Jaenks

Is domestic lounge in LED open 24 hrs and is there a lounge access before early morning DME(05:20) flight? With invitation from the counter? Thank you!

Rami Tamimi

The lounge is indeed open 24/7 and you can get access before the S7 38. Check in will open at roughly 3:20am, but you don't need to visit the counter for an invitation (they don't exist acutally)...a BP with Emerald status on it will be sufficient for entry.

gosha83

Just flew out of DME today. I'm an AAdvantage ExPlat, so OW Emerald.

Received an invitation to the lounge for me + guest. The lounge is nice, if hot. Around 11am on a weekday, it was packed with pax waiting to depart. It cleared up at noon.

Food is free and a nice spread that changed from breakfast to lunch. There are self-serve free coffee machines and a pay one behind the bar. Plenty of Russian language press but nothing in English. Oh, and wifi requires a phone number to register

Rami Tamimi

They normally have the Moscow Times.

The new furniture is really nice, but the total capacity has reduced as a result...I had the same issue 12 hours earlier than you...lounge was packed and then it emptied out and became very very pleasant.

The wifi issue is a new government requirement to identify wifi users, but it's free and any international number works.

Rami Tamimi

The refurbishment is now complete in the domestic S7 Lounge. This is no CX First Class, but trust me: this is 100x times better than the setup this lounge had when S7 first got it from UN and million times better than the old lounge "between the floors"

Concerto

What sort of service can I expect in Y on S7 Airlines? I have a MUC-DME coming up followed by a shorter domestic connection. Do they actually serve you something or is it BoB service?

At online check in, are they known to offer upgrades, like POUGs at British Airways? And how the heck can I find the booking subclass? I booked a flex Economy fare.

Rami Tamimi

MUC-DME will get you a lunch box with a hot meal (normally 2 options)...something like this. On the shorter flights, you will be served a cheese/chicken sandwhich +hot/cold beverages. No alcohol...No BOB.

POUG are pretty cheap and range between 4000 and 10000RUB.
NEW:S7 Airport Upgrade

Since MUC is in Zone 3, it would cost you 8000RUB, which is about 118EUR, but it can vary by a few (5-10) Euros if your ticket is priced in EUR. It's available when OLCI starts (T-30) and there are no stupid restrictions like on BA...it totally depends on availability in J cabin. Also, note that POUG does not get you lounge access/extra baggage or miles (unless you are S7 FFP member).

As a BA Bronze/ oneworld Ruby, you can get an extra 1PCS@23KG even if you are on the Hand Baggage Only Fare+extra space seats (bulkhead/ emergency exit row seats) and a pretty good chance to get an op up+ the standard Ruby benefits.

Finding the booking designator is indeed a headache and the only place it will appear in is your Boarding Pass. If you are really curious though you can call/email S7 and ask them.

Concerto

I will answer over in the thread you referenced above, because that is about upgrades and this thread is about declining standards at S7.

Concerto

I quite enjoyed my Economy trip on S7 Airlines the other day and the price was certainly right! The A321 plane from MUC to DME was almost empty, about 35 passengers. So it was possible to move about. A choice of hot meal was served and I was able to try both because there were so few people. It wasn't great cuisine but better than nothing. The meal tray also had a shredded carrot salad, some rye bread, a nice chocolate bar (the Russians make great chocolate!) and a sweet jelly with fruit bits in it. Drinks were less spectacular, with somewhat watery fruit juices. I recommend the sparkling water and rather good tea with lemon.

The inside of the cabin, with its jolly multicolored headrests, had a slightly budget feel to it. All in all, a good experience though. The next flight, DME to KUF, was almost full and seat pitch was not good plus the seat gave me some back pain. The same drinks were served and a generous double pack of chicken sandwiches. Landing in the fog and rain at KUF was slightly nervy.

Rami Tamimi

So I guess you did not end up buying an upgrade?

S7 is certainly not a luxury airline, but what I like about them is the efficiency and constant product development ... and they take good care of me as an FFP.

Not a fan of the Alyonka (Алёнка) that they give onboard... the original one which retails for 50RUB in the supermarkets is much better

Concerto

Definitely not worth the upgrade for the EUR120 they were offering at check in. No lounge and no miles?? Come on!!!

OpenSky

I think you folks are bring unrealistic. The nice service within Russia / from Russia is on SU ( which i happen to like). If that is what you want please fly SU ( not subsidiary's) and please also be willing to pay the fares SU is asking.

S7 offers convenient connections / access to parts of the world east of the Urals, and places like VVO, besides snazzy ad campaigns. Acceptable service, not super luxury.

Rami Tamimi

Each to his own I guess. As an RJ Emerald, I get treated really well by S7... this is something that S7 does much better than SU:

-Extra Space Seats (SU only gives those to their own elites);
-First Class lounges...yes they are not everywhere, but as a regular on the HKG route, access to The Pier/ Wing F is a big deal for me. Much better than the Skyteam lounge;
-Moscow lounge. Again, the refurbished (see my pics in the post above) S7 lounges are very pleasant, spacious, airy and offer decent catering. SU lounges are always overcrowded;
-LED lounges. This is where SU beats S7 since they have their own lounge, which is much better than the airport lounge used by S7.
-Op-ups. They don't upgrade me as often as they used to since 738s got J capacity reduced from 12 to 8 and A319 from 8 to 0, but these are still much more common than op-ups on SU.
-IT. SU's IT is just awful
-Priority security in DME. I would almost always clear security within a minute.

Again, I can see why some people choose SU and I have nothing against their opinion, but for me, my travel patterns and my personal needs, S7 beats SU.

asnovici

Does S7 offer van transfer for lounge guests on domestic flights departing DME? my guess is no, bit this Emerald would like to know since they advertise "separate transport to the aircraft" for S7 lounge guests.

Rami Tamimi

Ruby and above and J pax do get a van and priority boarding on ex DME flights and it is strictly enforced, but the other lounge guests (Priority Pass, paid entry etc) don't.