JayMo
Don't worry man I have it under control. Moscow won't know what hit it. The important thing is not to drink vodka and beer. Assuming that this is possible I shall make it between terminals with the minimum of horror. Now I shall get together with ID and we will have 2 more people from this forum that have actually met. Incidentally Jeff you have to come down and sun yourself next winter for a week. Wait until it is snow and ice everywhere and then jump on a plane :))
Steve
"Attention all airline passengers, your flight has been delayed."
"We apologize for the delay. Due to extenuating circumstances, our pilot is experiencing difficulties with his sobriety level. Please allow sufficient time for him to have additional shots of Vodka."
I am fine until the co pilot becomes hysterical. When they run up and down the aisle saying stuff like "we're gonna crash we're gonna crash" then I become disturbed.
I was just cruising the posts and thought I'd add a few words of my own about airports in Moscow. When I went to see my fiancee in Voronezh, I actually went through Domodedovo (DMO) airport, which from what I've heard is a bit more modern than SVO2. In fact, a few airlines will only fly to that one, SwissAir and British Airways being two examples. DMO is on the SW side of Moscow, about 40-50 km or so, from what I understand.
What is nice about this airport is that it is also used for almost all of the domestic flights within Russia...no having to go to a different airport. The obstacle part is buying tickets for those flights. I used a travel service for this when I flew to Voronezh, as well as had them book my hotels for my stay there. They do have a very nice hotel very close to the airport, run by the same company that maintains the airport. I stayed there overnight, so I could catch a morning return flight.
Wy
That is interesting but not too practical. Most of us book our flights through some kind of services like Orbitz. They organize the flight all the way through. Buying plane tickets piecemeal scares the shit out of me. Also hopping around different airports same thing. I think half of it is the language barrier. I really do have to learn a little Russian.
izi
Try this link and see what you think. I have found it very good, but I not sure if it any good in your part of the world.
You can set it up to notify you via email when prices on the Leg you put in, fall or rise in price. You would be amazed at some of the specials that pop up, just for a short time.
I have found that some very good rates are available for domestic Russian flights, but the tickets need to be purchased in advance and in Russia. I've sent the money and my girl can buy the ticket and send it to me DHL and still save considerable money on some flights. She needs to have a copy of the first page of your passport. I scanned mine and e-mailed it to her and it was sufficient. Got the ticket for less than half of the price I found online here. Also works well for purchasing tickets on those smaller airlines that you just cannot book online here.
It's the same game as here in the states. They sell a limited number of seats at a big discount. Just bought a ticket this way that was going to cost me $229 on orbitz, and got it for 2100 rubles. My girl thinks I will be sitting in the toilet!
Yes internal flights best purchased once there. I learnt that lesson after 1st trip.
Neon, you say booking in advance even inside Russia. I have not found any difference in booking in advance - just turning up and buying ticket prior to boarding on two occasions I could be wrong, but they seem to have a flat price, with no discount for early booking.
I met a lady in Kiev, we had intended taking the 5-6 hour train to her home town of Kharkov, I mentioned taking a plane instead and we ended up grabbing two one way tickets, cost was, I think, $60US each, we had to run to catch it . Price I found out latter was the same as if I booked weeks before.
SPB – Moscow, same, a flat price of 2100 rubles, no discount for early bookings
As I become more experienced I may well end up going down that road. Just a round trip to Moscow then buy an internal from there.
This doesn't stop at the registry office. I can see many trips through the course of my life to Russia. However it will be a lot easier with Marina acting as interpreter. Much easier.
booking in advance is good as any booking in advance. price is the same but you have ticket in your hands.
sometimes you need to be fluent in Russian to get tickets before the flight. you need to know how to give a bribe:) So get tickets online. This summer I managed to book Rossia hotel 30% cheaper online then the price I was told when I tried to buy from the hotel directly... magic... little of Russian ( USSR) story flavor (I smile now when I remember it) : my student years in Russia. I could only fly home on two flight a week. To get a ticket one had to stay in the ticket office line of Aeroflot from 6 a.m in the morning. They would open on at 9 a.m. when you rush in,- NO tickets to that flight...:) Then I had to stay and fight in a line at the airport to put my passport through the dispatcher window and get available tickets. Communist party liked to reserve all seats usually. they dropped them like 5 minutes before the flight. Now it is more like everywhere else. Get tickets online if possible.
You CAN get deals on tickets if you book in advance. They do sell some seats cheaper just the same way they do here in the US. A certain number of seats at a very low price, and others at higher prices. My girl bought my ticket and I just received it for my trip on a domestic Aeroflot flight that normally costs me $229 on orbitz. The price was 2000 rubles plus 278 rubles extra fee (booking or tax?) for a total 2278 rubles. I think you can do the conversion and see the savings. She was told when she purchased the ticket it was the last seat at that price. And there was no bribe needed!
And yes when I stay at Rossia hotel I always book online using one of the hotel booking services because it is much cheaper.
Izi...Check out my post to you in "Sometimes there is no chemistry" about the Shermetevo Airport.
Neon
Orbitz is not buying it in Russia though. What I am saying and have witnesses, albeit only 3 times, 15 days purchased in advance inside Russia - was no cheaper than 15 minutes at the terminal before the plane left. I am sure there must be some specials at times.
The Russian way, does not seem to permit or have the ability to organize such things as scaled seat prices etc. Get my drift.
Orbitz, will have had a good sized mark-up on your tickets via them.
Yes, to get the discount prices on seats you must purchase the ticket more than 15 days in advance. In my case my girl bought the ticket at the Aeroflot ticket office and it was 30 days in advance. Yes they (at least Aeroflot and Siberian) have scaled seating prices. I only learned about it this past year. At other times when I did not buy so far in advance I have had to pay almost the same price as orbitz....minus there advertized mark up.
BUT...yes, the ticket was purchased in Russia and my point is to get the best deal you will need your girl to buy it for you in Russia well in advance. Discount fares are available...
So what you are saying is get a round trip to Moscow and at the same time get your girlfriend to buy the internal flight for you to dovetail with plenty of notice. Sounds like a plan to me. I will discuss it with her in July.
that also means you've met her before, otherwise you'd probably not send her money to pay for it. Or maybe she advanced it herself?
I've also found out it is difficult to book in advance, especially more than 1 month, in fact I could not do it. Even phoned, but the tickets are not available then, and their advice is 'just come, and buy here at the counter'. Strange way of doing bizz.
I have done both....had a girl I had met before buy me a ticket, and Had a girl I had not met buy me a ticket also. Sent the money to her even though I knew it might be a mistake, but I figured she was not a scammer if she knew I was coming and hadn't dropped out of sight.
Just looked at my most recent ticket for a 9 June flight on Aeroflot and my girl bought it on 23 April and was told it was the last low fare seat on that flight.
I know some of the smaller airlines are difficult to deal with. We tried to book a flight on a small airline out of SVO1 and a month before the flight they said they were not sure if that flight would fly that day or not. I guess it would depend on how many people decided to go. I couldn't take that chance so had to book a flight out of Domodedovo which meant a long taxi ride from SVO2 just to be sure to get a flight. Indeed a strange way of doing business.