to smoke between courses for my eastern european colleagues. Somehow a couple of the Chinese guys managed to get Heinekins...

After the meal, we were then escorted to the lobby, where we were handed our passports. We boarded the bus, which drove us back to the airport via a back entrance and the tarmac. Lots of unique soviet commercial aircraft to look at! I was so ready to get on my way to Shanghai...

We followed our prison warden through the airport to an aeroflot office, where we were issued our tickets. Mine was for a PVG-PEK flight in J on Aeroflot, but then PEK-PVG on China Air in Y. I noted that there was a 1 hour transfer in Beijing, which was a concern. I'd never been through this airport.

So, I hung back as the other pax rec'd their tickets, and asked whether the transfer would be enough time. She pretended not to understand. Then I asked about my baggage, "Where will I claim my bags"... she said "Shanghai"... Hmm... but "I'm flying though Beijing." She punched some things up on the dumb-terminal... slightly concerned look on her face. My baggage claim ticket printed in Turkey was still on the back of my ticket, and in pencil, the old flight number was crossed out and the new flight number was written in. Seems like a great system. She gave me her best smile and said "You will claim your bag in Beijing"... I was appropriately sceptical. I also tried to ask why I was not booked into business class... I paid a biz class fare. Smile, no answer.

Business class lounge in SVO is kind of hilarious. It has the appearance of a well used college dormitory common area. There are 0.5 liter cans of beer in a fridge! I had to have one. And an "Internet Cafe" area (two extremely worn PCs in a small room with an internet connection). I was lucky to score a spot here. This lounge is quite small and dingy, but beats standing in the corridors of SVO which is the alternative.

After passing some time in the lounge, I walked to the gate and boarded into seat 1-A. Nice seats, and good service again... I could feel myself starting to relax. I don't think it will be hard to sleep on this flight. The meal came as advertised after departure... it was great. For IFE, they hand you a little "Dig-E Player" -- I thought this was a perfectly acceptable alternative to the in-seat options on other airlines. However, my battery died 3/4 of the way through "Live Free and Die Harder" (weren't many great choices)... they didn't have a replacement. This was OK, I bonked out for a solid 3 or 4 hours.

Woke up in time to watch Mongolia pass by underneath a clear sky and moon. Wow... empty. We passed a city at one point, that must have been Ulan Bator. Maybe it covered the same area as Grand Junction Colorado or similar... other than that, every 2 or 3 valleys had a tiny settlement of a few houses, seperated by vast expanses of snow and hills.

We landed in Beijing, and I rushed to pass through customs and claim my luggage to make the tight connection. As usual on this trip, I was rushing to wait... the baggage didn't start coming out for another 30 minutes... and with each bag I watched on the conveyor belt, I knew the probability of seeing my bag was diminishing. One final rush of bags... and mine is not one of them. The bag wrangler guy signals those of us remaining, that this is all the bags you will see, please proceed to luggage claim desk. I look around... 15 people with lost luggage! I had to count, to make sure I didn't embellish for this account.. seriously, 15 people out of a 40% load 767! That's shameful. We trudge over to the lost luggage desk, which is manned by Air China employees. She tells me that my bag was registered as on the flight, and whips out some forms for me to fill out. She assures that my bag will get to me at my hotel in Shanghai. I note that another passenger from Floor 3 Novotel, was among those with lost bags. This gives me a little comfort.. maybe our bags will be on the following day's flight to PVG.

By the time I'm finished with this ordeal, I have, or course, missed my tight connection. A helpful Air China guy in the concourse tells me I have to get my paper ticket changed in order to get on another flight. Bummer. Huge line at the ticket desk, but it moves reasonably quickly. I tell her "Pudong or Hangqiao are OK"... and my ticket is amended to put me on a China Eastern flight to Hangqiao airport, leaving in a few minutes. Flight is 100% full in a brand new A330. They did get me an aisle seat... saw a few funny things... coach passengers were asking for things from the flight attendents while the plane was at the gate.... blankets, tea, newspapers... and were always obliged with a smile. Quite a contrast to domestic US coach travel. Chinese breakfast served in flight. Yikes. I ate the yogurt and some pickled vegetables, left the crazy black rice porridge concoction and gristly pork alone.

