I was horrified to see in the news today that a plane crash in Russia has killed at least 50 people. I said a prayer for those families. I know a lot about flying in Russia.
Most folks don't realize the geography of Russia is fascinating and a bit scary. There are 3 distinct regions in Russia - western Russia, near Europe, eastern Russia [Vladivostock, Khabarovsk, Sakhalin Island] and Siberia, the vast middle.
When I adopted Alesia in 2004, I had to make 3 trips. I had already made a trip in 2003, with the choir. Each time, I had to fly to Moscow [9-10 hours], then get a 9 hour flight to Khabarovsk.
I was scheduled to leave Russia [flying from Khabarovsk to Moscow] on my first adoption trip in 2004 and the flight got postponed until the next day. I had to spend an extra night in the hotel and of course the airline didn't reimburse me, but that's how it is there. The next morning, I flew out on a horrible, creaky old airplane, for a harrowing 9 hour flight across Siberia. The toilet seats were wooden! You could see the ground clearly, we were flying so low. I sat behind an old man so smelly I got up and went to the bathroom to escape the smell. There was a big group of drunk young men, too. When we stopped to refuel in Novosibirsk, nobody was allowed off the plane to smoke and I thought there was going to be a riot. Talk about nerve wracking.
I remember looking out of the plane window, at the ground below, and marveling that we flew for hours and hours without seeing a house, a shack, a road - NOTHING. Siberia, indeed.
As you can see from the map above, Kazakhstan is right below Russia. Michael is from Northern Kazakhstan, just below Siberia.
My favorite story of flying in Russia [my 4 trips in 2003/04] is the time I was on a flight and squished in to a middle seat on a 4-across, and the plane was still on the ground. I looked up, and this tall blonde flight attendant came barreling down the aisle glaring at me like I was a terrorist. She didn't smile, she just told me loudly to get my things and follow her. Everyone on the plane was staring. I was instantly terrified. She just led me up to a seat behind the bulkhead where there was only one other person on the row and said "You will find this more comfortable." It was far more comfortable.
However, I nearly passed out from the anxiety.
She REALLY needed to work on her customer service skills.
Another time, I flew with a drunk Russian man in front of me who was loud and drinking for about an hour, then popped the seat back until he was practically in my lap, and slept and snored most of the way [8 hours]. I read a book.
I can NEVER sleep on planes.
In all fairness, most of my flights in and around Russia and Kazakhstan went fine.Their airlines are different from ours, especially in that they assign seats and they don't care where you want to sit, and they charge you for overweight baggage, but my thoughts were always, when in Rome...
When Michael took his first plane ride, from Petropavlovsk to Almaty, it was a tiny plane and it flew low, and he got a great view of the country. A middle aged couple were so sweet to him, pointing out things in Russian, and letting him look out their window. He didn't sit through most of the 5 hour flight. We were in the back section and had it mostly to ourselves except for the couple.
When we left Almaty and flew to Frankfurt overnight, the Lufthansa folks were incredibly sweet to him, and very kind when I had to run all over the Frankfurt airport getting our baggage and getting on the flight to Atlanta. I had to leave Michael in the Lufthansa office for handicapped and older folks, because they wouldn't let me take him to the baggage claim area of the airport without a visa. Huge, nerve-wracking mess but that was German customs, not the airlines' fault.
In summary, I have not flown since 2007 and, God willing, I hope I never have to fly anywhere again...