I want to fly on Russian-built aircraft
Sep 3, 2008, 10:20 am
#1
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I want to fly on Russian-built aircraft
A quick check on Kayak.com reveals that Aeroflot uses Tupolev 154 equipment on the SVO-LED route.
What other routes use the TU-154? Also, are any of the other planes such as the IL-62, TU-134, etc. still in service?
What other routes use the TU-154? Also, are any of the other planes such as the IL-62, TU-134, etc. still in service?
Sep 3, 2008, 11:25 am
#2
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There you go:
[KVS Availability Tool 3.2.0/Platinum - Amadeus: Timetable/NL-BCDF]
[KVS Availability Tool 3.2.0/Platinum - Amadeus: Timetable/NL-BCDF]
Code:
MOW Moscow Metro RU = SVO DME VKO BKA GDX Magadan RU [UHMM] SUN 28 Sep 2008 - 05 Oct 2008 Carrier Flight From Depart To Arrive A/C St Frequency | Dur'n | Dep T | Arr T | Effect | Ending | Exceptions --------- ------ ---- --------- ---- --------- ---- ---- ---------------------------------------------------------------- ZA 621 DME 18:50 GDX 10:00 +1 IL6 0 12-4-67 07:10 - - 04 Aug 05 Oct SU 783 SVO 14:55 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 1 12-45-7 10:15 1 - 09 Sep 07 Oct R3 474 VKO 19:30 YKS 07:50 +1 752 0 ----5-- 10:35 - - 15 Aug 03 Oct -> R3 409 YKS 08:50 +1 GDX 14:05 +1 AN4 0 - - S7 175 DME 14:30 OVB 21:20 EQV 0 12-45-7 10:40 - - 28 Sep 05 Oct -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - GW 182 DME 20:05 KRR 22:05 YK2 0 -2----- 11:25 - D 29 Jul 30 Sep -> ZA 624 KRR 23:00 GDX 15:30 +1 IL6 0 - - XF 311 VKO 13:05 SVX 17:20 320 0 1---5-- 12:05 D - 12 Sep 06 Oct -> UT 498 SVX 17:55 OVB 21:10 TU3 0 - - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - S7 1149 DME 19:20 KRR 21:20 319 0 -2----- 12:10 - - 02 Sep 30 Sep -> ZA 624 KRR 23:00 GDX 15:30 +1 IL6 0 - - SU 845 SVO 12:50 LED 14:20 TU5 0 ---4--- 12:20 1 1 18 Sep 02 Oct -> FV 501 LED 15:50 OVB 22:35 TU5 0 1 - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - S7 39 DME 12:45 LED 14:10 319 0 ---4--- 12:25 - 1 18 Sep 02 Oct -> FV 501 LED 15:50 OVB 22:35 TU5 0 1 - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - UN 127 DME 12:35 OVB 19:35 735 0 -----6- 12:35 - - 04 Oct 11 Oct -> S7 3289 OVB 20:35 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 1 - - UN 127 DME 12:35 OVB 19:35 735 0 12-45-7 12:35 - - 29 Sep 07 Oct Sun 28 Sep -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - SU 735 SVO 12:25 SVX 16:55 735 0 1---5-- 12:45 1 - 12 Sep 06 Oct -> UT 498 SVX 17:55 OVB 21:10 TU3 0 - - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - R3 728 VKO 18:40 KRR 20:40 TU5 0 -2----- 12:50 - - 16 Sep 30 Sep -> ZA 624 KRR 23:00 GDX 15:30 +1 IL6 0 - - FV 124 SVO 12:05 LED 13:25 TU5 0 ----5-- 13:05 1 1 03 Oct 03 Oct -> R3 488 LED 14:40 OVB 21:35 TU5 0 - - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - R3 478 VKO 17:00 YKS 05:30 +1 752 0 ----5-- 13:05 - - 03 Oct 24 Oct -> R3 409 YKS 08:50 +1 GDX 14:05 +1 AN4 0 - - H8 667 SVO 23:15 KHV 14:00 +1 T20 0 1-3--6- 13:10 1 - 29 Sep 04 Oct -> H8 403 KHV 17:00 +1 GDX 20:25 +1 IL6 0 - - S7 179 DME 11:45 OVB 18:50 EQV 0 12-45-7 13:25 - - 28 Sep 05 Oct -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - S7 179 DME 11:45 OVB 18:50 319 0 -----6- 13:25 - - 04 Oct 11 Oct -> S7 3289 OVB 20:35 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 1 - - UN 139 DME 11:25 SVX 15:40 735 0 1---5-- 13:45 - - 22 Sep 06 Oct -> UT 498 SVX 17:55 OVB 21:10 TU3 0 - - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - U6 271 DME 11:10 SVX 15:20 T5M 0 1------ 14:00 - - 22 Sep 06 Oct -> UT 498 SVX 17:55 OVB 21:10 TU3 0 - - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - UT 369 VKO 11:05 LED 12:25 TU3 0 ---4--- 14:05 - - 18 Sep 02 Oct -> FV 501 LED 15:50 OVB 22:35 TU5 0 1 - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - E5 22 DME 11:05 KUF 13:40 733 0 ------7 14:05 - - 21 Sep 05 Oct -> H8 356 KUF 17:05 OVB 22:05 TU5 0 - - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - UT 369 VKO 11:05 LED 12:25 TU3 0 ----5-- 14:05 - - 03 Oct 03 Oct -> R3 488 LED 14:40 OVB 21:35 TU5 0 - - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - SU 771 SVO 17:25 KRR 19:40 320 0 -2----- 14:05 1 - 30 Sep 30 Sep -> ZA 624 KRR 23:00 GDX 15:30 +1 IL6 0 - - UT 485 VKO 11:00 KUF 13:25 735 0 ------7 14:10 - - 21 Sep 05 Oct -> H8 356 KUF 17:05 OVB 22:05 TU5 0 - - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - SU 719 SVO 19:10 VVO 10:50 +1 763 0 --3---- 14:10 1 - 01 Oct 22 Oct -> XF 379 VVO 13:00 +1 GDX 17:20 +1 TU5 0 - - UT 353 DME 10:55 15:50 TU3 0 1------ 14:15 - - 15 Sep 06 Oct -> UT 339 17:20 OVB 20:50 YK4 0 - - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - FV 186 DME 10:45 LED 12:10 TU5 0 ----5-- 14:25 - 1 03 Oct 03 Oct -> R3 488 LED 14:40 OVB 21:35 TU5 0 - - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - FV 186 DME 10:45 LED 12:10 TU5 0 ---4--- 14:25 - 1 18 Sep 02 Oct -> FV 501 LED 15:50 OVB 22:35 TU5 0 1 - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - 7B 186 DME 10:45 LED 12:10 TU5 0 ---4--- 14:25 - - 18 Sep 02 Oct -> FV 501 LED 15:50 OVB 22:35 TU5 0 1 - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - 7B 186 DME 10:45 LED 12:10 TU5 0 ----5-- 14:25 - - 03 Oct 03 Oct -> R3 488 LED 14:40 OVB 21:35 TU5 0 - - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - S7 45 DME 10:10 LED 11:30 319 0 -2-4--- 15:00 - 1 30 Sep 02 Oct -> S7 3340 LED 12:45 OVB 19:50 TU5 0 1 - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - SU 805 SVO 10:10 OVB 17:00 735 0 -----6- 15:00 1 - 04 Oct 11 Oct -> S7 3289 OVB 20:35 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 1 - - SU 805 SVO 10:10 OVB 17:00 735 0 12-45-7 15:00 1 - 09 Sep 07 Oct -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - - XF 460 VKO 18:20 VVO 10:40 +1 T20 0 --3---- 15:00 D - 01 Oct 22 Oct -> XF 379 VVO 13:00 +1 GDX 17:20 +1 TU5 0 - - S7 107 DME 18:10 VVO 09:40 +1 310 0 --3---- 15:10 - - 01 Oct 08 Oct -> XF 379 VVO 13:00 +1 GDX 17:20 +1 TU5 0 - - FV 112 SVO 09:45 LED 11:05 TU5 0 -2-4--- 15:25 1 1 30 Sep 02 Oct -> S7 3340 LED 12:45 OVB 19:50 TU5 0 1 - -> SU 783 OVB 23:20 GDX 09:10 +1 TU5 0 - -
Sep 4, 2008, 4:13 am
#4
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If what you are interested in is the 'fear factor' I recommend the Antonov (AN4). Tarom also used to fly them but I think they've stopped now!
