Moscow Flights

We drove from England to Cologne, Germany and took a "German Wings" direct flight into Vnukovo airport (VKO), 30km southwest of the city centre. We then took a minibus to the nearest metro station, Typly Stan on the orange line 6, and took the metro from there into the city centre.

The cheapest flights to and from Moscow are inevitably on Aeroflot. This is because other airlines have to pay more for landing rights than Aeroflot does. Therefore, I tend to find that their prices are usually at least $100 cheaper than comparable flights on other airlines.

The downsides to flying Aeroflot are many. Their own poor service during the flight and at check-in; accompanied by snarly employees and indifference to customer service; and their annoying habit of cancelling or delaying flights without proper warning or reasonable explanation.

Also, Aeroflot flies in and out of Sheremetyevo II airport, which is owned by the city of Moscow, and leased out to a private operator. They have spent very little money upgrading this airport since it was built for the Olympic games in 1980.

The traffic to and from Sheremetyevo along Lenningradsky can be horrendous. You should give yourself no less than 3-hours to get from downtown, check-in, and to clear customs. Even this may at times be cutting it close if you get stuck in rush hour traffic.

I usually leave really early, so I do not have this stress. Then once I get to the airport, I check to make sure the flight has not been cancelled. Then if I have enough time, I go up to the 5-Oceans dining room on 5th-floor. This is a nice quiet place to sit and relax and watch the planes land and take-off, or to get some work done. The food is decent and less expensive than in the Arrival and Departure concourses.

I usually have something to eat there, so when I get on board, I do not have to eat the pre-packaged meal, which is nothing to write home about. And, then I can sleep, which makes the crowded journey in economy class more bearable.

I am hoping that Aeroflot will purchase or lease more Boeings and Airbuses to replace their aging TU154s. However, as the government is a part owner of Aeroflot, they would like them to buy domestically to stimulate the local aircraft market. Aeroflot has just ordered 6-new IL-96s, which are supposed to offer more room.

Domodedovo Airport was given International Airport statuts in 1992 and although is further away from Moscow than Shremetyvo, it is a more modern airport. It is located to the South East of Moscow.

I've only flown into this airport once so I can't really say much about it except that the passport control was a lot more efficient than at Sheremetyvo.

While most international flights still go into Sheremetyvo (North West Moscow), destinations from Domododevo included: Alicante, London Heathrow, Zurich, Istanbul, Berlin, Cairo, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hanoi and Hong Kong

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Moscow Domodedovo Airport is Russia's largest airport in terms of passenger traffic.
Currently 77 airlines offer regular flights to Domodedovo, including 36 foreign, 29 Russian and 12 air carriers from CIS countries.

Moscow Domodedovo Airport is easily accessible at any time of the day. The airport complex is connected with Moscow by a modern speedway which enables our passengers to catch their flights on time using public transportation:

- from Domodedovskaya underground station (by bus or mini-bus). Timetable: from 06:00 to 00:00. Time of journey: 25-30 minutes. Departure time: every 15 minutes. ,

- from Paveletsky railway station (by train, the nearest underground station is Paveletskaya), Aeroexpress train (Time of journey: 40-50 minutes);

or taxi.

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Sheremetyevo is one of the biggest Moscow's international airports.

The IATA area code for Sheremetyevo.

Actually it stays in 29 km from Moscow. And time you can be in Moscow depend of traffic (usiall is bad... or very bad )

There is express train connection from Belorussky Rail Terminal to the Lobnya station, which is 7 km from the airport, with the remainder of the journey taken by bus or taxi.
Tickets on the rail service cost 300 roubles (US$ 10.00) (500 roubles (US$ 16.00) for business class) and journeys take 35 minutes.

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To get to the Domodedovo International Airport I have used twice the AeroExpress train, which leaves from Moscow's Paveletsky train station.

A single ticket cost 250 Rubles (ca. 5,50 Euro, 2009) and the trip takes about 40 minutes.

Another option to get to the airport is the shuttle bus #308, which serves a route between Domodedovo and the Domodedovskaya metro station every 15 minutes. The fare is 80 Rubles (ca. 2 Euro, 2009).

Website: http://www.aeroexpress.ru/

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To get from Sheremetyevo Airport into town I used the AeroExpress train, which departs almost every half hour from Terminal 2 to the Belorussky train station. Only around lunch time, the train takes a two hour break.

A single ticket cost 250 Rubles (ca. 5,50 Euro, 2009) and the trip takes about 35 minutes.

If your plane lands at Sheremetyevo Terminal 1, like mine did, you have to take a shuttle bus. The bus connects the two terminals in about 15 minutes and leaves 4 times per hour.

Website: http://www.aeroexpress.ru/

In October 2009 I flew with the airline BlueWings from Düsseldorf in Germany to Moscow Sheremetyevo.

After Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo is Moscow's second largest airport. It has two terminals which are located quite a distance from each other and don't have any phyiscal connection.

Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport is located about 30 km nortwest of Moscow's city centre and can conveniently be reached by the AeroExpress train.

For more info on how to get to the airport please read my "To Sheremetyevo by AeroExpress train" tip.

Website: http://www.svo.aero/