To those about to fly to R/U/B

[mox 298]

Heh!

The craziest thing that happened on my last trip was that the jetbridge at our gate broke down just before our arrival. So we sat on the plane for almost an hour while they found one of those mobile stairways that would fit our plane, and then we had to take a shuttle to a different gate because the tarmac-level doorway was being repaired or something. I just thought to myself "alrighty then, so it begins!" but really, nothing else too crazy really happened on the trip. Didn't even see any livestock on the metro.

[slim 1,514]

in Moscow, she was asked for help, and was asked she was unable to read the signs.

Sounds about right for Russian "customer service" and/or general cordiality.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Alla is going Saturday...Burlington to JFK to Kiev to Donetsk. But we have 7 hours between flights in NY and 8 or 9 hours between flights in Kiev, so she should be OK. I think the ash situation is on again/off again right now. from what hear.

[LvivLovers 39]

Mox...those stories are pretty crazy! And as crazy as they are, I totally believe you. Because I left out some of the details in my wife's story and they are pretty darn similar. So basically here's a bit more detail...

My wife's plane from NY to Kyiv was 4 hours late, but some of the official Delta people assured my wife several times that Aerosvit knew they were coming late and would ensure that she got on the next flight. She arrived at around 1 PM local time several hours after her original flight was scheduled, and went to the Aerosvit desk and explained her situation. Apparently, there's only 4 Aerosvit flights per day going from Kyiv to Lviv, one in early morning, one around 3 PM, and one late at night, so she was trying to get on the 3 PM flight which was going to leave in a couple hours. They told her there would be a "big fine" to change her tickets. When my wife explained to them Delta told her everything would be handled, they just looked at her like she was crazy. So much for that idea. Finally, they indicated that there was no room on the flight and she would have to wait until the complete registration was done and see if anyone cancelled.

So about an hour and a half later, when registration was finally completed, they finally informed her that there was an opening and told her to go to the cashier, pay the fine, and have her ticket changed. So she goes to the cashier's desk and despite going straight there, the cashier informs her..."Sorry. Registration is closed." This person then calls down to the registration desk and starts bitching at them for sending her in the first place. No amount of pleading with the woman by my wife worked. After finally giving up, my wife was resigned to just getting on the next flight which was at about 9 PM instead.

She said although she was the only person in line, the person changing the tickets still took more than 40 minutes to do it and just kept saying "10 more minutes, 10 more minutes". Another thing my wife said was that they kept the service window closed most of the day and only opened it for a very short window late in the evening. The rest of the time, there was no sign indicating when they would be open, nothing indicating they had gone anywhere, etc. It just opened when it opened, so she had to basically wait and keep checking.

She definately understands the difference between service there and service here. Needless to say, our new nickname for the airline is Aero$hit!

[LvivLovers 39]

Alla is going Saturday...Burlington to JFK to Kiev to Donetsk. But we have 7 hours between flights in NY and 8 or 9 hours between flights in Kiev, so she should be OK. I think the ash situation is on again/off again right now. from what hear.

That's correct. You just have to keep monitoring things, but it's basically a box of chocolates any way (as Forrest Gump would say) and you won't know what you're gonna get until it happens. Even a few hours before Oleksandra's flight, they continued to show everything as On Time. Only once she was on the plane (after being late for an hour or more) did they finally tell her there would be several hours delay in the best case. Crazy part is this volcano could go on for several years and there's fears it may trigger an even bigger volcano located nearby that dwarfs this one.

[mox 298]

The airlines seem to be like pretty much everything else in the country. As long as nothing unexpected happens, and as long as everything and everybody is running on time, the system works. But introduce one tiny little variable and not only does the whole thing fall apart, but nobody seems to know how to fix it, or really care about fixing it. And it doesn't matter who you talk with, nobody is empowered to do anything to help you. For some of the world's busiest airports, they sure don't seem very eager to make it worth your business.

[Casper&Diana 0]

The airlines seem to be like pretty much everything else in the country. As long as nothing unexpected happens, and as long as everything and everybody is running on time, the system works. But introduce one tiny little variable and not only does the whole thing fall apart, but nobody seems to know how to fix it, or really care about fixing it. And it doesn't matter who you talk with, nobody is empowered to do anything to help you. For some of the world's busiest airports, they sure don't seem very eager to make it worth your business.

