LapLap

My husband and I have both flown the LHR-SVO-NRT route (and back) in Y.

MrLapLap had no complaints and I found my own flights to be remarkably pleasant. I'll even go so far as to say that my starter on the SVO-NRT went beyond being excellent - it was just smoked salmon and buttered brown bread, but perfectly done. The rest of the (special fish) meal would have been unremarkable if Air France hadn't given me the exact same thing on my next flight from NRT wth them and rendered it completely inedible.

I still remember the young man serving as cabin crew on the SVO-NRT part of the trip. He hardly spoke any English (and there's no reason why he should, it wasn't an ex UK flight) but I've never met any FA who was more charming or more willing to please or accommodate me - or the passengers around me. There were no communication problems whatsoever.

I actually enjoyed my hours in SVO. Sure the officials there were quite surly, but everyone I spoke to in the duty free shops was very pleasant.

They even gave us slippers and eyemasks in Y - they're very light, they're durable (you can stick them in the washing machine) they do they're job so well I still use mine and pack them into my cabin bag (much better than the absorbent socks you get in C from UA, bmi or AC for mid flight toilet trips)

The 'highlights' of my trips with Aeroflot (apart from the slippers ) I understand were variable and dependent on somewhat random factors. But just as likely as it might be for you to end up with a rude or dour FA, there's also the possibility you could have someone who is sweet and charming.

I still have a letter from MrLapLap which he wrote to me from SVO (he had to wait for 13 hours for his connection.. we did know about this) I just re-read it to confirm his impressions, and yes, he quite liked it - usually he hates airports.

Aeroflot get a thumbs up from me, I'd choose them for longhaul in Y over AF and LH (and certainly IB) any day. In fact I'd go to NRT via Moscow more often if the cost of a visa to get out and see the city wasn't so exhorbitant. YMMV

youngbru

My trip went well. The biggest difficulty was that Aeroflot is unable to work with e-tickets and I was required to convert to a paper ticket before boarding. The in-flight magazine says that it is a problem with Russian aviation regulations but that new laws will go into effect soon to allow e-tickets. It probably would have been simple if I hadn't gotten to Hong Kong early. The Cathay people that support Aeroflot in HK were unable to help me other than to assure me that everything would be OK. When the Aeroflot people got there 3 hours before flight time, things went smooth enough. (other than the fact that HK airport made me check my bag as it was "too big" even though I have carried it on hundreds of times on many airlines including boarding in HK maybe a dozen times!)

It was a 767 from HK to Moscow. Boarded and departed on time. I was in Biz class. The electronic controls on my assigned seat were not working but there were plenty of empty seats so I moved to another seat. The seats reclined to "near flat" and I went to sleep soon after takeoff. The seat was really quite comfortable for sleeping - comparable to a little bit better than the NW World Business Class seats that I am used to. Since I slept the first 7 hours of the flight, I missed dinner so I cannot comment on that. But when I woke up, the FA checked on me and brought me breakfast - some sort of ground meat on rice, not really to my liking but hot. She also offered me my dinner but I declined. I worked on my computer the rest of the flight. There were USA style power plugs in the seat but they did not work. I asked about them and the FA said she would check but I never heard anything back. There was no in-seat IFE but several passengers had a portable movie player of some kind - looked like it played 8mm video tapes. Overall it was a pleasant experience. The FAs were pleasant and attentive and their English as passable.

SVO airport seemed quite dated. I had to get my SVO-VIE boarding pass at the transit desk there which was kind of a pain - probably related to the no e-ticket issue. Only one person working the transit desk when we got there but I was only 3rd person in line so not a problem for me. The line was pretty long when I left though. Duty free shopping was pretty good I thought. The First class lounge was OK - fit the general theme of the airport. Overall the airport was OK and I would not work to avoid it in the future. Don't know if there are other terminals- it seemed pretty small. Don't know what it would be like to switch terminals.

Almost missed my SVO-VIE flight as I set my watch to the wrong time zone! That was a A319. First class seats leather with fairly deep recline. Similar to CO domestic I would say. Again, FAs were attentive and polite with passable English. Breakfast was a choice between the apple Blinz? that I had (sort of a thin pancake filled with apples) or a omlette. It was typical airline food quality.

