I know nothing about your specific queries but I have found myself in your situation in other places. While I can be picky about both airlines and airports when I have a choice in this sort of circumstance I take the view that the flight is likely to be (a) safer and (b) quicker than any equivalent so I take a deep breath and then forget about it.
However, I will admit to an element of "can I come too please" here because I've never flown on an IL18 (but I have been on an IL14!).