Travel to and from Russia in 2024

[October 2022 26]

I did dig around and found a couple of travel discussions from 2022, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to start a fresh one.

 

Is it possible to research flights to or from Russia these days? I've used Kayak in the past, but now they won't display search results "due to government restrictions".

 

The Aeroflot site won't let me on at all. I haven't tried any other carriers yet.

 

Do I need VPN or some <Deleted>

 

But seriously, what is it that people do these days to arrange travel?

 

Thank you.

Edited February 8 by Crazy Cat

[millefleur 5,046]

Everyone I know who travels between Russia and the US (or Europe) these days goes via Istanbul. Would check with Turkish Airlines and see if you have luck.

[October 2022 26]

Thank you, I will. I was actually trying to look at direct flights from Moscow to Havana, but Aeroflot won't let me on.

[Dashinka 24,488]

I agree, Istanbul seems to be the preferred path, but my wife also recently flew through Dubai, and I believe Qatar also has flights into and out of Russia.  A flight between Detroit and Istanbul was recently launched, so if we or she goes this year, it will most likely be that route.  I am not sure if Aeroflot is flying to any foreign airports at this time (maybe China), but we were able to schedule a trip from Miami to Novosibirsk via Emirates website (Flydubai between Dubai and Novosibirsk).  For internal Russian flights, my wife had her cousin book the tickets via S7.

[millefleur 5,046]

1 hour ago, October 2022 said:

Thank you, I will. I was actually trying to look at direct flights from Moscow to Havana, but Aeroflot won't let me on.

You might have to use a VPN to search for that. 

 

Another route is to go via Serbia. You can get flights from the US to Belgrade and then Belgrade to Russia.

[October 2022 26]

Thank you, all! From what it looks like, I need to start with specific airlines. It looks like connecting via Istanbul to Moscow is the most straightforward way to go. The shortest layover I've seen was 9 hours. Oh well. At least it's a direct shot to Atlanta from there.

[millefleur 5,046]

34 minutes ago, October 2022 said:

Thank you, all! From what it looks like, I need to start with specific airlines. It looks like connecting via Istanbul to Moscow is the most straightforward way to go. The shortest layover I've seen was 9 hours. Oh well. At least it's a direct shot to Atlanta from there.

Supposedly Istanbul is one of the nicest international airports out there as well. I've only ever heard good things. Can't say the same for a lot of European hub airports. 

[October 2022 26]

I've heard good things about Istanbul as well!

 

It's amazing how outdated our perceptions are... My mother is genuinely amazed how modern and nice Almaty is. She is from Volgograd, and her viewpoint of the nearby western Kazakhstan leans towards vast, scarcely populated steppes 🙂

[millefleur 5,046]

10 hours ago, October 2022 said:

I've heard good things about Istanbul as well!

Yep, I was guilty of pre-judging it myself but Istanbul is one of the best airports in the world and my family and friends who've been there have confirmed this. 

[Pirozhok 13]

On 2/8/2024 at 1:14 PM, millefleur said:

Everyone I know who travels between Russia and the US (or Europe) these days goes via Istanbul. Would check with Turkish Airlines and see if you have luck.

 

Adding another to the list. She's partial to the meals on Turkish Airlines anyway, so we just start on their website directly. There really aren't enough options to save much by shopping around at this point anyway.

[BenNomad 88]

My wife and I always use aviasales (dot) ru to check for the cheapest flights to/from Russia. You don't need a VPN to use that site. But we usually buy the tickets directly from the airline and then you do need to use a Russian VPN. There are free Russian VPN apps for Android devices (I had a harder time finding a plugin for a PC web browser but I'm sure they exist). The bigger problem is paying for the tickets. We would buy the tickets between Istanbul and the rest of the world with a U.S. bank card, but the Istanbul-Russia tickets have to be purchased with a Russian bank card if you're flying on a Russian airline (maybe it's more accurate to say that U.S. bank cards don't work). The work-around would be buying a ticket with a non-Russian airline that flies to Russia (like Armenia's FlyOne or FlyDubai). We flew out of Russia once via Yerevan and I used my U.S. bank card to buy that ticket, but the connection times and prices may not be the best in many cases.

[October 2022 26]

7 hours ago, BenNomad said:

<...> the connection times and prices may not be the best in many cases.

 I think the times when we could shop around for convenient flights and lower prices are gone for good.

[wgly 9]

I recently got back from a two week trip to Novosibirsk. Feb 18 to March 5th. Used Uzbekistan Airways with a stop in Teshkent. Ticket cost me about $1000. Layover going to Russia was about 3 hours, layover going back was about 8 hours. I just stayed in a capsule hotel at Tashkent going back, cost me $50. Hope this information helps. It was alot cheaper than going through Turkey.

 

Used aviasales to search for tickets and then went direct to the airline site to book the flight.

Edited March 9 by wgly

[Niasa 0]

On 3/9/2024 at 6:34 AM, wgly said:

I recently got back from a two week trip to Novosibirsk. Feb 18 to March 5th. Used Uzbekistan Airways with a stop in Teshkent. Ticket cost me about $1000. Layover going to Russia was about 3 hours, layover going back was about 8 hours. I just stayed in a capsule hotel at Tashkent going back, cost me $50. Hope this information helps. It was alot cheaper than going through Turkey.

 

Used aviasales to search for tickets and then went direct to the airline site to book the flight.

Did you pay for the flight with an American Visa card?

[wgly 9]

On 3/10/2024 at 8:11 PM, Niasa said:

Did you pay for the flight with an American Visa card?

 

I can't remember exactly if I used Visa or Mastercard but I did not have issues purchasing flight ticket with my american cc directly on Uzbekistan airway site.

 

Also my flight dates were Feb 18 - March 4th from JFK to Novosibirsk.

 

Capsule at Tashkent airport had issues accepting Visa/Mastercard so I had to use cash there.

Edited March 12 by wgly