Did Russia give me a visa..........

[Bobalouie 0]

On the subject of air travel, anyone have recommendations on the cheapest way to get to St. Pete from the west coast? Travel agent recommendations?

Check this guy out Vlad International Travel. He has beaten all the Priceline/Expedia/etc guys before and he provides visa support at no extra charge (other than $15 for fedex back to you).

[PJB 0]

Thanks everybody. Won't be leaving until around Sept 14. Now I'm waiting for my free Aeroflot ticket. Seems even though my frequent flier card with them has more than enough points, they don't give out the ticket until the week before I want to leave. If they can sell all the seats then no ticket for me! Don't you just love Russian customer service

There is one frequent flyer program I won't join!

Aeroflot is the only airline that flies direct to Moscow from Los Angeles. So my choices are Aeroflot 12 hours or any other airline 20+ hours plus lots of fun layovers. Life is full of hard choices...........

Why not just fly LA to Atlanta or New York (2.5 or 3.5 hours) then hop Delta to Moscow, which is a 10 hour flight with the only layover in Atlanta.

Los Angeles to New York is about 6 hours. Last time I tried Delta to NY I got stuck circling JFK for 2 hours waiting in line to land. Then after making a mad dash for my connecting flight that plane sat on the tarmac for 2-3 hours waiting for all it's passengers who were still circling above. It took 24 hours to get from LA to Moscow. And now we have to pay for food and checked luggage on USA flights. So I'd rather put up with Aeroflot for faster flight, free food and 3 pieces of checked luggage byez platna.

On the subject of air travel, anyone have recommendations on the cheapest way to get to St. Pete from the west coast? Travel agent recommendations?

Check this guy out Vlad International Travel. He has beaten all the Priceline/Expedia/etc guys before and he provides visa support at no extra charge (other than $15 for fedex back to you).

But does he do registration once you are in Russia?

[Neonred 3,564]

I just checked and noticed one can fly Delta from LAX to Moscow with a stop in Atlanta, and the difference is..... 3.5 hours. Delta is not charging for bags. A random check in mid November showed me that Delta was about $100 cheaper.

[Bobalouie 0]

Thanks everybody. Won't be leaving until around Sept 14. Now I'm waiting for my free Aeroflot ticket. Seems even though my frequent flier card with them has more than enough points, they don't give out the ticket until the week before I want to leave. If they can sell all the seats then no ticket for me! Don't you just love Russian customer service

There is one frequent flyer program I won't join!

Aeroflot is the only airline that flies direct to Moscow from Los Angeles. So my choices are Aeroflot 12 hours or any other airline 20+ hours plus lots of fun layovers. Life is full of hard choices...........

Why not just fly LA to Atlanta or New York (2.5 or 3.5 hours) then hop Delta to Moscow, which is a 10 hour flight with the only layover in Atlanta.

Los Angeles to New York is about 6 hours. Last time I tried Delta to NY I got stuck circling JFK for 2 hours waiting in line to land. Then after making a mad dash for my connecting flight that plane sat on the tarmac for 2-3 hours waiting for all it's passengers who were still circling above. It took 24 hours to get from LA to Moscow. And now we have to pay for food and checked luggage on USA flights. So I'd rather put up with Aeroflot for faster flight, free food and 3 pieces of checked luggage byez platna.

On the subject of air travel, anyone have recommendations on the cheapest way to get to St. Pete from the west coast? Travel agent recommendations?

Check this guy out Vlad International Travel. He has beaten all the Priceline/Expedia/etc guys before and he provides visa support at no extra charge (other than $15 for fedex back to you).

But does he do registration once you are in Russia?

No, you are on your own for that, but it is really pretty easy. I have done it in OVIR twice and paid a hotel to register me for my stay twice.

[mox 298]

No, you are on your own for that, but it is really pretty easy. I have done it in OVIR twice and paid a hotel to register me for my stay twice.

Yeah, registration is no problem at all. Thanks for the link!

[PJB 0]

No, you are on your own for that, but it is really pretty easy. I have done it in OVIR twice and paid a hotel to register me for my stay twice.

Yeah, registration is no problem at all. Thanks for the link!

I use Travelmart in Moscow. www.travelmart.ru They have been great with visa support for both my tour and business visas and I can even register with them by e-mail. They also "unregister" by phone. OVIR in my town is a pain and I don't want to stand in line for hours just to get in a fight with them. Tried to register there before and it was a complete waste of time (telling them it's legal now is pointless0.

So I go to Travelmart. But I don't know if they do registration for St. Pete........

[PJB 0]

I just checked and noticed one can fly Delta from LAX to Moscow with a stop in Atlanta, and the difference is..... 3.5 hours. Delta is not charging for bags. A random check in mid November showed me that Delta was about $100 cheaper.

Just checked the Delta LAX to SVO flight for my trip. 3.5 hours is a lot of extra time in the air. Plus in all my experiences with Delta (myself and friends, family) they are never on time. Their flights run late thus adding time to the trip and causing missed connections. Also they never give enough time to make that mad dash for the connecting flight. Only less than an hour to get from plane A to plane B on the LAX to ATL flight I need. Also the flight home is 19 hours. Which is 7 hours longer than Aeroflot. The price though is definately a good deal, $340 cheaper than today's price for Aeroflot. I just hope I get my free ticket.........

[Fedup 0]

On the subject of air travel, anyone have recommendations on the cheapest way to get to St. Pete from the west coast? Travel agent recommendations?

I flew countless times AirFrance. SFO to St.Pete via CDG Paris

Other options I tried were LAX- Paris - St.Pete and Sacramento - Paris - St.Pete.

