Ukraine International Airlines

I have travelled untold numbers of times with this "airline" in the last ten years, usually because of alliances not because I booked directly with them, and never will. First the good, because it's a short list. The planes have always been clean, modern, the cabin staff relatively friendly, informative and helpful. Some of the English spoken by flight staff and cabin attendants was poor and difficult to understand, but I'm fairly used to that. What I'm not used to is the horrible food they serve as inflight meals, specifically when you fly out of Boryspil. It is decidedly poor. The check-in and receptions at Boryspil are nothing short of nightmare stuff, and the staff are very rude, ignorant and apathetic, and with so many similarly poor experiences over the years, I've decided they are so bad that I will never travel with them again if it can be avoided. Yes, that's how bad it is. I feel sorry for other foreigners who have to deal with the incredibly lax and pathetic attitudes constantly and regularly displayed by the ground staff because I at least have the advantage of living in Ukraine and understanding a little of the cultural attitudes. Pick up your game UIA, for the sake of your country, if not your company.

My flight got cancelled by Ukraine International Airlines just a few days before I bought it in June. Since then I am trying to get a refund hopelessly. None of their phone lines are open, the customer support email address bounces back all requests. I got a strong feeling that I am dealing with a lawless organisation filled with fraudsters. The lack of communication from their end is utterly unacceptable and the attitude of complete disregard towards their customers is a disgrace to the company which will surely have a negative impact on their reputation.

I arrived at the airport early and went to the check-in counters. They told me that my flight is canceled and I have to go up to the offices to talk with the manager. They said something about a problem on the system and that technically I am not in Ukraine and that I had to buy new tickets for a crazy expensive price otherwise I was not permitted to board on my flight. TI felt like I am being robbed. I WIll never fly again on that scam company. They basically asked for a bribe but in different words. what a shame you should go bankrupt long time ago.

I purchased a ticket for a transatlantic flight, Kiev to New York, from Ukraine International Airlines. On the day of the flight, I arrived at the airport early and went to the check-in counters shown on the departures board. My flight number was displayed on an illuminated sign. There was a queue so I waited in line. The queue was not moving. I wondered whether the flight was delayed. Near to the scheduled departure time, the queue had not moved so I went to the counters and was told to go to a different counter nearby. At the second counter I was told that I could not check-in because I was late. The UIA staff were unhelpful and impolite. I was not permitted to board the aircraft. There had not been a 'last call' announcement for my flight. I had not been paged. At the original check-in counters, I saw that the sign above the counters had changed to another airline and the people who had been waiting in the queue were now checking in. The penny dropped. Two flights had been allocated to the same counters! I made a complaint to Ukraine Airlines before I left Kiev. They replied more than four months later after I had made a second complaint. They denied all responsibility. That’s my experience with UIA!

I was on a direct flight from KIEV to DELHI in January and I lost a connection since THE FLIGHT ARRIVED FIVE HOURS LATE AT DELHI! I bought a direct ticket from KIEV to DELHI and they changed the place to small one that couldn’t make the journey without on stop. So they made a stop at Dubai for fuel, without giving us any information. When asked the steward told me that the Afganisthan closed it’s flight space and they couldn’t flight over it (????) so no one would question. They told me that once at Delhi the company would arrange the place tickets for the flight that a lost. All of it was a lie. They left me waiting 2 hours at Delhi and the asnwerr was that I had to rebuy the ticket and ask for a refund after. ALSO A LIE! Theyr planes are so old that you are not questioning yoursf again about the one that fell. They are scumbags. The phone doesn’t work and the client services NEVER responds by email. No refund. They just don’t care. And yes, I also had to pay for the checkin at the airport since their website doesn’t work! Do yourself a favor and run away from them.

If you wanna keep your pet alive - NEVER EVER USE THIS BUSINESS! 38 out of 500 animals DEAD BECAUSE OF THIS AIRLINE! And the fun fact - they make dumb excuses for this tragedy. If I have to pay x10 and use another airline - this is exactly what I will do!

We had a return ticket for June 17 to fly from Toronto to Kiev. The company cancelled our ticket, did not even notify us either by email or phone. We only found this out today, when we called to inquire about the status of the flight. This company lacks basic communication. Stay away if possible.

I booked my flight with Ukraine International Airlines in February 2020 and was supposed to fly to Kyiv from NYC in April. They cancelled flights due to COVID-19. Good luck getting a refund from them. They are offering vouchers on their website. No, thank you. I disputed the airfare charge with my credit card company. Initially, they credited it back to my account, but then they received a response from Ukraine International Airline and reposted the charge. In their response the airline was appealing to the restrictions imposed by the Ukrainian government due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of these restrictions, the airline was unable to operate any international flights at that point. The airline further insisted that due to the extraordinary circumstances the airline should not be liable. Huh? Well, on April 3, the the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an enforcement notice where it clarified that U.S. and foreign airlines remain obligated to provide a prompt refund to passengers for flights to, within, or from the United States when the carrier cancels the passenger’s scheduled flight or makes a significant schedule change and the passenger chooses not to accept the alternative offered by the carrier. Furthermore, the notice clarifies that the longstanding obligation of carriers to provide refunds for flights that carriers cancel or significantly delay does not cease when the flight disruptions are outside of the carrier’s control (e.g., a result of government restrictions). I submitted a complaint with the DOT. We'll see how that goes.