Uneventful arrival at SHA, my driver had been repositioned from PVG and we breezed out of the airport and to my hotel. I've never been so happy to see smoggy Shanghai! Took a shower at the room... great.. and discussed baggage issues with Concierge staff. They offered to help, and gave me some false confidence that my bag would get here. Unfortunately, after 4 days now, still nothing. The concierge says "Air China has telegraphed Moscow every day, and hears nothing"... telegraphed... gotta love that. Probably meant email, but it's funnier to to think about a morse code being sent on the old red line about my bag.

So, I went shopping for some additional clothes... a difficult proposition in China for a guy who is 6'-0". I thought Wal-Mart might be a good bet due to country of ownership. I got a pair of shoes and some Hanes here... both on the small side. After a couple other mis-steps, the sporting goods store Decathlon ended up as my best option... a couple T-Shirts, a fleece... now I have enough, with hotel laundry, to feel like a human being. The hotel staff have been great. Sheraton Pudong.. nice new hotel, great service.

So.. anyone out there have tips on getting either A) my bag, or B) compensation from Aeroflot? It's wierd that Air China is handling the claim, although I did not fly on them at all. My homeward flights are tomorrow PVG-NRT-MSP...

Here's hoping part 3 of this story is uneventful. It is snowing right now in Shanghai, so I have some concerns.

Great story! Thanks for sharing it. I can't wait for part 3....

A fascinating report. Good luck with everything. I'll stay tuned.

Hope the rest of your trip got better. I too am awaiting for Part 3.

Wow and people complain about a delayed bag :(

I hope the rest of your trip was a more pleasurable experience. ;)

As hoped, part 3 of my trip was unremarkable. I've done this transpac commute a fair number of times, so nothing too surprising came up.

Woke up Sunday morning, and there were a couple inches of slush on the ground. I had concerns about how the Shanghai airport would handle the snow event. Luckily, the roads were wide open, and it was raining by the time got out to the airport. It turns out that later in the day it started to snow in earnest, and did tangle up the airport big time. Close call!

I breezed through the airport check-in, passport control, and was in the business lounge a solid hour and a half before boarding. I like PVG. The tourist shops have interesting items, albeit overpriced vs the city... and the lounge is very comfortable.

Sat 2B on the 747 from PVG to NRT. Only remarkable item was a medical emergency. Sounded like a heart attack. When we landed, everyone was instructed to remain in their seat. Somehow, the ground crew had not been notified, and it turned into a total cluster. Eventually, we were told to deboard, and I had yet to see an ambulance or medic.

For the first time, I ventured over to the new worldclub in Satellite 1. Cripes! I can't believe I haven't come over here before! iMacs, Edamame, Sushi, Showers... The contrast between this lounge, and say, the F/G lounge in MSP, is really remarkable.

Sat 77A on the 747 upper for NRT-MSP. This might be my second favorite seat on the upper deck after 73A. I don't like it that your cubby hole is not very accessible, but I really like it that you can come and go without disturbing your neighbor. Japanese dinner sold out by the time they get to me. Antsy guy in 77J goes ballistic on the interpreter when they can't give him the Japanese meal. I end up ordering the Korean Beef, which was excellent, and includes a salad, which the Japanese meal lacks.

Antsy guy keeps messing with his laptop, griping to anyone who will listen, harshing my mellow. Eventually, he shorts out his chair and has to sit up the rest of the ride. 77B and I chuckle. Watched "Into the Wild", slept 4 hours, then a some bad kidnapping movie. Breeze through passport control at MSP, until the last guy, who doesn't understand why I'm traveling only with a messenger bag. He was trying to make me wait for the bags to come out "just in case your bag is on board"... In the end I show him my lost luggage receipt and he lets me go.

So, I came away from the RTW trip with new appreciation for NWA's product. It's not the lap of luxury, but you can count on them to look out for you... hold planes for 20 minutes for connections, etc. I was once stranded overnight in Tokyo by a mechanical failure, and the experience stands in stark contrast to SU...

