I was surprised to hear that the Russian controllers and pilots speak Russian to each other in their own airspace. Besides Pilots and Controllers give the elevation in meters and not feet, as usual in international aviation. That must be highly confusing for foreign pilots in Russian airspace. As a VFR (Visual Flight Rules in lower airspace) pilot, you’d usually listen the radio conversations, to get a picture of what’s going on around you and if you’re anywhere close to some danger.

What you are listening too, is IFR traffic, which is controlled by the ground. The air traffic controller sees all aircraft on his screen with position, heading, elevation and speed. So he can (usually) guide the airplanes around each other and warn them, if they get close to each other.

Anyway. Enjoy listening to the Moscow controllers and if you wonder which airlines are up there, just check this list for the names (call signs) you hear, or vice versa.

And here is a partial picture, of what’s going on up there on Flight Aware. Unfortunately they only have the international and European flights on there and its missing the Russian airlines, which of course make out the majority of the traffic.

Read more about it on the British Telegraph…

More photos

But this incident shows a lot about the Russian airline industry as well. Many of these 30 to 40 year old Tupolevs are still in service. I actually flew on them a few times and not only national. One of my worst flights ever was in a similar Tupolev, which came to pick us up with an 8 hour delay in Turkey, because the scheduled Il-86 of KrasAir had technical problems. I have never seen an aircraft like this in service. The seats were sit through to the springs. It was dusty and dirty. The windows were milky and scratched. The gummy around the windows was dried out and had many cracks. The tray tables were broken and many of them scratched and signed with graffiti tags. There was an open life-raft laying in the emergency exit over the wings. I am sure that this aircraft was also just standing somewhere, without being used until they needed it to pick us up. Thank god, both of these airlines, Kras-Air and Domodedovo Airlines are out of business. Nevertheless, you can see many of these aircraft standing around on Moscows airports and many of them are clearly in bad shape.

There is hope, though. Airlines like Aeroflot or Sibir S7 are replacing all of their old Tupolev and Iljushin airplanes with newer Airbus and Boeing’s, but if you check the registrations of these airplanes, you’ll find out, that most of them are not new, but 3rd or 4th hand and also been in the sky for the past 20-30 years. Its a sad situation for a growing business like this.

The Airport

One of them are Taxis. It already starts at the airport on arrival. How do you get to your hotel the best and cheapest way? There are literally hundreds of (fake) taxi drivers standing next to the arrivals exit. They have signs of some official looking taxi companies and they directly ask you, if you need a taxi. A few of them even speak English. I have only one advice for you: STAY AWAY FROM THEM. They are overpriced, you can’t trust them and sometimes they are even criminal, who drop you somewhere in the suburbs, driving off with your wallet and luggage. Every of us foreigners living here has his share of experiences with these drivers. Typically they are double the price than any official taxi and often, they even ask for more.

If you have contacts in Moscow, ask them to order you an official taxi and make out a defined meeting point. Usually it’s some cafe, next to the arrival exit, right after customs. And make sure they will write your name in Latin characters and not Cyrillic on the sign they hold up. Hey, I have seen it all. The normal price to go into the center from all Moscow airports, it can be more or less, depending on how many people you are and what car was ordered, is around 1200-1500 Rub ($43-54). The price can be higher if you go from Sheremetyevo airport, due to the notorious traffic jams, or if your hotel is on the other side of the city. Note, that pickups from the airports are more expensive, than driving from the center to the airport. Typically you have to pay for the parking, which is between 100-300 Rub ($3,50 to 10), depending, if your flight was on time and how long he had to wait for you.

Here are some taxi companies I had good experiences with, but even they failed on me and none of their dispatchers speaks English:

Prestige Taxi +7 (495) 514 0101
Moscow Taxi +7 (495) 956-8956

Failed you ask? Yes, taxi service is not reliable in Moscow. It can be that your car just doesn’t show up and you’ll have to wait forever for another one to pick you up. Another is that your driver gets lost or takes you to the wrong airport. Another is that his car breaks down on the highway outside the center and he is more concerned about his car, than getting you to your flight in time. Man, I have seen it all and even worse.

Important: When going to the airport and the taxi picks you up, make sure that he knows to which of the 3 Moscow airports he is driving you. I ended up at the wrong airport before.

If you don’t know anyone, you can also look for the «official» taxi booth. Its typically somewhere next to the arrivals exit. Be aware that on your way to it, you’ll be approached by the illegal taxi drivers and they’ll promise you heaven to go with them. Don’t do it! The official taxi may be a bit more expensive. It’s around 1600-2000 Rub ($57 to 70) into the center right now.

The Alternative: Aeroexpress

Depending on the time of the day (rush hours), it will take you between 1 hour and more, into the center. A comfortable and cheap alternative, is always to take the Aeroexpress train to one of the city’s main train stations and go from there with a taxi or by metro. Especially during rush hours the Aeroexpress is the best way to go. It’s about 300 Rub ($10), or more, depending on the airport and class, and the ride is about 45 min. Trains go every 30 min, but there are longer intervals during lunch time and at night, so better check the schedule. Here is some more information: http://aeroexpress.ru/en/

Taxi’s in the city

A word of advice upfront. You are a foreigner and no matter, if you speak Russian or you don’t understand a word, as soon as the drivers understand you are not from Moscow, you are (usually, there are exceptions) subject to abuse. That means, they charge you 3 to 4 times more, than they would charge a local. Also stay away from very good looking cars, such as Mercedes, Hummer or Porsche Cayenne Taxis. They can cost from $100 to 300 a ride, even if it’s only a short distance. Never stop a taxi infront of a club, a busy known restaurant or your hotel. Walk 5 min and you get a better fare.

