Many travellers have their own tale to tell about Aeroflot. The Beetle
has a vivid and scary memory flying from Dublin to Havana via Gander in
Canada. It was December, and so cold and wintry in Gander. On final approach
to Gander to refuel, the pilot decided to go around twice, which was worrying,
then he decided to give landing a go, and the plane somehow missed landing
on the runway and instead landed on some uncleared snow and drove the
left wing through two huge snow piles. The entire Irish contingent of
passengers were making signs of the cross and praying loudly.

Even Fidel Castro is said to have jokingly responded to a question asking
about the most dangerous moment of his life, that it might have been one
of the many CIA attempts on his life, but then again, it might have been
flying Aeroflot!

According to a recent PR release, Aeroflot has hired a UK brand consultancy
to give its image a lift. The consultancy are said to have remarked: the
problem is one of perception….people think of Aeroflot as dangerous
and unreliable, but it has one of the best safety records in the world
and is value for money”

Let’s forget about the time when a pilot handed the controls to
his 13 year old son, or the incident when the pilots put the plane on
automatic pilot, went for a walk then realised they had accidentally locked
themselves out and had to force their way back in with an axe, or the
times when stewardesses served vodka actually on take off, or when a passenger
cooked up a meal on his own portable gas camping stove at the back of
the plane…………………

Good luck to them!