Sep 4, 2008, 1:32 pm
#5
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Oh, KVS, people used to be sent to GDX for far less serious transgressions than wanting to fly a Soviet-built plane 
SU has 6 Ilyushin 96-300s that they now, I believe, only operate on domestic long-haul and a handful of Tupolev 154 (-Bs and-Ms) that they are admittedly going to retire by the end of the year. Read transfer to one of their subsidiaries and immediately wet lease from them to continue operating...
However I saw it mentioned on some Russian webboard a few weeks ago that they'll still have 18 Tupolevs left by the end of the year and 4 frames left by the end of 2009
Besides Aeroflot there are scores of less prominent airlines in Russia that still operate Soviet- and Russian-built planes
SU has 6 Ilyushin 96-300s that they now, I believe, only operate on domestic long-haul and a handful of Tupolev 154 (-Bs and-Ms) that they are admittedly going to retire by the end of the year. Read transfer to one of their subsidiaries and immediately wet lease from them to continue operating...
However I saw it mentioned on some Russian webboard a few weeks ago that they'll still have 18 Tupolevs left by the end of the year and 4 frames left by the end of 2009
Besides Aeroflot there are scores of less prominent airlines in Russia that still operate Soviet- and Russian-built planes
Last edited by apoivre; Sep 4, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Sep 4, 2008, 1:47 pm
#7
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Doing a request for MOW-GDX is just an easiest way to get a bunch of connecting flights with those types of aircraft, including some short-hauls, such as DME-KRR, SVO-LED, VKO-LED.
Sep 6, 2008, 2:36 am
#8
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You have about 12 months left if you want to fly the 154 with Aeroflot. The vast majority of Europe -> Moscow flights are now airbus, with domestic flights still a mixed bag of TU154 and 737/A320 aircraft. The longer you leave it, the less chance there is of getting a TU154.
Sep 7, 2008, 2:07 pm
#10
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Or you could drive a Trabant for an equally exciting trip. 
http://www.time.com/time/specials/20...658030,00.html
Cheers
http://www.time.com/time/specials/20...658030,00.htmlCheers
Sep 7, 2008, 4:02 pm
#11
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TU-154 Isn't Bad (of Special) IMHO
I had the (good?) fortune to fly quite a few times on MA TU-154s back in the 1980s. As I recall the experience, the major differences from Western metal (at the time) were:
- Less Pressurization: I recall my ears popping quite a bit more on some flights than I recalled from routes of similar length on similarly sized Western aircraft.
- Awful Seats: There just wasn't much to the seats. When the passenger in the seat in front sat down, you could see that the seat backs weren't much more than fabric stretched on the frame.
- Amber Sun Shades: The window shades weren't opaque. Rather, they were amber film that shaded, rather than blocked, the light. Weird, but mostly effective. It's not like there was a film.
- Remote Stand: I'm sure this was a peculiar to a Soviet aircraft and and Eastern Bloc airline operating at FRA, as air bridges were used in BUD.
My 2¢, fun, but not worth spending a ton of time or dollars chasing unless you're trying to notch your belt (so to speak).
- Less Pressurization: I recall my ears popping quite a bit more on some flights than I recalled from routes of similar length on similarly sized Western aircraft.
- Awful Seats: There just wasn't much to the seats. When the passenger in the seat in front sat down, you could see that the seat backs weren't much more than fabric stretched on the frame.
- Amber Sun Shades: The window shades weren't opaque. Rather, they were amber film that shaded, rather than blocked, the light. Weird, but mostly effective. It's not like there was a film.
- Remote Stand: I'm sure this was a peculiar to a Soviet aircraft and and Eastern Bloc airline operating at FRA, as air bridges were used in BUD.
My 2¢, fun, but not worth spending a ton of time or dollars chasing unless you're trying to notch your belt (so to speak).
Sep 9, 2008, 5:27 am
#12
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Closer to home, Cubana flies a bunch of this stuff. Yak-42s to nearby destinations (Cancun, Nassau, ..), IL-62s and Tu-204s mostly to South America (Caracas, Bogota, ...), and IL-96s to Europe (Madrid, Orly, Gatwick).
