Purchasing Airline ticket from Moscow to US

[KeithandAlina 0]

My fiance and I hope that all will go well at the interview and she will be coming home to the US soon. That said, we need to buy her a ticket from Moscow to the US.

Can I log on to travelocity.com or a similar site and buy the ticket in her name. If so, when she arrrives at the airport the day of departure, what documents will she need to prove that she has the ticket (I assume that it will be an e-ticket, similar to what we have here in the US.)

Please let me know. Thanks.

[Cixelsyd 1]

My fiance and I hope that all will go well at the interview and she will be coming home to the US soon. That said, we need to buy her a ticket from Moscow to the US.

Can I log on to travelocity.com or a similar site and buy the ticket in her name. If so, when she arrrives at the airport the day of departure, what documents will she need to prove that she has the ticket (I assume that it will be an e-ticket, similar to what we have here in the US.)

Please let me know. Thanks.

Yeah, you can use travelocity; I've used Orbitz before.

As to what she'll need, all she needs is her international passport. At least that's all myself and my wife have ever used.

Also, buy a round trip ticket. I don't know why, but one way tickets are retarded expensive. As far as I've noticed, it's easily half as expensive to buy a round trip ticket.

[AKguy 1]

Agreed.

At least check and see what type of ticket would be cheaper.

For a direct flight like that you might also just look and see how much a ticket from Aeroflot would cost, might save you a few pennies.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

My fiance and I hope that all will go well at the interview and she will be coming home to the US soon. That said, we need to buy her a ticket from Moscow to the US.

Can I log on to travelocity.com or a similar site and buy the ticket in her name. If so, when she arrrives at the airport the day of departure, what documents will she need to prove that she has the ticket (I assume that it will be an e-ticket, similar to what we have here in the US.)

Please let me know. Thanks.

Yes you can buy a ticket in her name. She will need only the e-ticket number they will give you, refernce number or whatever they call it. We do this for our son to come home for the summer from Moscow. No problems. Buy the ticket in her name exactly as the passport states. You will get an email with the confrmation/reference number, forward the email to her and that is all she needs, along with her passport.

[KeithandAlina 0]

Thanks! So its similar to here in the US, you just go to the airport with ID and they give you the boarding pass? They dont need the actual credit card that was used to purchase the ticket?

Sorry for all the questions, but my bride doesnt seem to think it will be this easy.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Thanks! So its similar to here in the US, you just go to the airport with ID and they give you the boarding pass? They dont need the actual credit card that was used to purchase the ticket?

Sorry for all the questions, but my bride doesnt seem to think it will be this easy.

Yes, it is that easy. There is ONE caveat...some airlines such as Aerosvit require that if you buy a ticket for someone else you must fax them a copy of your credit card and some other ID, such as a drivers license. This is a company policy, NOT a law. But your fiancee will need only her passport and the confirmation number. I have done this when buying tickets directly from Aerosvit, but when buying through travelocity or Orbitz, etc. I did not have to do this. Our son has flown back all by himself from Moscow and needed nothing but his passport and the reference number. He will do the same this summer. Alla and our other son did the same when they came here initially (since then, of course, there flights have originated here).

On some other occasions, when I cobbled together some flights to Ukraine via other countries on the way there and/or coming back, I had to be issued a paper ticket(s) because some of the airlines do not do e-tickets, or some such BS, but for a flight from Moscow to a US POE that should not be a problem.

[Neonred 3,564]

We fly Delta and all they need is ID. They never need the e-ticket or credit card numbers.

[baron555 934]

My fiance and I hope that all will go well at the interview and she will be coming home to the US soon. That said, we need to buy her a ticket from Moscow to the US.

Can I log on to travelocity.com or a similar site and buy the ticket in her name. If so, when she arrrives at the airport the day of departure, what documents will she need to prove that she has the ticket (I assume that it will be an e-ticket, similar to what we have here in the US.)

Please let me know. Thanks.

I used SkyScanner. Send her the email of the e-ticket and have her print that out. That's all besides her passport.

[yuliaandray 0]

You might try http://pososhok.ru/ I found it to have cheaper fares then orbitz, travelocity, xpedia. Also found one ways are cheaper then round trips there.

There are a number of options for paying as well.

Edited April 2, 2010 by yuliaandray

[clueless_in_usa 8]

My fiance and I hope that all will go well at the interview and she will be coming home to the US soon. That said, we need to buy her a ticket from Moscow to the US.

