Flight #: SU106

From: Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO)

To: Los Angeles International (LAX)

Flight time: 11h 45min

Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER

Aeroflot is, possibly, one of the European airlines that takes its business class more seriously.

We had covered Aeroflot’s business class on narrow body aircraft before, but this time the opportunity came up to try it out on a proper long haul, wide body aircraft and no less than on one of the Russian carrier’s longest (if not THE longest) routes: Moscow to Los Angeles.

Full disclosure, the base tickets were paid for, while the upgrade to business class was courtesy of Aeroflot

Summary

There is quite a lot to unpack from the nearly 12h hour flight plus the pre-fight experience, so I have divided this flight report in the following sections:

Pre-flight experience
Seat and cabin
Food & drink
Amenities, IFE & onboard service

The pre-flight experience

The flight departed from Sheremetyevo airport Terminal C. This is the newly inaugurated (or, more accurately, re-inaugurated) part of the airport and it tells! (Terminal C is actually a prolongation to the equally newly refurbished Terminal B, that we reviewed in this piece)

You can tell everything is brand new, wide and bright spaces throughout and, perhaps because it was late at night (I came to the airport well before the flight in order to get the PCR test - a requirement to enter the US - and to try out the lounge) it was far from crowded, so there were no queues at all anywhere.

Getting PCR-tested before the flight at Sheremetyevo airport

Another aspect of the experience that was rather positive was the on-site PCR testing service at the airport.

To be clear, this is not done by Aeroflot, but nevertheless it was part of the journey so, it is definitely a plus that you can come to the airport pretty much at any time and get your PCR results within an hour. My understanding is that there are several such services at SVO, I went to the one that was recommended to me, “Arkhimed”, which had a booth next to the check-in hall. It cost 2,700 Rubles (About €30) and you get the results within 90 minutes, although in my case they were ready in less than half that time (without having to pay extra for the super-express service that gets them in 30min). It is open almost around the clock (it closes only between 3-5am) in both English and Russian. The whole experience was super smooth.

Visiting the Aeroflot Lounge at Sheremetyevo’s Terminal C

With my PCR in hand and after passing through security and border control, it was time to check Aeroflot’s lounge at Terminal C.

Location of the Aeroflot Malevich lounge at Sheremetyevo airport

I had been previously at Aeroflot’s lounge at SVO’s older terminals (which lie on the other side of the runway), but this one was a completely new experience.

Whereas the old terminal lounges are more like an enclosed, window-less hall, this one has a much more open, airy design. One thing that stands out is its circular layout. The lounge sits literally at the far end and takes the whole superior level of one of the terminals protruding piers.

Aeroflot’s lounge is named after the famous painter Malevich and it shows in the decor! (not sure if these are authentic Malevich paintings, but wouldn’t be surprised if they were)

It was there during the early hours of the night (my flight was at 6.05am) so the atmosphere was naturally very quiet, with just a handful of people around. I guess it is a bit different at peak times, but for the time being it served me well to relax a bit before the flight while enjoying some readings and a snack.

Note how the circular shape of the lounge and its situation at the top of the pier allows for great views of the runways and apron (great for planespotting). It also helps create different areas within the same lounge, you just need to move a bit further along the corridor to find a quieter spot if you feel like it, you only see about one quarter of the lounge surface at any one time (again, this may be more difficult to do at peak times, but with few people around it certainly worked that way!)

It is also interesting that the lounge is open not just towards airside, but also physically connected to the rest of the terminal. Don’t get me wrong, it is, of course, segregated, since it is on the top level, but there are spots where there are no walls separating it from the corridor one level below, so you can feel the pulse of the airport if you feel inclined to do so! Note here also the round elements.

There are several food and drink stations scattered throughout the lounge. The central one usually with hot food, although due to the early hours at the time (3am) was not available. There plenty of snacks, cold cuts, sweets and drinks of different sorts, though.

Below you can see a bit more of the different spaces of the lounge. Certainly quiet at night time!

Seat & Cabin

Let me start my review of the Aeroflot B777 business class cabin by explaining that, at the time of writing these lines, there is not just one business class cabin on Aeroflot’s widebody fleet.

In 2021 the airline started a programme to revamp the passenger experience on its long haul fleet, resulting in a new business class cabin.

At the time of booking the flight it was expected that this particular flight would be operated with an aircraft fitted with the new interior, however, there was a change of aircraft at the very last moment (I got my seat changed literally at the boarding gate), so this review would concern the legacy business class cabin instead.

The seat

Quite solid and comfortable, fully reclinable to become a flat bed. The Boeing 777-300ER that I flew had a 2-2-2 configuration. A blanket and a pillow are also provided.

