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Exploring the Best Airline Employee Travel Platforms: StaffTraveler, ID90, and MyIDTravel

As airline employees, we are fortunate to have access to various online platforms that cater to our travel needs. This article will explore three popular platforms for airline employee travel: StaffTraveler , ID90 , and myIDTravel . Each platform offers unique features and benefits designed to enhance our staff travel experiences.

StaffTraveler: Near Real-Time Load Information at Your Fingertips

StaffTraveler is our platform that revolutionizes how you communicate and share information about non-rev travel. The app can be used on your desktop or mobile phone and offers near real-time load information. This allows you to assess seat availability on specific flights. You can make informed decisions about your travel plans by requesting and receiving load information from our colleagues from other airlines around the world. StaffTraveler boasts the world’s largest airline community, with members from all airlines. You can also use StaffTraveler to look for tips from other airline employees or to book travel services like hotels and car rentals. 

ID90: Your Gateway to Discounted Global Travel

ID90 refers to a type of discounted travel fare available to airline employees. It stands for “Industry Discount 90%.” This discount applies to both domestic and international flights operated by participating airlines. But in the context of this blog, we refer to a platform with the name ID90. 

Through the ID90 Travel platform, airline employees can search for and book discounted flights for themselves and their eligible travel companions. The platform connects with multiple airlines and provides access to industry discounts, including ID90 fares. With ID90, we gain access to a range of travel services, including flights, hotels, car rentals, and cruises. It serves as a one-stop shop, connecting us with discounted travel opportunities across multiple airlines.

It’s important to note that ID90 Travel is not affiliated with any specific airline but serves as an intermediary between airlines and airline employees. The platform verifies the employment status of users to ensure eligibility for discounted travel options.

MyIDTravel: Non-Rev Bookings platform

Created by Lufthansa Systems, MyIDTravel is an online portal tailored specifically for airline employees to book non-revenue (non-rev) staff travel tickets. It is designed for internal use within our airline or its alliance partners. The platform enables you to manage your non-rev bookings, view flight schedules, and check seat availability on your own airline and participating airlines. 

MyIDTravel either caps the number of available seats or uses smiley faces to indicate the availability of seats on a particular flight. A happy smiley represents a higher availability of seats, while a sad smiley indicates limited availability or no open seats. However, it’s important to note that smiley faces on MyIDTravel have been known to be unreliable. They may not always accurately reflect the actual availability of seats on a flight. It is therefore recommended that airline employees verify seat availability with the airline directly or use StafTraveler to get accurate and up-to-date flight loads while making travel plans.

StaffTraveler, ID90, and myIDTravel are valuable online platforms catering to airline employee travel. ID90 offers a comprehensive interline travel experience, connecting us with discounted options across multiple airlines globally. On the other hand, myIDTravel provides a convenient internal portal for non-rev bookings within our airline and alliance partners. Lastly, StaffTraveler enhances our non-rev travel experience with load information and city tips shared by fellow airline employees.

The Best The Best Online Airline Employee Travel Platform

As airline employees, we find online platforms incredibly helpful in maximizing our non-rev privileges. StaffTraveler, in particular, is an invaluable tool that perfectly caters to our unique travel needs, whether we’re discovering new destinations or planning a visit back home. If you haven’t tried StaffTraveler yet, download it now for free.

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Keeping AirAsia’s “Allstars” engaged and retained

• By Angelica Cabahug
• 13 June 2023
• AirAsia's Head of People Intan Shahru says her twin focuses of engagement and retention help keep the airline's ‘Allstars’ on board
• MARKET Malaysia , Regional Asia-Pacific
• HR TOPIC AREAS Compensation and Benefits , Digital transformation , Employee Engagement , Employer Branding , Learning & Development , Retention
• COS CONTENT TYPES / BRANDS Interview

Every HR leader should have an employee engagement strategy to fend off resignation, and after the pandemic, the airline industry must ensure that it bounces back with a fully engaged workforce. 

AirAsia’s Head of People (Aviation), Intan Mohd Shahru, tells Chief of Staff Asia how the airline handles employee retention. 

AirAsia calls its staff ‘Allstars’. Shahru says: “The right work culture and investment in upskilling and reskilling are key to our talent retention strategy. We encourage Allstars to reach out to their supervisors with their concerns and doubts through informal and formal engagement channels.” 

