SkyTeam member Aeroflot opened up its bag of presents and found a pretty decent fare to Siberia in it. The Russian carrier takes you from Helsinki to Irkutsk and back for just €360. The fare is available for the majority of 2022, save the summer months. A change of planes in Moscow Sheremetyevo airport is necessary both ways.
The cheapest tickets are not refundable. If you select the fare including luggage, you may cancel your tickets for a refund, but still have to pay part of the initial price as a fee.
Worldwide travel restrictions are in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. We strongly recommend gathering detailed information about the travel and quarantine restrictions that apply to your desired origin and destination.
A good start is the International Air Transport Association (IATA) website. It provides current updates on a country’s immigration policies. Even better, the Covid-19 Travel Regulations Map is one of the most useful tools you can find.
Our availability calendar previews all possible flight dates at the lowest fare for trips up to 28 days. It will forward you to Aeroflot’s website, but you can also look what OTAs have to offer, saving you an additional €10.
Aeroflot exclusively uses a mixture of Airbus A320 and Boeing 737-800 aircraft to take you from Finland to Siberia.
Search & Book
According to the fare rules, tickets are on sale without a specific travel period. The fare has no expiration date and can thus be withdrawn anytime. The minimum stay requirement is 2 days (or a Sunday).
Google Flights previews prices correctly, so that’s your best bet to find suiting flight dates. We recommend booking your tickets at the carrier’s website.
Why is booking with an airline better than with an online travel agency?
More often than not, online travel agencies offer lower fares than airlines do. We still recommend booking with the airlines directly. There are two main reasons for that:
Better Customer Service
In case any problems like delays, cancellations or missed connections arise, you can communicate directly with the airline. The airline has to take care of you because you have a contract with them.
If a travel agency issues your ticket, you may have to reach out to them first. You also depend on your OTA to forward information like flight changes instead of receiving them directly from the airline. In many cases, you may get a prime exhibition of responsibility shifting rather than problem-solving.
This especially applies to premium tickets. You don’t want to spend more than €1,000 to wind up with some budget OTA’s telephone hotline in case anything goes wrong.
Baggage and Other Fees
Economy fares not including hold luggage are industry standard by now. In most cases, travel agencies charge much higher baggage fees than the airlines themselves. If bags are not included in your fare, airlines are often the cheaper alternative.
This also applies to other things like food services, insurances or priority treatment. In almost all cases, you pay less for additional amenities when booking on the airlines’ website.
Mileage
Aeroflot issues tickets for all flight segments in booking class N. SkyTeam frequent flyer can earn the following mileage:
Cover Picture: Photo by Simon Berger on Unsplash