Ukraine International

Kiev to Vienna. Boarding in Kiev was via airbridge this time, not the usual 30-45 mins in bus. An old Boeing 737-500, however it was clean and compared to their Boeing 737NGs with generous legspace. Departure like schedule, arrival ahead. Onboard service is low-cost airline standard and pay for everything (eg: coffee approx 2 EUR). If every flight with UIA was like this I would recommend them.

Ukraine International it isn't for everyone. I have no right to complain having paid just $525 return JFK-VNO via KBP. Ukraine International fill up economy long haul aircraft to remain profitable, because there isn't enough demand for business class. Aircraft are older but well maintained and clean. Cabin crew were polite, professional, and spoke english. They try to do the best. No problem with delays or baggage. Generous baggage allowance of 2 pieces x 23kg each. Food is adequate but nothing special. Large duty free selection. Excellent choice if you are on a tight budget, don't care about perks, and just want to get there. 2x4x2 seating is very cramped and uncomfortable, but legroom is okay. Don't expect to get any sleep unless you bring a neck pillow- essential if you want to be comfortable. Blanket, eye mask, and socks were provided. Crew offer drinks frequently enough in very small cups and no ice, but if you ask for 2 or even 3 cups they will gladly give it to you. You can help yourself to drinks in the galley when you get up to use lavatory. Water, juices, tea, coffee only. Alcohol and sodas must be purchased. No individual air vent, but climate was comfortable. No individual TV, there are overhead monitors - there is a small music selection. When you think about money you save, you can forget about any inconveniences. In my case, I saved over $600 on other airlines. Kiev airport is safe, great duty free shopping, and prices are cheaper than in JFK, Vilnius, or onboard on UIA - do your shopping there if making a connection. Very modern airport, spacious, well organized, no running around. Everyone friendly, spoke good enough english, and makes a good effort to please. Security is not a problem.

When my girlfriend and I arrived at Batumi airport to check-in for a 6:40 am flight from Batumi to Moscow via Kiev, I was informed that they had sold 80 too many seats for the flight. I booked the tickets 2.5 months in advance. One person was working at the Ukraine International office to assist 80 passengers who were left without a seat on the flight. I had to separately book and pay for one-way tickets for me and my girlfriend with another airline as we both had to work the following day. I have since contacted my travel agent and the airline, and the airline is refusing to confirm that they oversold the flight, meaning that I cannot get a refund. So Ukraine International sold me two seats which did not exist and kept my money.

Warsaw to Kiev the plane was on time, Kiev airport is pretty nice, although it lacks a proper food court. We departed from Kiev to Bangkok without delay. We (a group of 8) were pleasantly surprised. Don't get me wrong, Ukraine International is not a nice or comfortable airline, but for the price I paid it was better than I expected. Crew mediocre but not rude, food was edible, seats were cramped, maybe a little less leg space than other airlines. There is no IFE in seats, only couple of screens for all the passengers. If you're on a tight budget fly with UIA - if you have some cash to spend, fly with the competition.

I was worried about this Ukraine International trip since we were going for a short holiday to Milan and I did not want to lose time on missed flights or luggage. However the price was so cheap in comparison with other options that eventually we decided to take the risk. Overall it was a very pleasant surprise. All flights were on time, transit at Kiev's impressive new airport is a breeze, because the airport is not really busy. Only one of the Boeing 737 was new, but the older planes had bigger and more spacious seats that were more comfortable than European business class on more established airlines. Our luggage was delivered promptly every time. Onboard there is no service whatsoever in economy, and the cabin crew, while not particularly friendly, just got on with what they had to do. A great value for money and will for sure fly them again if they remain so competitively priced.

Flew with Ukraine International Airlines from Tbilisi to London via Kiev. Very unprofessional and irresponsible. I was traveling with my mother, they lost our luggage and it has been 4 days. I have been trying to contact them, I have used the services of many cheap airlines such as Pegasus, Ryanair, etc. that proved to be, by far, much better than UIA. Also, the seats were so close together and so uncomfortable.

I can't believe it when I read positive reviews on Ukraine International Airlines! Some people must have very very low expectations. I thought I would book my trip with this airline as it was cheap, but that was a big mistake. The airline is worse that I expected. Thinking it was legacy international airline company I thought it could't be bad, but it was. Ukraine International Airlines is a very basic airline, no food (only water) provided, no entertainment and with air hostesses who have no charisma. We went to Dubai as a group of eleven and out of eleven suitcases, five were lost. Not only that but we were told to return to Dubai airport to collect our luggae as Ukraine International Airlines don't deliver to the hotel.

