Russian charter airline Azur Air. Customer Testimonials

Small charter air carriers, offering their customers tickets at a price 20-30% lower than on international scheduled flights, make overseas trips for our compatriots much more affordable. In the sphere of budget travel, the Azur Air airline has already proved its worth.

Reviews on the quality of services provided by this carrier are fairly easy to find on all tourist sites and even in social networks. And this is not surprising. According to official figures, last year alone, more than 2.3 million passengers traveled by Azur Air. What impressions about this carrier are most often shared by Russian tourists? What do people tell about the service and, most importantly, about the safety of flights, leaving feedback on Azur Air airlines on forums and social networking groups?

About company

Passenger air carrier Azur Air is one of the youngest airlines in Russia. Established in 2014 through the legal department of Katekavia LLC, the transport company for some time was part of the subsidiary structure of the largest domestic aircraft corporation UTair. In 2015, the newly formed airline received the brand name "Azur Air" (not to be confused with the name of the popular hotel complex Bel Air Azur Resort 4 * in the resort town of Hurghada) and began to carry out independent activities.

Since 2016, he has the right to carry out international passenger flights on a regular basis. At present Azur Air is the main carrier of the popular tour operator "AnexTour" in Russia. By airplanes of this airline flights from 30 cities of our country to the most popular and popular resort areas: Thailand, Spain, Dominican Republic, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Vietnam.

In February 2017 Azur Air was awarded the industry award SSA (Skyway Service Award) for the victory in the category "Best Russian airline" among international charter carriers.

Transport fund

As of early 2017, Azur Air owns 16 aircraft. At present Azur Air's air fleet is Boeing aircraft of classes 767-300, 757-200 and 737-800, which replaced TU-134 and other domestic airliners. The average age of transport is 18-19 years, as in most domestic charter carriers. The condition and serviceability of aircraft are carefully monitored: the only drawback, according to passengers, is the noisy operation of engines during the flight.

Interior condition and comfort level

As in any budget airline, the cost of traveling on the Azur Air aircraft is reduced due to the increased number of seats. Therefore, passengers are immediately warned: having substantially saved on air tickets, you will have to make flight in crowded areas. Narrow aisles between the rows and a small distance between the seats - the main inconvenience, according to most passengers. Especially hard is a very high or fat people. What else can you tell the customers of Azur Air about the level of comfort during a charter flight?

• Often mentioned about the cleanliness and good condition of the cabin of the aircraft, the ideal hygienic state of the toilets.
• In addition to the tight seat, some passengers can get an unpleasant surprise in the form of a malfunctioning folding table.
• Each passenger before the flight is given a set, which includes sweets, earplugs and a bandage for sleeping, hygiene bags, a pillow. Upon request, during the flight, a blanket is issued, but judging by the responses, quite often they are not enough for all passengers.
• The temperature of the air in the cabin during the flight is not always correctly regulated. Many tourists express dissatisfaction with too cool interior, which is exacerbated by the above-mentioned situation with a shortage of warm blankets. Some negative reviews, on the contrary, speak of the heat in the cabin and the poorly functioning air conditioner.
• Lack of TV in the cabin.
• Because of the close cabin passenger seats either recline not completely, or do not recline at all. At flights up to four hours, this defect is practically not noticeable, but the airline's clients, who are forced to fly in such conditions for six or more hours, often express their indignation.
• One of the frequent problems of all airlines flying resort flights, without exception, is that there is a big risk of being on the plane with a drunk company. Similar fellow travelers are sometimes found on flights "Azur Air". Of course, the presence of such companions is not dependent on the desire of the crew of the aircraft, but the behavior of stewards in such situations significantly affects the reputation of the air carrier. Often, passenger reviews characterize the behavior of the crew in relation to "drunken fellow travelers" on the positive side: stewardesses tend to behave with restraint, politeness, doing their best to prevent conflict situations on board.

