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What always impressed me about the Russian trains is the level of service. Each car had a built-in samovar, and the conductresses would serve everyone tea. In first class, they would come in the evening with sheets, pull out thin mattresses, and make up the bed. This type of service is, and always had been, unheard of in the West! I've never seen feasts like the ones on that blog, but generally the atmosphere was always friendly. Some of my train travel experience was back when the restaurant cars had a decent food service, and I enjoyed the typical Russian menu very much. It was simple fare, but always well-prepared. No one can cook like Russians!
A lot cheaper to fly through international hubs (Tokyo, Seoul).
No, not at all. It costs 3 times as much to travel from the RFE through Seoul to the US West Coast than it did when Aeroflot was flying there directly, and it takes twice as long. The only way I'll ever go back to Siberia and the RFE is if Alaska Airlines and Aeroflot start up their direct flights again.
Far Eastern cities are too small and remote to provide enough traffic to compete with international hubs.
This may be true, but with the oil and fishing interests in the area, and the level of tourism Alaska Airlines was able to drum up, there was still plenty of traffic. The Alaska Air flights weren't subsidized, and they still were half the cost of going through Korea today.
Rah, rah, Vladivostok. Any direct flights serving the RFE from the US would have to include Khabarovsk, Sakhalin, and Kamchatka or Magadan in order to be cost-effective. And once they reach the US, similarly, they'd serve the major coastal cities: Anchorage, Seattle, San Francisco and LA. Or else they'd have feeder flights bringing people from California to Seattle. It wouldn't make sense to neglect those markets. They could also pick up local passengers once they reach Seattle, and take them south, to fill space on the plane.
Rah, rah, Vladivostok. Any direct flights serving the RFE from the US would have to include Khabarovsk, Sakhalin, and Kamchatka or Magadan in order to be cost-effective.
Even Siberia. But the hub would be in Vladivostok.
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And once they reach the US, similarly, they'd serve the major coastal cities
If there was capacity, next moment there would be none.
Russian airlines entering domestic American market is out of the question. The plane WILL have to return home. Even if full - then what? The flight will be weekly at best, and it's not that easy to allocate 777 or similar plane somewhere in that part of Russia.
The crew will have to be the same on every flight. One problem Aeroflot faces in America is the length to get work permits for its employees - up to 6 months. A few more months for visas.
Soon the visa free charter Vladivostok-Saipan will open. It will be served by regional 737 (with another one ready to substitute it), that doesn't have a range to reach the US mainland. The cost of this charter will be just plain awful.
Technically, nothing stops anyone from launching a charter Vladivostok-LAX. Only it will be MUCH more expensive than flying through TYO or ICN that enjoy some nice traffic.
Even Siberia. But the hub would be in Vladivostok.
Russian airlines entering domestic American market is out of the question. The plane WILL have to return home. Even if full - then what? The flight will be weekly at best, and it's not that easy to allocate 777 or similar plane somewhere in that part of Russia.
Fine, the hub can be in Vlad.
You're right that a Russian airline wouldn't be able to provide domestic svce in the US. I was thinking of Alaska Airline. They weren't allowed to provide domestic service within Russia, either.
Right again, that the plane Aeroflot would use is a problem. The planes they used before didn't meet US Federal Aviation noise standards, but they were allowed to fly anyway, as long as the US airline was allowed to have service to the Far East. The problem was that only the larger Russian planes met US standards, but the larger planes weren't practical to use, since there wasn't enough business to fill them. So I think if the service starts up again, it will probably be the same as before. And yeah, extending service into Siberia would be a great idea. Alaska Air used to bring entire planeloads of tourists headed for Baikal. It would be great if at least Aeroflot flights could be extended to Ulan Ude and Irkutsk, but everyone would have to go through customs and immigration in Khabarovsk or Vladivostok. So after a 12-hr. flight from the US, continuing on for another 3 hours to the Baikal region would be a bit much for people, unless they could overnight, before continuing on.
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But the hub would be in Vladivostok.