One of the perks peculiar to the travel industry is heavily discounted flights. ID90 (standing for industry discounts of 90%) is a programme that allows airline staff to pay only a fraction of regular ticket prices on unbooked seats. 

Shahru says: “Our employees and their families can enjoy our ID90 benefit, which allows them to purchase last-minute tickets between 24 and 48 hours before the flight. Employees can fly to more than 130 destinations worldwide with this benefit, which gives a discount of up to 90% per ticket. Allstars from all over the world fly to their destinations daily using ID90.” 

In addition, each employee receives eight e-coupons at the start of the year to book free one-way flights to short-haul destinations for themselves or their listed beneficiaries. They may also fly long-haul via AirAsia’s subsidiary long-haul budget airlines AirAsia X and Thai AirAsia X at discounted rates. 

Shahru says: “Our travel perks are just the tip of the iceberg. RedQ, AirAsia’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, has a state-of-the-art gym, physiotherapy centre, daycare centre, sleeping pods, and a clinic with our in-house doctor.” 

The Allstar Ambassador Programme allows employees to earn extra cash by promoting e-commerce ventures – AirAsia Ride and AirAsia Food – on their social media channels.

Currently, more than 18,000 Allstars enjoy AirAsia’s perks throughout Southeast Asia. In Malaysia alone, the airline has more than 8,300 employees. 

The airline’s parent company is Capital A, which Shahru says is growing rapidly. “As we resume normalcy, we are expanding our flight operations, digital platform, logistics wing, and more,” she says. 

Shahru says the first thing AirAsia did as normality began to return was reinstate its furloughed flight crew members and bring back retrenched Allstars. 

She admits that many ex-staff members have moved on to other ventures, but is proud to point to those who have rejoined the airline. 

“Soon, we’ll fully operate and recruit new talent in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and beyond,” says Shahru. “Recently, we resumed our Cadet Pilot Programme after two years. We look to have more pilots as we add more aircraft to our fleet.”

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AirAsia to deploy over 1k Allstars at PPVs to speed up Malaysia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout

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To accelerate the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination programme and help the travel industry recover, AirAsia’s Allstars (staff) will be volunteering at major vaccination centres (PPV) around Klang Valley. 

Over 1,000 staff from AirAsia’s cabin crew, ground staff, engineers, office staff, and top management will be carrying out non-medical duties throughout the campaign period.

This initiative comes in a couple of months after its logistics arm, Teleport expressed its willingness to help in the distribution of vaccinations around SEA.

Equipped to serve

The campaign begins this week with Allstars serving at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and the Setia City Convention Centre. They will be involved with greeting and assisting people with registrations, making announcements, and briefing attendees on any possible side effects.

Tony Fernandes noted that AirAsia’s cabin crew are already trained in caregiving and handling medical situations as they are the first responders on a flight. “I’m sure they are thrilled to be back in uniform, doing what they do best, serving people in the air and on the ground,” he said. 

Upper management from AirAsia’s subsidiaries like airasia money, Teleport, airasia farm , and more, will also be involved.

“While there is a commitment required, shift times are flexible. After our Allstars have signed up, the MyVAC team will get in touch with them for further scheduling arrangements according to their nearest PPV centre,” AirAsia told Vulcan Post.

“Moreover, we encourage Allstars who are furloughed to volunteer as part of this crucial movement to drive Malaysia’s vaccination campaign.”

Getting travel back on its feet

Thus far, AirAsia has also been involved in transporting vaccines from KL to Kuching, Sarawak, and to Vientiane in Laos. The shipment was commissioned to Teleport by international government bodies.

According to Tony, all of their flight crew in Indonesia are already vaccinated and he’s expecting the majority of Allstars within the region to get their shots in the upcoming months.

The entrepreneur previously expressed his optimism that AirAsia’s financial recovery is achievable within 2 years, given immunisation efforts in major SEA economies. This includes getting vaccinations rolled out aggressively and efficiently as well as implementing a standardised digital health passport among eligible countries. 

AirAsia saw a revenue decline of up to 87% in Q1 2021 to RM298.22 million from RM2.31 billion posted in Q1 2020.

