Ukraine International review by Anna

I was flying with UIA 4 times in total (in 3 of them destination was Kharkiv-Tel Aviv), in two of them I faced bad experience - which is 50%! The first time - in January 2017 - when I was flying from Kharkiv to Tel Aviv with one stop in Kiev - my baggage was lost during transit in Kiev, they found it after 3 days, but the bag was totally damaged and air company didn't pay for this damage! I will not give here all details of UIA serves support, it was awful experience! Moreover the flight from Kiev to Tel Aviv was delayed by 2 h 50 min due to DAMAGE OF THE PLANE - as a pilot reported to us, we had to go out from the plane after sitting in it during one hour, than next 2 hours we were waiting for another plane. After this case it's very difficult to believe in safety of planes which UIA uses. My second bad experience with UIA happened today - 29.03.2018 - during direct flight from Tel Aviv to Kharkiv. The flight was scheduled to be at 1.20am, the boarding was planned to be at 00.40-00.10, but actually it only started at 00.10. During 10 min VERY QUICKLY all passengers were already on board (personnel was pushing and stressing us to do everything quickly). At 00.50 the pilot said that Ben Gurion Airport already closed and we need to wait till 5 or 6am for the flight and they let us come back to airport from the plane. No food or compensations in this case were received! A few days before my relatives who were flying the same flight were in the same situation! If there is a risk for a delay WHY TO SCHEDULE THE FLIGHT IN THE LAST MINUTES OF THE AIRPORT WORKING HOURS?Why not to move the flight to 5-6am in general if it's not the one exceptional case when UIA didn't success to arrange the flight before airport closure? If UIA estimated risks accurately and wouldn't arrange the flight when the risk of such a long delay is high - so many people wouldn't waste the time and nights in airport! Very unprofessional planning! Moreover the price of the ticket I bought in economy class was $425 - includes luggage but doesn't include food! And this is for 3 hours of flight! Is it a low cost?! In the end I want to add the reason why I was choosing UIA before and why I will never do it in future - ONLY BECAUSE THEY ARE THE ONLY ONE MONOPOLY AIR COMPANY WHICH HAS DIRECT FLIGHTS FROM KHARKIV TO TEL-AVIV! But after my today's trip I understood that flights of another air companies with one stop will be even more quick taking into account delay of UIA flight by more than 4 hours! I hope my feedback will help you to make a decision if to choose UIA or no. But my suggestion is - to avoid using UIA services!