asnovici

There are a few cheerleaders for S7 on this board and I used to be one of them. Recently I have been having rather unpleasant experiences with the airline and have shifted my flights to Aeroflot whenever possible.

Check in
Used to be quick and efficient at Business desks in Domodedovo. Now there are lines there, no one policing who gets into premium lines, when we checked in last time we had to wait for half an hour for a guy with passport stickers to come up while economy lines were moving swiftly. Check in lady was very apologetic but there was nothing she could do after several time trying to call that guy who works for S7 also

Lounge
That nightmare used to be Transaero lounge and it did not become much better. We all knew about any alcoholic drinks being charged for except for beer on tap, but capuccino for 330 rubles? The food is as appaling is ever but the worst is no place to seat and the temperature in the lounge. They kept accepting PriorityPass people when their own business customers and Emerald flyers couldn't find a seat. When asked about lowering the temperature the lady at the entrance said the AC is working on full throttle and its so hot because of so many people.

Inflight
No more menus. Prosecco has been downgraded to demi sweet Russian sparkling that no one in their right mind would drink. Service level depends on FAs attitude which varies greatly.

Feedback
When complaining about the lounge conditions to their Facebook team, the response came that the lounge is under construction,
and that's why there is limited space although I didn't witness construction when I was there last time. PriorityPass issue was never addressed. They prefer to make a quick buck on letting PriorityPass passengers in instead of trying to make their own premium passengers comfortable.

The airline is becoming a low cost carrier with little interest of providing service to customers that pay for it. Quite unfortunate for a carrier that used to be decent.

OpenSky

A good friend of mine who lives in MOW, who was born in the late days of Gorbachev and probably doesn't know who Yeltsin is, to give you an idea of his age ( he is a "hipster" ) loves S7, for the sole reason that S7 produces snazzy and cool marketing campaigns.
Whatever. I should note his fashionable MSK friends ( also hipsters) love S7.

On a recent domestic flight we took together on SU, I tried impart on my friend the higher quality of SU ( even domestically). The point was lost somehow. Whatever.

Serious business travelers ( who spend money on travel) know Aeroflot is of higher quality. On my last business class flight on S7, the FA apologized for the drinks selection, apparently the cuts are so bad the crew is embarrassed to serve what is in the galley.

Sometimes there is no choice. On ex Siberia routes, you are obliged to fly S7, because its the only choice. Sigh.

It could be worse. Anyone remember the SU of the early 90s?

Rami Tamimi

Count me as one of their fans!

To answer a few points:

1)Check in at DME. It is normally fast,but since they only have 3 counters (empty for the majority of time),but they get busy in peak hours. The good news is that S7 will soon acquire A LOT of new counters.They currently operate counters 109-129 and soon will operate counters 97 to 129,so that part of the airport wll be exclusively for S7.

2)Lounge. It does get busy and PP is only accepted in limited hours,but yeah I agree these limitations are not sufficient.

3)They are refurbishing the lounge.Check out the pics from 2 weeks ago. It's not perfect,but much better than the old lounge "between the floors".

4)You can get a coffee for free from the machine.

5)Menus are very inconsistent. Sometimes you get the alcohol menu and food menu,sometimes only one of the two and sometimes none at all.

dumba

It was also very hot on their planes - I took domestic and international flights earlier this year...

asnovici

Same feelings here. What they serve for drinks is beyond embarrassing. Air Koryo in Business has a wider variety (actual experience).

Lounge is a disgrace as mentioned before, possibly the worst OneWorld carrier lounge.

Service onboard has no consistency. Ranges from lovely to atrocious with more frequently on the latter side.

Agree on marketing campaign, S7 is excellent in that. But Id rather take good service than bright ad.

asnovici

Rami Tamimi,

Always appreciate your input, you are very helpful with S7 experiences.

Just to clarify on your responses to my comments:

1) There was no line at check in so its not an issue of number of agents. Its a complete disorganization when those visa stickers were only available from one guy who was missing and when he was available he only provided them to Economy agents. It just shows the level of chaos there. Waiting for close to 30 minutes at the Business desk for a passport sticker is truly low grade and the number of desks will not solve lack of responsibility on the part of the airline staff (guy with stickers was S7 employee, not airport)

2) This was around 9:30am so definitely a busy time for S7 departures, they were absolutely accepting PP card holders. No priority for actual Business passengers or OneWorld Emeralds

3) Will see what the refurbished lounge will look like but the current one is a disgrace

4) This maybe the only OneWorld carrier lounge in the world where one must pay for a simple cappuccino. The fact that drip coffee is available has no relation to this, one can get it at Jiffy Lube while getting an oil change

5) Precisely my point. Inconsistency. No menus on MUC or VRN flights. Then where are they available? if they did away with them, fine, but that's another level of slip in service. Same as serving that Russian sparkling wine swill in Business, simply yuck

Rami Tamimi

Thanks for clarifying! Below is my opinion and I am in no way trying to "override" yours,all your points are perfectly valid.

