My experience of buying air tickets to Crimea - how I caught cheap tickets for Aviasales. Flights to Crimea Prices for excursions and entertainment in Crimea
Buying plane tickets via the Internet is no longer a surprise. It is fast, convenient, allows you to find Best offer in terms of time and price and not to push in the kilometer-long queue for registration.
Nevertheless, acquaintances or relatives constantly turn to me with a request to help them buy a plane ticket. If this simple operation does not cause difficulties for the younger generation, then older people who are accustomed to paper tickets do not quite understand how you can buy a plane ticket via the Internet.
In this article, I will tell you about my personal experience purchases, which I have quite extensive, as well as ladies detailed instructions with screenshots and examples of how to independently purchase a plane ticket on the Internet in any direction. This manual is written for people who find it difficult to buy on their own. Therefore, if you have repeatedly used the services of ticket aggregators, you can safely go to and start searching, I will not write anything new for you here.
Let's start with the basics. The search for suitable tickets takes place on the service aggregator website, which collects a common database for all airlines and all ticket sellers. This is very convenient, because you can immediately see all the offers in your direction, compare prices and find the seller with the best price.
There are many aggregator sites, but I advise you to use only two: skyskaner.ru and aviasales.ru. These are the most popular, moreover, sites that have been personally and repeatedly verified, on which only reliable sellers are represented.
Three simple rules for buying plane tickets
Rule one: plan ahead
If you are going to fly to the Crimea or in any southern direction, as well as to European countries in the summer, then you should start searching for tickets in March. Unlike tours, early booking here it is not only more profitable, but also sometimes simply necessary. The southern direction is overloaded in summer and, despite not summer schedule and additional flights, tickets are sold out instantly. Therefore, here you have two options: buy cheap ticket in advance or buy a neighboring chair 3 times more expensive, but later.
Yes, it happens in the summer, last-minute offers shoot out, much more profitable than booking earlier. But for this you need to have free time, sit and check the aggregator site every day, break loose and quickly fly away if something happens ... In general, this is an option for those who do not have a job and a strictly limited vacation.
How are things in winter? Yes, exactly the same. The only difference is that in winter there are practically no direct flights to the south and you have to fly with a transfer through Moscow. Let's say that in order to fly from Murmansk to Simferopol, right tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, you will have to pay this much:
And to do it in a week or two, so much:
So the first rule bargain purchase sounds like this: plan your flight in advance. If your vacation is in July, start looking for tickets in March-April.
Of course, flying with a direct flight is much more convenient than with a transfer through Moscow. But sometimes it turns out that the difference in price is 2-3 times greater. Let's say that in July a direct flight cost me almost 50 thousand for 4 people, and a flight through Moscow about 20 thousand for 4 people.
The difference between the flights was only 1 hour 20 minutes. That is, we practically got off one plane and immediately boarded another.
The only inconvenience is two takeoffs and two landings. And also there may be various overlays with delays and cancellations of flights. But in this case, these are not your problems, because. the airline is obligated to put you on the next flight that will have free seats or solve your problems in some other way at no extra charge on your part.
The second rule of a profitable ticket purchase: consider all options for flights to your chosen destination, including transfers.
Rule Three: Departure Date
Each airline has its own schedule, and there are probably daily flights to Simferopol only from Moscow and a couple of other large cities. Of all other cities, each airline flies a maximum of 2 times a week. Suppose an Aeroflot flight flies on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the flight Ural Airlines on Mondays and Fridays.
By choosing a flight on Wednesday, you may not find direct flights at all. Although they are.
Rule three: Check at least 4 days before and 4 days after your desired departure date.
Why exactly 4 days and not 3 not 5? I just derived this figure experimentally, exploring aggregators to find the most advantageous tickets. All airlines fall into this range, and each of them makes at least 1 flight.
And since all airlines have different prices, you will have the opportunity to compare them and find the most profitable proposition.
Search for plane tickets via the Internet. Step-by-step instruction
Now we proceed directly to the search for tickets. I will show you the whole process using the aviasales.ru site as an example. So, let's go to the aggregator site (the exact same search form is at the very end of this article). And enter the data in the search form:
- Departure city
- Arrival city
- departure date
- Number of persons
Let's say I made Yekaterinburg - Simferopol, April 30, 1 person.
It shows me the cheapest ticket 8575 rubles, with a transfer in Moscow, the difference between flights is 6 hours. The entire flight takes 11 hours 10 minutes. Not good a good option, taking into account the fact that a flight directly from Yekaterinburg to Simferopol is over 3 hours.