Overall my experience was quite positive. Given the fact that Aeroflot is a member of Skyteam and the flight was almost $1000 less than other alternatives, I would definitely consider Aeroflot in the future. I do hope the get the e-ticket situation worked out though. Does anyone know anything more about that?

apoivre

They signed the new law last Friday, I believe. It is now possible to travel on an eticket on a Russian airline. You'll only need to exchange it for a paper ticket if you need to claim some taxes back - a non-issue for anyone who doesn't happen to pay taxes in Russia.

cingmot

Ohhhhhh no sir. Not at all. Whines are 100% free on Flyertalk.

youngbru

Great! Given that I will definitely fly Aeroflot again.

If I wanted to take a long layover in SVO and get out and do a little sightseeing, how difficult is that to do? I have a USA passport. I think a visa is required, right? Does it need to be applied for in advance or can it be obtained in SVO? How expensive is it? How long should I allow to get into the Red Square area and back? Are there organized tours?

That is probably enough questions!
If anyone else has done it I would appreciate hearing about your experience.

apoivre

You'll need a visa and it'll have to be arranged in advance - jump over to the Russia branch of FT, plenty of info there. Using the train, you should be able to make it to Red Square, have some time there and be back in about 4 hours. (5 hours minimum if you're not being particularly adventurous).

The new SVO3 (the SkyTeam terminal) should be ready by November 2007.

GuyverII

My experience with Aeroflot began six months ago due to relocation. My wife and I have flown out of FRU to/from SVO on Aeroflot seven times since then. The Airbus 319s are quite nice and new, although cramped back in Economy. No amenities to speak of, no music or movies for the 4+ hour flight. Bring your iPod! Business wasn't much better, but the seats are nice and the care package is packed.

The international flight from SVO to JFK leaves much to be desired. Each time we've been stuck on an old, rickety 767. We've yet to have a seat control panel that works, and the service on board has been poor at best. The flight is 10+ hours, they feed you during hour 1, then 8 hours of famine until the last 1.5 hours. One movie during that whole time, without sound. Four business class passengers on our last trip inbound moved from up front to back in economy to get more room (only 53 on our last flight back in cow class). Must be less than standard up there, too!

Safety issues bother me as well--I've yet to see any cabin member enforce regulations; oversize bags in empty seats, passengers at full recline during take off and landing, and the worst, passengers using cell phones and other electronics during take off and landing, passengers standing up immediately after landing.

Baggage issues plague Aeroflot; one of our friends working at the Aeroflot office in FRU told us not to check in luggage through SVO due to employees rifling through your luggage looking for goodies. We still have one bag that has never arrived since arriving last August.

Boarding has always been cattle-call. That's my pet peeve, considering on the Skyteam website priority boarding for Elite plus and Business passengers was supposed to start last July.

Although not Aeroflot's fault per se, FRU and SVO are the two worst airports I've flown to. SVO looks like a refugee camp, and the business lounge is always packed and filled with passengers' garbage. Unfortunately, all of our flights have had at least a TEN hour layover at SVO. We usually get a corner seat at the lounge and stay put til departure. Aeroflot does not offer a hotel for those kind of layovers--and if you want one, you get a Soviet era dump of a room for $300. Most telling is the large banner at the entrance to duty free: "Moscow: It's Another World".

Heh.

If you do have to fly into the CIS, our experience with Turkish Air has been much better, and IST giving you a SWEET room during your long layovers and Istanbul, with all due respect, is much more tourist friendly than Moscow.

In any case, if you have to come into Bishkek in the next six months, pm me if you need any help/advice. Heck, we can even take you out to dinner.

OT: Don't even get me started on the disaster that is the ex-Soviet Union.

GuyverII

That made me laugh.

apoivre

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....0&postcount=17

GuyverII

Heh. My thoughts exactly.

GuyverII

This is a first: Aeroflot playing the same movie SVO-JFK then JFK-SVO. Freaky Friday. The flight, and the movie, were miserable.

The lounge in SVO is SO PACKED RIGHT NOW. What a disaster.

SkyTeam777

Is this still the case? I'll be at SVO in mid-November.

apoivre

No, they seem to be behind the schedule. The latest I heard is construction works might be over before the end of the year but it won't be operational yet. An article I read in the Russian press mentioned SU would be moving its operations to SVO3 on March, 31, 2008. (I'll know a lot more about it in a couple of weeks)

headinclouds

Slightly OT, but related to Aeroflot, is how to view one's reservation online? I booked a ticket using DL points, and have called SU in the USA. All is OK, I have the Sabre-like PNR. On virtuallythere.com, the reservation is found but can't be displayed due to a lack of password/email address. HUH? Do I have to join SU's FF pgm, get an account, then check it on their web site?

KVS

Without an e-mail address/password being entered in your Aeroflot/Sabre PNR, you won't be able to see it.