Loved it. Best service, can't compare to US airlines. Very simple and user friendly Paris airport, close to city, can take a cab or subway to Paris if you choose to stay a night or two there.

Usually flight are timed really convenient, about 2 hours in Paris. 2 daily flights Paris-St.Pete, so have options there too.

Relatively cheap, cheaper then Lufthansa or United or British, and better and more convenient and hassle free too.

Oh, and never lost or delayed luggage, unlike United/Lufthansa, which was delayed 30% of the time..

Give it a try, I think you will like it.

And their miles program actually works, no matter summer or winter.

[Neonred 3,564]

On the subject of air travel, anyone have recommendations on the cheapest way to get to St. Pete from the west coast? Travel agent recommendations?

I flew countless times AirFrance. SFO to St.Pete via CDG Paris

Other options I tried were LAX- Paris - St.Pete and Sacramento - Paris - St.Pete.

Loved it. Best service, can't compare to US airlines. Very simple and user friendly Paris airport, close to city, can take a cab or subway to Paris if you choose to stay a night or two there.

Usually flight are timed really convenient, about 2 hours in Paris. 2 daily flights Paris-St.Pete, so have options there too.

Relatively cheap, cheaper then Lufthansa or United or British, and better and more convenient and hassle free too.

Oh, and never lost or delayed luggage, unlike United/Lufthansa, which was delayed 30% of the time..

Give it a try, I think you will like it.

And their miles program actually works, no matter summer or winter.

Are you kidding? CDG is on my list of worst airports ever, and I try to avoid it at all costs. Unfortunately I was there two weeks ago....ugh.

[slim 1,525]

Are you kidding? CDG is on my list of worst airports ever, and I try to avoid it at all costs. Unfortunately I was there two weeks ago....ugh.

I loved CDG. For $8 you can take a round-trip shuttle bus downtown to see the Eiffel Tower and Arc d'Triumphe, etc. If you're ever transiting through, make sure you have a good layover, 12 hours or so.

[Neonred 3,564]

Are you kidding? CDG is on my list of worst airports ever, and I try to avoid it at all costs. Unfortunately I was there two weeks ago....ugh.

I loved CDG. For $8 you can take a round-trip shuttle bus downtown to see the Eiffel Tower and Arc d'Triumphe, etc. If you're ever transiting through, make sure you have a good layover, 12 hours or so.

Not sure when you went, but you won't get that round trip ride for $8 now, not even €8. And I still think that airport is a mess.

[PJB 0]

On the subject of air travel, anyone have recommendations on the cheapest way to get to St. Pete from the west coast? Travel agent recommendations?

I flew countless times AirFrance. SFO to St.Pete via CDG Paris

Other options I tried were LAX- Paris - St.Pete and Sacramento - Paris - St.Pete.

Loved it. Best service, can't compare to US airlines. Very simple and user friendly Paris airport, close to city, can take a cab or subway to Paris if you choose to stay a night or two there.

Usually flight are timed really convenient, about 2 hours in Paris. 2 daily flights Paris-St.Pete, so have options there too.

Relatively cheap, cheaper then Lufthansa or United or British, and better and more convenient and hassle free too.

Oh, and never lost or delayed luggage, unlike United/Lufthansa, which was delayed 30% of the time..

Give it a try, I think you will like it.

And their miles program actually works, no matter summer or winter.

I really like Air France. Used it several times to get from SVO to LAX by way of Paris. Never had time to tour Paris though. But I think Air France has the best food and still treats passengers like people instead of cattle. Aeroflot and Air France are also partners which means I get Aeroflot bonus points when I fly AF.

Got my ticket to Moscow reserved in case the freebee falls through. The Aeroflot service rep was very nice when I told her I haven't seen my husband in 8 months. She told me I don't have to pay for the ticket until the last moment just in case a free ticket come through.

Edited August 31, 2008 by PJB

[Brad and Vika 129]

On the subject of air travel, anyone have recommendations on the cheapest way to get to St. Pete from the west coast? Travel agent recommendations?

I flew countless times AirFrance. SFO to St.Pete via CDG Paris

Other options I tried were LAX- Paris - St.Pete and Sacramento - Paris - St.Pete.

Loved it. Best service, can't compare to US airlines. Very simple and user friendly Paris airport, close to city, can take a cab or subway to Paris if you choose to stay a night or two there.

Usually flight are timed really convenient, about 2 hours in Paris. 2 daily flights Paris-St.Pete, so have options there too.

Relatively cheap, cheaper then Lufthansa or United or British, and better and more convenient and hassle free too.

Oh, and never lost or delayed luggage, unlike United/Lufthansa, which was delayed 30% of the time..

Give it a try, I think you will like it.

And their miles program actually works, no matter summer or winter.

I really like Air France. Used it several times to get from SVO to LAX by way of Paris. Never had time to tour Paris though. But I think Air France has the best food and still treats passengers like people instead of cattle. Aeroflot and Air France are also partners which means I get Aeroflot bonus points when I fly AF.

Got my ticket to Moscow reserved in case the freebee falls through. The Aeroflot service rep was very nice when I told her I haven't seen my husband in 8 months. She told me I don't have to pay for the ticket until the last moment just in case a free ticket come through.

Good luck!!

[slim 1,525]

But I think Air France has the best food

They could have the best food, but if you like Asian food, if you travel Korean Air or Asiana you'll enjoy your flight. I've heard nothing but good things about Singapore Airlines but have never actually travelled the world in their cabins. Someday maybe.