I'll post another update when I have more information regarding the recovery of my luggage and/or compensation. So far I have received nothing. I'm going to be in Seattle next week, and will probably walk in the Aeroflot ticket office downtown to try to get some resolution.

Questions re: Trip Expense

This was a business trip, and I had a fairly inflexible schedule constraints. I worked with my in-house travel agency, with the idea of adding an overnight stop to get a RTW ticket. There weren't many Z fares between IST and PVG on Skyteam... We found a few options, but it only get the cost down by ~$800.... and it really screwed up my schedule. Just didn't look feasible. As it turns out, it may have kept me out of Moscow, which cost me 24 hours anyway. Plus my bag.

Question re: One day visa @ SVO

I have received one of these in the past in Tokyo. However, I don't believe this is available under any circumstances upon arrival at airport in Moscow. Your visa must be obtained in advance. This is what I had read on FT in advance, and saw nothing to refute this in Moscow. The fact that they have this special 3rd floor wing of the Novotel set up for the specific purpose of coralling non-visa holding foreigners, would seem to indicate that they don't offer a 24 hour visa as an option.

Wow I don't know how I missed this. Thanks for the report MSP2SEA ^

That DME transfer on my upcoming RTW is looking less attractive now.

That DME transfer on my upcoming RTW is looking less attractive now.Maybe invest in a Russian visa, just in case? Just the threat of a Novotel prison cell in case of a misconnect would justify time and expense for me :eek:

Question re: One day visa @ SVO

I have received one of these in the past in Tokyo. However, I don't believe this is available under any circumstances upon arrival at airport in Moscow. Your visa must be obtained in advance. This is what I had read on FT in advance, and saw nothing to refute this in Moscow. The fact that they have this special 3rd floor wing of the Novotel set up for the specific purpose of coralling non-visa holding foreigners, would seem to indicate that they don't offer a 24 hour visa as an option.

Japanese immigration has procedures for detaining visa-less people at guarded hotel rooms in Narita. This occasionally happens when people from no-waiver countries don't get transit visas prior to arrival, and when people are contesting an immigration decision (i.e. denial of entry) which has to go to some sort of review panel.

The only reason I know is because I spent a couple of hours in the immigration holding tank a couple of years ago (some of the paperwork on my student visa hadn't gone through correctly) and got to overhear a couple of people having this explained to them... I'm not sure if there's a dedicated area for this purpose, though.

Maybe invest in a Russian visa, just in case? Just the threat of a Novotel prison cell in case of a misconnect would justify time and expense for me :eek:

Not that easy to get visa - have to send passport away to a third country for processing. I travel too much to have passport away for too long.

MSP2SEA, excellent reports, glad to read that you got out of the Novotel, even if it was just with the clothes on your back !

As an aside on the visa discussion, the process in getting a russian visa is onerous, even for a tourist visa, a confirmation fax is required from your accommodation stating dates etc, but alot of embassies offer same day service. A multiple entry business visa requires an in country sponsor and involves many hoops including medical tests.

That DME transfer on my upcoming RTW is looking less attractive now.

Which airlines are you transiting DME with?

By most accounts, DME is light years ahead of SVO in terms of facilities, and pretty much any airline is easier to deal with (at least on the ground) than SU.

SQ will fly to IAH via DME soon. LX is in DME, LH is moving there soon. TG glyes to DME. Let's say *A moved to DME.

so did you ever end up finding your bag? ;) i would laugh if your bag finally got to Shanghai..but you're back in the states.

Still no word from Aeroflot regarding my bag or compensation. I tried dealing with their Seattle and New York offices, but can't get anyone to even answer a phone. Their ticketing reps claim they can't do anything... I haven't sucked it up and tried to call Russia yet. That's on my to do list.

Will get some photos up on flickr in the next few days.

Big news! Received a call from Beijing today. My bag arrived in Beijing "this morning" -- pretty wild. Who knows what will be left in the bag. Theoretically on the next flights to MSP and "maybe the airport will deliver to you"

Here are some flickr photos from the journey for those of you still interested in SU.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/djcn0te/sets/72157604090085008/

I've heard of taking the slow boat from China, but this seems to take the cake! :)

Bad news on the bag front.... The phone reps in Beijing had given me flight numbers (JL782 and NW14 on 3/11 and 3/12 today is 3/14)... The bag never showed up at my house.

