Originally Posted by
diesel7
Hello everyone! Couldn't find any info on FT about this company / flight, so thought I would write a little review after my trip last month. Might be useful for someone traveling to Tbilisi, Georgia...
Here i think you could , just dig deeper into
european sub-section of forum (but beware of all unwanted results due to state of georgia in the USA) or otherwise go to airlinequality or flight-report
Originally Posted by
diesel7
the locals were quite surprised that "Airzena" was still flying and recommended me to try TK or LH next time
yes cause it's awful in economy and high prices (from pax point of view) aren’t justified when compared with competitors
Originally Posted by
diesel7
NONE of the lounges in 2C allowed me entry, even though I was flying in business and had FB Gold status
AF have lounges in 2C ?? as far as I know they don’t , and in your case the only lounge you could use in such situation is in 2F
The rules are different regarding lounges when flying on codeshares , so next time check before flying
Originally Posted by
sydunipete
Thanks. I really enjoy Tbilisi and have my second trip planned there shortly. Why is it that the vast majority of flights seem to land and leave in the small hours of the morning?.
Its because most of these flights are connecting to bigger hubs so thats why they come and leave in the middle of night
Airlines like OS, A3 , B2, LO, AF, LH, LY, etc .... i can add PS and SU in the list as mean to explain myself .
PC is in same box as TK , they also fly there during daytime . Only partial exception was AF cause they also had a day flight to TBS , no idea why ....
The arrival & departure times means you can use small/medium size planes during less busy hours to bring paxs there , then right away return and allow others to catch all connecting flights in the hubs . By doing so no need to park the plane and crew in TBS
Its not only TBS but also in EVN and GYD , they follow the same pattern
Other smaller airports in the region like NAJ or BUS have different situation , so it doesnt apply for them
Originally Posted by
sydunipete
I only found one suitable option (TK) that left during daylight hours. Bizarre.
Its not bizzare , its just because TK model and situation is different than northern/western competitors
.
- IST and SAW airports can work 24/7
- most of TK destinations from IST or SAW have 2 or 3 flights per day
- the demand is high and constant to/from TBS regardless of season
- TBS is not far from IST/SAW, its almost like a domestic flight to RZV or TZX
.
Originally Posted by
hugolover
Fares on TBS-EVN are nuts, 35 mins. 330EUR rt. I can see why Georgians think it's rubbish. I guess these fares are to support empty C cabins.
It's not even 25 mins in the air , i flew TBS-EVN and paid a bit less but similar price
But , to be fair , this is not european union which is a unique competitive market , an such high price for short international flight can often be seen elsewhere
Yes , they (and other airlines flying that route) know it , little competition and somehow good demand . As those are only sold as p2p flights they know they charge a lot due to lack of real competition
Of course money-savers can always travel by land , take around 5h by car and a bit more by bus (without taking border crossing into account), so they assume people taking it want to save time by spending money instead
Originally Posted by
sydunipete
This year we will be spending a few days in Batumi and taking the Stadler train across to Tbilisi and will also do a few day tours from Tbilisi
Armenia, lots of mountains, making Kachapuri all sound like fun.
Enjoy , if you have any questions about tbilisi or georgia let me know , there is a lot to visit , better to come here for spring
Flying within the region can be costly , so plan it in advance or allow yourself enough time for commuting betweeen countries
Beware of tensions between azerbaijan and armenia , so you will get questions next time you go to armenia about azerbaijan and vice-versa