“Ultimately, we need just around 50% of the population to be vaccinated in order for cross-border travels to take off. I have full confidence that we will get there soon, thanks to the hard work and strong commitment of governments and health authorities in putting an end to this devastating pandemic,” stated the group’s CEO.

Editor’s Update: Parts of this article have been edited to reflect greater accuracy.

• You can read more of what we’ve written about AirAsia  here .
• You can read more COVID-19 vaccination articles we’ve written about  here .

Also Read SMEs can get their hands on transparent, real-time rates via HSBC’s digital forex solution

Featured Image Credit: AirAsia

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Peter Dutton’s office billed taxpayers almost $6,000 for staff to travel with him when he attended Gina Rinehart party

Exclusive : Opposition leader travelled at own expense to lavish party, but documents reveal two staff also made the trip to Perth

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Peter Dutton’s office claimed nearly $6,000 in public expenses for staff and security to travel to Perth with the opposition leader when he attended Gina Rinehart’s lavish birthday party.

Dutton’s office has said he travelled at his own expense to the party for Australia’s richest woman , which included a horseriding performance, multiple large cakes and onstage pyrotechnics. But travel information obtained under freedom of information shows members of Dutton’s team – which his office said included a staffer and a security detail – claimed travel from Melbourne to Perth and back again on 29 February, the night of the party on the banks of the Swan River.

It was reported in March that Dutton attended Rinehart’s party after the end of a parliamentary sitting week, before appearing in Melbourne the next morning to campaign for the Dunkley byelection. The Australian Financial Review reported Dutton was spotted flying from Canberra to Melbourne, then travelling on to Perth before returning to Melbourne that same evening – potentially joining Rinehart’s party for as little as an hour.

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Dutton was criticised at the time by 2GB host Ben Fordham for choosing to fly to Perth instead of spending more time campaigning in Dunkley, calling the opposition leader’s decision “a bad call” and suggested he should have “brushed” the party to campaign more in the crucial byelection.

“Peter Dutton spent more time on the aeroplane than he did at the party, which sounds like a waste of time to me,” Fordham said.

Labor’s Jodie Belyea won the byelection against Liberal challenger Nathan Conroy by a 53-47 margin.

The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA), the government body which manages parliamentarians’ work expenses, released information under FoI on Thursday to show Dutton’s office claimed flights between Melbourne and Perth on the day of – and the day after – Rinehart’s party. All were classified as having been claimed by “personal staff”, rather than Dutton himself. Guardian Australia understands that any claim for Dutton himself would have been recorded and classified differently on the documents.

IPEA records show staff from Dutton’s office claimed a Melbourne to Perth flight on 29 February, the day of the party, costing $2,221.63. The same day, staff also claimed a Perth to Melbourne air fare, at $2,680.80.

The following day, 1 March, was another staff claim for a Perth to Melbourne air fare at $1,028.93.

In total, the three air fare claims between Melbourne and Perth came in at $5,931.36.

Guardian Australia contacted Dutton’s office for clarification on the claims. A spokesperson responded that the opposition leader travelled with one staff member and his security detail, which they said was appropriate and within travel rules.

Dutton is typically accompanied in public by a security detail, as are other senior politicians like prime minister Anthony Albanese and deputy PM Richard Marles.

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Dutton’s spokesperson also referred back to his remarks in March, at the time of the initial reporting on his Perth trip.

“The air fares were at my expense, there was no accommodation. I flew back on the redeye so that I could be back into Melbourne at 4.30 the next morning,” Dutton said at the time.

“My security detail operates exactly the same as the governor general and the prime minister.”

The lavish celebration for Rinehart, according to her company’s websites, included “a horse show backed by the fantastic Aussie music, The Man from Snowy River, with riders … carrying large Australian and company flags”.

The Perth lord mayor, Basil Zempilas, told 6PR radio he attended the event, calling the horseback show “an incredible sight”, and saying the pop star Guy Sebastian had sung the national anthem.

Last year Dutton was flown to another Rinehart party at Hancock Prospecting’s Pilbara mine by another billionaire rich-lister , where he praised the mining magnate and her family as “pioneers” who had “given so much to this country”.

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AirAsia keen to start flights to Moscow - Tony Fernandes

Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia, gestures before boarding a AirAsia Airbus A320 plane at the domestic airport in Manila.