So they cancelled flights due to COVID-19. Good luck getting a refund from them. They are offering vouchers on their website. I disputed the airfare charge with my credit card company. Initially, they credited it back to my account, but then they received a response from Ukraine International Airline and reposted the charge. In their response the airline was appealing to the restrictions imposed by the Ukrainian government due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of these restrictions, the airline was unable to operate any international flights at that point. The airline further insisted that due to the extraordinary circumstances the airline should not be liable. Duh Well, on April 3, the the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an enforcement notice where it clarified that U.S. and foreign airlines remain obligated to provide a prompt refund to passengers for flights to, within, or from the United States when the carrier cancels the passenger’s scheduled flight or makes a significant schedule change and the passenger chooses not to accept the alternative offered by the carrier. Furthermore, the notice clarifies that the longstanding obligation of carriers to provide refunds for flights that carriers cancel or significantly delay does not cease when the flight disruptions are outside of the carrier’s control (e.g., a result of government restrictions). I submitted a complaint with DOT. We'll see how that goes. The bottom line: - I will continue fighting this - I will never fly with Ukraine International Airline again - I'm cancelling that credit card too as they have not been very supportive in this situation. P.S. my ratings for the seat comfort, inflight entertainment etc. are based on my prior experience with this airline. The only reason I used to fly with them is because this is the only direct flight from NYC to Kyiv. Well, never again.

1) My return flight was cancelled. The soonest day they could fly me out was 2 days later. I was told I could file a claim for my additional days after my trip however they refused to compensate me. So now I'm filing a complaint through our government agency! 2) The Chicken Kiev I ordered from my Kiev- Cairo flight had a hollow filling. So it's a failed chicken Kiev from Kiev. 3) I paid for an extra handcarry only to be told at Kiev that I had to pay for an additional bag. So I was charged twice for the same bag! I filed a claim for all these and was completely denied. These guys are rip-off artists. Don't waste your time and money!!!

The actual travel was okay with them, but I left my coat on the flight when we arrived to the airport. Realized it the next day, and tried to contact them: Their customer support is the worse I've ever seen. It was close to impossible to find the right channel, got no answer for weeks, wrote multiple letters, went to the airport and got different information from every information desk they had, wrote multiple mails again, they confirmed they found some items on the plane, but shared no info if found mine or any way I could retrieve it. Wrote multiple emails again, haven't got any answer to them. Additionally the flight attendants were not too friendly.

I have been lucky enough to travel with a lot of airlines in my time – and this is without doubt the worst one I have ever experienced. However, reading how many negative reviews there are, I thought it would be nice to put a more positive spin on things! So here are all the reasons why you might want to fly with them! 1. Everything is a surprise: If you love not knowing when you will arrive at your destination, this is the company for you. They know their game well though, and made up flight time to arrive at the destination juuuuuuust in time to avoid having to compensate for delays. What was the reason for the delay? Who knows? It’s all part of the surprise! Between having to rebook onto another, later flight as your original one is cancelled and sitting on the runway for hours with minimal communication from the pilot, they maintain the mystery. 2. Free fashion show: During your inevitable delay, you can enjoy the show of cabin crew stomping angrily up and down the aisles for literally no reason at all. Their refusal to acknowledge you in the slightest is just like being at Paris Fashion Week! We did have a fun game of seeing if we could get any of the staff to crack a smile – I love a good challenge. You might even be lucky enough to be physically pushed out of the way, which brings me to my next point... 3. Perfect to live out your masochistic fantasies: Some people enjoy being made to feel unimportant – we aren’t here to judge! Live out your wildest dreams as you are repeatedly ignored or maybe be treated to an angry huff if you dare to ask for a cup of water. When trapped between 2 trolleys and physically having nowhere to go unless I spider-monkeyed across the middle row, I was repeatedly shouted at to ‘move’, meaning the poor chap in the nearest row almost got the saddest lap dance of his life. No fear of being treated like a normal human being here! 4. Fun party games: Remember sardines? Ukrainian Airlines play the extreme version! As part of our totally unexplained delay experience, the entire plane was crammed into a small bus – think Japanese train-style.... It had to be some sort of record. To add to the fun, the doors were close and the heat was cranked up while we remained stationary for 40 minutes. What a great way to make new friends! 5. Inclusive: Ukrainian Airlines don’t want you to feel self conscious if you are under 2ft tall or have nothing below your waist, so they make sure that EVERYBODY has no leg room in solidarity – it sure taught me for being nearly 6ft! Feeling like I was sitting on a block of granite added to the overall fun. 6. Reconnect with your loved ones: Because there is literally nothing else to do, despite it being a long-haul flight. At some point, a postage stamp screen may have been lowered about 20 metres away but by this point my fiancé had gone to sleep in protest and I think I had clawed my own eyes out from frustration at this entire experience. In conclusion – just pay the extra couple of hundred and go with an airline that doesn’t feel like an early 80’s start up project. On the plus side, the shared trauma did make our relationship stronger – thank you Ukrainian Airlines!

