Purchasing Airline ticket from Moscow to US

[clueless_in_usa 8]

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.

Wanted to add that a couple of years ago Aerosvit used to rent an Italian plane for their flight to and from New York. The whole crew (except for a couple who spoke Russian/Ukrainian) were all from Italy, including pilots. One problem you may encounter with these direct flights between US and Russia/Ukraine in any airline, is that you will be stuck for many hours and possibly days if the plane breaks in the foreign land (US for Aeroflot/Aerosvit and Russia/Ukraine for Delta/United). It happened to me in New York with Aerosvit and to a friend in Kiev with Delta, so I know.

[Cixelsyd 1]

Ooooh how I hate United.

I actually took the exact flight you're talking about between Dulles and Domodedovo (spelling may be a little off).

The short story is this:

-Arriving

We departed late for reasons I can't remember.

Buncha little annoying things in flight like my own little screen not working. But it's about the destination not the journey.

Even though we left an our late, we managed to arrive in DME 2 hours late. At least we made it.

-Leaving

When I was leaving the plane was 2 hours late again. Apparently they hadn't figured it out yet.

At first they said they had to service the plane, so another hour delay. I'm ok with that, wouldn't want to fly across the world with no gas.

Then there was some confusion issue involving ice, so another hour and a half delay. Alright, DME is a nice airport anyway.

Next they stumbled on some mechanical issue, so just hang out for another hour and change. They must have found my broken TV screen.

Finally, sorry folks, we're not flying today. Well, better to stay on the ground than crash into it.

-The problem

I was in a hurry when I did my visa, so I didn't give myself a day buffer; thus I had to leave Russia that day or face the gulags.

So I wasn't able to go to the nice plush hotel they had set up for everyone that was supposed to fly.

-The Solution

Myself and a couple other people explained this to the United rep. I felt so bad for her, she was getting mauled by people and trying to be nice and find a solution. Poor lady, she did a good job though, I mean it wasn't her fault.

Anyway, so she found a way to get us out on Luftansa (again, check that spelling). But it was only to Frankfurt, was all they could do. So when we would arrive in Frankfurt, they would set us up with a hotel for the night and fly us back to the states the next day.

So we go out of security to get tickets and then back through it, which was just funny and confusing. This lady was walking at an impressive running pace and we knew if we lost sight of her, it would end badly for us. Not a complaint though.

-Frankfurt

Luftansa was an awesome flight, no delays and even nice and comfy. Much better than United.

So we arrive in Frankfurt and myself and the other people b-line it for the United desk. Although when we arrived, it seemed rather dark and sparsely populated. We asked around and the Luftansa rep said "Oh, they go home at 5:00 every day". We'd been HAD.

So we had to stay all night in the airport; not the most comfortable thing to do.

-Leaving Take 2

My final leg of the trip was back to DC on United.

They were over half an our late arriving/departing again. I was already planning how I would sleep in the airport again.

On the flight back over, I was greeted with the same meal they ran out of on the way to Moscow. The last thing I was worried about of course.

Maybe I was spoiled because I took British airways on my first trip to Russia.

The sad part is I know I'm going to end up having to take the exact same flight again this summer, due to arrival departure times and train times.

If you can though, never ever ever ever (I can't stress this enough) ever take United if you can help it. Or at least bring patience, a pillow and a blanket.

[clueless_in_usa 8]

Ooooh how I hate United.

I actually took the exact flight you're talking about between Dulles and Domodedovo (spelling may be a little off).

The short story is this:

-Arriving

We departed late for reasons I can't remember.

Buncha little annoying things in flight like my own little screen not working. But it's about the destination not the journey.

Even though we left an our late, we managed to arrive in DME 2 hours late. At least we made it.

-Leaving

When I was leaving the plane was 2 hours late again. Apparently they hadn't figured it out yet.

At first they said they had to service the plane, so another hour delay. I'm ok with that, wouldn't want to fly across the world with no gas.

Then there was some confusion issue involving ice, so another hour and a half delay. Alright, DME is a nice airport anyway.

Next they stumbled on some mechanical issue, so just hang out for another hour and change. They must have found my broken TV screen.

Finally, sorry folks, we're not flying today. Well, better to stay on the ground than crash into it.

-The problem

I was in a hurry when I did my visa, so I didn't give myself a day buffer; thus I had to leave Russia that day or face the gulags.

So I wasn't able to go to the nice plush hotel they had set up for everyone that was supposed to fly.

-The Solution

Myself and a couple other people explained this to the United rep. I felt so bad for her, she was getting mauled by people and trying to be nice and find a solution. Poor lady, she did a good job though, I mean it wasn't her fault.

Anyway, so she found a way to get us out on Luftansa (again, check that spelling). But it was only to Frankfurt, was all they could do. So when we would arrive in Frankfurt, they would set us up with a hotel for the night and fly us back to the states the next day.

So we go out of security to get tickets and then back through it, which was just funny and confusing. This lady was walking at an impressive running pace and we knew if we lost sight of her, it would end badly for us. Not a complaint though.

-Frankfurt

Luftansa was an awesome flight, no delays and even nice and comfy. Much better than United.

So we arrive in Frankfurt and myself and the other people b-line it for the United desk. Although when we arrived, it seemed rather dark and sparsely populated. We asked around and the Luftansa rep said "Oh, they go home at 5:00 every day". We'd been HAD.

So we had to stay all night in the airport; not the most comfortable thing to do.

-Leaving Take 2

My final leg of the trip was back to DC on United.

They were over half an our late arriving/departing again. I was already planning how I would sleep in the airport again.

On the flight back over, I was greeted with the same meal they ran out of on the way to Moscow. The last thing I was worried about of course.

Maybe I was spoiled because I took British airways on my first trip to Russia.

The sad part is I know I'm going to end up having to take the exact same flight again this summer, due to arrival departure times and train times.

If you can though, never ever ever ever (I can't stress this enough) ever take United if you can help it. Or at least bring patience, a pillow and a blanket.

It has to be a United practice, because I had a similar experience within the USA the only time I tried to fly United this year. The worst part is that they do not care. You are at their mercy. I got my ticket refunded after getting stranded in Chicago (their big hub) because "they did not have a crew available to fly the plane." However, I only got the purchase price. The client loss was MY loss.

If you fly frequently in Delta and have a good status, you may chosen to fly business across the Atlantic because those seats are never full, but they assign them all. I was the lucky one twice from Kiev. It is SO much comfortable!