Flying Direct to Georgia from the UK
Recently it has again become possible to get on a plane at a UK airport and fly non-stop to the country of Georgia bordering the Black Sea to the North East of Turkey.
We have made this trip twice now flying with WizzAir from London Luton airport to Kutaisi, leaving on a Thursday evening at 18:40 to arrive in the wee small hours in Georgia. Georgian Airways are also flying direct from London Gatwick to Tbilisi, with a late night departure (22:55) and an early morning arrival . The fare on Wizzair is significantly lower, at about £200 for two of us return, and Luton is the right side of London for us so the choice is an easy one to make.
Experienced travellers to Georgia will know that at least half the flights leaving or arriving in Tbilisi operate between 03:00 and 06:00 with the rest generally in the morning, this is because the lack of night flying restrictions allows airlines to fit in an extra rotation of a European based plane that would otherwise be sat on the tarmac somewhere. The traditional conservative route into Georgia from the UK is via Istanbul (Turkish Airlines, Pegasus etc) or via Poland (Wizz Air, LOT, etc), hardier souls can fly via the Ukraine, Moscow and other entertainment hotspots often with an extended layover, change of airport etc. There may be a few quid to be spared by these indirect flights, but Wizzair's fares are currently the most attractive especially when combined with a modern Airbus flying direct for an EU airline that has a base in Kutaisi.
As a low cost airline Wizz Air has very low base fares - our return leg was £16 each - and lots of optional add-on charges for large cabin bags, checked baggage, pre-reserved seat, priority boarding etc etc. We typically upgrade two cabin bags to large, sometimes switching one to a checked bag if we're bringing gifts back. We don't bother with priority boarding and seat allocation at check-in has worked out fine too. From October 29th there's a new regime where one larger cabin bag is included in the ticket ( max: 55x40x23cm ) so it will be interesting to see what effect this has on the available bin space and boarding time.
In flight there is the opportunity to purchase a selection of food & drink items during one of two services, for about £20 we got a bottle of wine, two hot drinks, a sandwich, peanuts, a snack box and some pepperami Hungarian sausages. Payment is by cash in Pounds, Lari or Euros or by card.
There's no in-flight entertainment so you're basically left to entertain yourself or try to sleep for the 5h+ flight. On the way out you are effectively flying in the Georgian night so sleep is a good idea if possible. On the way back it's a daytime flight leaving Kutaisi at 4pm and arriving in Luton about 6.30pm. Take plenty of reading material or other entertainment.
On arrival at Kutaisi the immigration formalities are swift as it's a small airport with a single flight arriving at that time. On exiting immigration you can change currency at a bank desk to the far right side, use ATMs to the left, buy SIM cards for your phone, sit in the small cafe or arrange transport to somewhere - well anywhere - as Kutaisi airport is literally in the middle of nowhere served only by a passing road.
We chose to use the Wizz Air "transfer bus" facility where a large minibus or coach operated by Georgian Bus will take you to the centre of Tbilisi (about 4 hours), Batumi or nearby Kutaisi. There are also taxis, local people puting lifts in their car and other transport options like going out to the road and hitchhiking or waiting for a passing marshrutka (mini bus). Given the arrival time we opted for the bus which arrives at an almost sane time in the Tbilisi morning - 8am and 10 am have been our experiences, the latter when weather delayed takeoff from Luton.
At a cost of £13 for two the transfer bus is not expensive and as it's tied into the flight time a delayed arrival isn't a problem. If this is your first time in Georgia I recomend sitting in a seat where you cannot see the driver or the road ahead. There will probably be a stop part way along the route for the driver to have his breakfast or run some errand, passengers can get off and use the facilities or buy a bottle of water or coffee. It's a good idea to change or withdraw some Lari at Kutaisi airport so you have some money ready for your arrival, Georgians don't like large notes so try to withdraw something ending in 65 lari if the ATM permits it to get a 5 and a 10 lari note. The exchange desk will change pounds or euros into Lari and gives a variety of note sizes and coins as required.
