Red Corner: The Horrors of Flying in Russia

It’s always fun to read a good rant, especially if it’s aimed at the airlines.

Fly The Unfriendly Skies is just that. But, it’s not the typical rant you might hear from a passenger at Heathrow or LAX. No, this one is aimed at that quirky phenomenon known as Russian Air Travel.

Ever since the days of Aeroflot, flying in Russia has been a nightmare. The advent of a smattering of independent airlines to service the country after communism fell has seemingly only exacerbated the problem.

Fed up with the whole system, Aspi Pahars, writing for The Exile, rants on about what one can expect when flying in Russia. He particularly digs into the rebranding of Siberian Airlines, which is now painted bright green and known as S7. The rebranding was necessary due to the rather poor track record of the company. I flew the airlines to Irkutsk a couple of years ago, against my better judgment, and managed to survive. This is not always the case. Earlier this summer, the same flight skidded off the runway and exploded into flames.

While catching on fire is certainly one of the worst things that can happen while flying, Pahars spends time to rant about many of the smaller annoyances as well–such as the new internet bar in Sheremetyevo Airport which charges an hourly rate but allows users to visit only a single site while online.

Take a moment to check out this humorous rant; some of your complaints will seem petty in comparison.