Aeroflot Reviews

This was annoying in itself but not the main issue. I requested a vegetarian meal, and had this verified prior to the initial cancellation of my flight. No one at Aeroflot bothered to transfer this request to the replacement flight and that flight didn't carry any vegetarian meals. So I didn't eat on the flight and on complaining at the Aeroflot desk at Moscow airport, received some meal tokens to spend in the airport.

However, the value of the tokens was pathetic by any measure. The only eatery open was TGI Fridays and the only vegetarian option there was soup, which I ordered with a glass of orange juice. These two meagre items not only came to more than the amount I had in tokens but required me to pay several Euros too! Just to add insult to injury, this event happened nearly a year ago and repeated emails to Aeroflop are ignored and occasionally referred to some other department that proceeds to ignore them. Also the level of English of Aeroflot staff is terrible for the international airline.

I got involved since the man did not speak good English assuming that the Chinese check-in officer did not say euro but RMB. I was wrong. He was in fact asking for 280 euro! The customer left screaming and opening his luggage to get some stuff out. I went to check in with my business partner and for 45 kilos total weight (for 2 passengers) we were informed that the excess 5 kilos would cost 200 US dollars (this time the currency had changed!) I complained, realizing that the Chinese man was making money from this as he was the oldest of all 8 check-in officers and had replaced a young girl by sending her somewhere else while she was checking passengers in.

And I noticed that all other 7 lines had no such problems. Obviously he was in charge. I refused and asked why it costs so much. He said in good English that Aeroflot had such high tariffs for excess weight. He refused to let us fly unless we paid. I refused again asking for an official from Aeroflot to confirm it. He told us there was none there. We were in this mans mercy! It was $200 or Christmas in Beijing, China. I told him I would rather get rid of some of my clothes,and he told me it was not his problem. So we had to leave some of our clothes (4 pairs of jeans, 4 blouses, a bag of underwear) in a bin in the airport and wear 2 jackets each and 3 sweat shirts! Then we could fly. Where was Aeroflot? How much should I have paid for 5 kilos? What will you do about it?

Last time I was in Belarus, they informed me that they stop administering stamps in Belarusian passports and it never was a problem for me, while I was trying to leave my country, Belarus, on multiple occasions previously to travel through Germany of Poland. However, this time I was denied the entrance to a supposedly friendly country, Russia, even though my country, which is Belarus, doesn't seem to have a problem with me coming home as desired. I understand that different countries have different policies and regulations; therefore, I will keep this newly learned lesson in my mind for my future travels.

In the mean time, I would like to receive the full refund of the unused ticket, I do not wish to receive any credit, since I do not plan to fly Aeroflot in the future. I also have to comment on a representative from Aeroflot in Los Angeles, he was very helpful and he provided a very professional way of dealing with my problem. I do not know his last name, but his first name is Karen. Thank you Karen for being there when disgruntled and mostly upset passengers feel extremely helpless! As I am writing this letter to you, I am also copying this message to a Belarusian embassy representative for their future consideration.

When I arrived in Moscow, I was unable to pass the transfers desk as I and the other 4 travelers to Shanghai were on a list indicating that we would spend the night in Moscow and leave at 8 PM the next day. This is despite the fact we were in plenty of time for the Beijing flight at 10 PM the same night, which would have gotten us to Shanghai the next morning/afternoon. Instead, we were forced to go to the transit section of the Novotel hotel for almost 24 hours--where we were forced to share a room with a stranger, provided with one bottle of water for the entire time, and given two inadequate (some of the food was rotten) meals at improper times.

We arrived at the hotel around 10 PM but were offered no dinner since we had sat at the airport for 2-3 hours (in a zone which did not have access to food or drinks), waiting to be moved to the hotel, we had missed dinner. The worst part of the entire process was that no apologies were offered or even friendliness on the part of the staff. Instead, we were treated as if it was our fault to have been stuck in that situation. This was all took place on December 25, which is Christmas Day in western countries.

I cannot believe that the Skyteam alliance allows Aeroflot to be a member, and especially to codeshare with airlines like KLM or Delta who provide excellent service and would never subject a traveler to such events. I would never have chosen Aeroflot was it not for its membership in the Skyteam alliance which gave me faith that I would be treated the same as other Skyteam airlines. Other airlines would have provided a business class upgrade on the next leg of the flight (the business class was almost empty), as well as free frequent flier miles or a flight voucher. Aeroflot has not even offered an apology.