I went down to the NW luggage counter at MSP and asked if maybe they had my bag and didn't deliver it or something. She pulled up the file, said that it was "Closed" but didn't see any delivery information. She printed off my file. She said she couldn't do anything, I needed to call the Air China desk in Beijing again.

So, back to the office, call Beijing. They tried their best to tell me that everything was OK, please be patient. Finally, after enough good ol' American pushiness, they put me on hold for a few minutes. When he picked back up he said, "We found your bag in Tokyo... there was a problem in Tokyo and your bag is going back to Moscow"

No!!!!! Couldn't have been worse news. It is impossible to get ahold of anyone in Moscow. The Air China team in Beijing has been responsive, and typically answers the phone on the second ring.

Wow. It's been two months since you've seen your bag. It's a goner! I'll keep my fingers crossed. You've got a great sense of humor.

Try calling the Airflot office in Washington DC. Haven't had to deal with them much, but the one time I did (about a ticketing issue), they were much more helpful then the NYC office.


Phone number at http://usa.aeroflot.aero/eng/contacts.asp

Bad news on the bag front.... The phone reps in Beijing had given me flight numbers (JL782 and NW14 on 3/11 and 3/12 today is 3/14)... The bag never showed up at my house.

I went down to the NW luggage counter at MSP and asked if maybe they had my bag and didn't deliver it or something. She pulled up the file, said that it was "Closed" but didn't see any delivery information. She printed off my file. She said she couldn't do anything, I needed to call the Air China desk in Beijing again.

So, back to the office, call Beijing. They tried their best to tell me that everything was OK, please be patient. Finally, after enough good ol' American pushiness, they put me on hold for a few minutes. When he picked back up he said, "We found your bag in Tokyo... there was a problem in Tokyo and your bag is going back to Moscow"

No!!!!! Couldn't have been worse news. It is impossible to get ahold of anyone in Moscow. The Air China team in Beijing has been responsive, and typically answers the phone on the second ring.

This really sucks!!!

so the story continues, eh?
and what a story it is!
thanks for posting the pix. nice to have some visuals to go along w/ the story.

i'm seriously thinking about going out of my way to look for an SU trouble by jumping in on the DXB-MOW-YYZ deal being discussed in the MR forum.. your odyssey has inspired me (i know that wasn't intention) :D. i could use an adventure after a long dormant mn winter. a 3 1/2 hr. delay at o'hare was as adventurous as it got in the way of air travel trials for me.

Looks like it may be time to close this thread out... Couple more weeks passed, made a couple calls per week to Beijing (friendly, but not able to do anything) and Moscow (no answer, or "not my problem").

Finally, I went to the "contacts" section of the Aeroflot web page... and there were a whole bunch of email addresses... of course none of them were for lost luggage. Still, I culled every one of them, and put together a politely worded nasty-gram (including link to this thread). I emailed it off Aeroflot employees all over the world. After 24 hours passed with no response, I followed it up with another email asking if anyone was planning to respond.

To my surprise, the next morning there was a note in my inbox from "???????? ?. ?." (and cc: to nycres@aeroflot.ru)

Dear [MSP2SEA],

on behalf of Aeroflot we bring our deepest apologies for the inconvenience
caused.
According to the information from Aeroflot Baggage Serach Division, today
(March 27th) your bag with rush tag #SU xxxxxx will be sent to New-York on
flight SU315. Then on March 28th it'll be loaded on connection flight DL6870
New-York-Minneapolis.
Please, stay in touch with Aeroflot representation in New-York.
One more time we bring our deepest apologies.

With best regards, Open Line.

So, sure enough, this time it takes. I get a call at work, "We'll deliver your bag between 5 and 8 tonight". About 7:30pm, almost exactly 9 weeks after my misadventures in Moscow, my bag reaches me in St. Paul. A little worse for the wear on the outside, but all my contents are still in there. Miracles never cease...

