Maybe of interest, for those guys who search in Ukraine...
AeroSvit Airlines (IATA VV, ICAO AEW), whose hub airport was Kyiv BorySpil (KBP), may technically still exist. But it operates no flights, and by the time you read this may have no aircraft. AeroSvit was the only airline with direct flights between the USA and Ukraine.
After years of heavy financial losses -- and within the past two years, some sporadic service disruptions due to unpaid bills -- the carrier made a bankruptcy filing on 29 December 2012. As far as I have learned, its flights ceased altogether within a matter of days. Airports in various countries detained AeroSvit jets, and on 25 January the Russian Federation prohibited access to its airspace by AeroSvit -- all, I presume, due to unpaid airport and air navigation fees.
The airline's two domestic subsidiary carriers, DniproAvia and DonbassAero, effectively ceased to exist before mid January.
On 31 January, AeroSvit announced that it was "suspending" all but a few of its longest-range international routes, with those routes (at least, that between Kyiv and New York) to be resumed in April. By this time, its "fleet" consisted of four (!) aircraft, as compared to 18 a year earlier.
However, the bankrupt corporation is under investigation (and threat of criminal liability) for violation of Ukraine's (surprisingly strong, but often ignored) laws protecting the rights of workers, for unpaid wages.
And the airline is returning its few remaining aircraft to the companies from which they are leased. (BTW, leasing of transport aircraft is quite standard -- even in major airlines, many of the jets you fly on may be owned by a finance company, and leased by the airline that operates them.)
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As a practical matter, I don't expect this to make any important difference for those traveling between Ukraine and "the west" -- just one more stop, not such a big deal for the love-smitten. But my check of fares shows them to be no worse than I would expect. This isn't surprising, given that about 80% of the time, other airlines had lower Kyiv fares than AeroSvit.
It occurs to me that the loss of some medium-haul services could be a problem. For example, Aerosvit operated what was effectively a shuttle service between Kyiv and Istanbul, with convenient quick and cheap flights daily. Based on a quick sample I just made, the choice is now between a fairly cheap flight taking about 3 hours longer because of a stop (cost mid-to-high 200s), and a more expensive direct flight on Ukraine International (low 300s).
Maybe the biggest difference, is for those wishing to fly inside Ukraine. Getting around by taxi, train or bus can take a lot of time. With the loss of Aerosvit and its subsidiaries, the domestic flight options are presumably much reduced. The good news is, Ukraine international has daily flights between Kyiv and some of Ukraine's more distant cities. Of course, you're stuck with their times (only one flight each day). The fares for Lvov and Donetsk weren't bad, around $120, but Odessa is pretty expensive -- almost $200! I'd go by train instead :)
And the mentally challenged Proletariat turning on itself over complex events it has little to do with. I'll now go back and ignore the usual subjects.
Yeah right,,,, it's the "Union Thugs" in the corporate board room causing the problem in the U.S., and the massive pay and benefit packages at Aerosvit destroying Ukrainian and the world economy. Your message is flawed. The problem is much more complex than decisions, contracts or operations in the airline industry. In times of strife, travel is the first luxury to be curtailed. It was said by a Railroad Magnate in the 1800's " No one got rich running a railroad, they got rich building it". I told this to my father as he lost big in Braniff Airlines. The same is true of bus lines and taxi companies. Airlines are heavily regulated by goverment (regardless of the slogan of de-regulation) and cannot change quickly to market and political changes. If they could the planes would only fly profitable routes and when the plane get full. Delay a flight just an hour and see what you have to say about it.
"it's the "Union Thugs" in the corporate board room causing the problem in the U.S., and the massive pay and benefit packages at Aerosvit destroying Ukrainian and the world economy."
I said that?
"Your message is flawed. The problem is much more complex than decisions, contracts or operations in the airline industry. In times of strife, travel is the first luxury to be curtailed."
I suspected it and was going to post without researching it, but I did. Travel is curtailed, but in efforts to cut expenses, salaries and benefits cannot be easily touched.
"It was said by a Railroad Magnate in the 1800's " No one got rich running a railroad, they got rich building it". I told this to my father as he lost big in Braniff Airlines. The same is true of bus lines and taxi companies"
I don't know WTF you are talking about. I commented on Aerosvit.