Note: this will change as Aeroflot rolls out its new business class interior across its B777 fleet. The new cabin will have a 1-2-1 configuration in business class, with Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seats that are fitted with doors, enabling a superior level of privacy.

SVO to LAX is possibly Aeroflot’s longest regular flight, although flying over the pole, it takes “only” about 12h or so

Below you can see the general layout and atmosphere of the business class cabin (day and night):

Special mention to the toilets, which remained incredibly clean and tidy during the super long flight.

In addition to what is provided in the business class amenity kit, passengers can replenish toiletries here as well.

Food & Drink

This was doubtlessly one of the highlights of the trip. When it comes to inflight meals, Aeroflot doesn’t skimp in quantity or quality. The menu is the work of Kamel Benmamar, chef at “Ryby Net”, one of the flagships restaurants of the Novikov Group in Moscow.

Mind that this was a 12h flight departing early in the morning, so we got pretty much the whole “normal” meal cycle that you would have in a normal day.

Starting with that classic of business class, the welcome glass of champagne, and then, next:

1) Appetizer

2) Starter + Salad + Soup + Main course + Dessert

3) In-between meal (sandwich/fruit/snacks)

4) Light meal a couple of hours before landing

Plus beverages (water, soft drinks, tea, coffee, wine and liquors) at any time throughout the flight.

Next is the picture gallery of the different foods and drinks that I tried out during the flight:

The basics: bread and butter. Note the contrast of the Aeroflot hammer and sickle in the business class setting!

Pumpkin cream soup (admittedly not the best image quality, this one!)

Main course: roasted salmon with pumpkin and sweet potato. Very nice and nourishing!

Second meal after a good long nap: cheese platter and halibut with vegetables

Soft cheese with herbs and camembert, accompanied by olives

No need to say there was also a rather extensive list of wines and liquors, plus the crew can prepare also a number of cocktails (see the pic above). I don’t claim to be a wine expert, so I won’t be delving much in the different choices, but those of you with an interest can simply check it here:

Amenities, IFE & Service Onboard

A few words here about all those little things, aside from the seat and the food, that add to the passenger experience during the flight.

Let me start by the service that was absolutely great throughout, which is kind of expected in business class, but I think it is worth noting nonetheless!

All business class passengers receive as well an amenity kit - pretty cool design, by the way! - with the usual stuff: toothbrush, toothpaste, mask, etc. ( a bit puzzled by the TWO combs! not that I care, though)

Also, while they are both edible, the nice Aeroflot-themed chocolate and Aeroflot-branded tea I’d say fit better under the “amenities” category. The former, I ate, the other I will consume at home.

Oh! and almost forgot to mention that surgical masks were also provided before landing (the whole flight was masked as per current covid regulations).

Let’s move on to the entertainment section.

First, with the good old-school paper media:

Newspapers (Russian ones and the FT) are distributed at the start of the flight.

Also, Aeroflot has two inflight magazines specially for business class passengers, and different from the ones handed out in economy class: Aeroflot Premium and Aeroflot Style, both with content and advertising in line with what you would expect to be business class passengers tastes and consumption habits…

When it comes to IFE, each seat is equipped with a seatback screen and a pair of pretty solid earplugs.

Full disclosure: I’ve worked as a consultant with companies in the IFE space that may compete with some of the platforms mentioned here. In any case, I will share my impressions just as I experienced them.

The content selection was quite thorough, including a mix of international and Russian content, new and classic (fyi, I settled for the latest James Bond movie!) and not limited to films, but also documentaries, music, etc. So far, so good…

The screen can be controlled either through touch screen or through the little terminal by the side of the seat.

It is here where I came across a couple of minor things that were, in my opinion, improvable:

First was that navigation through the screen - either through touch or through the control console - was far from ideal at times the whole process felt quite clunky. I guess this is due to it being a legacy system, it is likely the newly fitted cabin represents an upgrade in this regard.

I was also surprised that the socket for the earplugs was located on the left superior corner of the seat envelope, which depending on how you lay down resulted in it being disconnected.

There was also internet connectivity available (in theory), although it is not free. I had not really need for it during the flight, so I didn’t attempt to register. I have added a snapshot of the prices so that you can get an idea of what each price point buys you.

Our take:

An excellent product that is expected to get even better soon as the new upgraded business class cabin is fitted in the remaining Aeroflot B777 fleet.

Btw: if you liked this flight report, you can also check out our chronicle of the delivery of Aeroflot’s first Airbus A350-900 in early 2020, which included a cabin tour. That was not a flight report, but you can get a good idea of the layout and features of Aeroflot’s new A350 business class (which, note, is not exactly the same as the old and new B777 biz class!)

Flight review: Aeroflot Business Class Boeing 777-300ER