I'm not sure if this is the write forum but...

My brother flew Aeroflot to Russia a few months ago. Among other things, he was charged extra fees and fines, and even had to pay 2 different people for the same thing, and was threatened that if he didn't pay, he's miss his connecting flight in Moscow to NY. He sent a letter of complaint to Aeroflot in NY, and was told that he probably wouldn't get anything out of it since Aeroflot in the US and Aeroflot in Russia are 2 separate companies.

Has anyone ever heard something like this?

thanks
goodo

I think the proper place for this is the "Airlines, Hotels.." board over at FT Travel.

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Craig6z
Buzz & United Moderator
[email protected]

More details, please... What were the fees and fines for, etc.

This is pretty long, and I still find it hard to believe that aeroflot could act in such a way.

My brother flew with a friend NY-Moscow-Rostov and back.

It all started on his return when he took photo in Rostov's checkin area. A security guard approached him and told him that it was not allowed, for which my brother apologized for. Then an Aeroflot employee came up to him and told him (in English) that he had to pay a fine for taking a photo. He told her that the security guard had excused him, and he didn't believe it was in her jurisdiction to fine him. She told them to follow her into her office, sat them down, lectured them for about 5 minutes. She threatened them that if they didn't pay, she would call the KGB, have him arrested and put in jail overnight. He asked how much the fine is, and was told to pay whatever he thinks is fitting (which is a bit of a joke). He gave her a $5 bill, to which she took, and then her supervisor or another employee in the room told her to ask for $10, which my brother had no choice but to give her. My brother knows a bit of Russian, and the idea was to fine him because he was "Americanski" and therefore had "dengee" - money. Aside from this they called him some racial slurs in Russian.

After this, they went to check in. Even though they were going to the USA and should be allowed 2 pieces each, they were told at by the check-in staff they were only allowed 20kg each. After explaining that they had come to Russia to help out Jewish communities there, and had brought extra kosher food for the town they were visiting for Passover, she let them through. At the next checkpoint, the employee said they had to pay overweight. They replied that the lady at checkin said they didn't. She said that it couldn't be so she brought them back to the checkin desk, and explained to the other employee that they were Americans who had money and therefore must be charged for overweight. Suddenly the first employee agreed and said they had to pay for overweight. They were taken to another area to pay overweight, but were charged for 36kg overweight - even though they were only 18kg overweight. But there was no reasoning with them.

At the boarding area, the employee told them they had to pay overweight. They said they had already, at which the original employee and the cashier were called who agreed that the overweight had been paid. But this next employee didn't care and then suddenly the original employee and the cashier also agreed they had to pay overweight - another 18kg, and they were told if they didn't pay they'd miss their connecting flight to NY. After arguing they realised they'd rather pay than miss the flight, so they paid. In the ensuing discussions among the employeess, one wanted to charge them more, but the other employee said they had paid enough.

My brother sent a letter to Aeroflot in NY, and was told that Aeroflot in USA and Aeroflot in Russia were 2 separate companies, and probably nothing would come out of his complaints.

thanks
goodo

goodo -- Thanks for the details. The experience your brother endured sounds ugly and inexcusable indeed.

Here are some observations that may be helpful to assess what has happened.

First, it is unlikely that the person extorting a bribe from your brother was an Aeroflot employee. Somehow people tend to believe that everyone working at an airport in Russia is an Aeroflot employee. That's not the case anymore (see explanation below on Donavia airlines that actually serves Rostov). While the behavior of that person was disgusting and absolutely inexcusable (and, BTW, there is no KGB anymore - it's now called FSB ), it's hard to claim that Aeroflot is responsible for it (since there is no proof that he/she was an Aeroflot employee).

In terms of the luggage weight limits, I'm wondering if your brother had a "through ticket" all the way from ROV ro JFK. If yes, then he indeed was entitled to the least restrictive luggage rules, i.e. 2 pieces 70 lbs each.

As a slight digression - I was very recently booking (through BA) a combined AA/BA ticket from the US to Africa (AA transatlantic, and BA the rest of the way), and was very surprised to see on the itinerary printout (on BA's web site) that even on a "through ticket", my luggage limits on BA segments were shown as 23 kg total. BA CSR suggested it was a typo, but still - who knows what would be the position of BA folks in Africa at check-in.

If your brother had two separate tickets, one for over the water, and another for Russian domestic travel, then his Russian domestic segments were subject to 20 kg limit.

In terms of "two Aeroflots" story, here's the deal. There is one and only "Aeroflot - Russian Airlines", which has a code SU and operates not only international, but also some domestic routes in Russia. Flights from Moscow to Rostov are operated by a different carrier - Donavia, code D9. I think (don't quote me on this though) that at least some of SVO - ROV flights are code-sharing between D9 and SU.

So, here's the bottom line for your brother. His chances to get any compensation from Aeroflot in NY depend on whether his ticket on the ROV-SVO portion was SU-coded, and whether it was a part of a "through ticket" ROV-SVO-JFK. He also better have receipts for all the payments he made in Rostov. Even then, getting anything out of Aeroflot (and to be fair, out of many foreign airlines) is like pulling teeth. If the amount in question is not very significant, it's not worth the aggravation. Hopefully, next time your brother would choose to fly a different carrier. Competition is the only way to change their behavior.

ill find out about the flights, though i do emember him telling me that he arrived in SVO fron NY and his domestic went fron Vinukova.

goodo

I hate to say that, but with this little piece of information you provided, your brother's chances diminished even more.

Aeroflot does not operate or code-share flights to ROV from Vnukovo (I just looked up the schedule on VNK's web site). All VNK-ROV flights are either Donavia, or Karat Airlines.

Unfortunately, bribery and other types of extortionist behavior are common in many parts of the world. This is an example of it. You should always try to pay anything questionable with a credit card, so that it can be "charged back" by the issuing bank later. But in a cash-oriented society like Russia, these types of charges are more or less the costs of doing business. (Perhaps this is why there is less business going on in these places....)

Good luck,

We are taling Aeroflat and Russia here. Not exactly "stable" or like western countries or companies.

I suppose its a cultural thing, They see an Australian or American and know they can extort money from him. Bot really much you can do. Its a poor country. The yneed money.

Sucks for sure, but wha tare you going to do?