New Aeroflot Fares scheme ( effective November 1, 2016)
 

Any comments?

The biggest devaluation I see, is that upgrades at check in using miles now require the purchase of "flex" fare only. Previously lower fare groups allowed for upgrade at check in ( usually Russia or Europe only, not intercontinental)

See here

The end result I see if probably more op-ups for Elite Bonus Members :rolleyes:,

Devalaution of the program.
 

I agree that it looks like the made it worse. Classic Economy used to allow for upgrade (used myself) - that is sad since that fare is not that cheap.

It may look like that they are increasing number of miles give for Classic Business (150-200%).

Otherwise, it does not look any different (well more complicated on change fees):td:

Major bummer. I upgraded comfort to business on two intercontinental flights last month but looks like this no longer will be possible.

Its basically a huge devaluation of the Aeroflot Bonus program. I am wondering if they will honor the old rules for fares purchased before November ?

In my experience, no. Last year they switched all S and A fares from "premium" (booked in June for flight in December) to "value", only announcing the change in Russian. Tickets bought before October (not sure which day) were converted without our knowledge. The English website falsely stated that fares would be honored as per booking date. We later were unable to change the date and also earned less miles (150% instead of 200%).

I'm also surprised that both Mrs. Hesbo and yours truly haven't received any email notification about the new tariffs. We are both gold. A friend of ours is blue and informed us.

We've quickly booked a few HKG-SVO returns in A for next year and upgraded to O.

The new rules are literally absurd. To get a Comfort-Business upgrade, one has to buy a flex Comfort ticket. Here is a funny thing: Comfort Flex in Feb. costs more than a Business class ticket.

Its not yet November 1, so I'm waiting to see how these will be implemented. Until then, i hope the old rules apply to fares purchased before Nov 1.

Just checked HKG-SXF: the new flex A(f) (comfort) is about 85€ more expensive than the old semi flex A(z) on a return flight. Considering the extra miles and added flexibility, I find that quite ok.

Its not as bad as I suspected. I just took a quick look at the routes I frequent. The fare was the same as before, with slight increases, depending on what you are looking at.

Basically the 'flex" branding was expanded to lower booking classes, so not full Y or full W or J only respectively. That is what I initially feared. It would be suicide for SU to do that.

Technically it was not possible to buy these new fares until today, November 1, 2016, the jury is still out if the old rules apply for tickets purchased prior to the switch.

I am taking an SU flight in about two weeks, departing outside MOW so I suppose i will find out.

I flew SVO-JFK today, Nov/1/2016. Got an upgrade S to J for 17.5k miles (as usual)

Update: I've found an explanation while trying to book a SU flight for January. "S" is now considered "Flex", so the only change related to preimum economy now is that "A" is not upgradable anymore. It's a pity, but I can survive this :)

Great news!!! Thanks for the update.

Fyi: whether a fare is flex or classic is now shown by the second letter (a, s, w can all be flex, as long as the second letter is F. E.g. AF or SF).

Hi
as a frequent flyer with Aeroflot.
it seems that with the new rules we cannot combine fare classes
Flying one way Business and return in Premium economy,
Or combine flex economy with other
Is it just me or did i miss something

Have you tried the "new reservation system"? It seems to allow combining Economy/Comfort/Business as long as they are in the same brand (e.g. flex+flex) on return legs. I've attached a screenshot below for the return leg.


I confirm that neither the Aeroflot "normal reservation system" online nor the phone booking center allow combining Economy/Comfort/Business even when in the same brand (flex+flex). However, they are able to price even open jaw itineraries with mixed cabin class (e.g. AFMA+LFMA).

No, it is not you. I had the same experience. The flexibility is gone. And I also get crazy fares, like $2000 for flights from LED to NYC in comfort, whereas if I buy LED to SVO and then SVO to JFK separately, in the same class, it costs $700.

Another thing that came up is that due to the first fare letter across saver to flex, you will earn the same amount of miles with Flying Blue on Aeroflot flights. Thus, whether you pay the promo fare or the most expensive economy class, the miles will be the same. The same rule applies to two Business Class bands.

I called Flying Blue about this, but their scheme will not change along with Aeroflot's change. It does not seem logic to me though.