The domestic traveler flew to Turkey with a special airline created to circumvent anti-Russian sanctions imposed by Western countries, and said that the conditions of the flight were not the most comfortable for her. The traveler left her impressions on the pages of the blog on Yandex.Zen. We are talking about the young Turkish charter airline Southwind (“South Wind”), which is not even a year old.
The compatriot did not like two things – the lack of food and the limited luggage. But given the cost of a ticket from Yekaterinburg to Antalya, bought in December, the cons of the flight do not seem so annoying. A tourist flew to a resort town from the capital of the Urals for only 7 thousand rubles. At the same time, the traveler noted that it was the only direct and non-stop flight from Yekaterinburg to Antalya, and tickets for it were much cheaper than those of other airlines. The Russian woman bought a return ticket in February in Turkey for 15.5 thousand rubles. “I paid for everything with a bank card (I have “MIR”) – both in Russia and Turkey, the payment went through without problems. The whole flight cost me 22,527 rubles,” she shared.
What should I pay attention to when flying with the South Wind charter airline?
- Firstly, the carrier reserves the right to change the departure time within 24 hours. In the case of the departure of a tourist, the plane departed almost two hours earlier than originally planned: at first, the plane from Yekaterinburg was supposed to take off on 9.12 at 01:45 at night, but a few days before X-hour it was postponed to 8.12 at 23:40 at night. On the way back, the plane took off on schedule.
- Secondly, you cannot choose a seat on board the plane in advance.
- Thirdly, the personnel on board are mostly Turkish. Service is provided in two languages - Turkish and Russian.
- Fourthly, it is very hot and stuffy in aircraft cabins, you need to turn on the air conditioner.
- Fifth, the ticket price does not include on-board meals, as well as tea and coffee.Only water is offered free of charge on board. “Food and drinks (tea, coffee, alcohol) can be ordered for money. In addition, you can buy some “sweets” such as chocolate, chips, nuts. True, the prices for them are cosmic. Payment is accepted only in cash (dollars, euros, rubles),” the author clarified.
- Sixthly, luggage is only 10 kg, and the hand luggage allowance is not indicated on the ticket, but the carrier's website lists a record 8 kg for airlines.
In conclusion, the traveler noted that at that time she was satisfied with the conditions of the flight due to the correspondence between price and quality. However, at present, when a ticket to Antalya from Yekaterinburg costs more than 30 thousand rubles, and the flight conditions remain the same, the offer of the Turkish airline, created for the sake of Russians who need to be delivered to a Turkish resort, is not the most attractive.
Help: The charter airline Southwind (South Wind), which is part of the Pegas Touristik holding, was created to deliver Russians to Turkish resorts after the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions by Western countries, i.e. runs only between the cities of the Russian Federation and Turkey. Southwind communicates with eight Russian cities – Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Chelyabinsk, Ufa, Novosibirsk and Kazan. The first flight to the main beach city of Turkey took place on August 2 from Ufa. Currently, you can buy tickets for the airline's flights on well-known ticket sales sites, since this option is not yet available on the official website of Southwind Airlines.
For those who value a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading: “It has been established that sweeteners in popular drinks undermine the immune response to cancer and infection.”