I’m traveling from Minneapolis and have found that flying Sun Country to New York and AeroFlot to Moscow works the best for me. Total cost is $565 one way, not bad compared to Delta, which is direct to Moscow, but costs $1225 one way. I’ll be returning home from Beijing. My son lives in Guadalajara, Mexico and he takes Mexicana to Houston and then Singapore Airlines direct Moscow.
The weather is beautiful at the Minneapolis IAP but the east coast is socked in causing my Sun Country flight to New York to be diverted to Albany. We sit on the ground in Albany for 2 hours then depart for JFK, where the ceiling is still low. After sitting in a holding pattern for an hour or so, we are cleared for the approach and are able to land, despite extremely bad weather and low clouds.
JFK Airport in New York
I was planning on taking the AirTrain from JFK to Manhattan to see the Twin Towers area, as I had originally had a 7 hour layover before having to catch the 1900 AeroFlot flight. There is not enough time for that now so I walk around JFK for awhile watching the hectic pace and check out all of the nationalities in the terminal. Around 1600 I decide to check-in and go through security. There are hundreds of people in several lines and it seems like mass confusion, but it moves efficiently. In front of me is a family of Chinese who speak no English, and delay things for awhile. I’m thinking that will be me causing a slowdown going through Customs in Moscow about 12 hours from now.
In the departure area, we find that the inbound AeroFlot A330 has been delayed for an hour. About 90 minutes before our new departure, people start to line up to board the plane. Thirty minutes later, the line has over 100 people. I wait as I like to be one of the last to board the plane, and we still have to wait 30 minutes for pushback. Onboard, hundreds of passengers file into the A330 mostly Russian, and many carrying a white Macy’s bag with a big red star. I find that I am sitting next to a gray-haired woman in her late fifties. She looks Russian, is very stoic, and we do not talk to each other.
Aeroflot to Moscow
Later during the flight, the flight attendants ask her something in Russian but she responds in English and they understand. They ask me the same in Russian and I also respond in English. The lady next to me says she thought I was Russian and becomes friendlier. She is from Connecticut and is part of a church group visiting Moscow. She mentions that she was born in Russia, and moved to Greece just before WW2, lived there 15 years and then came to the US. She says she speaks a little Russian and also is fluent in Greek.
After the in-flight lunch, which is pretty good, it is now getting close to midnight and I can see that we are somewhere over southern Greenland. The Greek lady next to me decides to get some sleep , and 30 minutes later she is partially spooning me and snoring lightly.
Around 0800 local time, we enter Norway and have a beautiful view of the country, all snow and ice. I have seen this before and can tell we are somewhere north of Bergen. Wonder if Siberia will look like this.
Landing Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport
Around 1300 local, we enter Russia on a beautiful, clear day and it looks very similar to flying into MSP from the north. I can see lots of trees and forest, but no city from my side of the airplane. Now there is a bare spot in the trees with a long runway and I can see Sheremetyevo Airport. On the approach, some large residential high rises are visible and they look much like they do in the states. We descend to about 200 feet, but are unable to land, so the pilot executes a ‘missed approach’ procedure! The pilot says there was an animal on the runway. We go around and the next landing is uneventful. While taxiing it is evident that Sheremetyevo is a huge airport but there are very few planes on the ground or at the gates, maybe a dozen. I am surprised as this is Moscow’s primary International airport, and AeroFlot’s main hub. Moscow does have 3 other airports and Domodedovo Airport does handle International traffic as well. My son should be landing there about now.
The aircraft unboards slowly as nearly everyone has a large carryon bag and that delays the whole process. I follow the long group of tired passengers for several minutes and finally get to Immigration which is very slow. The Russian Immigration agent appears to be very businesslike and methodical. She checks my passport thoroughly, looks me straight in the eye for several seconds, a couple of times, and eventually hands me my passport with a ‘spaciba’(thank you). Customs is next and that moves surprisingly fast. I’m through the Control area in a few minutes and now in the main terminal which has very few people. I see an ATM, and try to make it work, but no luck. I see another one, but no luck this time either. I walk some more and find another one, and this one works!
Next: Arrival in Moscow