Hm, sounds a bit like Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged!"

[mox 298]

Hah! Well I don't think it's quite *that* bad, but I definitely see the parallels.

[slim 1,514]

She definately understands the difference between service there and service here. Needless to say, our new nickname for the airline is Aero$hit!

My wife didn't like the way things worked when she first got here. Now, she's come to expect things to be taken care of for her. "I pay money, they must make service." Can't wait til she tries that in Russia!

it may trigger an even bigger volcano located nearby that dwarfs this one.

Last time the bigger one went off (1783?) it caused global famine and the temperature actually dropped something like 2 degrees. I'm sure it'll happen this time because of global warming.

For some of the world's busiest airports, they sure don't seem very eager to make it worth your business.

Why should they? It's not like you're going to route through Dubai to get there.

[visaveteran 1]

I've been to Russia 5 times and never had any travel problems except one time. On my last trip, on the return leg, the local puddle-jumper plane that was to take me from Siberia to Moscow had mechanical problems. At first, as we passengers sat in the plane, they tried to repair the plane but after several hours we had to get off. At first I freaked out because nobody at he local Siberian airport spoke English; I knew I would miss my flight out of Moscow; and my wife had already gone home which was 45 minutes away. Fortunately for me, I found myself near an Englishman who had a cell phone. I borrowed the phone and called my wife and she returned to the airport.

After she spoke with airport staff, she told me what the deal was. I'd be on the next flight to Moscow in about 4 hours. Then I had to go to the Aeroflot customer service desk at SVO and they'd help me get home. Of course, I was very nervous an skeptical about how this change of plans would work out, especially in Russia. But to my great surprise, everything worked out quite well. When I got to SVO, I found the Aeroflot desk and a very nice woman, who spoke excellent English, took care of my problems. She gave me a voucher to stay at a nice nearby hotel and two food coupons to allow me to eat a free dinner and breakfast. And I got booked on an Aeroflot flight leaving the next day to get me to Heathrow Airport where I'd have to get British Airways to get me the rest of the way home to the USA.

The hotel was very nice. The food good. And I got to ride from and back to the airport free on Aeroflot's terminal bus. My big remaining worry was my luggage. Would it be waiting at Heathrow or did it go on to the USA? When I got to England, I had to go through customs/passport control to get to the British Airways ticket desk and luggage claim. I have to say, the British know how to do things right and in an orderly fashion. The custom passport control went quickly...no mob scene. And, to my utter amazement, when I got to the baggage claim area, there neatly organized and easy to see was my luggage! I was elated. And British Airways got me out quickly and gave me an upgrade to business class for my trouble. Jolly good show!

So, not all travel mishaps going to and from Russia are nightmares. I'm living proof.

Edited May 11, 2010 by visaveteran

[slim 1,514]

When I flew to Moscow we got delayed at JFK for a few hours. We had to sit there at the tail end of a very long line until Aeroflot finally started herding us through the gates. My buddy and I knew there were far too many people in line and as we approached the gate a nice young lady came, told us coach was overbooked, grabbed our tickets, then escorted us to our seats in business class. Upgrade!

Of course they lost our luggage though.

[Rwlaird 18]

In addition to delays because of the volcanic ash cloud are other people seeing ridiculous prices on flights? I'm trying to schedule a trip to Ukraine and just started looking at flights and they are the highest I have ever seen!!

[Brad and Vika 129]

In addition to delays because of the volcanic ash cloud are other people seeing ridiculous prices on flights? I'm trying to schedule a trip to Ukraine and just started looking at flights and they are the highest I have ever seen!!

I just checked on expedia. Vika's ticket in September would be about $150 more than when we bought it three months ago. Seems pretty typical to me. When are you going?

[sanuginz 0]

I leave in 12 days through Orlando - JFK - SVO airport transfer to Minsk. I'm not happy about the double visa situation and now I checked we only have 3 hours 10 minute in Moscow. Is this long enough?

[payxibka 10,044]

In addition to delays because of the volcanic ash cloud are other people seeing ridiculous prices on flights? I'm trying to schedule a trip to Ukraine and just started looking at flights and they are the highest I have ever seen!!

Is exactly why I booked summer travel back in November