Traveling Around Russia by Plane, Airline Companies Contacts, Average Price of a Flight to Russia

Author: Dimitry Paranyushkin (on 21 Jun 2013)
Gone are the romantic times when you'd board a small shaky plane in a small Russian town, take 100 grams of vodka for the "courage", and pray you'd make it home safely. Nowadays it's more Boeings and Airbuses rather than good old "Tu-134" and "An", and unfortunately you can't take a flight to every small village like you used to.
However, the prices are really good, and often you can get to any destinations for the same price as a 2nd class train ticket. So, for example, if you're doing Trans-Siberian and don't want to take a train there and back, you could take a flight back to Moscow from Irkutsk (Baikal lake) for about €150-€200.

Aeroflot planes / photo by Teliko82@FlickR

 
There are several major airlines in Russia, the main one still being Aeroflot. They have diverse route network and more or less similar service (which is not as good as on Aeroflot's international flights, but not too bad, either). There are also some local "no-frill" airlines, such as SkyExpress, which have daily cheap flights between Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Rostov, Ekaterinburg and other destinations. Here's some more information about each Russian airline.

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Major Russian Airlines

Aeroflot Russian Airlines
Usually cheapest tickets to/from Russia. Good service (despite what many people think), quite safe (there’s a rumour that many pilots are former military, so if they managed in Afghanistan…), and a wide selection of food (must be prebooked). If you're flying to far-out destinations, such as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky or Vladivostok, Aeroflot has good options.
Internet: http://www.aeroflot.com (USA), http://www.aeroflot.co.uk (UK), http://www.aeroflot.ru (Russia). 

Contacts: +1 (888)686-4949 (Washington, USA), +44 (0) 20 7 355-2233 (London, UK), +7 (495) 753-5555 (24 hours, Moscow, Russia)

Offices: Moscow Russia: Petrovka St., 20/1 (metro Teatralnaya, Okhotny Ryad) | London UK: 70, Picaddilly St.
 
Sibir Airlines
Second most important in Russia, after Aeroflot. Based in Novosibirsk. Strives to provide good service for less money than Aeroflot. Has great offers for domestic flights in Russia, as well as some international flights, especially to Germany and Asia (China, Korea, Mongolia).
Internet: http://english.s7.ru/ (Russian, English, German)

Contacts: +7 (495) 777-9999 (Moscow, Russia), +7 (3832) 59-90-90 (24 hours, Novosibirsk, Russia), +44 (0)870 60 80 737 (UK), +86 10 651-207-09 (China)

Offices: Moscow, Russia: 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya str., 15 (metro «Belorusskaya») 

Working hours: 10:00 - 20:00, Domodedovo Airport (24h) , Paveletsky Railway Station (10.00-21.00)
 

Transaero
Not very nice service, however sometimes kicks off very low prices for some international flights (to UK and Germany) and domestic flights (to Kamchatka).

Internet: http://www.transaero.ru/ (Russian only)

Contacts: +7 (495) 241-76-76 (Moscow, Russia)
 

Pulkovo
St. Petersburg – based airline company. Regular flights between Moscow and St. Petersburg. Sometimes good offers for international flights from St. Petersburg.
 
SkyExpress
The first Russian no-frills budget airline. Has flights between Moscow and St. Petersburg, Rostov-na-Donu, Ekaterinburg, Perm, Murmansk, and Sochi. Their network is constantly expanding, but their service is considered to be the worst – especially the fact that the planes are always late or sometimes get cancelled. However, the fact that you can fly to any of these destinations for about €20 return sometimes attracts some customers.
Internet: http://skyexpress.ru
 
 

Popular Route Prices

Moscow - St. Petersburg:
Usually about $65 US one way, including airport taxes. Aeroflot flies from Sheremtyevo 1 airport, Pulkovo flies from Domodedovo airport. All flights arrive in Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg.
Better deals are usually offered by Aeroflot.

Moscow - Novosibirsk:
Usually about $250-$400 US return flight.
Best deals are offered by Sibir, Aeroflot, Transaero.

Moscow - Irkutsk:
Usually about $300-$450 US return flight.
Best deals are offered by Sibir, Aeroflot, Transaero.

Moscow - Vladivostok:
Usually about $500-$650 US return flight
Best deals are offered by Sibir airlines, Aeroflot, DalAvia.

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Moscow - Petropavlovsk (Kamchatka:
Usually about $500 US return flight.
Best deals are offered by Transaero and Aeroflot.
 

Getting Airline Tickets

Moscow: Pososhok - Address: Komsomolsky Prospekt, #13 (metro: Park Kultury or Frunzenskaya); Phone: +7 495 234-8000]
Another good agency is EastLine, office at Paveltsky railway station in Moscow, open 24 hours (metro: Paveletskaya) and Domodedovo airport (24 hours). Phone: (+7 495) 795-0077.
St. Petersburg: Infinity - Address: Bolshaya Morskaya St., #39 (hotel Astoria) | Phone: +7 812 313-5085
Irkutsk: Sayany-Trans-Service. Cheapest airline tickets in Irkutsk. The office is located in Intourist hotel (bank of Angara river). Open daily 8.00 to 20.00, sat sun from 9.00 to 19.00. Telephone: (3952) 250-010, 401-578
Student STA travel agency.
Offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnodar, Nizhnevartovsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Rostov-na-Donu, Toliatti, Tumen, Ufa, Volgograd.
Moscow phone: +7 495 797-9555, email: tickets@startravel.ru
Internet: http://www.startravel.ru/about/regions.shtml (Russian)

 

 


 

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