Review: Aeroflot Domestic Business Class Moscow to Irkutsk (Boeing 737-800)

In this review, we will take an domestic Aeroflot flight from Moscow Sheremetyevo to Irkutsk in business class on a Boeing 737-800.

Chaotic boarding

After a dismal experience in Aeroflot’s domestic business lounge I was happy to finally fly onward to Irkutsk after what has already been a long day of travelling. As I had a great experience on board of my previous Aeroflot flight from Paris to Moscow, I was curious if the Russian state airline could keep up its good work on this overnight segment as well.

The experience did not start well as we had a bus gate and were all crammed into two freezing cold buses, with no priority boarding being enforced, let alone there being a separate bus for business class.

The drive to our plane seemed to take eternally. The driver was not doing faster than 10mph due to the snow and ice on the tarmac. It seemed that our plane itself was parked all the way in Omsk instead of a far-flung corner of Sheremetyevo Airport.

After a half hour (!) drive in the sardine can we finally arrived at the aeroplane. There was a huge scrum between the passengers to get out of the bus and to board first, which meant more time waiting in the freezing cold outside the aeroplane. Not a real business class-like experience here, that’s for sure!

Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO) to Irkutsk (IKT) on Aeroflot
Flight SU1562 (booked as AF4616) – Boeing 737-800 – Business class, seat 3F
Departure: 1.05am – Arrival: 11.45am
Flight time: 5h40m – Distance: 2,625 miles
Costs: 800 EUR, as part of a ticket including 12 flights in business class

Comfy recliner seats

Fortunately, all these first world problems were over by the time I stepped foot inside the plane which would operate today’s flight to Irkutsk. It was a new-looking Boeing 737-800 with comfortable leather recliner seats in a 2-2 configuration fitted with in-flight entertainment screens. Even though there were both plug sockets and USB ports, there was no WiFi on this plane.

While I settled down in my seat 3F, a lovely flight-attendant introduced herself and offered to hang up my coat in a closet in front of the plane. She asked if I would like a pre-departure drink and handed out today’s menu. Naturally, I opted for a glass of champagne which seemed to be the right choice to relax after the boarding madness.

Decent headphones were distributed as well on this flight, and I also received a nice amenity kit (the same as on my Paris-Moscow flight). Each seat also contained a blanket and a pillow. Business class was about 75 percent full on this flight but I was lucky again and did not have a seatmate next to me.

Menu

I was a bit puzzled about the food menu handed out for this flight. With a red-eye departure this late (1am), it seems like most passengers should have already had dinner hours ago and just want to try to go to sleep straight away, catching as much of a rest as possible on this flight of almost six hours in length.

I would therefore expect there to be breakfast served shortly before arrival as the sole meal on the flight, with perhaps a quick snack for those who want just after takeoff.

The menu however was one titled “lunch” and featured such dishes as pastrami beef and cabbage stew, fried salmon and a vegetarian dish of baked veggies. That doesn’t really sound like typical food for breakfast shortly before landing? Nor as something for a 1am snack?

Food choices

When the FA came by to write down our preferred food choices, I asked her when the meal would be served. To my surprise, she replied they would immediately start the full meal service after take-off. As I wasn’t hungry at all at this late hour, I asked if I could reserve my preferred choice and have it served instead about one-and-a-half hours before landing in Irkutsk. The lovely FA gladly obliged.

It seemed however that almost every other passenger in business class decided to eat their meal straight away. Not many people chose to go to sleep, which was a bit of a surprise, which was a bit of a surprise to me.

I did not take a picture of the drinks list as it was exactly the same as on my Paris to Moscow flight – with the sole difference that on this flight Aeroflot served Lanson Black Label as champagne instead of Ayala. The rest of the wine list was the exact same.

The two pictures below are examples from the Paris-Moscow flight. If you are interested in the full wine list, click on the link above to the review of my previous Aeroflot flight.

Departure

Take-off was smooth and I immediately went to sleep once we reached cruising altitude. I was so tired at this point that I was not disturbed at all by the meal service in the cabin.

Siberian airspace

I woke up again when we were some two hours out of Irkutsk flying somewhere in between Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk in Siberia. And boy, did the scenery look different already! There were some absolutely amazing sunrise views over the frozen Siberian wastelands. Even from the air Siberia looked spectacular with its rivers, mountains and endless taiga forests.

As I was still a bit tired I could have perhaps slept more but I was so fixated by the amazing views that I quickly forgot about any tiredness as my excitement levels started to rise.

Meal service

One of the flight attendants spotted that I was awake and immediately came over to inquire if I still wanted to have my meal served and whether I wanted something to drink. Before the meal was served I quickly went to the toilet to freshen up a bit.

Business class on the Boeing 737 has one toilet in the front of the cabin which is exclusively reserved for business class passengers only. It was kept immaculately clean throughout the flight, with FAs regularly checking it after passengers used it.

Beef stew

My meal was served soon afterwards. Weirdly enough, the appetiser which was listed on the menu was not offered at all. Instead, I was served the cold starter straight away. My choice of starter was the baked beef with white bean hummus, which was served with cream cheese with honey and mint.

The flight attendant also passed by with a bread basket. The baked beef was quite good. I found it a bit rich and heavy – but I liked the taste of it.

As my main course I had selected another heavy-hitting dish: the pastrami beef with cabbage stew in a port wine jus sauce. It was again a hearty meal and a big portion of food – but it turned out to be a great choice. The beef was not cooked to death and absolutely tender, while the port wine sauce was wonderfully rich in taste.

Sure, it is not your typical breakfast meal and it might not be the most beautifully presented meal ever served in the sky, but damn tasty it was. Again thumbs up to Aeroflot so far for consistently serving good food.

Fantastic views

The views from the window were again drop-dead gorgeous during the meal service. Between every bite I was glued to the window, snapping dozens of pictures with my smartphone.

Slowly did the realisation set in that soon I would be standing in faraway Irkutsk, where the outside temperatures would be a balmy -30 degrees Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit).

Coffee