VLADIVOSTOK AIR review : 15 July 2008 : by Chris Gyngell

Customer Rating : 0/5

Vladivostok - Niigata, Japan on a Tupolev-154. Flying with Vladvostok Air can only rate as a character-building exercise. Check in at Vladivostok was horrific, and slightly surprising given they practically have a whole terminal to themselves. Big queues, and slow moving in traditional Russian style. The planes were cramped, impossibly so for someone on my height (6'4), and anything longer than 1hr30 on this plane could feasibly be considered torture. Not particularly aided by the guess-who style folded seats. Cabin was akin to a sauna, although the one redeeming factor was the crew and in-flight service. I thought the food/drinks service was surprisingly good considering the rest of the flight, and should be praised accordingly. Landing ranked as one of the scariest experiences of my flying life, with a military style descent followed by a sharp left about 30 seconds before landing. Actual touchdown was remarkably smooth given the torrential rain outside, and no problems at the airport, with the wonderfully efficient Japanese supplying English + Russian speakers for passengers. However, considering the price paid for a 1hr30 flight (USD $450), seriously consider the ferry if time allows. Thoroughly horrific.

Vladivostok Air - by Elena Muratova

9 January 2007

Due to bad weather the flight to Niigata (Japan) I was going to take has been delayed. The information about the delay was announced only twice, so not all the passengers managed to hear what was going on, and there was no support in English in the airport. There was a little help for Japanese tourists who could not speak Russian. The sign at the information counter was only in Russian. When I asked for support in providing rooms for Japanese tourists in nearby hotels for tonight, the woman at the counter gave us some unclear instructions, and we ended up running from the International terminal to domestic and back, having minus 10 degrees centigrade outside. Very disappointing and really embarrassing. The airline have to figure out how to deal with cases like this and try to give the passengers as less stress as possible. We already had enough having the plane 1 day delayed.

Vladivostok Air - by M Cabana

27 October 2006

Moscow (VNUKOVO) to Abakan: Tupolev-154. I was traveling to siberia with Vladivostok Air due to the fact that there is no other airline going to this destination. I was sitting in middle of the airplane. There is not enough space between the seats and you can expect the have injured knees at the end of the trip. Being 5'9", I normally do not have problems with this so I believe that it would be terrible for people taller. The seats are also very narrow and if some big guys sits beside you, it can be a nightmare to try to eat or slightly moving. The worst part of my 2 experience with vladivostok air is the check in at the airport. There is only one counter for this big airplane and no waiting lines. The people are all crouded around the counter and trying to pass one eachother. Very unpleasant for people with big luggage and not used to this type of threatment. To pick up the luggages at Abakan... the worst experience ever. First, there are no indications, you have to get outside the airport and then come back in and wait besite a door. Everybody from the airplane wait at this door and once open, the hole groupe jump in and grab their respective luggages. However cannot get out of the room until an old ladie check the tags... and it take forever and again without any waiting line. This is not acceptable, it is like a jungle.

Vladivostok Air - by Charles Shearer

5 March 2006

Moscow to Vladivostok for business and pleasure with a further trip to Kamchatka. Service was great, as good or better than on American airlines. Plane was a Tupolev 204, looked brand new. Plane was as comfortable and quite as others I've flown.

Vladivostok Air - by R Amano

6 November 2005

There is a generally twice weekly route between Toyama Japan and Vladivostok. The aircraft we flew upon is a 32-passenger capacity Yak-40 older model dating perhaps from the 1970's judging on upholstery, seatbelts, and metal tray folding designs. The flight time is about 2.5 hours during which pleasant light box lunch such as caviar snack with piroshki is served. The flight was smooth, if a little cramped (large persons will definitely feel squashed in) and the "smoke" which at first billows from under your seats mid-flight is just air-conditioning being turned on after all. However, the toilet room was extremely cramped even for someone of 160cm 53kg size. I'd recommend to time your fluid intake or persevere in that aspect if possible during the short flight. It's the most interesting flight for the novelty values, but it's not necessarily low cost due to lack of competition and relatively low demand (though regular ferry routes are an alternative between Far East Asia and Far East Russia).

Vladivostok Air - by David Wisternoff

13 September 2005

Flew Tu154 from Moscow to Barnaul. The flight departed just before midnight, and the passengers were deposited on the tarmac next to the aircraft in below freezing conditions. The aircraft doors were firmly closed, and stayed like that for what seemed to be quite a long time, but in reality was probably only about 10 minutes. Finally getting on to the aircraft was a relief as at least it was warm inside. The aircraft was very old with wobbly seats and ill fitting overhead luggage lockers. I was tightly jammed into my seat, with my right knee hard up against the seat in front, and my left knee protruding into the aisle. The safety briefing was very brief !! But apart from all that, the flight was rather good, and the aircraft seemed always to have plenty of power in reserve. The landing at Barnaul was the smoothest I can ever recall - anywhere !!

Vladivostok Air - by J Hames

11 April 2005

Vladivostok (Russia) to Seoul (South Korea) : Tupolev-154. I was traveling from Vladivostok to Seoul and had the choice of using either Vladivostok Air or Korean Air. I chose to use Vladivostok Air because Korean Air does not operate this sector on Sundays. The aircraft was an old Soviet-era Tupolev-154 and I was seated at the rear of the aircraft. The load factor on this flight was about 70% full with a very mixed crowd of Russians, Koreans and westerners on board heading to Seoul. Vladivostok airport has spartan facilities and handles very few international flights. Boarding was adequate and departure was basically on time. The cabin on the TU-154 was run down and noisy by international standards, but seat pitch was quite good. On departing Vladivostok the old Tupolev took a long time to climb to cruising altitude and we appeared to fly across water to avoid parts of North Korean airspace. As we approached Seoul, we had a series of heavy turns and a deep unexpected plunge before landing in hazy conditions at Seoul Incheon. The in-flight entertainment was non- existent but the flight attendants provided efficient service (no smiles though!). Our meal for this 1hr 45m afternoon flight were sandwiches. Sometimes on days when loading is low, XF substitutes the TU-154 for a small Yak aircraft. Nonetheless, I would recommend Vladivostok Air as being good value for money, but some improvements to the aircraft would be welcome.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Comments and opinions contained in these pages do not represent the views of Skytrax. All features contain unsolicited input from site visitors, and we seek to exercise the minimum level of editorial control and censorship to ensure the widest debate and platform for customer opinions. We will not publish submissions that contain abusive language. We cannot guarantee to publish all opinions submitted.

ADD YOUR COMMENTS HERE

  These Review pages are designed to offer guidance and assistance to other travellers, and we ask respondents to use an "informative" style of comment and share any travel tips for the airline  in question.

  Your First Name (or initial) and Family Name, and E-mail address MUST be supplied.

  When submitting comments, please DO NOT insert paragraphs.

  Please check you use Upper and Lower case only - submissions made all in CAPITALS will NOT be accepted.

  Comment submissions that require extensive text editing CANNOT be published.