How to Book Travel on Gomelavia Airlines

Gomelavia Airlines offers regularly scheduled domestic and international departures to five major cities in Belarus and western Russia. Its passenger fleet of 4 Antonov AN-24s offers inexpensive air transport to its clientèle of Belarusian and Russian business class travelers.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Telephone or Internet enabled computer, for making reservations.
• Credit card.
• Prospective dates, times and locations of travel.

Book Your Tickets for Travel on Gomelavia

1. Make contact with the airline via a travel agent. Gomelavia is not set up to accommodate those who speak English, so the booking process is best left to an agent with experience in the area.

2. Get inside information on the ins and outs of traveling to Belarus and Russia by selecting a travel agent with specialized knowledge in the region. Your agent will be able to tell you which activities to seek out and which to avoid.

3. Get your questions answered.

Select Arrival and Departure Cities for Travel on Gomelavia

4. Pick the right airport for your trip on Gomelavia. Select connections in Moscow or Minsk for travel from outside of Belarus, as these international airports service a wider array of cities and carriers than other regional airports on Gomelavia's list.

5. Go either local or international with Gomelavia. Pick any of three domestic and two international destinations offered by Gomevalia, outside its Gomel hub: Minsk, Grodno, Mogilev, Moscow and Kaliningrad.

Prepare for Travel on Gomelavia

6. Make plans to get your visa as soon as possible. Submit your visa application as soon as your tickets are in order. Administrative hangups where travel to Belarus is concerned can tie the process up during heavy travel periods.

7. Consider the airline's rules regarding baggage. Limit yourself to one standard checked bag and one small carry-on bag, with a weight limit of 20 kilograms.

8. Know that traveling with a small fleet means fewer options and frequent re-booking; select carefully and confirm your departure one week and a day before your scheduled departure on Gomelavia.

Tips & Warnings

• Travel into Grodno, Mogilev and Kaliningrad is available via connection through Gomel only.
• Communicating directly with Gomelavia poses challenges for English speakers; while the company does offer a Web site, an English-language version of the site is not available.
• Gomelavia does not offer an English booking phone number.
• Realize that regional travel on a limited fleet can be extremely challenging, so book well in advance and use a travel agent whenever possible, as they're trained in navigating cultural hang-ups.