"Airlines are heavily regulated by goverment (regardless of the slogan of de-regulation) and cannot change quickly to market and political changes. If they could the planes would only fly profitable routes and when the plane get full. Delay a flight just an hour and see what you have to say about it."
OK, so regulation and other factors has something to do with the bankruptcy. The unions had a big part.
Do you have data on the pay for AeroSvit's former workers, compared to the pay of people doing comparable work in Ukraine? Without that data, how is it possible to conclude that unions are to blame?
One member of AeroSvit's board has blamed the unions, but the head of the board, in talking about the company's financial problems, didn't mention the unions at all.
When a company dies, it is easy for management to blame anybody except themselves, so it is a mistake to take such claims at face value, without supporting data.
ranger...it is a one stop flight from JFK but did you check out marina's site she gave, similar flight but at 6100 rub ( around $200 not sure about taxes or not)could not get far enough to know. Aeroflot is not the most popular airline either...how would you like to fly with a ton of Russians on board or on a Tupolev.....I did and quite the scene. Can't get over 2 things, they give round of applause as soon as plane hits ground( due to their hope it lands safely, the culture) and for some reason as soon as plane touches ground, getting up from seat, opening luggage door to get bag out , apparently so they can be first off plane, go figure!!!
Guys there are NO nonstop's from US to Ukraine.....the bird has left the nest.....all you can do is try for is good connections!!
since I have time.....I checked out ranger's flight/fare directly on Aeroflot site and it was cheaper, $620, with several seats left. If search engine doesn't take you directly to airline site then you check pricing directly on airline site.
As has already been noted, there are presently no direct flights between the USA and Ukraine. Of course, people living in Europe may be able to make a direct flight, if they live near enough to a major airport.
One man was complaining (on a different thread) about the inconvenience factor. Of course, if you don't live near New York, you are at a disadvantage when it comes to flying to eastern Europe. There are certainly some flights available from other US cities, but New York is the "main hub". So in effect, Americans living in other parts of the country, when flying to Russia or Ukraine, have two trips: their round trip to New York, and the round trip between New York and eastern Europe. For good practical reasons, it's usually much better to book the whole flight at once, but as far as price and flight time, it would usually be about the same if you booked them separately.
So, focusing on New York to Kyiv only, there are (as lonely has shown) pretty good options out there. Aeroflot is not the most comfortable, because their hub is in Moscow which means you are flying too far -- especially, the flight from Moscow back to New York feels mighty long to me. However, Aeroflot often has the best fare, and lonely's example was really good for this time of year. Also, the itinerary was decent, but the 90 minutes to change planes in Moscow is about the minimum I would recommend.
On the outbound flight, I usually look for a long layover (3 hours minimum), because of the likelihood of delays leaving New York, especially in the warm months when I usually go to Russia (think summer thunderstorms). Returning to the US, a shorter layover is OK; the (usually) short morning flight between your local city and the layover airport is less likely to have a big delay.
For those who want to maximize comfort, use a western European airline. It is possible to get total flight times of less than 13 hours each way between NYC and Kyiv, with enough layover time that you can make your connection without running. But it does pay to know your airports. For example, a 60 minute layover at CDG (Paris) is REALLY rushed, unless things have changed with their new construction: 3 bus trips plus quite a bit of legging. As another bloke mentioned, at FRA (Frankfurt) you'll have to pass through security screening (again!). Once, I had to go through security there TWICE, and it was a close shave making my flight back to the US.
A special note for travelers to Russia: unless your destination is Moscow, you'll probably be changing planes there. And since you'll be flying to/from Russia, you will need to go through passport control in Moscow. Sometimes it's much quicker, but in my experience passport control may well consume up to a full hour, so take this into account when deciding how much layover time is enough, in both directions.
The bravioavia.com.ua website (from Moyarishka's link) is priced in UAH, generally very close to 8 to the USD, so the fares look to be the same as would be found on aeroflot.com.
It gets back to the good news about the bad news: if you shop for low fares (as I do!), then the loss of AeroSvit makes very little difference. If you liked the direct flights that used to be available, you can make your one-stopper for about +4 hours additional overall time (each way), at similar fares to what AeroSvit used to charge.