This has to be the most fascinating route we’ve seen in quite some time…
Continue reading: Whoa: Nordwind’s Moscow To Pyongyang Boeing 777 Flights
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
It's not that surprising to see flights between North Korea and Russia/China. However, North Korea has more ties with the region of Vladivostok than with Moscow. So either it's a one-off to transport officials (and they put it on sale just in case they can fill up more seats), or as you suggested the interesting bit is in the cargo (but then why not just operate a cargo flight?)
Could it be like the gold runs Venezuela used to do (and probably still does) or some sort of sanction evasion scheme? Sergei Lavrov already had his visit there a little over a week ago and that would have been on a state plane not Nordwind.
North Korea is supplying plenty of soldiers for the Russian meat grinder, which could be one explanation. But whatever the purpose is, it's surprising that it's publicly bookable.
North Korean troops are fighting in Ukraine so this would be a way to transport them in and out without the risk of military intervention (i.e. Ukraine droning a Russian military transport aircraft).
Crimea's too dangerous, so Russians are taking their beach vacations to Wonsan-Kalma.
Wonson has already banned foreign tourists so it’s probably not that https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c07dr52p21mo.amp
yeah - a real hardcore travel blogger would be the first to sign up for this... especially if in F there were doors, F, caviar, and good (real) champagne.
is it bookable with Miles?
also - how are they getting around the current sanctions to get parts to keep this 777 running (let alone safely)?
440 dead North Korean fighters on the inbound to FNJ
440 unwilling volunteer troops on the outbound from FNJ
Not sure what the purpose of this flight is, but I can say that North Korea has opened up to Russian tourists in recent months, without a major hassle for visas, etc. I live in Vladivostok, and local tour operators are routinely operating tours to North Korea, just across the border from Khasan. The caveat is that the tours are exclusively for Russian citizens, so being an American citizen with a Russian residence permit precludes me from booking (I wouldn't book it anyway).
Perhaps the dotard’s head ghoul Stephen Miller has decided to send immigrants to North Korean concentration camps via Moscow, where the dotard’s master lives.
No cabin class differentiation, seems quite matching for a flight to North Korea
a 777 has good cargo capacity, so lots of usefull stuff can be moved from Pjonyang to Moscow quickly. 444 seats also don't hurt to transport some North Korean tourists to the Ukraine via Moscow.
How would one actually pay for this flight? Isn't Russia blocked from using any cards issued by Visa/MC/Amex etc? I guess you could always use crypto and I imagine this is going to cater toward a domestic market so they may have their own internal ways to pay but I just find it fascinating. What if a foreigner tries to purchase this? I won't go to their website and try though.
Guessing the upgrades are going to be easily scored on this laughing stock of a route, which will probably have a maximum PDEW of 2 people. Ah, Russia. What a joke.
I believe this is to cater to the NK workers participating in Russian economy that has shortage of men due to the War. The two countries did some treaties to allow labor migration and closer participation in th eeconomy. The all Economy class plane supports this fact as well since there won't be any premium demand.
As for transport of military personnel and equipment, trains are always more efficient, cheaper and more reliable. There are also military transport planes which are used for faster movements.
This flight is returning workers, soldiers, or the remains of soldiers from the Ukraine front.
Not sure that Moscow or Pyongyang care much about returning the remains of their dead citizens. Like, they’re just dead people, not fancy cigars, expensive liquor, or super-luxury automobiles.
I'm now deeply fascinated with how you got to be an American living in Russia and what life has been like in the last few years for you there...
Ya mean they'd actually FEED their pax .... Maybe they'll go 'above & beyond' and offer ONE glass of {questionable} water !
Would anyone expect anything else from a egalitarian 'communist' country ?
...lol
Would be interesting to see what the spy/reconnaissance satellites could detect upon its arrival in both locations..... Unless they taxi it to be offloaded in a hangar !
