Austrian Airlines

OS854 6 April 2015. Flight Venice-Wien-Amman. Extremely poor experience. My flight Venice - Wien was cancelled and I was told about that only late evening before the early morning flight on Whatsapp so that I had no possibility to take their connection Wien - Amman. I phoned them and they gave me an Alitalia - Royal Jordanian flight which made me arrive 6 hours later than planned. I completely lost all the pre-paid tourist services planned for that afternoon in Jordan.

VIE-JFK on OS 087 in Business Class. Immaculate cabin with very comfortable seats (180 lie flat). Fantastic screens for VOD but selection of movies and tv shows limited. Offered champagne juice and an Austrian cocktail. menus distributed and on board chef took orders for lunch. Takeoff delayed 30 minutes without explanation. After takeoff hot towels distributed followed by excellent lunch service - appetizers from the trolley followed by soup excellent entree and great selection of desserts followed by a selection of individually prepared coffees. Before arrival a second excellent meal. Wonderful wine selection nicely poured. Service was very attentive if without much of a smile (ironically Austrian's motto is "We fly for your smile"). Notably the bathrooms were kept immaculate throughout the entire flight. Overall superb inflight service with the best catering of any airline.

Larnaca to Vienna on airbus 321 - plane was clean but seats very narrow - boarding took a long time caused by a lot of people carrying ample cabin luggage. Flight was extremely bumpy for more than 1.5 hours - decent meal with a choice for the main course - quality of drinks could be better - FA courteous. Information concerning the flight conditions could be given earlier as several passengers were rather afraid. Landing on time.

I flew on OS 789 recently from Vienna to Bucharest and nothing had changed. Austrian Airlines planes have started to age (I flew on a Fokker 100). The flight was about 50% full this time the crew on board was hardly attentive throughout the flight. Same horrible snacks offered (choice of sweet/salty) and if one asks for both a sweet and salty snack (since they're so small) the crew will refuse to serve you both a sweet and salty snack which is absolutely appalling! Having paid €210 for my ticket I was hoping for a slightly higher value for money which didn't happen. Nevertheless the flight was on-time which was just about the only positive remark about this flight.

VIE-FCO-VIE. Booked a red ticket 6 months in advance so we could get a very good price. Flight time was 1 hour 20 minutes - snack was served either sweet or salty together with cold and warm drinks. Crew were attentive and friendly on both legs. Austrian recommended on short haul flights!

Vienna - Toronto - Vienna. New economy seats are perfect. Enough space and comfort. I was surprised. Food is excellent not comparable to other airlines. Good restaurant quality. Entertainment is also good. Was not bored for nine hours and could not see all the films I wanted to (not enough time).

TXL-VIE-TLV. I had used the overlay in Vienna to visit the city and was late for the second leg due to a breakdown of the airport train. Austrian rebooked me (and about 100 other stranded passengers) to the next flight without problems (and even got me a seat with extra legroom) not minding that the ticket was not flexible. They also provided food and drinks for the passengers regardless that the train breakdown wasn't their responsibility. Apart from that the service was good with a full meal service on the 3-hour leg however no entertainment (ok for three hours but you have to be aware of it).

On December 12 my husband and I flew out of Dulles-Washington DC to Vienna on an 8 hour and 20 minute trip. Flight 9822. We were warmly greeted upon boarding then promptly given menus to select our dinner and breakfast. There were two chefs in full attire as well as a sommelier to assist us. The flight crew were excellent throughout our journey catering to all needs and exceeding expectations. The entertainment screen was wonderful with a vast selection. Our seats fully reclined to a bed and the blankets and pillow allowed for a comfortable sleep. Meals were excellent and beautifully presented. Return flight #9821 surpassed outgoing flight flights very smooth.

VIE-AMS on Jan 2 and return AMS-VIE on Jan 20 both straight forward point to point evening flights both flights on a tired Fokker 100. VIE-AMS in Business (Upgrade due to Star Alliance status as Economy was overbooked) AMS- VIE in Economy VIE-AMS delayed 15 minutes due to ATC return flight on time – Not really much to distinguish Business Class service on the outward leg except for a simple and small but tasty evening snack (warm chicken skewer on salad). Also only one drink was served. Seats were rather uncomfortable economy Recaro slim seats with the middle seat left unsold. Service was very poor. Only two flight attendants for the whole full plane meant that after the initial service of meal and drink both FA's dealt with Economy and were not be seen in Business again for a very long time. On the return flight in Economy one drink (including beer and wine) and a no food just small pack of pretzels or a small chocolate bar was served. On both flights FA's were not exactly unpleasant but not attentive. Web check-in for VIE-AMS went smooth with almost no line for the premium bag drop. In AMS check-in for the return flight was handled by very friendly and helpful LH agents with no lines. Boarding in VIE was later than indicated with no information given resulting in a cattle call once the boarding actually started. Boarding in AMS was uneventful. Flagship OS Senator Lounge in VIE a bit of disappointment as well. Packed and with limited food offerings and just ok drink options. Obviously savings all over the place. In AMS OS uses the shared Servisair lounge which although comfortable offers just an OK drinks selection and a very limited to almost non-existent food selection. Overall definitely not a terrible but distinctly mediocre experience. (Star Alliance Gold).

So having written a critical review of a trip to Male from London Heathrow in September 2014 I now have to be fair and balanced. Was nervous when best business class fares by far LHR-BKK came out on OS particularly with an exceptionally tight connection of just 30 minutes in VIE. Usual chronic Heathrow delays meant serious chance of missing connection but OS pulled stops out met us and guided us to the gate - shortest transfer I've ever done on the ground for just 15 minutes. Business class service absolutely faultless on both sectors with some seriously outstanding crews - return flights equally efficient. Well done Austrian you have restored my faith and will now be more comfortable flying you again.