We continue our search. Immediately below the search form, there is a timeline with ticket prices for a specific date. Here you can immediately see that we have chosen an unsuccessful date for the flight and the next day there is a clear subsidence in prices.
Here is a good date: May 1, the ticket price will be 7735 rubles. Let's check the flight conditions. Let's make a new search with the same conditions, but on May 1st.
The option is even better. The flight is via Moscow, but the whole flight will take 7 hours and 15 minutes, and you will have to wait in Moscow for only 2 hours.
We continue to search by dates before and after the desired departure date until we find the best option.
At the time of this writing, the summer schedule has not yet been posted on the aggregator site. Therefore, on the screenshots, everything is viewed through Moscow. In March, this schedule will already be available, and you will be able to buy tickets for direct flights as well.
Ticketing
After you have decided on the date of departure, we begin issuing a ticket. In the table you see several offers for the date you have chosen.
Their difference is in the carrier, departure time, transfer time and price. If you see two completely identical offers and cannot find the differences, then this is the same flight, just the ticket sellers are different. Since the site aviasales.ru accumulates a lot of offers from different sellers, such situations are not uncommon.
So, select the offer we need and click "Buy ticket".
After that, you are redirected directly to the booking form on the seller's website.
We fill out the form very carefully. The data must be entered exactly as they are indicated in your passport. Some airlines ask you to fill in Russian letters, some immediately in Latin. This is usually indicated in the tooltips on the booking form.
Click "Continue" and get to the form for entering passport data.
If you do not know how to fill in these fields correctly, click on the "?" and look at the tooltips.
Here you can also choose additional options and medical insurance. Of all the additional options offered, I usually take only insurance. Everything else is an unnecessary increase in the cost of the ticket, but you can choose the possibility of a ticket refund, a choice of a seat in the cabin, or some other goodies if you think that you really need it.
Here you will be offered 3 options: payment bank card, cash in Svyaznoy and Euroset stores, payment by installments.
The best option is to pay by credit card. In this case, you pay only the cost of tickets. When paying through communication salons, you will be charged a small% for the transfer, when paying in installments, the% will be large.
Remember that the reservation is valid certain time(usually it is 23 hours), after which it will be canceled. Therefore, if you have chosen the cash payment option, try to meet this time in order to avoid annoying misunderstandings.
So, payment by credit card:
In the left window we carefully rewrite the data from our card, in the right window we enter the CVC code located on the back of the card. Clicks the button to pay for the order. After that, in the form that appears, enter the confirmation code, which will be sent via SMS to your phone.
Payment through Svyaznoy and Euroset stores:
1. Select the payment method "Cash in Svyaznoy and Euroset stores". Please note that the payment amount will be higher.
2. Click continue shopping
3. Write down the payment code (it will also be sent to the phone and e-mail specified when issuing tickets).
4. Tell the operator in the cabin that you want to pay for the ticket and state your code.
5. Be sure to keep the receipt after payment.
That's all! Your tickets have been issued. You will receive them in the mailbox specified during ticketing as soon as the seller receives payment from you. If you paid by credit card, you can check your e-mail, the tickets are already there.
You can print tickets if you wish, but this is not required. When you check in for a flight, you only need to present your passport or birth certificate if you are flying with a minor child.
check-in
Boarding the aircraft is carried out according to the boarding pass, which will be issued to you upon check-in for the flight. Today, most airlines provide online check-in service.
Check-in starts 24 hours and ends 40 minutes before departure. This is the average data different airlines they may differ, so it is better to clarify them in advance on the AK website or by calling the hotline.
I strongly recommend that you use online check-in for your flight, for the following reasons:
1. you don't have to arrive at the airport 2-3 hours before departure, because you will already have a boarding pass
2. Baggage check-in is usually carried out at a separate counter, you do not have to stand in a general queue (this is not the case everywhere, check at the airport)
3. If you are traveling with a small child, many airlines provide a seat selection service for free. In particular, AK S7, the ticket of which we issued today, provides such an opportunity. When registering, the most convenient places for passengers with children will be marked with special badges. Think well where it will be more convenient for you to sit: by the window or better by the aisle so that the child can walk around the salon without disturbing anyone?
4. Many people use this service. Therefore, those who decide to check in at the airport usually get the worst seats: in the tail, near the toilet or the last row, where the seat does not recline.
So, here are the instructions for self-check-in online for a flight:
Find out the address of the airline's website in advance and read the conditions for online check-in.
On the day of check-in, go to the airline's website, go to the page Online registration and enter your last name and ticket number in the form.