The airline cannot give answers for many questions and demonstrate unfriendly behavior. UIA canceled flight PS374 28/04/2020 before 6 days of departure and cann't accept to change the date of flight for free, only proposal of coupon. UIA President Evgeny Dykhne: Today we understand only one thing for sure - we need to take measures to reduce the company (UNIAN interview 10/04/2020). All the airlines I use have offered me a customer-loyal solutions. Waiting for changes!

Dismiss the poor reviews at your peril ! Delayed Qatar flight into Kiev. Missed Ukraine Air to Lviv. Forfeited fare so took train to Lviv OK ! thats reasonable BUT.... THEY REFUSED TO HONOUR RETURN LEG FROM LVIV TO KIEV 3 WEEKS LATER !! Some thieving, obscure clause written into conditions !! Refused all appeals to Customer Service ( ha ha ! ) LOST ALL MY TICKET MONEY ! THEY GOT THE LOT FOR DOING NOTHING ! There are alternatives. Suggest you use them.

Was a loyal customer using them at least 2 times a year, not any more. If you want to get a problem - use these airlines. If not - avoid at all costs.

Showed up and luggage was not there. No one was able to answer where it was. Good news is that it showed up five days later, damaged/destroyed. Had to sue UIA to get any funds back. Never. Ever. Again. Will change flights to use another airline.

Kiev to Vilnius. I checked in online a few hours before departure, having booked the tickets weeks earlier as a birthday treat for my partner. UIA overbooked the flight and gave me standby boarding passes. They wouldn't let us on the flight. When I followed their complaints procedure they failed to respond in their agreed time and eventually agreed to compensate me, but insisted that they have to pay half of the money to my partner despite the fact that the whole payment had been made by me. It is now March. I have received my half but my partner has still received nothing despite having filled on the complicates online form twice.

This company are thieves. They cancelled the flight and refuse to process a refund, instead only offering a "voucher". This runs contrary to EU law. To anyone in the same boat, report this company to the Civil Aviation Authority of your country. You are entitled by law to a full refund.

Booked from Gatwick to Kiev for a link to Yerevan for a tour of Armenia and Georgia. An hour and a half to check in but boarded in time for take off at 12.30. Sat for an hour with no explanation. Eventually were told of a problem and had to wait for it to be checked. Another hour and we were returned to the terminal. Told we would be informed and to listen for announcements. 9 hours not a single announcement and no rep of UIA present, only information via hearsay or the information desk, who knew no more than we did. 6pm heard there were food vouchers available at the desk so had a meal. Some didn’t learn of it until all outlets were shut. At 9pm, after more visits to information desk, told there was a flight at 11.30 and to go to boarding. Another long wait we eventually boarded and got to the tarmac. 45 min wait and had to leave the plane again to identify our luggage on the tarmac. Arrived at Kiev at 7am. No UIA rep but told next flight at 8.30 pm. Thirteen hour wait but given a room till six in nearby soviet style hotel and minimal ‘breakfast’. Eventually to Yerevan 24 hours late with first day holiday and four star night gone. All attempts for entitled compensation frustrated by perverse UIA system. Resolver got automated response but told to do new claim on their site Nov 25. No means of contact as emails non-reply. Finally asked for bank details. Email saying claim not complete but no means to do it. Told via UIA ‘helper’ money due but still nothing after 6 months.

The flight itself was not bad. The plane a bit old, but what do you need for 2h flight... The problem started after coming back home. Our ABS hard suitcase was broken. Have you ever tried to break an ABS suitcase? Try it... OK, it just happens. We registered our claim at the airport and then at the website (it is strange, but there is no possibility to attach the photos nor scans). After 2 weeks I I tried to check its status and it turned out that... the airline has 90 days to answer to your claim (with no possibility to see the damage nor the luggage tags) . Got it? 3 months... probably to wait that the passenger forgot about the case and the suitcase. After 93 days I wrote again, pointing out that the time has gone and I wait for the new suitcase or refund. I also asked them where to bring the broken one so they can see it, because they might be able repair. After 48h I got the 'proposal'... they want to refund less that 30% of the original value. Pitiful... just pitiful. About customer service - from UIA website you can call their office. I tried several times. Choosing 'English' your phone is picked up by someone introducing him/herself in Russian or Ukrainian and when I state that I chose English they just hang up. Once after I said that I chose English the lady started repeating 'sorrrrry, very bad connection, sorry I can not hear you'... and after one minute I ended the call. International? Only if you speak Russian, the customer service will be 'international' for you. It is a pity, but the approach 'you pay, you fly, we damage your luggage, go f%$k youself' is not acceptable for me. Would I fly again with the airline? Yes, only when my contractor will buy the ticket having no option to send me with another airline.