We have made this trip twice now flying with WizzAir from London Luton airport to Kutaisi, leaving on a Thursday evening at 18:40 to arrive in the wee small hours in Georgia. Georgian Airways are also flying direct from London Gatwick to Tbilisi, with a late night departure (22:55) and an early morning arrival . The fare on Wizzair is significantly lower, at about £200 for two of us return, and Luton is the right side of London for us so the choice is an easy one to make.
Experienced travellers to Georgia will know that at least half the flights leaving or arriving in Tbilisi operate between 03:00 and 06:00 with the rest generally in the morning, this is because the lack of night flying restrictions allows airlines to fit in an extra rotation of a European based plane that would otherwise be sat on the tarmac somewhere. The traditional conservative route into Georgia from the UK is via Istanbul (Turkish Airlines, Pegasus etc) or via Poland (Wizz Air, LOT, etc), hardier souls can fly via the Ukraine, Moscow and other entertainment hotspots often with an extended layover, change of airport etc. There may be a few quid to be spared by these indirect flights, but Wizzair's fares are currently the most attractive especially when combined with a modern Airbus flying direct for an EU airline that has a base in Kutaisi.
As a low cost airline Wizz Air has very low base fares - our return leg was £16 each - and lots of optional add-on charges for large cabin bags, checked baggage, pre-reserved seat, priority boarding etc etc. We typically upgrade two cabin bags to large, sometimes switching one to a checked bag if we're bringing gifts back. We don't bother with priority boarding and seat allocation at check-in has worked out fine too. From October 29th there's a new regime where one larger cabin bag is included in the ticket ( max: 55x40x23cm ) so it will be interesting to see what effect this has on the available bin space and boarding time.
In flight there is the opportunity to purchase a selection of food & drink items during one of two services, for about £20 we got a bottle of wine, two hot drinks, a sandwich, peanuts, a snack box and some pepperami Hungarian sausages. Payment is by cash in Pounds, Lari or Euros or by card.
There's no in-flight entertainment so you're basically left to entertain yourself or try to sleep for the 5h+ flight. On the way out you are effectively flying in the Georgian night so sleep is a good idea if possible. On the way back it's a daytime flight leaving Kutaisi at 4pm and arriving in Luton about 6.30pm. Take plenty of reading material or other entertainment.
On arrival at Kutaisi the immigration formalities are swift as it's a small airport with a single flight arriving at that time. On exiting immigration you can change currency at a bank desk to the far right side, use ATMs to the left, buy SIM cards for your phone, sit in the small cafe or arrange transport to somewhere - well anywhere - as Kutaisi airport is literally in the middle of nowhere served only by a passing road.
We chose to use the Wizz Air "transfer bus" facility where a large minibus or coach operated by Georgian Bus will take you to the centre of Tbilisi (about 4 hours), Batumi or nearby Kutaisi. There are also taxis, local people puting lifts in their car and other transport options like going out to the road and hitchhiking or waiting for a passing marshrutka (mini bus). Given the arrival time we opted for the bus which arrives at an almost sane time in the Tbilisi morning - 8am and 10 am have been our experiences, the latter when weather delayed takeoff from Luton.
At a cost of £13 for two the transfer bus is not expensive and as it's tied into the flight time a delayed arrival isn't a problem. If this is your first time in Georgia I recomend sitting in a seat where you cannot see the driver or the road ahead. There will probably be a stop part way along the route for the driver to have his breakfast or run some errand, passengers can get off and use the facilities or buy a bottle of water or coffee. It's a good idea to change or withdraw some Lari at Kutaisi airport so you have some money ready for your arrival, Georgians don't like large notes so try to withdraw something ending in 65 lari if the ATM permits it to get a 5 and a 10 lari note. The exchange desk will change pounds or euros into Lari and gives a variety of note sizes and coins as required.
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| Wizz Air flight at Kutaisi airport preparing to take passengers on board. |
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