Sep 10, 2008, 8:32 am
#13
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I had the (good?) fortune to fly quite a few times on MA TU-154s back in the 1980s. As I recall the experience, the major differences from Western metal (at the time) were:
- Less Pressurization: I recall my ears popping quite a bit more on some flights than I recalled from routes of similar length on similarly sized Western aircraft.
- Awful Seats: There just wasn't much to the seats. When the passenger in the seat in front sat down, you could see that the seat backs weren't much more than fabric stretched on the frame.
- Amber Sun Shades: The window shades weren't opaque. Rather, they were amber film that shaded, rather than blocked, the light. Weird, but mostly effective. It's not like there was a film.
- Remote Stand: I'm sure this was a peculiar to a Soviet aircraft and and Eastern Bloc airline operating at FRA, as air bridges were used in BUD.
My 2¢, fun, but not worth spending a ton of time or dollars chasing unless you're trying to notch your belt (so to speak).
- Less Pressurization: I recall my ears popping quite a bit more on some flights than I recalled from routes of similar length on similarly sized Western aircraft.
- Awful Seats: There just wasn't much to the seats. When the passenger in the seat in front sat down, you could see that the seat backs weren't much more than fabric stretched on the frame.
- Amber Sun Shades: The window shades weren't opaque. Rather, they were amber film that shaded, rather than blocked, the light. Weird, but mostly effective. It's not like there was a film.
- Remote Stand: I'm sure this was a peculiar to a Soviet aircraft and and Eastern Bloc airline operating at FRA, as air bridges were used in BUD.
My 2¢, fun, but not worth spending a ton of time or dollars chasing unless you're trying to notch your belt (so to speak).
- Unusual revving up and down of engines as if to "Test" them, a strange sound in aircraft these days, "Vroom, Vroom, Vroom..." This disappeared from piston aircraft in the west in the 60s and I do not think was ever done with turboprops or jets. Standard SU operating procedure in the 90s. I guess it hasn't changed
- In the Tu-154, very definite feeling of being bounced aside when turning, something to do with operation of the rudder.
- In the Il-62, since controls are entirely manual, you can literally feel the pilot's effort intensity varying, hopefully these guys do not get cramps.
PS: There used to be a very peculiar not unpleasant smell to soviet aircraft (plastics ?) which I fondly found again 2 years ago in an An-24 flying a domestic sector in Peru (with Russian crew). I wonder if it is still there...
Sep 10, 2008, 9:08 am
#14
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Not SkyTeam related, but a group of folks are looking at options in Central Asia for as many random old a/c that we can find, including a trip to Iran for a run on (one of) the last commercially operating 707.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=811916
Yaks, Anatovs and anything else we can manage are on the horizon, as well as some potentially funsidetrips, like a vodka distillery and maybe a cosmodrome.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=811916
Yaks, Anatovs and anything else we can manage are on the horizon, as well as some potentially funsidetrips, like a vodka distillery and maybe a cosmodrome.
Sep 18, 2008, 2:53 pm
#15
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When I booked the flight, my agent assured met that it would be an Airbus but lo and behold they had a "last minute" equip change and then we were walking up the stairway into a Tup.
To add some color, I had seat 1C so I had a full view of the cockpit (because the doors aren't reinforced, in fact they aren't even locked - ...?) There are four huge gents in there - what they are all doing I don't know. One portly fellow kept coming in and out and massaging the attendant.
I fly a plenty and I never get the jitters but I was truly freaked out to be on this plane. I just kept thinking with a recent Aeroflot crash it was further statistically unlikely for my ship to go down.
Note there is about as much overhead bin space as an Embrajer, and the flight attendant was nice enough to put my roll away in a closet, which got me a view of the oxygen system. Also, there is no additional leg room unless you are in the first class row with the emergency exit.
I have pictures on my camera of the cabin interior if y'all are interested. Lot's of wood grain, very strange. Returning to the States from Kiev tomorrow.
So, OP - this isn't something I'd wish on an enemy, let alone a fellow F'talker.
And for the rest of folks flying Aeroflot out of Russia, be forewarned those TUs are still out there.