onboard Rossiya Airlines.

I have flown with Russia Airlines a couple of times this year. And here is a little review, where I give my opinion of Rossiya.

You might fly Rossiya Airlines if you book an Aeroflot ticket.

When I first flew with Rossiya Airlines, I was not aware that I was going with them. I had booked an Aeroflot ticket. Aeroflot is an airline that I really like, so I was a bit disappointed when I realised that I was going with another airline. But I learned that Aeroflot and Rossiya Airlines merged in 2010 and now fly codeshare.

I flew with an old Boeing 777.

On both flights with the airline, I flew with a fairly old Boeing 777. Boeing 777 is a pretty good plane to be on. So I was not too unhappy with that. And the legspace on the flight was fairly ok. So no complaints there. The interior was quite tired though. Seats were really old and very worn. and many of them did not recline properly. Or reclined all the time.

Reasonable legspace onboard Rossiya Airlines.

If only the entertainment system had worked.

There was a pretty ok looking entertainment system on the plane, with personal screens. It also talked about having movies, music and so on. Unfortunately it was not working. The only thing available on the screen was a map where I could follow the route we were flying. Why not just put a few old classic movies there? It costs next to nothing and keeps quite a few people happy. Should I add something positive about the entertainment system onboard Rossiya Airlines, then it would be that I could charge my computer there. No wifi though. Just electricity.

The inflight entertainment did not work.

But at least I could charge my computer.

Food and drink onboard Rossiya Airlines.

My food onboard Rossiya Airlines.

I had free food onboard Rossiya Airlines. This was very basic airline food though. It was actually looking quite ok at first glance. But it had never seen any spices and was very dry. Soft drinks were included, but not alcohol. Officially Rossiya Airlines do not serve any alcohol. But I found out that they actually sell an excellent micro Brew there from the Russian Wolfs brewery. I had to pay 5$ for an IPA from Wolfs Brewery. But it was an excellent beer, that I was happy to pay for. I would in many ways rather pay 5$ for a good quality beer than getting some horrible beer like Heineken or Budweiser for free. So no complaints about the lack of free beer here. Some free wine would have been good though.

Excellent beer from Wolfs brewery onboard Rossiya.

Very service minded cabin crew.

I really liked the cabin crew onboard Rossiya Airlines. They were very attentive and friendly. And when considering that they worked for an airline, where service was rather limited, they really put on a good effort. Russian cabin crew used to have a horrible reputation in the past. It’s not like that any longer. They are pretty much the best thing about Russian aviation these days.

My overall verdict about Rossiya Airlines.

This is not an airline that comes close to being my first choice. But they do not hit rock bottom either. On a scale where 1 is the lowest and 10 the highest, then I would give them a 4. Best things about Rossiya Airlines is the excellent cabin crew and their excellent micro brew they are selling. Worst thing is the dysfunctional entertainment system and the horrible food.

I will use them again if the price and flight time is right. But they will not be my first choice, unless they improve a fair bit.

If you want to read more airlines reviews from me, then click on this link.