Ukraine International Airlines launches direct Kyiv–New York flights

This comes as a relief for those who regularly travel
between Ukraine and the U.S. directly, which can be up to three hours
shorter than flights involving transfers, since direct flights have been banned since September 19,
2013 by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

The American regulator slapped on the ban because it was receiving serious complaints
about safety issues regarding Ukrainian airline operators.

Now it takes approximately 10 hours to travel from
Kyiv to the New York, while the return flight takes slightly less time, according to Evgeniya Satska, UIA spokeswoman. Meanwhile, Volodymyr
Haidamaka, UIA pilot of the Boeing 767-300 that flies this route, says
it is possible to cover that distance by a little more than 9 hours.

At the moment, a one-way ticket to the Big Apple from Kyiv on UIA reaches $910, while in August the company plans to cut the price
all the way down to $759. The flight schedule covers Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays,
Fridays and Saturdays, though UIA is considering making them daily.

UIA’s prices for flights to New York are the
lowest on the Ukrainian market, according to Tickets.ua online service. However, the company’s offer has a serious disadvantage – you may not change the date of the
flight after you have purchased the tickets.

Passengers travelling to New York have to depart
from Boryspol airport’s terminal D, which has been criticized for poor service, since only one café operates, and then with extremely inflated prices, compared to those in
Kyiv’s elite restaurants.

Anastasia Fartushna, who regularly travels from Kyiv
to New York, says that February is the cheapest month in terms of
ticket prices. “Last time I paid $650 to fly to New York through
Moscow with (Russian airline company) Aeroflot,” she said.

Flights from New York to Kyiv become
especially popular in September and October, when U.S.-based members of the Jewish
diaspora travel to Ukraine’s Uman in Cherkasy Oblast to celebrate Rosh-Ha
Shana, Jewish New Year. Uman is famous for being the burial place of major Jewish religious leader Nachman of Breslov. Around 1,000
American Jews come to Ukraine annually for these celebrations.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Lufthansa plans to attract more passengers for their Kyiv–NYC flights that go via Frankfurt, Munich or Zurich, through providing the comfortable Airbus A380 a smooth flight. 

Kyiv Post
staff writer Iana Koretska can be reached at koretska@kyivpost.com.