Review: Aeroflot Lounge Moscow Airport

Ben Schlappig
November 11, 2016
10

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We arrived from Los Angeles at around 3:10PM, and found ourselves in a long hallway. At the end of the hall you could either turn left towards immigration or right towards international transfers. Since we were connecting to Serbia, we turned right.

Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport international transfer

At the end of the hall was an immigration officer who checked our passports and confirmed our onwards boarding passes, and after a stamp we were let through. Then there was a quick security checkpoint, where there was no queue.

Less than 10 minutes after being off the plane we found ourselves in the departures hall, so the process was painless, and significantly easier than a transfer at any other major European airport.

Once through security we decided to follow the signage towards the closest lounge, which was the Jazz Business Class Lounge. Upon presenting our boarding passes, the associate informed us that our flight was departing from Terminal F, and suggested we use a lounge over there, which we did.

Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport terminal

It quickly became apparent that this airport has a lot of lounges. For example, in Terminal D (where we arrived) alone, there was the Persey Lounge, Blues Business Lounge, Classica Lounge, Gallery Lounge, Jazz Business Lounge, and Matryoshka Lounge (all of which belong to Priority Pass). So if you have a credit card with lounge access, you have no shortage of options!

Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport terminal

So we followed the signage in the direction of our departure gate (#53), which indicated that the walk could be up to 25 minutes.

Moscow Airport distance to gates

The signage for Terminal F suggested a similar amount of walking time.

Moscow Airport distance to terminals

It was indeed quite a haul, and I’d say the walk took us about 20 minutes. Nonetheless I’d take this transfer experience any day over Heathrow or Frankfurt. Being able to clear security within a few minutes and then just walk for a while feels sort of good after a longhaul flight. Also keep in mind that our connection was about the furthest amount of walking that would ever be needed when connecting.

Walking between terminals at Moscow Airport

It was a nice enough walk, and I loved watching the traffic on the taxiways.

airBaltic 737 Moscow Airport

Finally we made it to Terminal F, where we spotted the Classic Lounge. It was up a set of stairs, or otherwise you could take the elevator up.

Stairs to lounge at Moscow Airport

Moscow Airport Terminal F

I still don’t actually get the branding of all the lounges at the airport, as they all seem to be open to Priority Pass and Aeroflot customers.

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport exterior

Upon entering the lounge our boarding passes were scanned and we were promptly admitted.

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport reception

The lounge itself was okay. The lounge had one main room, though furniture was arranged in different ways so that there were several “zones.”

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport seating

In the front half of the lounge near the entrance were mostly leather chairs facing small coffee tables.

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport seating

Then in the back half of the lounge was more of a cafe area, with dining tables and cloth seats.

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport seating

Then in the very back of the lounge was an area that looked a bit more like a cigar bar, with comfortable leather couches and lots of oaky finishes.

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport seating

The bathroom was located right next to the cigar bar-looking area, and was very basic. Apparently the lounge had showers as well, though I didn’t see them.

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport bathroom

There were several food and drink stations. There were a few fridges with soft drinks and beer near the cafe area.

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport drink selection

Then in the far corner of the lounge was the main buffet area.

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport buffet

It had an espresso machine, beer machine, liquor, wine, and juice.

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport espresso machine

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport beer machine

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport liquor & wine

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport juice

The food selection was pretty basic, and featured all kinds of carbs, from toast to croissants to other things I couldn’t quite identify.

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport bread

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport snacks

Then there was a refrigerated area with cold cuts, cheese, salad, and more.

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport snacks

Then on the opposite side of the room was some soup and all kinds of small snacks, like chips, nuts, etc.

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport snacks

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport soup

I think the signage speaks for itself…

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport signage

One of the funnier aspects of the lounge had to be the fridge with all kinds of caviar for purchase. Throughout our long stay in the lounge I never saw anyone touch it, but I guess it’s nice to have the option. 😉

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport caviar

Wifi in the lounge was high speed, with a catch. Every 15 minutes the Wi-Fi cut out, and you had to reconnect. I’m not sure what’s more annoying — having to reconnect every 15 minutes, or having slow Wi-Fi to begin with. So I was happy that it was at least fast when it did work.

Our layover was from 3:10PM until 8:10PM. The lounge was tranquil when we arrived, while at around 5PM it got super busy for about 90 minutes, and then it emptied out again. As you can see below, at one point almost every seat was taken.