Next, you will be asked to choose a seat in the cabin (for a fee or free of charge, depending on the conditions of the carrier). If you do not want to pay extra for choosing a seat, then it will not be possible to change it. After that, click the "Register" button.
Boarding passes will be sent to your e-mail, specified during the ordering process.
Boarding passes, unlike tickets, must be printed. Some airports have special terminals for printing boarding passes, while some do not. Therefore, it is better not to take risks and print them in advance.
Now that's all for sure! We bought tickets and checked in for the flight. It remains only to pack and arrive at the airport on time. I hope this simple instruction will help you understand the process of buying tickets via the Internet not only in Crimea, but throughout the world. Fly with pleasure!
As we know on this moment it is more profitable and more convenient to fly from Russia to Crimea by plane (because subsidies from the Russian government go there) than by train, because the train must also be transported by ferry, and this is dreary, long, and expensive. The prices for air tickets to Crimea written above are presented for specific dates, so if you could find a more worthwhile offer for other numbers, immediately take them and do not hesitate.
The largest and only airport in Crimea is located in the city of Simferopol. Arriving here by plane at very reasonable prices, you can already go further by land along your route. But there is where to go, Crimea is so diverse, the main thing is to correctly build a route and buy air tickets at competitive prices to Simferopol. And how to do it, read on.
How to buy cheap tickets to Crimea
The key to success in buying a cheap air ticket is knowing the best price., at which it can be purchased, so below I will tell you about the prices for air tickets to Crimea in 2018, which ticket is considered cheap, which is affordable, and which is expensive. I will give an example for one person there and back:
- Most cheap airfare can be bought in advance and it will cost from 5,000 to 6,000 rubles
- Affordable flights to Simferopol can be purchased at a price of 6,000 to 8,000 rubles
- A one-way ticket can be purchased at a price of 3,000 to 5,500 rubles per one. The price of a one-way ticket is always more expensive, so it's usually better to take a round-trip ticket to save money.
- Fortunately, it takes about two hours to fly from Moscow to Crimea, so the flight will in principle be direct. This is good news, because usually flights to Asia, for example, take a long time, and they can still be with several transfers.
How to find the cheapest air ticket to Crimea, how to recognize it and when to buy?
Everyone knows that Crimea is a subsidized place and air tickets for citizens are no exception, so it is possible to find a round-trip ticket for the summer for 6,000 - 8,000 thousand rubles. The main thing is to do it in advance now, starting from February, you need to purchase tickets for the spring and summer of 2018, because usually such cheap tickets are quickly sold out and the chance to find them for such a minimum cost in the summer tends to be zero. And why, you ask, because there is a setting for a year for a certain number of tickets, if they are sold out, usually there are no new ones, as they say, whoever had time, he ate it.
There is a possibility that someone's trip will be canceled and this ticket will appear on free sale, but will you have time to intercept it? Not everyone can sit for days on end monitoring search engines with air tickets. Therefore, we conclude that while there are such tickets, they must be purchased far in advance, prepare the bike for the summer, starting from winter, I will tell you with such tickets to Simferopol. However, Aviaseil has released a handy messenger bot that will help you deal with price monitoring tasks:
You can also not bother yourself with a separate purchase of an air ticket, but purchase a full-fledged tour from a travel agency or tour operator. Sometimes it is more profitable to buy a full-fledged tour, where an air ticket, hotel accommodation (sometimes even with meals) will already be included in the price, and even with a transfer to the hotel itself. The main thing is to purchase a tour from a trusted tour operator and at competitive prices. I propose to consider options from one of the most famous online companies:
Before buying tickets to Crimea, you should be interested in the following article:
- – here Zhenya talks about our way of finding tickets
Search sites for cheap flights to Crimea
If you decide to buy a ticket on your own, then any site for finding air tickets will help you here, for example, we usually use the search engine Skyscanner or Aviasales, the latter even more liked affordable prices and proven offers. Below is their convenient ticket search form by month for the whole of 2018. Such a ticket search is convenient when you are not tied to specific departure dates, and you can find the best offer in any month of the year, see for yourself. In general, I recommend saving this page so that you always have a convenient calendar of prices for flights from Moscow to Simferopol at hand:
Another search form will help you find the treasured cheap ticket to the Crimea, the main thing to remember is that it is better to look at several offers not only for your specific date, but also a few days ahead or back in order to accurately select the most advantageous offer from all presented.
Sometimes, even with travel agencies, a purchased tour will be more profitable than buying only one ticket, but the main thing is to know a few important points:
- Purchase a tour ticket only from trusted travel agencies or tour operators
- If the ticket is cheaper than one purchased ticket, about 1500-2000 rubles, you can also buy a tour without hesitation
- Also, when buying a tour, it is better to be 99% sure that the trip will not be canceled for any personal reasons. After all, agencies earn their main income from those who refuse tours, simply not returning most of the cost of the tour.