1)Okay I see what the problem is. That visa check and stickers are so annoying,you get them whenever you fly abroad from Russia,regardless the airline. I have not flown international on S7 that much so can not comment on wheter it is a regular occurence.

2)They have 2 lounges in the domestic side and one in the international side. The first one is for paid access only,it's smaller (same food e.t.c.)What they should do is to send PP to the second lounge (I am surprised it does not happen already). INTL lounge has a ban on PP from 10:00 to 14:00,but that again is not always sufficient.

3)I don't think there will be any major changes, probably just a refresh.

4) They do have a decent coffee machine (in addition to a dripper),but there is also an option to get a barista made one. Never bothered really.

5) The menus are not route dependent...they are just inconsistent. 90% of my flights with them are DME-LED and there is no pattern as to when you get the menus and if you do,which ones. It's not just the menu, sometimes the main is served in Y style plates (containers,or whatever are they called) ,sometimes you even get the cheese e.t.c on a Y style plate. There is no pattern and it's highly annoying.

6)Regarding the wine. Not a wine drinker, but everyone tells me the same thing. I drink Baileys and they don't have it and it's even more annoying than the inconsistency issue.

Still I find them much more pleasant than any European airline on shorthaul. They take good care of OW elites,they are constantly developing their IT services and they always modifying the product: new plating in J +amenity kits and bottled water on all flights in J,priority boarding ,airport upgrades (also available online),Embraers...dozens of new destinations and more...all within the last 2 years.

asnovici

Thanks, Rami Tamimi, just to let you know, they were certainly letting PP holders after 10am as I had that conversation with the agent at the registration desk at 10:30 and she was registering three guests all with PP cards.

Thats my point about the coffee, the machine doesn't make a simple cappuccino so I wouldn't call it decent, but the barista charged me 330 rubles for it, in my book it's quite ridiculous for OneWorld carrier lounge.

Rami Tamimi

I have been in the lounge a few times in the past few weeks and they have been closing off different parts of the lounge every time...but I must say that the lounge looks significantly better now *Disclaimer: I am a big fan of S7,so my opinion is very subjective*

A few pictures supplied by a friend:

Rami Tamimi

...and a few more!

Rami Tamimi

I particularly love those armchairs with footrests that you can lounge on sipping your [NOT] complimentary while facing the apron. S7 would not be S7 of course, if they did not have any strange food options....I mean what can be better than a burger in the morning?

They are currently refurbishing the 2nd floor (PC+ sleeping area), so it's temporarily closed. It's not The Pier by CX, but I do give them credit for constantly [slowly] upgrading their product.

asnovici

Thank you for posting these. The lounge looks a lot nicer after refurb.

However, I must disagree with your last statement. How can one give them credit for "upgrading their product" if in fact its going the opposite direction?

Onboard service: meal service gone down (no more nuts and fruit with premeal beverage, no more menus (I realize they may be outthere but I have not seen them in the past couple of years at all on any flights including international or domestic), beverage selection is now nothing less of atrocious (Russian sparkling swill is not a substitute for Prosecco for anyone with tastebuds or self respect in Business, wines are undrinkable even compared to Spanish stuff they had before), protein starter was replaced with salad (perhaps healthier but not tastier, this is clearly about cost savings).

Airport handling: lounge in OVB is a disgrace, when AC is not working at all and the girl at the entrance admits it hasn't for a while and the airline is doing nothing about it. Lounge itself boasts of old worn out furniture. I already mentioned the checkin fiasco in DME.

Aircraft: on a couple of flights recently I came into a cabin that reeks of body odor. I understand that some passengers may have different understanding of acceptable hygiene, but the airline should at least attempt at masking the smell during cleaning. Both time in Business and I had to sit with airvent pointing at me and trying to breath through my shirt.

Lounges: calling those items served in the lounge "food" is subjective at best, I wouldn't touch it and no one I ever traveled with would either. And I don't travel with people of high expectations. Again, basic coffee drinks that's not drip are charged for. Tables are not being cleaned until they overflow (constant issue in DME). Nothing free of charge at the bar except one type of crappy beer. Even AA could figure out how to do decent selection of edible healthy and hearty items and (stop the presses!) actual open bar at every lounge (not top shelf items, but drinkable at least and a selection of wines, beers, liquors and mixed drinks, all plural).

Its nice to see the new furniture and a couple of plant walls thrown into a lounge (lets see how it will look at peak hours when they still welcome Priority Pass holders despite promises not to do so) but the rest of the experience has gone downhill and continues to do so.

surryson

Do S7 serve alcohol in economy? The flight has no business class cabin. It is not a domestic flight.

Rami Tamimi

No alcohol in Y at all.

surryson

thank you