AirAsia is considering adding Russia to its list of destinations, the Malaysian low-cost carrier’s founder Tony Fernandes told the Vedomosti newspaper in an interview on Oct. 18.

Russia is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination for Asian tourists, Fernandes said. “My video on Facebook from the Red Square was viewed by 60,000 people in two hours! I got 300 comments, and everyone asked about when AirAsia would start to fly to Russia,” Fernandes told the paper.

“Russia is much cheaper for visitors because the ruble is weak,” Fernandes said. “And for Russians, who want to visit another part of the world, Asia is probably cheaper than most other places. I think therefore we have a win-win situation.”

In March 2016, Fernandes met Valentina Matvienko, Chairman of the Federation Council, who was on an official visit to Malaysia.  After the meeting, Fernandes wrote on Twitter that the low-cost carrier’s subsidiary airline AirAsia X was considering starting flights to Russia. 

AirAsia X focuses on medium - and long-haul passenger flights, mainly in Asia and Australia. AirAsia X flight fleet consists of 26 A330-300 aircraft. According to the company, it has carried more than 10 million passengers since 2007. 

Read more: Russia looks to flood Asia with soya, wheat and fish

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Israel wages war on Hamas

1947 - 2024

O.J. Simpson dead

Devastation in Gaza as Israel wages war on Hamas

By Heather Chen , Antoinette Radford, Tori B. Powell , Aditi Sangal and Elise Hammond , CNN

Anera charity resumes work in Gaza after pausing when Israeli strike killed 7 World Central Kitchen staff

From CNN's Tala Alrajjal and Mohammed Tawfeeq

American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) has resumed Gaza operations "after a temporary pause" following an airstrike that killed seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers on April 1.

"As you know, the decision to temporarily pause our operations was not an easy one. We followed the direction of our staff in Gaza, who've faced death, loss, and destruction since the start of the war," Sean Carroll, the president and CEO of Anera, said in a statement on Thursday. "After the killing of Anera staff member Mousa Shawwa , followed by the attack that killed seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen, we made the difficult but necessary decision to pause aid operations on April 2," Carroll added in the statement.

Carroll said Israeli authorities informed him during a meeting Thursday that "certain measures would be taken to protect humanitarian aid workers in Gaza – including Anera's staff."

"With the full support of our Gaza team, we have determined that the circumstances have changed sufficiently to resume our vital humanitarian work in Gaza," Carroll said. 

Anera on Thursday resumed "full operations in Gaza to deliver meals, food parcels, hygiene kits, tents, medical treatments, and more to families in dire need," according to the statement.

Iran says its imperative to punish Israel could have been avoided had UN Security Council condemned attack

From CNN’s Natalie Barr and Adam Pourahmadi

The imperative for Tehran to "punish" Israel for the deadly strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus last week might have been avoided if the attack had been condemned at the United Nations, Iran’s Mission to the UN said Thursday.

“Had the UN Security Council condemned the Zionist regime’s reprehensible act of aggression on our diplomatic premises in Damascus and subsequently brought to justice its perpetrators, the imperative for Iran to punish this rogue regime might have been obviated," the  mission said on X.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attack on April 1, according to a statement from the UN spokesperson Stephan Dujarric. A Security Council discussion was held on April 2 to discuss the attack, but differences among members prevented any formal action or condemnation from taking place.

The United States is on high alert and actively preparing for a “significant” attack by Iran targeting Israeli or American assets in the region  in response to the strike in Damascus  that killed top Iranian commanders.

UK foreign secretary warns Iran not to draw Middle East into wider conflict

From CNN's Natalie Barr

Britain's foreign secretary warned his Iranian counterpart on Thursday that Tehran “must not draw” the Middle East into a wider conflict following a series of escalating threats made by Iran toward Israel.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron told Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian that the United Kingdom was "deeply concerned about the potential for miscalculation leading to further violence. Iran should instead work to de-escalate and prevent further attacks," according to a post on X .

Iran's state-aligned Tasnim news agency on Thursday reported that Amir-Abdollahian had told Cameron that the silence from the UK and the United States following Israel’s attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus last week only served to encourage Israel to continue waging war in Gaza and expand its conflict in the region.

