To fly Aeroflot, or not fly Aeroflot…that is the question…

To fly Aeroflot, or not fly Aeroflot…that is the question.
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Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to Brussels and Paris for a week of vacation I booked using 100,000 SKyMiles, pre-June 1 devaluation. Unfortunately the only Business Class routings where I was able to use 100,000 SkyMiles was an outbound Aeroflot from JFK to SVO to BRU, and then an inbound CDG to LHR to JFK on Virgin Atlantic. I’ve enjoyed the Virgin Atlantic experience before, so wasn’t concerned there. However, I’ve head horror stories across the web and my parents and Uncle have been telling me to call Delta to see if I could get on another over-the-water carrier to Brussels, Business Class or no Business Class.

I think I’m going to suck it up. From the research I’ve done, it appears Aeroflot is as safe as any other airline, and hasn’t had a crash with deaths since 1994. The US apparently requires fairly rigid maintenance standards for airlines entering the US, so on the whole, Aeroflot has to meet some American-esque standard just to fly into the country.

While I’ve always wanted to try the product, I guess I’m hesitant in doing so just because of the “horror stories” that appear to be out there. Sure, flying into Moscow isn’t what I intended on doing when I was thinking about flying to Brussels, but it sure makes for an interesting trip report. I fear somehow getting questioned by the KGB in Russia or something, or getting detained in the airport for so long I’ll miss my connecting flight to Brussels. Either way, I think I’m going to suck it up tomorrow and grin and bear it to fly on the Russian flagship carrier.

Has anyone else flown Aeroflot or have any comments on their safety or service?