21
Jun
2017
2

Aeroflot: Airline Review

I am back after a fun week in Russia. I flew from Delhi (India) to Moscow (Russia) on an Aeroflot aircraft. Tickets to Moscow were cheaper on Turkish Airlines, but I chose Aeroflot as I was told that getting the visa might be an issue if I am not booked on Russia’s national carrier. So, despite reading some terrible reviews about Aeroflot, I still went ahead and booked my flight. Here is my review…

Online booking: The ticket was easy to book and the website had a good English option. Web check in was easy and I received a mail alert for the same 24 hours prior to the flight, which prompted me to check in and select my seat. There were no extra charges for seat selection.

Luggage: My ticket category allowed me 23 kgs, which was enough even though I was carrying plenty of winterwear. Also, I could carry a check in bag weighing 7kgs, which, in my case, was my SLR. Remember to check the baggage allowance when you book your ticket and keep some room to bring back Russian goodies.

Ground Service: The ground staff was helpful and opened a baggage drop counter only for me as most passengers had not done an online check in. I truly appreciated this gesture as line for check in was like a long snake that seemed to grow by the minute!

In Flight Service: Reviews of the infamous Russian hospitality had psyched me out when I booked the flight. I was expecting the air hostess to be like a rude teacher ranting and yelling at me. Well, I couldn’t be more wrong! The crew was dressed in bright orange uniforms and each member looked like a beautiful Russian doll. They smiled and were pleasant to talk. I saw them being really nice to kids. I was well taken care of and now, I have a better opinion about Russian hospitality.

Aircraft: My flight had a 2X4x2 configuration. I was very happy with the leg room in the air craft. Considering that I am fairly tall, I had enough of space of stretch my legs and wriggle my toes. Another little feature that I really appreciate is that the head rest was curved to ensure head support while sleeping. I slept for about 4 hours and was pretty happy when I opened my eyes.

Cleanliness: The cabin was clean and looked well maintained. The blankets seem clean and I pulled one on myself for the entire duration of the flight. The toilets were clean towards the end of the flight as well.

Punctuality: The flight departed and arrived in time. Full marks on punctuality!

Entertainment: For the Delhi – Moscow flight, the inflight entertainment was a disaster. I sat in the flight and saw the screen, wondering whether something would be available in English. And I was left wondering till the end because the system never worked!

So I picked up the inflight magazine, hoping to read up a little more about Russia. It was a big fat magazine all right, but over 90% of the magazine was in Russian. So, all I could do was spend 5 minutes looking at pictures.

Remember to carry movies on your cell phone and your headphones or a magazine if you are travelling by Aeroflot!

However, on my way back from Moscow to India, the entertainment system worked fine and I had a good time catching up on some movies. There was plenty of choice…movies, sitcoms, drama etc. How I wish I could have had a similar experience while flying from India to Russia as well.

Food and drinks: I was hoping to get a little bottle of wine and drift into dreamland. However, no alcoholic beverages were available and I resorted to my ‘usual’ – tomato juice. Then came the food… there was rice and two curries, but none of them tasted great. Happy that the air hostess got the ice cream cart to boost my sugar levels.

The food on the return journey, from Moscow to Delhi was much better. I had requested for a vegan meal and got a delicious salad. The Russian ice-cream that was served lated was plenty and delicious…I wanted more of it!

Overall Experience: My overall experience in Aeroflot was pretty average while flying from Delhi to Moscow and above average while flying from Moscow to Delhi. Considering that the tickets are fairly affordable, I would be happy flying the airline again.

If you are planning a trip to Russia, you now know what to expect when you book an Aeroflot flight.

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Sergiev Posad: Day Trip from Moscow
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15 Responses

  1. shannon

    No alcohol and no in-flight entertainment? Say what?!? Those are actually the two things I look forward to when flying! At least you were pleasantly surprised by the friendly staff.

  2. It is good news that the flight attendants were friendly and polite. It is always annoying when the entertainment system doesn’t work but it seems like that is more of a common thing these days. That is why I always bring my iPad with content already loaded in case the system is down. The experience looked similar to other SkyTeam flights based on your pictures? I wonder why wine was not available? Did they have vodka instead? 🙂

  3. I literally almost booked a flight with them this past weekend and am so glad I didn’t after reading your review. While sometimes I am willing to give up comforts for the price, it is good to know that I should use Aeroflot for short flights- not long ones. At least they were friendly!

    1. Service was absolutely fine…in fact…it was nice 🙂 They were so much cheaper than the other airlines and the flight was fairly comfortable. I wouldnt mind flying again with Aeroflot.

  4. I’ve flown Aeroflot a few times without issues. That sucks about the entertainment, I didn’t have that issue though I never watch tv since I always have my kindle. Glad to hear the FA were at least nice! As far as plane food goes, I don’t think it ever tastes good!

  5. Anna Schlaht

    I would miss the option for alcohol, but otherwise, they sound like a really decent airline! Leg room, head support, easy check-in, no hidden fees, and a carry-on are all I ask for, really. Great to hear they were nice and the plane was clean, too! 🙂 Bummer about the entertainment not working, but I tend to read or sleep, so I guess it depends on individual needs. The food does sound like it could be better though… lol Thanks for the awesome review.

  6. I have never heard of Aeroflot! It seems like a decent airline to fly with when visiting Russia. We had the same problem with the entertainment system on our flight to London on British Airways. We had the flight attendant aware of the problem and he went out of the way to make sure the problem is solved during our flight time (moving us to a different seat and gave us the business class meal as an apology). So maybe next time, let the flight attendant and see how they resolve the issue 🙂

  7. Thanks for writing this! I had also heard these terrible things before flying Aeroflot, but was equally pleasantly surprised. Not sure where the terrible rep came from, but I’m glad your experience was also not so bad.

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