What’s even crazier is Sam Chui has a review of the Air Koryo lounge from 2016. I kind of doubt they take Priority Pass, tho
Gold. 6 carefully placed standard 12.5kg bars (reasonable 75kg each seat) is worth ca. $8.1MM PER PAX @ 444 seats is already ca. $600MM of gold, even without the hold…this is a very very very valuable flight…seems in line with the supposed Cristina K and Maduro gold runs…soon to be converted to the nearest crypto near you…
Just booked my flights for Russia using "Wego", it works well and is only an extra 3-4%
There is a less talked about economic zone in the nothern part of North Korea which is at a central point that links China, Russia, and North Korea. This flight could be related to that. It would be interesting if this flight has a regular weekly schedule. The all economy layout is not surprising though.
Not too mention that the US govt prohibits one from using a US passport to travel to North Korea unless it has a special endorsement. One can risk having the US govt confiscate their passport. I visited in 2016 and would like to go back but not at the risk of having my passport taken away.
Not too mention that the US govt prohibits one from using a US passport to travel to North Korea unless it has a special endorsement. One can risk having the US govt confiscate their passport. I visited in 2016 and would like to go back but not at the risk of having my passport taken away.
Aviasales.com is likely the best site - it is the equivalent of skyscanner and provides different suppliers that all accept foreign cards.
Another interesting option for some cities in Russia is using the Chase travel portal. Not all flights appear but surprisingly some do and can even be booked with points.
Aviasales.com is likely the best site - it is the equivalent of skyscanner and provides different suppliers that all accept foreign cards.
Another interesting option for some cities in Russia is using the Chase travel portal. Not all flights appear but surprisingly some do and can even be booked with points.
Why leave from SVO then, and not an airport closer to Ukraine if it is war related?
Wow, even a story not related to Trump you have to see it as so. Your TDS needs some control.
This flight would not be offered to workers or soldiers. Both countries rotate their diplomats, so there will be personnel going in both directions along with supplies for embassies. Posting it as a commercial flight available for anyone is done for propaganda purposes. And what other reliable aircraft does a Russian carrier have for making such a trip?
It’s obviously a cargo flight to send Kim a bunch of luxe stuff he can’t otherwise get, possibly cash but I think Russia has a cramp on foreign currency itself.
Nope. But, I did have a kid with a Russian woman (met her at a frat party in the US), and my kid is a dual citizen. Her mother elected to live in Russia, therefore I decided to live here to be actively involved in my kid's life. I'll move back to the US once my kid reaches adulthood.
Long story short, met a Russian girl at a frat party and had a kid out of it. Oops. I live in Russia to be actively involved in my kid's life. As for how things are, it's really not so different than it was pre-2022. Of course, when the sanctions first started, there was a lot of uncertainty, but the situation has stabilized and life is pretty normal. Some things disappeared from the Russian market briefly, but then reappeared, like Coca-Cola. Now, we just get it from China. Same bottle of glorious unhealthiness. Lots of Western companies still operate in Russia, either under their original brand name (Burger King, Subway, M&M/Mars company, Nestle, Johnson and Johnson, etc) or a new name (KFC has been rebranded as Rostic's, but the menu is the exact same as KFC.) Some companies, like McDonald's, sold out (now called Vkusno i tochka), but have options in the sale contracts to buy the business back. For me, the most noticeable changes are in the aviation and banking sectors. I used to fly through Seoul to get back to the US, but it's not an option now. I can fly through China or Uzbekistan with one stop to get back to the US, or through Moscow with 2 stops (Dubai, Istanbul, Belgrade, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, etc.). As for banking, my Russian bank cards that are Mastercard and Visa still work within Russia, but are blocked abroad. So, I've transitioned to using the Mir payment system and Mir bank cards. It's a bit of a hassle not being able to use American-issued cards in Russia, and vice-versa, and direct bank transfers are no longer possible. Of course, as time has gone on, there are well-developed ways to get around the sanctions and get money to and from Russia. A popular option for Russians is to open an account with a bank in a former Soviet country, where they can easily access visa and mastercard that work without restrictions, and where they can easily transfer money to and from Russia using these banks. Oh, and the suspension of the tax treaty between the US and Russia is a bit of a headache, lol.
Did you miss the part about "NK workers participating in Russian economy" or are you just an emotional child who can't see past propaganda and unable to see things objectively.
Why would they need a scheduled flight if it was anything but regular transport of working people ?