Eastern-most cities in Russia for award travel
Mar 21, 2016, 4:29 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Programs: TK E+
Posts: 398
Eastern-most cities in Russia for award travel
Hi everyone
What are the eastern-most Russian cities (closest to Korea / Japan) that can be travelled to using award bookings in the same way as traveling to Moscow (i.e. belong to the same zone) ?
Searching on aa.com for instance, there's no availability on S7 on many different dates to KHV, which seems very odd. I'm interested in options on all 3 alliances. Thanks!
What are the eastern-most Russian cities (closest to Korea / Japan) that can be travelled to using award bookings in the same way as traveling to Moscow (i.e. belong to the same zone) ?
Searching on aa.com for instance, there's no availability on S7 on many different dates to KHV, which seems very odd. I'm interested in options on all 3 alliances. Thanks!
Mar 22, 2016, 5:27 pm
#2
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: IKT>YFC
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 25
I'm not sure where you are flying from/to.
S7 flights from Western Russia to Far East usually connect in OVB (e.g. DME-OVB-VVO/KHV)
oneworld usually has plenty of reward seats DME-IKT on S7, we flew there last summer for 12500 Avios OW per person.
Stop in IKT for a few days and take a side trip to lake Baikal (train or bus).
From there, there are direct flights to mainland China (e.g. IKT-PEK)
S7 flights from Western Russia to Far East usually connect in OVB (e.g. DME-OVB-VVO/KHV)
oneworld usually has plenty of reward seats DME-IKT on S7, we flew there last summer for 12500 Avios OW per person.
Stop in IKT for a few days and take a side trip to lake Baikal (train or bus).
From there, there are direct flights to mainland China (e.g. IKT-PEK)
Mar 22, 2016, 6:10 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Programs: TK E+
Posts: 398
I'm not sure where you are flying from/to.
S7 flights from Western Russia to Far East usually connect in OVB (e.g. DME-OVB-VVO/KHV)
oneworld usually has plenty of reward seats DME-IKT on S7, we flew there last summer for 12500 Avios OW per person.
Stop in IKT for a few days and take a side trip to lake Baikal (train or bus).
From there, there are direct flights to mainland China (e.g. IKT-PEK)
S7 flights from Western Russia to Far East usually connect in OVB (e.g. DME-OVB-VVO/KHV)
oneworld usually has plenty of reward seats DME-IKT on S7, we flew there last summer for 12500 Avios OW per person.
Stop in IKT for a few days and take a side trip to lake Baikal (train or bus).
From there, there are direct flights to mainland China (e.g. IKT-PEK)
Good to know about the DME-IKT on S7, but it being avios means a huge amount if I'm arriving, say, from the UK.
Mar 23, 2016, 12:49 am
#5
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
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From Europe, and I'm looking for a sweet spot which will allow me to fly very close to Japan/Korea for very few miles (preferably in J), and then I can hop over the rest of the distance with either some low cost cash flight, or a distance based redemption eg. avios.
Good to know about the DME-IKT on S7, but it being avios means a huge amount if I'm arriving, say, from the UK.
Good to know about the DME-IKT on S7, but it being avios means a huge amount if I'm arriving, say, from the UK.
Mar 23, 2016, 3:57 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Programs: TK E+
Posts: 398
Mar 23, 2016, 6:28 am
#7
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: PEK
Programs: A3*G, UA Gold EY Silver
Posts: 8,958
From Europe, and I'm looking for a sweet spot which will allow me to fly very close to Japan/Korea for very few miles (preferably in J), and then I can hop over the rest of the distance with either some low cost cash flight, or a distance based redemption eg. avios.
Good to know about the DME-IKT on S7, but it being avios means a huge amount if I'm arriving, say, from the UK.
Good to know about the DME-IKT on S7, but it being avios means a huge amount if I'm arriving, say, from the UK.
You're looking to go to VVO then. You'll need a Russian visa.
Mar 23, 2016, 3:41 pm
#9
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: IKT>YFC
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 25
I'd be suspicious that it would be expensive and/or inconvenient to get from far eastern Russia to Japan or South Korea. You might not like the eastern Russian airports, aircraft, or service. Food and lodging could also be an issue, depending on your standards. Don't forget that Russia probably means a visa, double-entry if you return using the same route.
Aircraft may be hit and miss on short-haul domestic flights in Western Russia and/or local airlines. Medium/long-haul flights on Aeroflot and S7 use newer planes, and the quality of service on DME-IKT is better than, say, AA's BOS-LAX.
Roads and traffic in large cities are bad though.
Mar 30, 2016, 3:08 am
#10
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: LGW/MLA
Programs: AX/Accor/IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond, SPG/Carlson Gold, BA Silver, KM Permanent, JJC (Retd)
Posts: 607
But they won't let you book beyond the Urals. Availability will show, but the tickets won't calculate the tax.
BA avios are fine.
The last time I used AAdvantage to get from London to Moscow and then Avios to get to Irkutsk.
BA avios are fine.
The last time I used AAdvantage to get from London to Moscow and then Avios to get to Irkutsk.