US and Israeli defense leaders discuss fears of Iranian attack

From CNN’s Michael Conte in Washington, DC, Tamar Michaelis in Jerusalem and Larry Register in Atlanta

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant today to “reaffirm the US ironclad commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and its proxies,” according to a Pentagon spokesperson.

The call comes a day after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel " must be punished and it will be" following a strike on an Iranian embassy compound in Syria that killed seven Iranian officials.

Israel “will not tolerate an Iranian attack on its territory,” the statement read, adding that the two defense leaders also discussed detailed preparations “for an Iranian attack against the State of Israel.”

Gallant said an Iranian attack on Israel could lead to a regional escalation.

It is the second discussion held between Gallant and Austin over the past week, according to the statement. Gallant expressed his appreciation for Austin’s personal commitment to the security of the State of Israel and for the deepening cooperation between the defense establishments of both countries, as well as between the Israel Defense Forces and US CENTCOM.

State Department restricts personnel travel in Israel amid concerns over Iranian threats

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

The US State Department has restricted the travel of US government personnel in Israel in the wake of public threats against Israel by Iran.

“Out of an abundance of caution, U.S. government employees and their family members are restricted from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv (including Herzliya, Netanya, and Even Yehuda), Jerusalem, and Be’er Sheva areas until further notice,” a  security alert  posted by the US Embassy Thursday said. “U.S. government personnel are authorized to transit between these three areas for personal travel.” “The security environment remains complex and can change quickly depending on the political situation and recent events,” the alert noted.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said he would not “speak to the specific assessments that led to us to restrict our employees and family members’ personal travel, but clearly we are monitoring the threat environment in the Middle East and specifically in Israel.”

“We have seen Iran making public threats against Israel in the past few days,” Miller said. “Israel is in a very tough neighborhood and we have been monitoring the security situation. You saw us slightly adjust for travel warnings at the beginning of this conflict and we conduct ongoing assessments all the time about the situation on the ground.”

US officials are on high alert for a potential retaliatory strike by Iran or its proxies against Israel.

Hamas says ceasefire with Israel is essential to collect data on hostages held in Gaza by different groups

From CNN's Abeer Salman and Mohammed Tawfeeq

A member of Hamas' political bureau said   a prisoner-hostage exchange is being discussed as part of larger ceasefire negotiations.

"Part of negotiations is to reach a ceasefire agreement to have enough time and safety to collect final and more precise data" on the hostages held in Gaza Basem Naim said in a statement on Thursday. "Because they (hostages) are in different palaces, (being held) by different groups, some of them are under the rubble killed with our own people, and we negotiate to get heavy equipment for this purpose," he added.

Naim's statement was in response to questions from media outlets about whether Hamas has been rejecting the latest proposal, which was made in Cairo over the weekend, because it can not release 40 hostages in the first phase of a three-stage ceasefire deal.

According to an Israeli official and a source familiar with the discussions, Hamas indicated it is currently unable to identify and track down those 40 Israeli hostages, raising fears that more hostages may be dead than are publicly known. 

CNN's record of the conditions of the hostages also suggests there are fewer than 40 living hostages who meet the proposed criteria.

Families of dead American hostages in Gaza plea for their bodies to be returned

From CNN's MJ Lee

Iris Weinstein Haggai  received confirmation  that her father, Gadi, and her mother, Judi, were killed by Hamas during the attacks on October 7. She and her family then had an unthinkable decision to make. Could they sit shiva, as is customary for Jews after the passing of a loved one?

Judi and Gadi’s bodies were  still being held by Hamas .

There was ultimately a small family gathering in Toronto, where some members of the Weinstein Haggai clan grew up and still live. Weinstein Haggai and her three siblings did not participate but watched the recordings of the Zoom gatherings afterward. 

“I felt it was very final, and my heart’s — I couldn’t bear that yet. Because I don’t have bodies to bury,” Weinstein Haggai, 38, told CNN. “To hear people talk about them, and kind of like a shiva, kind of like a ceremony — to me, it was hard. And I couldn’t really join that.”

Trying to grieve and honor the life of a deceased family member, before getting the chance to bury their bodies,  is the wrenching position that numerous families  of the hostages abducted by Hamas now find themselves in. Three American hostages have been confirmed dead so far: Judi Weinstein Haggai, Gadi Haggai and Itay Chen, all dual Israel-American citizens. Their families say there can be no peace of mind until the bodies are returned.

