The warm Siberian airline!
Written: Apr 14 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Pros: Good service; Domodedovo airport; mostly newer aircraft
Cons: Cons: lack of english; limited international network.
The Bottom Line: An emerging, quality airline from Russia. I certainly recommend them if you are flying to or from Moscow or Novosibirsk.
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| vodkaboy's Full Review: Sibir Airlines |
Sibir are one of the larger independent Russian airlines. They are based at Novosibirsk, in Siberia (hence the name!). Over the past couple of years they have expanded steadily then in 2002 they merged with the barely functional Vnukovo Airlines, a domestic carrier based at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport (hence the name - again). Having thus acquired a Moscow route network they have now wisely relocated most of their Moscow operation out of the old, small Vnukovo into Domodedovo Airport, which has been completely rebuilt, renovated and refurbished so that it on a par with most European airports.
Sibir now operate numerous international and domestic routes from their Moscow and Novosibirsk, and domestically from Irkutsk. Their international destinations include Frankfurt, Hanover, Munich, Dusseldorf, Barcelona, Tel Aviv, Istanbul and Larnaca in Europe. They also operate, in Asia, to Singapore, Bangkok, Beijing, Seoul and Denpasar. Of course they also have a wide and extensive network within Russia and the CIS.
They are still operating exclusively Russian/Soviet-built aircraft: Tupolev 154s (mostly the newer variant), the very comfortable Ilyushin 86 and the new Tupolev 204.
My first, and hopefully not last, flight with them was in April 2003 from Moscow to Yerevan, Armenia.
CHECK IN
Sibir operate from Domodedovo airport which is newly renovated and refurbished and is now spacious, light, airy; you would think that you are in a medium sized European airport rather than in Russia where the airports tend to be congested, pokey and gloomy.
You enter the departures area from the front of the building and find the check in desks in front of you facing left or right in rows of four or five. Behind the check in desks is a shopping area, with more shops upstairs. Passport control and customs are in the left hand corner; beyond them is the duty free and departures areas.
Unlike many airports in Russia and the CIS, check in was done by Sibir’s own staff and the lady at check in was, in all sincerity, probably the most cheerful and pleasant check in person I have ever encountered in Moscow! She made eye contact while I was still walking towards the desk, smiled, and greeted me warmly when I got there. I asked for a window seat, she nodded “yes”, and I did indeed get 1A. She filled out and gave me an invitation to the Business Class lounge. In the meantime another chap there checked my visa. The whole process was quicker than many others, it took less than two minutes.
From check in I went through passport control; there was no queue at all (Sheremetyevo Airport, pay attention!) and the Immigration officer was also quite pleasant. Customs was quick and painless as well. Within five minutes I was in the Business Class lounge tucking into my first vodka of the day!
BUSINESS LOUNGE
The Business Class lounge is through the passport and customs formalities, round to the left. It was nice but a little empty. Well, for most of the hour that I was there, I was the only customer, but that aside, it did feel like it was lacking something.
My main complaint is that there are no windows. The corridor from passport control to the main departures area runs in between the lounge and the window out onto the aircraft parking area, so there are no windows at all in the lounge. There is a bar offering complimentary drinks, sandwiches and nuts; there are two computer booths with internet access. But otherwise not much. However it was a peaceful and quiet place to spend a relaxing hour before the flight. They called us to board last and we had our own minibus to the aircraft – all 3 of us !
ON BOARD
The aircraft was one of the newer Tupolev 154s, only just 10 years old, though it was still in Vnukovo Airlines colours, which made it look older! (their colour scheme is/was rather 70s, browns and blues, which made even the newest plane look dated).
I boarded and went through into a business class cabin that was surprisingly small, just two rows. The seats were in the standard 2-2 configuration, so a total of only eight business class seats. The seat was wide, comfortable, though it didn’t recline very far.
We were greeted by a friendly and cheerful steward, who looked smart and tidy; he showed us to our seats, hung up my jacket and then returned with some pre takeoff drinks of juice or water.
There was a full safety demo as we taxied out to the runway, just about on time.
The interior of the plane looked generally well kept, clean, tidy and in reasonably good condition. Even the carpet, while loose in places, was in better condition than most! Later on, when I went to the toilet, I found that it was cleaner than many, there was a proper soap dispenser and a paper towel roll, instead of the small bar of soft and sticky soap and paper napkins that are normally carrier. However there was one really amazing thing.
Tupolev toilets have a couple of small shelves, almost holes in the wall; one is labelled for a clothes brush and the other for a shoe brush. These holes are always empty; well, they might be stuffed with tissues, paper towels etc, but in fifty or sixty flights I have never seen them contain what they are supposed to contain. Until now. Yes, on this Sibir flight, not one but both of the brushes were in situ!
SERVICE
The steward looked after us very well. He was friendly, cheerful, professional; the only down side was that he didn’t speak any English. Fortunately my Russian is good enough to get me through a flight as long as people don’t speak too fast! He immediately realised that I was not a native speaker and took care to talk to me clearly and at a safe speed, so I had no problems at all understanding or being understood.
As usual the service didn’t start until the plane was at cruising altitude. Then we were offered drinks from the bar, followed by a meal. There were several rounds of drinks during the meal. Afterwards it was cleared away quite quickly.
The flight was a no smoking flight; however towards the end of the flight, when I went to the toilet, I smelled smoke. I asked the steward, who apologised and explained that some of the pilots sometimes come back to smoke in the toilet! I was again surprised, that after clearly good attention to safety, this happens, but it is not unusual ! The smoking sounds bad but, in this part of the world, it is common. On a flight to Azerbaijan two days later there was a group of six people who had a fifteen minute long argument with the stewardess because they wanted to smoke.
FOOD & DRINK
The drinks were served straight from the galley, they didn’t wheel a trolley around. As usual, they were accompanied by a small bag of peanuts.
The meal was served all together on one tray; before serving the steward came round and asked if we wanted lamb, chicken or fish. I went for the chicken – usually less tough than the lamb!
For starters there was a plate of cold poached salmon and some other seafood and a plate with cold ham salad. The main course chicken was a breaded cutlet, with a teaspoon full of an unidentifiable, but quite tasty, sauce on one side.
The desert was simple, a piece of cake, and there were two rounds of tea or coffee to finish.
Overall the meal was adequate. The choice of starters was good but the hot dish was just average, I have had better on CIS airlines.
SUMMARY
I’ve generally considered Aeroflot and Pulkovo to be the two best Russian airlines but in Sibir they have a new competitor. The service was excellent, the aircraft well maintained, the seat comfortable, and of course they use the newly renovated and updated Domodedovo airport. Only the hot dish part of the meal let them down on the product, and of course one of the pilots smoking in the toilet.
I would certainly fly with Sibir again.
Recommended:
Yes
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