Classic Lounge Moscow Airport filling up

We spent the layover getting caught up on work given that it was a weekday and we’d only have a few hours of Wi-Fi.

Boarding for our flight was scheduled to start at 7:30PM, so we headed to the gate at around 7:15PM. The lounge was already packed at that point, probably largely because there wasn’t much seating in the gate area. So everyone started lining up for the actual gate.

Moscow Airport departure gate to Belgrade

Boarding started at 7:35PM, though there was no announcement for priority boarding. So instead everyone just pushed themselves to the front of the line.

Moscow Airport Lounge bottom line

Let’s start with the transit experience. Overall the transit experience at Moscow Airport was super easy. The passport check and security process took just a few minutes, and then it was a 20 minute walk to the furthest possible gate from where we arrived. Transiting Moscow Airport is painless, especially in comparison to London Heathrow, etc.

The lounge was of course nothing special. I’m not sure if there was a better lounge we could have used, but ultimately the priority was getting caught up on work, and the lounge allowed us to do that. It certainly wasn’t as bad as some other contract lounges I’ve visited.

So I wouldn’t plan a longer layover than I had to at Moscow Airport, but at the same time if you have a long layover it won’t be too horrible, assuming you can keep yourself busy on your laptop.

But overall this was a much easier transit experience than I was expecting.

Conversations (10)

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Melissa Guest
November 11, 2016, 7:38 pm

"Cooked smoked sausage" (located in the lounge) ... also known as ..... Salami. Gotta love Russian women, they are so sexy!

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Paolo Diamond
November 11, 2016, 5:58 pm

Dreadful dump. Better to eat outside the lounge if peckish.

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Konstantin Guest
November 11, 2016, 4:55 pm

Thanks for sharing. It's not the best lounge in SVO airport. Next time recommend you to use Matercard lounge (of course if you have premium Matercard card).

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Weymar Osborne Diamond
November 11, 2016, 2:45 pm

Wow, I flew through Domodedovo on Singapore back in July but Sheremetyevo looks so much nicer! Lucky, maybe you should fly through Vnukovo at some point and do a comparison of the three Moscow airports.

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Luis Member
November 11, 2016, 2:31 pm

It was easy to transit at that hour. I bet that the passport check and the security process could be a lot longer at 5pm, the same hour when the longe was full

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Mike Guest
November 11, 2016, 2:12 pm

Yes, indeed this is the blacksheep of the whole premium experience of Aeroflot in my opinion especially if you have to transit in SVO. The lounges are just terrible and waiting for more than 2 hours in my opinion is the max, more and it's just boring.
However compared to 2 years ago, it does seem that there are some slight improvements - they used to only use plastic cups for beverages and paper...
Yes, indeed this is the blacksheep of the whole premium experience of Aeroflot in my opinion especially if you have to transit in SVO. The lounges are just terrible and waiting for more than 2 hours in my opinion is the max, more and it's just boring.
However compared to 2 years ago, it does seem that there are some slight improvements - they used to only use plastic cups for beverages and paper plates for food. The food selection was even more basic than what they have now.

Cheers!

Read more

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Alex Guest
November 11, 2016, 12:47 pm

You should have tried Mastercard lounge in terminal e (halfway between d and f) same concept as centurion but by mc. Free with world elite card
https://m.facebook.com/mastercardlounge/

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John Guest
November 11, 2016, 12:45 pm

All of the Aeroflot lounges at Sheremetyevo have mediocre food choices (and all obviously form the same source). Terminal F is the old terminal (D & E being quite new). So, Classic is the oldest lounge as it is in terminal F. The newer lounges have showers, but still are not places you choose to spend lots of time in.

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Rapid Travel Chai Member
November 11, 2016, 10:46 am

I have tried that an all the Priority Pass lounges, my favorite is the Space Lounge with outer space design of planets on the walls.

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Credit Guest
November 11, 2016, 10:38 am

Pp lounges outside the US are so much better than the p&^sy grab of lounges we have in the USA

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Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

Melissa Guest

November 11, 2016, 7:38 pm

"Cooked smoked sausage" (located in the lounge) ... also known as ..... Salami. Gotta love Russian women, they are so sexy!

Paolo Diamond

November 11, 2016, 5:58 pm

Dreadful dump. Better to eat outside the lounge if peckish.

Konstantin Guest

November 11, 2016, 4:55 pm

Thanks for sharing. It's not the best lounge in SVO airport. Next time recommend you to use Matercard lounge (of course if you have premium Matercard card).