One more addition to the story. Got a call from an agent in Aeroflot's NY ticket office yesterday. He was calling to offer me a $300 flight voucher for being downgraded from business to coach class on the PEK-PVG leg of my re-ticketed trip. I told him to keep the voucher, I would not be flying on Aeroflot in the future if I could do anything to avoid it. Seems like a pretty chintzy offer given my experience... The agent was quite polite and listened to me, but said Moscow had made their decision, and he didn't think it would change.

One more addition to the story. Got a call from an agent in Aeroflot's NY ticket office yesterday. He was calling to offer me a $300 flight voucher for being downgraded from business to coach class on the PEK-PVG leg of my re-ticketed trip. I told him to keep the voucher, I would not be flying on Aeroflot in the future if I could do anything to avoid it. Seems like a pretty chintzy offer given my experience... The agent was quite polite and listened to me, but said Moscow had made their decision, and he didn't think it would change.

Wow. I read your report when you first posted it, and other than the downgrade, it didn't sound that bad. When I saw your previous posts, which I must have missed, I realized I was quite mistaken!

Sounds more like Aeroflop! :D

I love it. This is a classic Aeroflot story. The first time I flew Aeroflot (I have flown them perhaps 3 or 4 times) I was set for an adventure... the Russian IL86 and Tu154 were weird and exciting, but I didn't have to wait 9 weeks for my bags in TBS. Good on you for turning the voucher down. :)

Why not take the voucher and sell it on eBay (or just give it away)? If it takes them that long to find your bag, I doubt there they can track you. Even so, the worst thing that can happen is maybe ban you from flying lovely Aeroflot. :D At least that way you deprive them of $300. Not exactly an astronomical amount, but why not?

The agent was quite polite and listened to me, but said Moscow had made their decision, and he didn't think it would change.

Too funny. I can just imagine a group of stoic men sitting around a large table discussing your bag.

Looks like it may be time to close this thread out... Couple more weeks passed, made a couple calls per week to Beijing (friendly, but not able to do anything) and Moscow (no answer, or "not my problem").

Finally, I went to the "contacts" section of the Aeroflot web page... and there were a whole bunch of email addresses... of course none of them were for lost luggage. Still, I culled every one of them, and put together a politely worded nasty-gram (including link to this thread). I emailed it off Aeroflot employees all over the world. After 24 hours passed with no response, I followed it up with another email asking if anyone was planning to respond.

To my surprise, the next morning there was a note in my inbox from "???????? ?. ?." (and cc: to nycres@aeroflot.ru)

Dear [MSP2SEA],

on behalf of Aeroflot we bring our deepest apologies for the inconvenience
caused.
According to the information from Aeroflot Baggage Serach Division, today
(March 27th) your bag with rush tag #SU xxxxxx will be sent to New-York on
flight SU315. Then on March 28th it'll be loaded on connection flight DL6870
New-York-Minneapolis.
Please, stay in touch with Aeroflot representation in New-York.
One more time we bring our deepest apologies.

With best regards, Open Line.

So, sure enough, this time it takes. I get a call at work, "We'll deliver your bag between 5 and 8 tonight". About 7:30pm, almost exactly 9 weeks after my misadventures in Moscow, my bag reaches me in St. Paul. A little worse for the wear on the outside, but all my contents are still in there. Miracles never cease...

You did right! I've used this approach with every email address I can find and was successful finding a rep outside the US who has been my saving grace on more than a few occasions. He/she (can't tell by the name) actually handles my SU upgrades for me and occasionally drops me a line about upcoming sales, equipment changes, upgrade chances, etc. I wanna buy him/her lunch when I'm through his/her city again. He/she seems to enjoy the chance to relate to a customer who is not ticked off or unaware of realities of Russia.

Congrats on your persistance. Great story!

Why not take the voucher and sell it on eBay (or just give it away)? If it takes them that long to find your bag, I doubt there they can track you. Even so, the worst thing that can happen is maybe ban you from flying lovely Aeroflot. :D At least that way you deprive them of $300. Not exactly an astronomical amount, but why not?

I'd be curious to see what it would be worth on Ebay. I'm guessing pennies on the dollar.

