frenchft

Since they are no more flights between Russia and Ukraine what are the best routes for flying between the 2 countries :

- Air Moldova
- Belavia
- Turkish
- Any idea?

Mike_P

Air Baltic seems reasonably priced. Plus you get the coverage of EU conpensation should there be a significant delay.

fifty_two

Yes ! air baltic if kiev is your final destination in ukraine , if not fly with Turkish airlines

woody125

I'm a huge B2 fan (simple, clean, reliable, and kinda old school service) so I'll suggest that though I'm not sure what the transit issues are for you visa wise through Minsk. I think B2 flies to both airports in Kiev as well so one might be more advantageous for you than another. airbaltic is ok but if you've never flown the before (as I found out last summer) you can get nickeled and dimed (or whatever your paper/coin currency is) to death.

mith

Railroad? I believe that there are still direct trains.

frenchft

Interesting, sounds that i don't need visa if i stay in the transit area (schengen passeport). Belavia could be an option as they have more and more flight from different cities in ukraine since the problems last october. Will give it a try.

Air baltic not an option as i flew with them 2 years ago and got a so-so overall experience (not that cheap for very cheap low cost experience).

frenchft

They are... 13 hours and i'm not a huge fan of crossing border by train (neither of the ex soviet union trains, already did Bucarest > chisinau... enough for me)

bcmatt

Another vote for Belavia (B2). Simple and straightforward. No bells and whistles, but get the job done. Plus they have probably been adjusting the schedule to fill the gap in the Kyiv-Moscow market and improve connections.

For Russian-speakers this mock ad for B2 was doing the rounds last year: Flying you to the countries your president [Putin] is pissed off with!

woody125

Awesome poster! And oh so true. Glad we have some Belavia fans here.

chalf

+1

I've never flown Belavia. If they could pull this off they even have a business model for medium-term growth (sadly).

bcmatt

This has not gone unnoticed elsewhere!

http://belarusdigest.com/story/ukrai...line-hub-23610

http://rbth.com/business/2015/10/29/...ine-now_535181

svajcarac

Air Serbia (Etihad managed and partly owned) will take up flights to Kiev in June. Air Serbia product is very good in Economy and great in Business, pricing usually moderate.

frenchft

So, i have tried all the above options.
1. Air moldova : never more (delayed / canceled / over packed).
2. Turkish : ok and i credit miles. Connections are so - so (minimum 8 hours)
3. Air Baltic : cheap but you pay for what you get. Not an option, it's a low cost (and low cost on each aspect of the product).
4. Belavia : great value for money but they don't want to status match + i don't know what to do with their miles.
5. Lot : my favorite option to date.

So i go for LOT, because the connection is easy and short + i credit *A miles (they are not very generous but not bad) + *A Gold (luggage / priority / sometimes premium eco upgrade / lounge access). If i don't find good price with LOT i fly Belavia but it's a pain to loose miles (i don't know where to credit them).

Anyone know how where to credit belavia miles?

fifty_two

As the point of ''where to credit miles and also use my status'' was not a part of your first post , now the story is different

Yes LOT can be a good choice in your case , the conection time are quite short , they have also codeshare with aeroflot , so you can fly with SU under LO code , there are 5 flights per day from waw to svo (2 LO / 3 SU) , so in case your kbp-waw is late , you are not completely ....ed up

Only thing is that their middle-haul flight is basic , like LH or AF , otherwise its ok , transit by WAW is not a pain in the ... , the airport is quite small and you will even not leave the non-schengen zone.

If you think about prices , BT or B2 are your best choices

If you have other new requirements , please write them

TheFlyingPanda

Do they have to be stopovers in WAW or could a London-Moscow dorect be credited? I wonder as if I can do a direct from London without stopover credited to M&M that would be perfect!