“To me, there’s no closure. I need to make sure that they have a respectful burial; they’re laid to rest,” Weinstein Haggai said. “I can’t rest. I’m not rested.”

A White House official told CNN that the recovery of the bodies remains an active and urgent part of the ongoing hostage release negotiations.

Read the full story of what the American families are saying.

Top US general for the Middle East is in Israel amid concerns about a possible Iranian attack

From CNN's Oren Liebermann and Michael Conte

  The top US general for the Middle East is currently in Israel as the region braces for a possible Iranian retaliation to Israel’s strike in Damascus , Syria.

US Central Command Gen. Erik Kurilla is “traveling throughout the region” but has moved up his meetings with Israeli military leaders because of threats from Iran, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said Thursday.

Remember: On April 1, Israel struck the Iranian consulate in Syria, risking a dangerous escalation in the Middle East.

Top US diplomat spoke with Turkish, Chinese, Saudi counterparts about Iran, State Department says

From CNN's Michael Conte and Jennifer Hansler

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with the foreign ministers of Turkey, China and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday night and Thursday morning to tell them that countries should be urging Iran not to escalate the conflict in the Middle East after threats made by Tehran against Israel, according to a State Department spokesperson.

What Blinken told his counterparts: "Escalation is not in anyone's interest and that countries should urge Iran not to escalate,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news briefing. The US has also “engaged with European allies and partners over the past few days” to deliver a similar message on Iran, he added.

What Blinken told Israel: He spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to reiterate US support for Israel against these threats, and also emphasize "the importance of Israel meeting the commitments that Prime Minister Netanyahu made to President Biden last week to improve the delivery of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, and to put in place enhanced deconfliction and coordination measures,” Miller said.

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Independent Travel to Moscow and St. Petersburg

My wife and I have traveled independently to many European countries and, after reading many of the comments in this forum, feel like we may be able to do so in Moscow and St. Petersburg as well, although we feel somewhat less comfortable than the other countries where we have traveled in Europe.

My biggest question is how much we will miss by visiting the main sites without a tour guide. In the other European countries we have visited on our own we have been comfortable and satisfied with the level of knowledge we have gained by studying and visiting on our own, although we believe a tour guide or tour company in any country would normally be able to provide greater insight than visiting a site on our own, but about in Moscow and St. Petersburg?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Unless you speak at least some Russian and read the alphabet it would be difficult without a guide. Very few signs in English especially in Moscow. Also not too many people speak English there.

I visited St Petersburg last Autumn for a protracted period , and did not find it anymore daunting than any other European city . As Ilja says , learning the Cyrillic alphabet is a big plus . I also found that it was fairly easy to grasp . It will , among other things , enable you to read signs with relative ease . I would answer the main part or your question ( about tour guides ) thus - I am not enamored of tour guides or tours. While I only use a tour under duress ( A sites rules prohibiting an independent visit - ie Glasgow School of Art , Municipal House in Prague , etc ) . Doing your own preparation and homework is the best way , in my opinion . My wife and I ventured through St Petersburg with nary a concern ,and made two day trips outside of the central district ( one was twenty five miles away , and no English speakers in sight ) Figuring out the logistical details , did not present any difficulties . While I never use tours , I am an inveterate eavesdropper , have done so many times , and find , that on balance , the information that they impart is fairly elementary . If you want greater detail , they are unlikely to supply it . I also prefer to go at my own pace , not being rushed and being able to dwell on things that most other visitors barely give a passing glance . If you are interested , let me know . I would be happy to provide you with information that will enable you to travel independently

Thank you, Steven. I am encouraged by your comments and feel the same way you do about tour groups. We are very much willing to prepare in advance and learn the basics of the Cyrillic alphabet to help us have a better experience.

I would be very interested in learning more about your experience in Russia and receiving any additional information you can provide on independent travel there, starting perhaps with obtaining the visa.

I am not opposed to hiring a private or small group guide for a specific site or for a day trip outside St Petersburg and Moscow, but, like you said, I much prefer the freedom of staying at places as long or short as I want and seeing the sites that interest me most. For example, neither my wife nor I are big into shopping, yet most tour itineraries leave afternoon time for just that. Not interested!

