Transaero Airlines

LHR-DME-SVX Decided on Transaero as the price was quite good compared to other companies and an excellent safety record. Premium Economy on the outward flight and Economy on the inbound flight. Flew on aging Boeing 737's and decor was faded. We were put in the front row on both legs outbound as we were traveling with our children. However the airline doesn't supply bassinets. The onboard service to Moscow was good with helpful FA's and for the first time I can remember we were given the baby and child's meal I had ordered. The leg room in Premium Economy is excellent and I would recommend Premium Economy on this airline if you are flying with children. The problems started in Moscow. We were told that we had to pick up our baggage in Moscow but we had prepared ourselves for that. However when checking our baggage into Moscow the airline refused to take our buggy past security as they did at Heathrow and insisted it be placed into the hold as luggage. We were told it was either too heavy too complicated or some other reason. The reason was made clear as they said don't worry about having to carry your son because you can hire a buggy which can be taken past security for 200RUB. This is a blatant rip-off and a cheap attempt to make money and the Transaero representative was rude and offensive even for Russian customer services. We felt we had no choice but to hire one and we boarded the connecting flight. The service was not as good and the FA's had a bored and disinterested approach although we did get our child and baby meal again. On our return flight we were told that we didn't have to pick up our luggage at Moscow but that the buggy would have to be taken into the airplane and we would have to pay another 200RUB in Moscow. At Moscow we also discovered that for some reason the check-in assistant had put myself my son and my wife in random seats in the aircraft to London and it was only with a fellow passenger agreeing to move that we could sit together. When another passenger asked what was going on and we explained she just shrugged and said that's what you get when you fly Transaero The service was a bit erratic to London when we asked for a pillow for our sleeping son after take off was told curtly that they had run out and quite a few were impatient with other passengers.The food was quite good on all legs but no drinks runs were made. Only the London Moscow flight had any IFE which was an old Soviet cartoon played on a VHS player. However to listen to it you had to pay 200RUB for the headphones. On the Moscow London flight they were handing out portable media players to watch movies but you had to pay 500RUB to hire one. The trip had some good areas when the service is good it is good. It has the potential to be a very good airline but it needs to be more consistent with its service on the flight and stop trying to add extra charges before and during the flights and as with other Russian airlines it falls down badly on customer service. It is 2-star airline but it could be so much better.

JFK to DME then to Kazan. Overall the flight was enjoyable. The food was much better than we received before from Aeroflot. The crew was nice and spoke mostly Russian but did try to speak english. On our way back from Kazan to Moscow DME they wanted to charge us extra for our baggage. My wife tried to explain to them that this only one leg of an international flight to New York JFK. After a while they waived the extra baggage weight fees. Overall I would rate Transaero about a 7 out of a 10. We did have a 20 hour layover in Moscow (DME) because not enough flights to America.

It was not super luxurious but it was totally fine and definitely nicer than my last Aeroflot flight. The flight was a little late (less than 1hr) seats were a normal level of comfort food was abundant and pretty good as airline food goes. It's not like one of the established European carriers (no choice of 46 movies etc.) but all in all I felt like they had their act together and would fly with them again. Given the low price it was an exceptionally good value.

TLV to JFK with a change of planes in Moscow (DME). Everything about this airline was frustrating. It is almost impossible to get anyone on the phone either in Israel or NY. You cannot pre-select seats. Despite what I was told they were not able to issue a boarding pass for the second flight when I checked in for the first flight. In general the attitude of the flight crew was that anyone who did not speak Russian didn't rate much attention. Despite the attractive fare I will never consider flying with them again.

New York JFK to Moscow. Surprisingly cheap tickets and good service in economy. The crew spoke good english and were courteous. Both meal services were quite nice taking into account free wine selection. Tea/coffee and ice-cream service in the middle of the flight looked like a compensation for the non-existent IFE (program on the overhead projectors and monitors was only in Russian).

YYZ-DME-KBP return. Online check-in for flight out worked fine some issues on return flight but quickly resolved. Food was acceptable cabin staff were terrific with good language skills in both Russian and English. Minor time delays on return flight but not fault of airline.

I would recommend to stay away from this airline. It is impossible to get in touch with anyone in London. If you need a letter confirming the delay for insurance puposes you need to fill out a form in Russian get is signed and stamped by a solicitor pay a fee of about £12.00 through a Russian banking system and hope that within a month they will send you this letter.

We have been stuck in Moscow for some days now. Admittedly the weather crisis is not the airlines fault but the attitude of the staff at Moscow Airport is unacceptable. Some of the staff even had a smirk on their faces as if they were celebrating our misfortune. The others just didn't want to know. After 15 hours we were banished to a dirty hotel and the next day missed the bus back to the airport due to bad communication so we couldn't board the afternoon flight.

Flew from Moscow to LHR (BMI codeshare). Quite happy with experience - decent service at very cheap price.

Omsk to Moscow in Premium Economy. Check in unfriendly and wanted me to pay excess on 2 kg (solved by moving some books to carry on). Not given a choice of seat at check in. Food and drinks OK. Seats normal economy class and rather worn but with good extra legroom. Check in and hostesses did not speak any English. Premium Economy I would rate as normal economy 3-Star airline service. Well below the standard of other Premium Economy.