Vienna Airport

Flew to Vienna recently and the terminal seems to have been improved in appearance since I was last there 5/6 years ago. It is confusing to step off the aircraft into the departure lounge but the adequate signage soon directed us to the baggage reclaim - quite a walk. The overhead screens indicated which carousel our bags would appear on but they never did. After some head scratching we found our cases in a pile with about 20 others in a corner of the arrivals hall. Both were damaged but we had no idea where this had occured as we had passed through several airports during the day. One redeeming factor was the information/tourist office in the arrivals area where the staff were excellent and seemed genuinely pleased to welcome guests to their city. They gave good information regarding the options for travel to the city centre and in view of the damaged luggage we took a taxi at 28 Euros and travelled in a spotless Mercedes estate taking less than 30 mins to our hotel. We returned on the CAT train which is non stop in 16 mins from the central Wien Mitte station but is a bit pricey although better than the S Bann if travelling with a lot of luggage at busy times. We had none of the problems with checking in or passing through security that have been highlighted by others but that may have been due to the early afternoon flight we had rather than a peak time departure. However security is carried out at the gate so it is a good idea to get to the gate in good time rather than hang about in the departure area shops. There are no refreshments once you pass through security but there are toilets which are useful in the event of a delay. All in all a pleasant and modern airport.