Please provide whatever you may feel would be helpful for us.

Russ , I see you are quite near San Francisco - you can start by looking at the VISA procedure , it's fairly straightforward . Since there is a consulate in San Francisco - look here http://www.consulrussia.org/eng/visa-sub1.html

And here - http://ils-usa.com/main.php

Having always traveled independently, we thought we could do a better job than any tour. How misguided (pun intended) we were. Now that we have had the experience of having someone native to the area walk us around and explain things through a personal perspective we realize how much we missed. For St. Petersburg I highly recommend http://www.peterswalk.com/tours.html . This is not a traditional guided tour, but an opportunity to receive some orientation to the area as well as insight into the "Russian soul". I think if you did this upon arrival the rest of your time would be much more meaningful. We really liked the http://www.pushka-inn.com . The location is superb (just around the corner from the Hermitage square), the rooms lovely, the included breakfast at the restaurant next door ample and overall an excellent value. We used this company to get our visa: https://www.passportvisasexpress.com/site/san_francisco_customer_service Note that it costs about the same for a 3-year visa as a one-year, and you never know if you might want to return within that more extended window of time. It is not cheap, so factor that into your planning.

If you like traveling without a guide in other countries and find this satisfying, the same will be true in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Of course it's not either/or - you can certainly take a guided walk or boat tour, for instance.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of learning Cyrillic if you're going on your own. The book I used was Teach Yourself Beginner's Russian Script, which was great. It breaks down the alphabet into letters that are the same as English, letters that look the same but are pronounced differently, etc. It's out of print, but you can get used copies on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Yourself-Beginners-Russian-Script/dp/0071419861/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1459701143&sr=8-2&keywords=teach+yourself+russian+script

Russia is indeed a bit more "foreign" than say, Italy. However, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, I found enough English to be able to get by. Many restaurants had English menus and/or English speaking staff, for instance. This was most emphatically not true in Vladimir and Suzdal (two cities in the Golden Ring outside Moscow). I went with my sister, a Russian speaker, and if she hadn't been there, I would have been in big trouble. So, if you want to see places outside these two big cities, use a guided tour (even if just for that part). Also, Moscow and St. Petersburg are huge cities. Coming from New York, I wasn't intimidated, but those not used to a megacity may not be so cavalier (even I found them overwhelming at times, especially Moscow).

I found both Lonely Planet and Rough Guide to be helpful, and both to have various errors. Look at both, buy whichever one has a more recent edition, and then be prepared to have to discard some of the advice therein. Also, these places change more quickly than places in Western Europe. Be very careful of outdated advice. For instance, I was there in 2001 and 2010, so I won't give you any specifics on getting a visa - that changes constantly.

Just as a teaser, two things I saw and loved that I doubt would be included in any escorted tour are the Gorky House in Moscow (an Art Nouveau wonder) and the Sheremyetov Palace in St. Petersburg (it's now a museum of musical instruments, and the decor is amazing, particularly in the Etruscan Room).

Thanks for all the good advice. Any additional thoughts are welcomed.

One of history's seminal works pertaining to Russian history and culture and a MUST for anyone contemplating a visit or simply interested , is this fine work from 1980 - http://www.amazon.com/Land-Firebird-The-Beauty-Russia/dp/096441841X

This is about you and not about Petersburg. Do you like guided tours? We don't and didn't find that a guide added to our experience in China where we did hire private guides mostly for the logistics; it was easy to have someone drive us places. But once at a site, we didn't need the guide. I felt the same way about our 9 nights in Petersburg. We did hire a guide for the trip to the Catherine Palace again for the ease of logistics for us Olds. Here is our visit: https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2016/01/23/an-easy-trip-to-the-catherine-palace/ There are also snapshots of the Church on Spilled Blood in this photo journal. Having someone pick us up at the apartment and get us in without line ups and shepherd us through the palace steering clear of the tour groups was lovely. But we didn't need commentary because we can read and prepare.

