I have flown them for the US to Moscow and from Moscow to Tbilisi (all Russian equipment). No problems at all. One landing in Moscow in an IL-86 was the smoothest I have ever experienced. Quite honestly, one did not feel the wheels touch the ground.
I’d fly them again, but prefer Emirates and Cathay Pacific.
Is Emirates as swanky as I imagine it to be?
I took several Aeroflot flights in 1991. They were quite scary really: broken seatbelts; cabin staff still wandering around doing safety demonstrations while the plane was actually making its takeoff.
The most eye-opening part was when we were required to board through the baggage compartment at the bottom of the plane and then go upstairs to the passenger section.
I’ve flown with Aeroflot twice (round-trip) in 2006-2007 and have only good experiences. They seemed like any other airline I’ve flown with (Scandinavian Airlines, US Airways, etc). I think it’s a bit silly to refuse to fly with Aeroflot due to this one accident in 14 years. I would rather think that they will check their planes even more than others because of this, not to get a repeat.
I think the bad reputation comes from Soviet times, while they have worked to improve their service a lot since then.
My father did, way back in 1981. All the way to Bratsk, of all godforsaken places. Tour Guides, Flight Attendants, and Obvious Spies were nearby at all times, and quite helpful.
His only complaint was that it was a bit unsettling to see debris from previous accidents just bulldozed out of the way of the landing strips, rusting in piles. Which seems more of a symptom of the Union’s failings, and not the airlines. Not that there was much of a difference at the time.
I’ve flown Sydney-London on Emirates in business class. It was nice, but no better or worse than other major airlines.
I remember one flight from Moscow to Frankfurt that was amusing. I had a ‘non-smoking’ seat assignment, but after the plane took off, the guy next to me lit right up. The attendant, who was probably KGB, spoke some English and I pointed to my ticket and said “non-smoking”. She nodded and looked at me like “so fuckin’ what?” I pointed at the guy next to me and said “smoking!” She points at my seat and says “non smoking”, then points at his seat and says “smoking”.
I also flew on LOT and COT and remember that the smoking section was the left side of the plane, non-smoking on the right side. You have to laugh at that sort of thinking.
I’m not sure if the IL-96 retained this feature but I know it was on the IL-86. Supposedly this “feature” was introduced due to the size of the IL-86 compared to some of the airports it was due to serve. The idea was that passengers at small airports would board the plane and “check” their own baggage, and then remove it when they reached their destination. By doing this the smaller airports would not have to build larger baggage claim areas.
When I flew in the IL-86 we entered through the same door, but our destination airport (Leningrad–now St. Petersburg) had a large enough baggage claim area that we could check our bags at the counter and not have to carry them to the plane ourselves.
Dad flew with them in the 70s. It was either from the UK or France to Poland, to meet up with his brother and some friends. He recalls being shaken to hell, but the trip was made for a fiver.
Probably. Although most non-US carriers are far better than their US counterparts. I have used Emirates for Dubai to New York, Dubai to Auckland, into Africa and Europe as well. All very nice. They are on par with Singapore who I only get to fly rarely.
Emirates is better than Cathay but both are excellent. I just wish Emirates flew to Prague! Of the majors, Air France is the only one I try to avoid (and Paris in general). I like Czech Airlines and Air Arabia for the Mid East region is fantastic too (as a low cost carrier).
I’ve always thought Aeroflot has an unfortunately onomatopoeic “wheeee… splot” ring to it.
I’ve never flown with them, but I probably wouldn’t avoid them if they were cheap and were flying where I wanted to go (i.e. not into the ground at high speed).
Yep, back in 1992. It was…interesting. Luggage “racks” instead of proper overhead bins? Check. Some sort of gruel being served in old, green and orange tupperware containers? Check. The possibility of someone not having a seat and, instead of being rebooked on a different flight, perhaps either standing up for the duration (!!!) or sitting in the bathroom (!!!) - luckily, the poor bastards did find seats? Check. Generally ricketyness? Check.
We did get there safely, but it was a very unique experience. Rather daunting deplaning on the tarmac surrounded by the Red Army carrying AK47s. I don’t know if I’d recommend it, but it’s a pretty cool memory, to be sure.
I have flown Aeroflot 4 or 5 times in the last few years. It has not been too bad but some of the experiences need mentioning:
This one time the flight was scheduled for departure at 7:30 PM from Toronto to Moscow. It was a Boeing 767. It got delayed and the reason given was technical trouble.
Now, I do not like flying in a machine that has just had some problem fixed. I would much prefer that this machine that has just been repaired, do a couple of test runs just so that I am sure that the problem has been actually fixed.
Anyways, we all board the plane and it taxis to the end of the runway,where it turns around to start the run for take-off. Ten seconds into the full throttle mode, and the pilot applies emergency brakes bringing the plane to a stop. We taxi back to the terminal where we are unloaded at 1:00 AM, and told that that we were not leaving that night and would be informed when they are ready. We finally take off for Moscow a full 24 hours behing schedule.
Their IL-96 aircrafts are weird. They are big and the décor inside is rather plain and stark. The seats are wider compared to the ones get in the economy class of other airlines. Unlike other planes when you have air vents above you that you open when you want blowing air, in the IL-96 there is a small fan embedded in the back of the seat in front of you.
And something that I did not like at all was the wafting smell of pee from the washrooms in the rear of the plane.