Can I log on to travelocity.com or a similar site and buy the ticket in her name. If so, when she arrrives at the airport the day of departure, what documents will she need to prove that she has the ticket (I assume that it will be an e-ticket, similar to what we have here in the US.)

Please let me know. Thanks.

Most airlines offer cheaper fares if you buy the ticket in Russia, but that means that it has to be paid there. They will not allow you to pay for the cheaper fare in the USA (Lufthansa is an example). Others offer the same fare either way (Aeroflot is an example).

I would go directly to the airline websites because in Travelocity or Expedia you will be paying American prices. That is my experience!

One more thing, if you cannot wait for her at POE, domestic connections may inflate the final price, especially if they need to use a partner airline.

The airlines with the best schedule from Moscow to USA (in no particular order):

Aeroflot -> JFK

Delta -> JFK

United -> DC

KLM

Lufthansa

Air France

Alitalia

Swiss

[slim 1,525]

If you haven't done so already, join the "membership program" of whatever airline you're going to buy from. You'll get an @$$load of miles from just this one ticket.

[shikarnov 7]

My wife and I always travel Delta these days. Service is consistently good, and the direct flight from JFK to SVO is perfect for us. Prices are usually reasonable, but not always.

During my early travels to Russia, I tried saving money by flying United, Lufthansa, and Aeroflot. If you don't mind a connection in Europe, Lufthansa is a pretty decent airline to travel on. I strongly advise that you don't fly Aeroflot. I had two flights with Aeroflot (once to Moscow, once to New York), and both trips were consistently bad. Horrendous turbulence, pilots flew faster than the US-based ones ever did, planes creaked like an old house, landings were abrupt and frightening. Never again for us.

As for the topic at hand, I only tried Travelocity once and it wouldn't let me purchase with Moscow as the origin point, but I never had a problem doing so from Delta's website. I'm not sure if Travelocity's policy has changed since I last tried.

I also echo the previously given advice to purchase a round trip ticket. All the airlines massively mark up one-way tickets. If you skip your return flight, they don't usually penalize you unless you try to collect a partial refund, or get the difference applied to a future flight. So, if you purchase a two way ticket to use as a one-way, consider the return ticket a loss, and buy a new round-trip the next time you travel.

Good luck!

Z

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

It seems an eastern European thing, but the first time I touched down on an Aerosvit flight to Odessa and the plane erupted in applause...well. I was a bit taken aback! I mean, thanking the flight crew as you leave the plane is one thing, but acting as though they didn;t expect to land safely...

[Martyshk 137]

It seems an eastern European thing, but the first time I touched down on an Aerosvit flight to Odessa and the plane erupted in applause...

As long as I can remember, flying in Ukraine and Russia it was like that. Not sure what the meaning behind it is, but I always took it as a thank you for a nice safe flight.

[clueless_in_usa 8]

My wife and I always travel Delta these days. Service is consistently good, and the direct flight from JFK to SVO is perfect for us. Prices are usually reasonable, but not always.

During my early travels to Russia, I tried saving money by flying United, Lufthansa, and Aeroflot. If you don't mind a connection in Europe, Lufthansa is a pretty decent airline to travel on. I strongly advise that you don't fly Aeroflot. I had two flights with Aeroflot (once to Moscow, once to New York), and both trips were consistently bad. Horrendous turbulence, pilots flew faster than the US-based ones ever did, planes creaked like an old house, landings were abrupt and frightening. Never again for us.

As for the topic at hand, I only tried Travelocity once and it wouldn't let me purchase with Moscow as the origin point, but I never had a problem doing so from Delta's website. I'm not sure if Travelocity's policy has changed since I last tried.

I also echo the previously given advice to purchase a round trip ticket. All the airlines massively mark up one-way tickets. If you skip your return flight, they don't usually penalize you unless you try to collect a partial refund, or get the difference applied to a future flight. So, if you purchase a two way ticket to use as a one-way, consider the return ticket a loss, and buy a new round-trip the next time you travel.

Good luck!

Z

Now United has a direct flight between Moscow and Washington DC.

I am surprised about your comments regarding Aeroflot. They use their newest planes in their route to the USA, and last time I used them the flight was pleasant. Turbulence is not attributable to the airline, but to your luck with the weather in route. The only thing I do agree with is that Aeroflot's service leaves much to be desired. But if you are not checking bags, there is no much to worry.