Meals on board

The quality of food for passengers Azur Air - the subject of the hottest disputes in social networks and forums. The airline's customers, depending on the duration of the flight, are provided with 1-2 meals, one of which is a standard hot lunch. The menu "Azur Air" includes a full set of products: a meat dish (to choose from), a side dish, a sauce, vegetables, cheese, sausages, dessert, pastries. In addition, in unlimited quantities you can get drinks: coffee or tea, sweet fizzy and drinking water.

Feedback from customers of the airline, satisfied with the standard menu, about the same as negative statements on this topic. In general, many passengers admit that lunch and dinner quite correspond to the budget prices for a charter flight, and all the food on board is hearty and quite tasty. From negative reviews, one can single out stories about poorly cooked or insufficiently heated dishes, because of which the travelers remained hungry. Sometimes there are complaints of malaise or indigestion of the gastrointestinal tract, which passengers associate with one of the dishes in the aircraft.

It is worth noting that the airline is constantly working to improve the service on board aircraft. To date, social networks have posted several news related to changes in the nutrition area for passengers. The official airline group has information about the availability of the service of choice and the pre-order of a special menu. Unfortunately, so far this service is not available in all directions. Dishes from the children's or vegetarian menu can be ordered on flights departing from Domodedovo, Pulkovo, as well as the airports of Yekaterinburg and Krasnoyarsk. The list of flights where passengers can try hot buns baked on board the aircraft during the flight is also increased.

Crew and personnel: what passengers say

Clients' feedback about "Azur Air" practically unanimously confirms: the pilots working in this airline are real professionals, perfectly showing themselves even uneasy weather conditions. Often in the reviews there are gratitudes to crew members for a calm and safe flight, fascinating stories about the terrain over which the flight route runs.

No less good impression is made by stewards and stewardesses. The majority of travelers who leave feedback about Azur Air, characterize flight attendants as polite, attentive, beautiful and extremely positive people. According to the passengers' stories, the employees of the company readily answer questions and are always ready to help.

Departure delay, compensation for passengers

Punctuality of an air carrier is an important indicator when buying a ticket for a particular flight. Of course, for those who go on vacation, a small delay in departure can not significantly affect the journey. But for business trips or flights with transfers the delay of an airplane can be a serious problem.

Unfortunately, we have to admit that the delay in departure is the most frequent complaint from Azur Air passengers. Reviews of tourists are simply full of stories about deferred flights and delays for flights from 15 minutes to 10-12 hours. This fact is confirmed by statistical studies. According to the rating of Rosaviation, in 2016 the airline was among the "three leaders" for delays in charter flights.

The representatives of the airline themselves attribute the lion's share of delays not to the technical malfunctions of air transport. The main reasons are unfavorable weather conditions and the huge congestion of runways at airports. At the same time, the airline uses all available facilities to provide passengers with legal services: drinks, meals, short-term accommodation at the hotel.

Features of check-in for a flight

For the convenience of customers, in addition to personal check-in for flights at airports, passenger registration via the Internet is now available. Such a service is provided in a special section on the Azur Air website. Check-in online (hereinafter - OP) is available for most passengers, however this method has its own peculiarities and limitations:

• OR starts in 24 hours and ends 1 hour before departure.
• The OP service is available exclusively for flights, the starting point of which is one of the cities on the territory of the Russian Federation.
• In addition to Domodedovo, the basic airport Aazur Air, check-in online is available in 25 more cities. You can also find out the list of airports with the PR on the air carrier's website.
• The service of the PR can not be used by clients who are obliged to fly with accompanying persons: minors, people with disabilities and others. Also, personal check-in at the airport will have to pass to pet owners traveling with pets.
• The OP is not allowed for passengers traveling in groups of more than 9 people.
• Landing on board is made on boarding pass, printed on the site after the PR, no additional treatment for registration at the airport is required.

Security Level

The reputation of an airline in the field of flight safety is also estimated by the statistics of emergency situations involving corporate aircraft. For the period of existence of Azur Air, not a single plane crash has been registered. Of emergency situations arising during the flight, the most notable was an emergency, not a soft landing in Tashkent (February 2016).

In addition, three more cases were recorded when the aircraft of this company made emergency landing, including one incident that occurred because of a bird accidentally caught in the engine. To the honor of the flight crew, all of the above cases ended well.