Traveling by air to Ulaanbaatar is generally considered as one of the most comfortable and fastest options available. The network of airlines and destinations is growing year after year with destinations such as London, Milan and Shanghai rumored to be in planning. The airlines flying in and out of UB vary in quality and reliability with Aeroflot very much at the bottom end of the scale and with ANA or Korean Air offering excellent flights, although flights to Mongolia from Europe with Korean Air go via Seoul, and therefore take longer than the more standard Aeroflot Service which goes via Moscow, and the same applies the other way round. The International airport of Mongolia is the Chinggis Khan International Airport of Ulaanbaatar. The airport is often subject to strong winds. While Mongolian pilots are renowned for being fearless and landing the plane in any conditions, other airlines will sometimes turn back to their original point instead.

Air China and MIAT both fly regular flights between Beijing and Ulaanbaatar, the regularity of the flights depends very much on the season with more regular flights in summer then winter. There is generally a daily flight from one of the two airlines in summer and about 3 times a week in winter. The cost of a return ticket is generally around 500USD to 600USD. Flight time is approximately one and a half hours. This route is also useful to reach the rest of Asia as well as Europe and the USA as Beijing is a large international and regional hub.

Aeroflot flies between Moscow and Ulaanbaatar with flights two to three times a week depending on the season. Aeroflot runs the old Tupolev planes on this route, comfort and safety do not seem to be priorities so a route which is generally better avoided. Price of a return ticket is around 500USD. Flight time is an impossibly long and stressful six and a bit hours. It is possible to take a connecting flight to Europe from Moscow but the wait in Cheremtyevo airport can be up to 12 hours long, the airport itself looks like it was built by prison contractors and has about as much charm as its draconian staff. This route is generally considered to be the last option reserved only for the terminally poor or the truly adventurous characters. Should this be your last resort the author would recommend spending the 10 hour wait trying to make a local employee smile without the exchange of monies or goods, so far this author has been unsuccessful.

MIAT airlines (Mongolian national airline) runs bi-weekly flights from Berlin to UB. The plane would often stop over in Moscow for refueling and a couple of hours rest before it carries on to UB. MIAT runs a fleet of modern Boeing and Airbus planes, has an efficient and polite service on board and comes warmly recommended by the author as a comfortable and cost effective flight. Return flight would generally cost around the 800USD mark. From Berlin there are connecting flights to the rest of Europe.

Korean air flies directly between Seoul and Ulaanbaatar. It is the preferred route between Europe and Mongolia for most of the executive expats based in UB as the flights are comfortable and the quality of service excellent. Flights between UB-Seoul-Europe do have the disadvantage of being longer then any other route as you would fly back over Ulaanbaatar on your way from Seoul to Europe. There is also the added disadvantage that the connecting flights in Seoul can be around 9 hours apart but the airport hotel in the transit lounge is excellent. There are about 3 flights a week between Seoul and UB.

There are once weekly flights between Tokyo and Ulaanbaatar, this is operated by MIAT during most of the year but predominantly in summer while ANA would sometimes fly during the summer months. Excellent quality and service can be expected on the ANA flights while the MIAT crew also provides for a pleasant journey. The cost can be expected to vary between 600USD and 800USD. Flight time is around two and a half hours.

At the current time there are no direct flights between Kazakhstan and Mongolia, maybe in the future.  

In Mongolia we would recommend Air Market as the preferred travel agent to handle your ticketing in and out of Mongolia, they are the largest and most reliable travel agency with an English speaking staff. Below you will find their details as well as those of the major airlines mentioned above.