Stay away from official taxis, which you find on the road. Also stay away from any hotel taxi’s or limousine services. They are usually 3 times as expensive as the local taxi.

The Alternative:
If you’re in a hotel, ask your receptionist to call you a taxi from one of the numbers above. Insist that they use one of these numbers and not their own. Be aware that these taxi services are usually busy during rush hours and on peak times, like Friday or Saturday night (people going out). The usual wait for your taxi to come is (hold your breath)… 45 min, meaning, you need to plan ahead and call 45 min before to get your taxi. If you need one earlier, try. Sometimes they can make it in 30 min.

Gipsy Taxis / Gipsy Cabs

Moscovites use these private drivers on a daily basis. Its semi legal and works quiet well. They are usually cheap, but you have to watch out for a few things, otherwise you get lost, ripped off, or you end up in a fight with the driver.

To get a Gipsy Cab, just go to the street (a busy one preferably) and hold your arm out. It will only take a few seconds, until a Lada or a Volga will stop and the driver will open the door or the window to start negotiations. Nowadays it can be any car, I even rode with an ambulance (going against a one way street), the police, in an army jeep, the driver of a politician (with blue light and with 180 KM/h) and other exotic rides.

Again, don’t take any driver infront of a busy club, bar or restaurant. Also don’t stop anyone just infront of your hotel. Also be aware of drivers parking next to metro stations or tourist places. Don’t take them, but stop a car on the street.

In 80% of the cases, the drivers are not from Moscow, but here to make some money. They are Tajik, Usbek, Kazak or from the Caucasus. And if they are new, they don’t know the city and rely on you to tell them where to go. So unless you see a functioning GPS inside the car, or the driver makes you understand that he knows the way, stay away from dark Turkish looking guys and wave another car, until you get a Russian or Moscovite.

So first you check the car and the driver. Check if the guy is alone (never get in  a car, if there are more people, than the driver). Also check, if he looks trustworthy. And of course, check, if he knows the way. Usually you start with telling him, where you want to go, naming the street and the nearby metro station. In some cases, it’s not his way and he will tell you to get another car. Otherwise he nods and it’s time for the 2nd question: Skolka Stoit?, which means as much as: How much does it cost? It’s very important, that you negotiate the price upfront, before you get into the car. 200 Rub = Twestie or 300 Rub = Trista. You can also use your fingers, just make sure he is not talking about thousands, while you are showing hundreds.

After you negotiated, get in the car. Never take the front seat, unless it’s absolutely necessary. Some drivers are experts in checking the insides of your pockets, while they keep you entertained with small talk. Make sure (upfront) you have the negotiated fare in cash without the need for change. Usually these drivers don’t carry much money or change with them. Before you get out of the car, check all of your belongings. Everything there? Pay only at the end, just before leaving the car. Never give the driver the money upfront.

At no time, try to argue or fight with the driver. In the worst case jump out of the car and run for your life, but make sure he can’t follow you with his car. All of these drivers have seen hell, even the good guys and all of them have weapons. Anything from baseball bats to tasers to guns. Especially the Caucasus drivers are very passionate about fighting and they can easily lose it. In the past 8 years, I had a few fights with drivers. Usually it started with them trying to rip me off and wanting more money, than the originally negotiated. Sometimes they tried to rob me (especially when I was drunk). Thank God, I got out of it without getting hurt, but I had to push a few times and I had fist-fights involving steel pipes and tasers.

Sounds adventurous? Yes, it is indeed, but in 8 years I had about 5 bad incidents and I take these Gipsy Taxis daily. I think that speaks for itself. If you are unsure about it, try it during the day or in the early evening and rely on a official taxi at night. I also had lots of nice chats and met great people. Besides, running red lights with the siren and blue light in a fat black BMW, which drops me, on my birthday, just in front of the city’s most busy terrace for only 300 Rub, is a great experience.

One last advice. Take the Metro during rush hour times from 8-11 AM and 4 to 7 PM. There is no point sitting in the car for hours caught in the typical Moscow traffic jam chaos, while you can do the same distance in the overcrowded and overheated metro within 30 min.

“We agreed with the mayor of Moscow, the transport minister and a representative of the Finance Ministry to combine into a single complex Sheremetyevo, 100-percent owned by the government, and Vnukovo airports, where the government holds a 75-percent stake,” Putin said.

Here is the full story at Reuters…

Bummer. I liked Vnukovo. It was easy to get there. Usually there were not so many lines, as in Domodedovo and the terminal was renovated bit by bit, over the past years, making it much more comfortable to fly from Vnukovo. What a waste of money… I considered it always as a real alternative.