I often travel between London and Istanbul. Recently I have noted that Ukraine International airlines have become an option. Prior to booking my flight I read the reviews on UIA and as a whole they seemed less than complimentary. I'm always up for a laugh and a sense of adventure so decided to book IST-KIEV-LGW and was in for a pleasant surprise. My fare was £282 one way and this unbelievably was business class. Much cheaper than some of the low cost airlines which were being offered at the time (high season). I must point out that the journey takes about 8 hours as opposed to the 4 hours on a direct flight but if you live near Gatwick and want to avoid the delays around the M25 and Heathrow then this will knock another hour and a half or so from your journey time. Check in at IST was good, as a business class passenger I was able to check in early even though the desk for my fight wasn't open, I was provided with a pass for the business lounge. The Millenium lounge at IST which serves UIA was okay, snacks and beverages available although the abundance of fruit flies around the food influenced my choices, however it was good to get away from the hustle and bustle of this busy and crowded airport hub. Flight from IST to KIEV was a Boeing 737-800. There was priority boarding at the gate. I took seat 1A, business class is 2x2 abreast with a spare seat in the middle used as a table or armrest. I am a stocky 16 stone guy and had ample room, 2 windows to this seat and 2 air conditioning units providing an output of 4 air nozzles to quell the Istanbul heat. Service was good, 4 course meal, lots of complimentary beverages, hot towels etc, staff were smart, polite, attentive and had good grasp of the English language. The aircraft took off on time and arrived on time. Transfers in Kiev airport was effortless, nice modern airport and not too cluttered. Again I went to the business lounge, situated in a nice location within the airport, quiet and relaxing, again food available and unlimited beverages plus showers as an option. 2hrs 30 mins stop over and I boarded my flight to Gatwick this time a Brazilian manufactured Embraer 190, this is a nice nifty small modern airliner jet. Seats are standard size on this leg no different to economy, there was less room than the earlier Boeing but again I was comfortable. again the seats were 2 x 2, however in business class on these jets they appear not to sit anyone next to you so you have both seats to yourself, worthy of note is that the centre arm rest doesn't seem to fold up. Again I opted for seat 1A, nice large window and sufficient leg room against the bulk head, good overhead powerful air conditioning units. Flight attendants were polite, attentive and nothing seemed to be too much trouble for them. I was offered beverages quite frequently, when another 4 course meal was offered I was very full by this stage and had to defer it for a couple of hours which didn't appear to be a problem to the flight attendants. Worthy of mention is that there is no inflight entertainment on these European flights so hopefully your own wit and jokes are good enough to get you by. All in all a really good trip, both flights were punctual, departed and arrived on time. I was well looked after, well fed and catered for. I was very comfortable throughout, both in the aircraft cabins and at the airport lounges. I have based my score on cost, service and experience, and would fly with this airline again.

We flew the routing FRA-KBP-TBS-KBP-FRA for a vacation in Georgia in the last weeks and was satisfied. Except for a little delay on our first flight from Frankfurt to Kiev the flights were on time. On board the staff were friendly and helpful, snacks or drinks are not included, only water was available for free, anything else had a reasonable pricing and is cheaper than at most airports. The older B737 we had on the last leg Kiev to Frankfurt had not enough legroom and old seats, the newer B737-800 that were operating the rest of the flights had more comfortable seats and more legroom. The transfer at the airport in Kiev was quite easy and fast. We would recommend this airline if the price is right.

Online check in was unavailable but was given a choice of seat at the check in desk in Prague. The aircraft on the first leg was old and chartered from "Go2Sky Airlines" with their crew plus 1 Ukraine International crew member on board making announcements in Russian and Ukrainian. Seats were uncomfortable and the only free service was a cup of water. Other items were available for purchase. The transfer at Kiev is a bit tiresome - there is an evening wave of flights meaning security is very busy. Ground staff were not airline employees and at the transfer desk they were quite rude. At the gate the staff member took my boarding pass and wrote a new seat number on it and advised me my seat had been changed. Since it was still a window seat I did not complain. I am not sure if I was upgraded to Business Class or not. I was seated in the Business cabin and enjoyed a large tasty Business Class meal, but the middle seat was occupied unlike the normal Business Class offering. The crew were efficient and very friendly. Two areas for improvement - another round of water or soft drinks could have been offered, and the cabin lights dimmed properly for this overnight flight.