- Not every person can afford to spend a precious vacation looking for accommodation and other independent activities, so for especially busy people, buying a tour in travel agencies is suitable.
The prices for cheap tickets to Crimea indicated above by me are very good and it’s better not to hesitate to purchase them, because, as I already said, the limit of low prices for tickets to Crimea is limited and if everyone sells out, then there will not be a great chance to buy a ticket for 4,000 - 6 000 rubles. Do not delay, plan your trip to the Crimea in advance so that the rest is not only memorable, but also not expensive.
- It is best to purchase air tickets at least 2 months before the flight, in which case the savings can be up to -39%. Further, the cost rises and reaches its peak two weeks before departure.
- The price can vary up to 96% depending on the availability and size of luggage, the day of the week and the time of day the plane flies.
- Mid-week morning flights are cheaper than Friday night and weekend flights.
- Round-trip flights are on average -24% cheaper than buying two tickets separately.
- During the low season, airlines and travel agencies often sell discounted and last minute tickets, hold various promotions and sales.
- In the high season, it is possible to book tickets not only for regular, but also for charter flights in a general package with a vacation ticket. Tickets for such flights can be booked much cheaper than usual.
- Most low prices- December, January and February.
- The most expensive months are August, June, July.
- The average price for flights from Moscow to Simferopol (Crimea) is 917 r.
Dear travelers, hello everyone!
Today, in a nutshell, I would like to highlight the elements of my epic fight for the economical price of a flight with Russian airlines. Despite the fact that this battle was comparable to the battle with windmills, nevertheless, I and you can still draw some conclusions and lessons for yourself.
My main life the principles of “do not hang your nose”, “Baba Yaga is against it” and “life is not only promotions and sales” help me in my work on a permanent basis. However, in some disciplines such as "buy cheap tickets from Aeroflot" or “Get out of Crimea if the whole world is against it” Unfortunately, I'm not on horseback.
Well, I will not idle talk, but I will immediately move on to the facts, key points and thoughts that have accumulated in my head at the time of licking my wounds after the battle.
So, neither light nor dawn, on February 18, I got on the Internet and, as the creators of the site promised Aviasales in a few clicks bought the cheapest tickets to Istanbul from the airline Azerbaijan Airlines . I did not have time to put into battle even half of the methods described by me in the article on how to find cheap air tickets.
Yes, these were tickets without luggage, yes it was a transfer flight Moscow - Baku - Istanbul. But!
- Departure and arrival times were good.
- I have never been to Baku
- 5500 rubles per ticket against 12000 rubles on average, it's a success!
Having bought tickets from Moscow to Turkey, I started looking for cheap tickets from Simferopol to Moscow and back. Since it was necessary to more or less comfortably dock both flights, I had to sweat, drink liters of coffee and stare at constantly updated browser pages in search of the perfect solution.
Flight Simferopol - Moscow - Simferopol and where such prices come from
Round-trip air tickets had to be canceled immediately. Neither the price, nor the departure time, nor the name of the Moscow airport coincided with my ideas about a comfortable and inexpensive flight.
The whole toolkit of my favorite site was used Aviasales, about which I crucified in detail. And now the miracle happened! God's light shed on the earth shrouded in darkness and 2750 rubles I buy tickets Simferopol - Moscow from the airline S7 on May 25th. Without luggage, but with human departure time.
The most difficult thing left is to buy tickets Moscow - Simferopol for the beginning of June. The dates considered were June 6 and 7. Nothing interesting in the foreseeable future was not observed.
The epic of the fight and a detailed analysis of prices
So, 3 months before departure, the best I could find were tickets for the same 2750 rubles , again without luggage and with depressing departure times: 23:45, 02:15 and 5:45.
As for me, this is a mockery of people and members of trade unions.
I know from experience that in Europe at night, in general, all airports plunge into twilight and only international terminals operate with flights outside the Eurozone. For example, to Moscow, Beijing or Los Angeles.
Price for tickets S7 quickly jumped to 4965 rubles . The arena also flashed Red Wings And Vim Airlines . But neither the price, nor the availability of luggage, nor the time of departure suited us.
We don't live in Madagascar, I thought, and continued to wait and monitor prices. Personally, I thought that not all companies just announced their flights and are about to enter the market with interesting offers.