You certainly don't need a guide for the Hermitage (we spent 4 days there), the Russian Museum, the Kazan Cathedral or Church on Spilled Blood or the Faberge Museum. We enjoyed a number of self guided walking tours including a couple from Rick Steves guidebooks. We took the canal cruise suggested by RS that had an English commentator. I would not take one without that as you will be totally clueless. The commentator was not all that good but at least we had some idea what we were seeing. So for people like us who like to do our own thing and can read a guidebook and don't particularly like to be led about, a tour is not needed. If you enjoy tour groups, then go for it. Petersburg is easy to negotiate. It helps if you can read the cyrillic alphabet and it is also useful to have the google translate ap on your phone. We found ourselves translating packages in grocery stores with it and the occasional museum sign or menu. I have one food I need to avoid and so it was handy to have the translator to talk with waiters (I could either show them the sentence, or play it for them or play it to myself and then repeat it to the waiter -- that all worked well)

Dear Russ, I cannot help you with Moscow, but about four years ago, my husband and I went to St Petersburg on our own. But, we did use a private guide for 4 half days. We both feel that our guide absolutely made our trip (we stayed 6 or 7 nights). We used a company owned by Tatyana Chiurikova, www.tour-stpetersburg.com I cannot say enough good things about her and our experience. I emailed her and we worked out a schedule/ sights that was tailored to our interests. She also offered some recommendations, which we took. The guide will meet you at your hotel. And frequently, at certain places, with the guide, we were able to skip the long entrance lines. We had an half day driving tour of the city (car, driver, & guide). You are taken to & go in places such as Peter & Paul Fortress, some of the cathedrals, etc. We had a half day with the guide at the Hermitage which ensured that we would see the major sights there. And, of course, you can stay after your guide leaves or return another day. Also, we had the guide for Peterhof (a must & go by boat) and Catherine's Palace. I hope that you will go to the website. As I said, our guide made our trip. I am positive that we would have missed quite a bit on our own everyday. And I'm sure we would have wasted a lot of time trying to get to various place.This was the best of both worlds, a guide where needed and plenty of time on our own. Whatever you do, I'm sure that you will love St Petersburg! Ashley

I am curious about the lines as we encountered no lines on our trip -- but it was in September. We got tickets for the Hermitage at machines and skipped those lines and our guide for the Catherine Palace which was our only guided experience (as noted before, chosen for the logistics of getting there) had arranged tickets and we didn't have a line, but then we also didn't see lines. We did not find lines at any other site.

Both Moscow and St Petersburg I've done on my own, that is together with the Dear Partner. I can't remember any problem getting where we wanted to go. The Metro systems are well signed, and with a little exercise and patience you can recognize the station names. With a good map and a good guide - we had the Rough Guides - that part of the logistics is solved. The language is a major problem, but the usual tricks of pointing, looking helpless, and making a joke of it all do wonders. I would hate to be led by a guide, but for others it is a comfortable thought.

We also did both cities on our own. I found the DK Eyewitness guide for Moscow has the best map. I used the one from our library (kept the book at home). Took the smaller RS book for St. Petersburg ( his book on northern cities). His map and restaurant ideas were all good. We also downloaded the Google maps in our Android Samsung tablets/phones for both cities and then could get directions to any place we typed in. The blue ball guided us everywhere. I'm sure we missed somethings by not having a guide, but we just enjoy walking around and getting a sense of a place. If you like art, The Hermitage is great. We went 3 times and still missed alot. In St. Peterburg we stayed at the 3 Mosta which we loved (quite and not far from the Church of Spilled Blood.) We also loved the Georgian food in both cities. There's a great Georgian restaurant near the 3 Mosta hotel. We're now in Belarus- very scenic. Enjoy your trip!!

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AirAsia eyeing possible return to Europe with Bangkok - Moscow

Air Asia X Airbus A330-300,

© Tis Meyer (PlanePics.org)

Scheduled Carrier

• Bangkok Suvarnabhumi

Thai AirAsia X (XJ, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi ) has sought approval to operate flights from Bangkok Don Mueang to Moscow, Seoul and Japan. Australia would be another option, if the airline adopts a similar strategy to its parent, AirAsia X (D7, Kuala Lumpur International ). Should rights be granted to Moscow and flights begin, it would signify the AirAsia (AK, Kuala Lumpur International ) brand's return to Europe. The airline abandoned London Stansted , London Gatwick , Paris Orly and various Indian routes last year citing rising taxes and higher jet fuel prices. The airline claimed it wanted to refocus its resources on developing new markets in Malaysia and Australia.

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