Austrian Airlines

ARN-VIE A319 in Economy. Excellent short-haul experience. Late arrival of incoming aircraft but swift turnaround in Stockholm and efficient well organized boarding process got us in the air on time and ahead of schedule in Vienna. Excellent ground staff at Arlanda - recognized my Senator status and re-seated me upon boarding so that I could have the middle seat free. On board very friendly and efficient service. Simple snack was sufficient for this 2 hour trip. Legroom good and the new seats are fine.

VIE-LHR short delay in departure for de-icing 2 drink rounds and a muffin check-in - bag drop packed but didn't wait long slightly delayed through traffic over London waited 25 min at the baggage belt in Heathrow on arrival.

I flew on an Austrian Airlines ticket with the flight operated by Tyrolean. I wasn't happy with the service on check-in by Austrian Air. I was assigned a back seat despite the entire business class being empty. All seats except the first row had very little leg room corresponding to the smallest I have seen in economy. It seemed like the check-in staff did not care much about customer service. Change fee is quite high -100 euros despite business class cabin being completely empty. Once onboard the service was very friendly and the food excellent.

LHR-VIE 4th March afternoon. Check-in no queue staff talked to each other but still good transaction time. Fast Track through Security Star Lounge ok small food choice long way to the gate priority boarding nice welcome flight was early really rare from LHR. Food was excellent (as usual) steward addressed guests by name lots of refills excellent. Downs: IFE (but not really needed for the 2hr flight) reduction in flights the afternoon flight is stopped this season which is strange since the flight was quite full (A320 instead of the scheduled A319) and this allows a normal arrival time in Vienna (7pm) instead of 11pm with the evening flight. The £40 difference from Economy to Business was worth it because of an extra piece of luggage lounge good food and attentive service. Can recommend flying Austrian.

YYZ-VIE. Probably the worst long haul flight I've ever taken. I was expecting much more and in fact partly decided to try this airline for the first time given its four star rating on skytrax. The cabin is very old school looking. There are no personalized screens instead there are large screens overhead in the middle of the aisle every few rows. The food was mediocre and red wine was tasteless. They watered down the coffee. The service was not friendly or polite. This was my first time flying Austrian and once I'm done with this trip it is certainly my last. Definitely would not recommend.

London Heathrow to Rostov-on-Don in Russia via Vienna on a work trip. Very impressed with the level of service of their ground staff and the air crew. Flight was comfortable and the information given during the flight very good. There were 2 drinks rounds and although food was minimal at least something was offered. On one journey I ordered from the à la carte menu in advance and this was excellent value for money - really good quality. The whole experience was very relaxed unlike flying with a budget airline such as Ryanair. I will definitely fly with them again and have started to look at their other destinations for a leisure trip.

IAD-VIE. Flight left and arrived on-time. Older plane but serviceable. Seats were small. Excellent food and service. My wife ordered (in advance) a special "seafood meal". The regular economy beef meal was good. Will definitely fly with them again.

VIE-LHR. Found the entire flight experience to be extremely uncomfortable. Once seated you cannot help but to wonder if there's even a seat pitch to your seat as your leg would feel like its been clamped against the seat in front of you. Another complaint was with how the stewardesses kept speaking to me in German well after it was established that I don't speak German - found it to be both frustrating and uncomfortable. Apart from the drawbacks I found the breakfast muffin quite enjoyable. I would not care to fly this airline again especially for the prices this airline sells its seats for.

LHR-VIE on 21st Dec packed flight. Check-in unable to get me on an earlier flight couldn't speak German. Lounge was ok nothing special. Boarding was chaotic no priority boarding for Business. Inflight service - food was great as usual on Austrian. Arriving was good fast passport but baggage claim was pathetic. After long waiting time a few bags came out not even the priority bags just regular economy passengers. Then the belt stopped I like many others went to the lost and found where an unfriendly manager told us to go back and wait. A real down turner at 11.30pm.

LEJ-VIE-LEJ Economy class - journey paid with miles. Check-in was very quick but Lufthansa ground staff at Leipzig airport extremely unfriendly. Walking distances at Leipzig airport are incredibly long. Due to bad conditions at Vienna airport the plane (Dash 8-400) could not leave Leipzig on time therefore had to wait about an hour. Captain kept the passengers informed on connecting flights. During the waiting time the crew offered free drinks and newspapers. I asked for a special Austrian paper and received it with a smile. In the air we were served tea or coffee and a small snack. Return flight was also pretty good same experience except for the delay as we landed 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Austrian offers a good value for money (cheapest tickets start at 149 Euro) especially on this route where you have no alternatives.