At the height of March, the battle entered Pegas Fly . 5000 rubles for a seat with luggage of 23 kg, but with a departure from Sheremetyevo. Yes, and departures are also at 23:00 and at 05:00. Not suitable.
April passed without bursts of activity. The future did not bode well.
Ha ha, I thought. So no one wakes you up to buy tickets and you immediately lower the prices. That's when I buy tickets cheaper.
But fixed price 4600-5000 rubles clearly loomed before my eyes and did not think to decline.
As a result, in early May, unable to withstand the stress, I buy tickets from Ural Airlines for 5500 rubles . Although this is still not what I wanted, but there is a flight from Domodedovo, and there is luggage, and the departure time of 8:30 is more suitable for the term "human".
Outcome of the fight:
- Moscow - Baku - Istanbul - Baku - Moscow - 15000 rubles for three persons.
- Simferopol – Moscow – Simferopol – 25000 rubles for three persons.
Notifications from Aviasales or what I saw
So, the flight Moscow - Simferopol is the most inconvenient route in any travel of the Crimean resident during the season. If you can still find half-empty charters with discount prices back, then you won’t be able to fly to Crimea for cheap. 5000 rubles for a ticket for a seat without luggage - this is the best there is.
Behind 3000 rubles I could buy the same ticket, but with a night departure time and only 3 months before departure.
Aviasales regularly sent me offers, but the closer the departure date was, the more mocking they were. It feels like it was some kind of divorce.
It happened worse, the price was confirmed and even the site where this ticket could be bought was indicated. Pay attention on these 2 pictures and find ten one, but the difference is very important.
Noticed?
The next offer at a price from the official website with a tariff 2 times higher. This is true. After going to the site Tickets.ru we'll find the record "This ticket no longer exists" .
Tobish in addition to real information Aviasales happens and swallows any spam or site errors that, well, at least I have not been able to use to my advantage.
And look what started happening on June 7th. I just didn't turn off notifications on purpose, even after purchasing tickets, in order to track the trend for the future.
Conclusions and my decisions
- The route Simferopol - Moscow from the end of May to the beginning of September should be carefully thought out along with the main flight from Moscow. Options I'll take tickets to Mexico, and in Moscow we somehow get into the season do not work.
- If you have seen ticket prices in a search engine for 3 months, then there is no point in hoping that they will become cheaper (again in the summer season). Based on my analysis, I can say that prices will only grow and, at best, briefly fall to the starting values that were in 3 months.
- Some tickets that look like “yes, it’s just some kind of holiday” are either system errors or are in a single copy. The family will not fit.
Well, the main answer to the question of what to do with Crimean tickets for yourself gave the following answer:
As soon as possible, but only after all the airlines put their offers on the network, make your choice decisively.
There is no point in waiting for mercy. Just not in this direction. I understand that our airlines would rather cancel the flight, unite passengers with another airline, but in no case will they drop the originally declared prices.
This can only be afforded Aeroflot And "Russia" and only out of season.
Well, at the end of the advice. Learn to fly without luggage . Of course, after returning from Turkey, this advice does not work and only the Chukchi can return from Istanbul empty-handed. But the global trend is towards the fact that soon in any airline you will pay extra for luggage. And the conversation is about 2000 rubles for the bag. Add to this 500 rubles per package and up to half an hour wasted time waiting for luggage.
Some things are easier to buy on the spot than to drag all your belongings on your hump. Expensive and inefficient! I described in more detail about preparing for a flight in the Crimea or somewhere else.
Most Russians choose the Crimean peninsula for their summer holidays, and in terms of the number of tourists, this region is in no way inferior Krasnodar Territory. But in view of recent events, many have a question: How to get to Crimea cheaply to spend the saved money on the vacation itself?
Method number 1 - flight by plane
The fastest and perhaps one of the cheapest (if in advance), ways to get to the Crimea is to fly by plane. Simferopol airport was expanded by the 2015 season, thanks to which, this summer it is ready to receive up to 200 flights from 43 cities of Russia every day. After arriving from Simferopol airport, already based on the financial capabilities of vacationers, all the resort corners of Crimea can be reached by trolleybus, bus, taxi () or by car,.
Minimum cost airfare for a direct flight to Simferopol depends on the city of departure, choice of airline, seasonality. It is worth noting that you can buy the most only after the start of airline sales in April or May. As the holiday season (June, July, August) approaches, airfare becomes 1.5-2 times higher compared to spring prices.
Also, do not forget that every year at the end of May, the state allocates subsidies for flights to the Crimea from the regions of Russia (except Moscow and St. Petersburg). True, the quantity in each airline is limited and they are sold out literally 1-3 hours after the opening of sales.