Pobeda Airlines, a self-described "low-cost" airline, plans to launch flights from Moscow to Eilat this fall. Flights will begin on October 22 and will operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, according to a Travel.ru correspondent.
Departures from Moscow (Vnukovo Airport) on various days at 7:50, 8:15, 9:15, and 11:05, and from Eilat (new Ramon Airport) at 12:20, 12:40, 1:20, 1:25, and 3:35. Travel time is approximately 4.5 hours. An additional flight is added on Sundays during the New Year's period.
Prices start at 4,970 rubles one-way (3,905 rubles on select flights), excluding baggage fees, seat selection, and other fees. Fares are significantly higher on peak dates. The route will use a Boeing 737-800 aircraft with a single-class configuration of 189 seats.
Passengers intending to use Pobeda services should keep in mind a number of features of this airline, exercise extreme caution and attentiveness, and be prepared for various difficulties and surprises both when booking a ticket and during the flight itself. Let us remind you that Pobeda allows you to carry either miniature carry-on baggage with strange dimensions of 36×30×27 centimeters, or a handbag or briefcase without size restrictions, free of charge.
Pobeda recently increased its small checked baggage allowance, though it remains relatively affordable: 777 rubles per 10 kilograms of checked baggage purchased in advance and 1,000 rubles when paid for at the airport. A 20-kilogram bag on this line costs 1,499 rubles (3,000 rubles at the airport). Each additional kilogram over the purchased allowance costs 500 rubles or 10 euros.
There is no onboard food service, regardless of the flight duration. Attempting to bring your own food in a separate bag may result in a 3,000-ruble check-in fee (unless it fits into Pobeda's baggage checker along with the rest of your carry-on baggage). When purchasing a ticket on the Pobeda website at the minimum "Standard" fare, the company includes paid insurance by default. To opt out, you must uncheck the appropriate options at the bottom of the additional services page. Any changes to the ticket, including changing the passenger's first or last name, cost 5,000 rubles (plus the fare difference if the flight is changed).
In addition, in recent months there have been many cases where Pobeda arbitrarily changes an existing booking to add additional services not ordered by the passenger. As a rule, this happens if the passenger studies the cost of these services in the "booking management" on the company's website, but has no intention of buying them. However, Pobeda pretends that such study is equal to a firm intention to buy these services, arbitrarily changes the booking and sends the passenger a demand for additional payment for these unordered services. Another fantastic way to get extra money from the passenger for nothing is the so-called "cancellation fee", which Pobeda tries to collect in such situations.
There are also problems with returning or changing a ticket in the event of flight disruptions or schedule changes - Pobeda hides the toll-free call center for forced changes and refunds. There are also problems with boarding a flight - Pobeda can herd passengers into an apron bus even before the plane itself appears at the airport. Seat selection is paid, and to encourage the purchase of this service, Pobeda can deliberately seat passengers flying together at opposite ends of the cabin and prohibit them from changing seats. At one time, this led to a loud scandal: Pobeda turned in a family with a baby to the police for an attempt by the parents to reunite on the plane - after the airline itself deliberately seated them in different rows in an attempt to earn an extra 149 rubles from each of the passengers for changing seats.
Pobeda recently introduced the option of fixing the ticket price for 48 hours. However, this is a paid service - 499 rubles will be added to the final price for each flight segment of each passenger. It is worth using only if there is a high probability of a significant increase in the ticket price in the next two days.
Passengers planning to fly Pobeda from any international airport should be aware of the serious problems this carrier experienced last fall and winter, when Pobeda introduced a fee for check-in at international airports (25 euros). Furthermore, according to numerous Pobeda passenger reviews, free online check-in sometimes worked incorrectly or didn't work at all. Many passengers claimed that the "free" check-in only worked if the passenger had pre-paid for seat selection. While these issues may have been resolved, passengers should still check in online and, if they experience problems with this service, bring proof of its inoperability to the airport.
Source: travel.ru