For those on AR who are planning hunts to Kamchatka...I am getting word that the airline that was suppose to start flying from Anchorage to Petropavlovsk (Dalavia Far East Airlines) has opted out of this route due to limited bookings. They were suppose to start service on June 17...flying once per week (Sundays only) from Petro to Anchorage and return the same day...

IF this is true, then the best option will be to fly via Moscow and then to Petro....basically forcing you to fly literally all the way around the world....it is about a 9 hour flight from Moscow to Petro.

There has not been an official announcement, but it is not looking very promising at this point.

Cheers,

Clark Jeffs
SAFARI OUTFITTERS, INC.

at the rates i originally saw posted for Anc to Petro, i am not surprised that booking were limited

For a 4 hour flight they were on the high side, starting at about $1500 r/t....but the cost to fly from Moscow to Petro is about $1200 + you have to go to Moscow, get a hotel, pay for transfers in Moscow (gun permits, etc.) and then fly 9-10 hours across Russia to Petro, so in the end it costs about the same and saves a lot of flying time and avoids the hassel of dealing with guns in Moscow.

But if they don't fly the route it will be a moot point and Moscow will be the best way in. The only other option would be to route via Khabarovsk (from Seoul) then into Petro, but the flights between Khab. and Petro are limited to about 3 days per week and usually requires that you stay in Khab. for a day or two...which again, makes traveling with a gun difficult.

Best,

Clark Jeffs
SAFARI OUTFITTERS, INC.

From The Hunting Report:

quote:

Dalavia Cancels Kamchatka Flight Service

That new Anchorage/Kamchatka air service we told you about with Dalavia Far East Airlines has been cancelled. Word is executives from Aeroflot Russian Airlines, who took over Dalavia about two month's ago, have redlined the route.

You'll recall we first told you about Dalavia Airlines picking up this route back in February. Flights were supposed to begin in June and run into October, giving at least some hunters this fall the ability to fly directly from Anchorage, Alaska, to Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. Hunters booked on these flights should contact their travel agents and operators immediately about alternative flight arrangements.