Complain about a product or service

Aeroflot

Chris of Amsterdam, Netherlands January 11, 2010

I flew on Aeroflot Russian Airlines from Amsterdam to Shanghai, connecting through Moscow, on December 24, 2009. When checking in for my flight to Moscow, I was informed that the flight was delayed by 2.5 hours, with no apparent weather problems in either Amsterdam or Moscow, and was told to go to the ticket counter for rebooking as I would likely not make my connection. The ticket counter told me the only possibility was to go on the same flight the next day, but that I should go to Moscow as the flight would be held for me and 5 others. I took that advice and checked in. The flight ended up 3.5 hours delayed and I had no chance of making my flight to Shanghai. No information was ever offered about the flight delays.

When I arrived in Moscow, I was unable to pass the transfers desk as I and the other 4 travelers to Shanghai were on a list indicating that we would spend the night in Moscow and leave at 8 PM the next day. This is despite the fact we were in plenty of time for the Beijing flight at 10 PM the same night, which would have gotten us to Shanghai the next morning/afternoon. Instead, we were forced to go to the transit section of the Novotel hotel for almost 24 hours -- where we were forced to share a room with a stranger, provided with one bottle of water for the entire time, and given two inadequate (some of the food was rotten) meals at improper times. We arrived at the hotel around 10 PM but were offered no dinner, since we had sat at the airport for 2-3 hours (in a zone which did not have access to food or drinks) waiting to be moved to the hotel we had missed dinner. The worst part of the entire process was that no apologies were offered, or even friendliness on the part of the staff. Instead we were treated as if it was our fault to have been stuck in that situation. This was all took place on December 25, which is Christmas Day in western countries.

I cannot believe that the Skyteam alliance allows Aeroflot to be a member, and especially to codeshare with airlines like KLM or Delta who provide excellent service and would never subject a traveler to such events. I would never have chosen Aeroflot was it not for its membership in the Skyteam alliance which gave me faith that I would be treated the same as other Skyteam airlines. Other airlines would have provided a business class upgrade on the next leg of the flight (the business class was almost empty), as well as free frequent flier miles or a flight voucher. Aeroflot has not even offered an apology.

Thomas of Dunfermline, Great Britain December 31, 2009

On the 23rd of December 2009, I was traveling from Edinburgh to Chelyabinsk, in Russia to visit my Partner, due to inclement weather conditions my flight was cancelled, I managed to secure a later flight which should have arrived in London In plenty of time to catch the Aeroflot to Moscow and a further flight from Moscow to Chelyabinsk, but this flight was continuously delayed, and consequently I missed my connections from London to Chelyabinsk, I had to pay an extra 150 British Pounds for a flight from London to Moscow on a flight which was virtually empty,

Then they they decided my suitcase was overweight and charged me a further 80 GB Pounds.eventually arriving in Moscow, I had to collect my Baggage and check in for the onward flight to Chelyabinsk, I could not find my Luggage and was promptly informed it was still in London, no one apologised, no accepted responsibility, they just shrugged there shoulders and said. It is not my fault. I feel that Aeroflot personnel at Airports are running some sort of confidence trick on Tourists. Aeroflot and BAA should look into this matter. It took four days to retrieve my suitcase, with still no appology.

Jingying of Shanghai, China November 14, 2009

Aeroflot lost my luggage last month. On Oct 9th, I flied from Rome to Shanghai and transferrd in Moscow. Finally they lost my suitcase and haven't found it for me till now. There are a lot of luxury goods and gifts in the suitcase and total value is higher than 4000 US dollars. However, they only would pay me 400 US dollars as the compensation base on the Warsaw Convention.

Richard of San Francisco, CA March 29, 2009

Richard of San Francisco CA (03/29/09)
Aeroflot Russian Airlines lost my suitcase in February 2008. Their Los Angeles office offered 460, citing Warsaw Convention limitations. When I went to San Francisco small claims court and filed suit for 1500. Aeroflot wanted the Los Angeles small claims court to hear the case, but the San Francisco court refused.

The Warsaw Convention allows the baggage victim to file suit in small claims court in the city where the travels ended: Spanner v. United Airlines (9th Cir. 1999) 177 F.3d 1173. Aeroflot gambled by not showing up in court, so the San Francisco judge awarded the entire 1500. Aeroflot did not appeal, though they were correct that 460 was maximum under the Warsaw Convention. It all depends on where you go to court.

Small claims court did the job.

Martin of Fair Haven, NJ January 12, 2009

Martin of Fair Haven NJ (01/12/09)
Aeroflot left me with no suitacase (held in customs in Moscow due to a tight connection) during my two weeks in Krasnodar and did not reimburse for any of the clothes I was forced to buy. Additionally they did not let me board my return flight on 1/5 because my visa - which they had controlled but did not notice was wrong upon check in on 12/20 in JFK - was for an earlier day (the day I left Krasnodar).

With three hours to spare, nobody from Aeroflot was able to provide the service (nor speak English) to show me the place where I could correct my visa at the aiport (a process that took 15 minutes the following day) and therefore missed my flight. Later nobody helped me rebook another flight. This airline does not deserve to be a member of the Sky Alliance Team!

I had to buy a one way ticket from Moscow - Newark with Lot Polish Airlines for 840 in order to return home, two days later. Aeroflot was indifferent to my claims and did not attempt to help me in any form to return on a later flight.

Indifference, inefficiency and neglect to their customers seem to be their motto! Avoid this airline if possible!

Viraj of Elmhurst, NY December 19, 2008

Viraj of Elmhurst NY (12/19/08)
Applied for refund for a ticket on June 13th using a refund form signed and dated by the Aeroflot official in New York office. Its been about 6 months hanv't received the money yet after numerous calls to Aerofolt. We were told the refund is already made and american express is holding my money, i am unable to secure a refund tranaction ID from Aeroflot and was told to contact Moscow (I don't speak Russian).I called American express and no refund transaction was requested by Aeroflot. After I call the New York office they hang up and without any response, please advise.

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