Where are the board's Soviet apologists? Come on, get here and tell us how great it is at SVO and on SU! :D

I love this report and love that you finally recovered your bags--only 9 weeks later! :D

Thanks MSP2SEA!

I love this report and love that you finally recovered your bags--only 9 weeks later! :D

Thanks MSP2SEA!

Yes Great TR, My worst was 4 weeks following the Great T5 baggage scandal.

Cheers Larry.

Sounds a tad creepy experience!

Where are the board's Soviet apologists? Come on, get here and tell us how great it is at SVO and on SU! :D

Well, I will not tell you that SVO is great – this airport needs a lot of improvement, but as for story of MSP2SEA I have to tell you that I don’t see anything bad about SU except downgrading him from business-class on one segment. Well, lost luggage is very unpleasant, but it happens with every aircarrier. Once I was waiting for 4 weeks (Yes, it’s not 9 weeks, but I don’t see much difference between 9 and 4 weeks) my luggage from American Airlines, and it was as difficult to get a hold of them as with Aeroflot. (Btw, this is a problem of Aeroflot, true, that it’s difficult to call anybody except ticket rep, but it’s true for most other airlines as well. Believe me!)

Guys, you are just spoiled and used to have no visa etc. problems! It’s not Aeroflot issue, it’s just issue of immigration authorities. And in diplomatic world they play tit-for-tat – if Russian citizens have to go through the hell to get US visa (for example, right now if you want to get an US visa, you have to send your papers with Pony Express (and pay them for this ........ overpriced service) now and you will get a chance to go to US Embassy only on Jan.17th, more than a month later. Then if you’ll get a visa you will have to wait few more days. It’s a way easier to get Russian visa for US citizen, although it’s pain in the ... too, no doubt.) But as a Russian passport holder I have to tell you that we have to experience this type of problems all the time – and you face it only once in a while, when you go to some destinations like Russia. We are put in prisons like MSP2SEA all the time! I had experienced that in Canada (US visa is not enough) and Europe. Moreover, you can miss flight only because you don’t have American or European passport! Once I was flying by LH from Stuttgart to Moscow through connection in Munich, flight Stuttgart – Munich was late, so me and few Germans who were catching that flight to Moscow were picked up next to the board and have been driven in a van to a some kind of border control booth in the middle of the field. German guys passed it in a matter of seconds, as for me German border control officer was checking, double-checking, triple-checking, quadriple-checking, calling to somebody until those German guys was able to convince that van driver to leave me there and drive them to the plane, which was supposed to take off in a couple minutes! In Italy me and my friend after we got registered to flight by Swiss Air Milano – Zuerich (with Moscow being final destination) got stuck in the line in the bathroom (not even in duty free  ) and we came to boarding gates 30 seconds late, we even saw how bus doors were closed and it drove off to the plane. Swiss Air rep said us that it’s too late, that she will not hold the flight because of us (although it was still 15 or 20 minutes before scheduled departure), and she tear off our tickets!!! Fortunately, it was not our choice to fly with Swiss, we got this tickets from Aeroflot because their plane Milano – Moscow got overbooked (yes, it sucks from Aeroflot, but it happens to any airline, and especially often with American companies) and we didn’t get a place, so Aeroflot representative went to us and was able to issue (we can’t go back, because we had only one entry visa, so we had to stay in corridor with no chairs etc like MSP2SEA) us another ticket – by Alitalia – to Zuerich to catch our flight (and our luggage as well) from Zuerich to Moscow. So, in this case Aeroflot rep was very helpful.

MSP2SEA mentioned excellent service on Aeroflot board – and it’s true. I don’t know about American carriers business class, but economy class in Aeroflot is a true business class compare to that ........ in American companies. And if you want to fly Transatlantic on Delta or American or United or Continental instead of Aeroflot – I’m sorry for you guys and I’m happy that it will be easier for me to book much more comfortable flight with Aeroflot.

So, to conclude, all companies had some issues from time to time, and Aeroflot is not an exception. Lost luggage it’s a problem, sure, but all of you know that it can happen with any carrier. Downgrading from business class sucks, it’s true. But visa issues should be addressed to U.S. Department of State, since they don’t want to soften visa regulations.