Background: My first trip out of the country in two years was to Dublin, because Ireland was one of the first countries to drop most COVID-related rules and restrictions. For that trip I had flown on a Swiss A340-300, connecting to a Swiss A320, and then returning on another Swiss A320, connecting to an Edelweiss A340-300.
England also dropped all their COVID restrictions, so I also recently took a trip to London. This time my airline was Austrian, flying on their B767-300ER, connecting to their A320, and then returning on another A320, connecting to their B777-200ER.
My main objective for this trip, aside from happily going on another international trip, was to fly on Austrian's 767 and 777, but the connections onto the Austrian A320s were appealing as well. I enjoy trying different airlines within Europe, and was looking forward to trying Austrian for the first time. Plus my Austrian A320 flights were a nice length of about 2h, which offers a good amount of flight time to enjoy the service and experience.
Please enjoy the reports, and I look forward to your comments.
VIE-LHR
Austrian OS455
Departure: 17:30 (actual 17:41)
Arrival: 18:55 (actual 18:54)
Actual Block Time: 2h13
Actual Flight Time: 1h50
Seat: 1A Business Class
Airbus A320
I arrived to VIE on my IAD-VIE flight aboard an Austrian B767-300ER. This was my first time in the Vienna airport. My transfer from the United States to the United Kingdom was entirely non-Schengen, and was a very easy transfer. I enjoyed a long time in the non-Schengen Austrian lounge. Boarding was set for 16:50, and departure for 17:30. My gate was G11 in the G concourse.
Having become a big fan of Austrian's longhaul service on my inbound 767 flight, I was now looking forward to trying Austrian's European service. I have flown a few other European airlines, and have pretty much always liked European business class service. Sure you don't get a special seat, but you do get lounge access and really good service onboard, no matter how short the flight. Today's 2h flight, though, should be a good length to try out the Austrian experience.
While booking, I had found all of Row 1 blocked, so for my two A320 segments, I had reserved two non-bulkhead seats. Wanting to try the bulkhead on one of the flights, I had asked at check-in, but there was still nothing available. Then in the lounge, just prior to my flight, I checked one last time, and was finally able to get a bulkhead seat: 1A had become available. I switched to that seat and kept my non-bulkhead seat for my second Austrian A320 flight at the end of the trip. I was happy to be able to try both the bulkhead and non-bulkhead, like I had done on the Swiss A320. Once my gate opened, I saw the agent at the desk for a revised boarding pass, getting one solely with Austrian branding, as opposed to the common Lufthansa Group branding with Austrian, Lufthansa and Swiss.
My aircraft today, OE-LXB, arrived as OS174 from Hamburg. OE-LXB began its career in 2008, registered in Ireland as EI-DSP and flying for Italian low-cost carrier Air One. Air One later merged with Alitalia. She continued flying under the same registration for Alitalia until being re-registered with Air Berlin as D-ABZF. After her time with Air Berlin she joined Austrian in 2017 as OE-LXB.
Arriving to VIE from HAM:
I also had my first sighting of an Embraer E2, specifically the Helvetic E195-E2, HB-AZJ. What mammoth engines!
Embraer E195-E2:
Boarding was through a jetbridge onto my waiting A320. I headed onboard to my bulkhead seat, 1A. Unfortunately the entire overhead compartment above this area was full of emergency equipment, but I was onboard early enough to get a space close enough, as no bags can be placed on the floor in a bulkhead seat.
Seats 1ABC:
Settling in, I found pretty good bulkhead legroom on Austrian, in fact, I think a little better than Swiss, but not as good as Brussels Airlines, so perhaps pretty average for a European bulkhead seat. The bulkhead wall was angled father away for more foot space. I also noticed that the bulkhead wall goes all the way to the aisle, that is, it's not a partial wall like on the Swiss A320. The slimline seats were finished in light and dark gray leather with a red headrest treatment and red seatbelts. I thought it was a pretty comfortable seat for my 2h flight.
Legroom shot:
Safety card:
Today there were 4 rows of business class. As usual for Europe, it's economy seating with the middle seats kept free, so there were a possible 4 seats per row, or 16 possible seats. The load in business class ended up being 14/16.
Boarding continued for a long time with several announcements that the flight was fully booked. Boarding continued past our scheduled departure time. The captain's welcome announcement introduced himself and apologized for the departure delay. The purser's welcome announcement introduced herself and advised a flight time of 1h45. We were pushed back at 17:41. The safety demo was performed to recorded German and English narration. We were one of eight Austrian Airlines jets ready to takeoff. It was our turn at 17:55. It was a routine A320 takeoff, not too loud, not too fast, not too much pushback into the seat. We lifted off quickly and began our flight to London.
After takeoff, the flight attendants were released, and curtains were shut to the galley and to economy class. I noticed that like the Swiss A320, where bulkhead seats 1C/1D weren't ideal due to the partial bulkhead wall and lots of foot traffic in the aisle, the Austrian A320 bulkhead seats 1C/1D weren't ideal because the curtain was right in your leg space, plus you still have the foot traffic in the aisle. 1A/1F are fine, though, if you're looking for a decent bulkhead seat. The flight attendants began preparing the meal service trolley.
Beverages were served first, so I asked which beers were available. Three Austrian-made beers were on offer, the same as on Austrian longhaul. I was still very happy to find so many different local beers. The beers were Gösser Märzen, Egger Märzen, and Ottakringer Helles. I decided to start with the Ottakringer Helles. Ottakringer Helles - Ausgewogen. Ehrlich. - Wiens Brauerei seit 1837.
Austrian beer 1/3:
A hot meal service is always nice to get, and today's flight did indeed offer a hot meal service. There was one choice of entree, noodles in mushroom cream sauce, served with a little slice of cheesecake for dessert. It was an interesting meal; I was happy to get an Austrian-style entree, and a hot meal at that. And I liked the Austrian Airlines triangular plates, just like on the longhaul flight. My next drink was the second of the three beers, Egger Märzen. Goldgelbe Farbe. Bester Hopfen aus der Hallertau und dem Mühlviertel. Traditionell gebraut nach dem Reinheitsgebot von 1516. Und vielfach ausgezeichnet. Unser Egger Märzen - harmonischer biergenuss. From Privatbeauerei Egger - biergenuss aus österreich.
Meal service:
Austrian beer 2/3:
To conclude the service: a chocolate. Meal service concluded within the first 45 minutes of the flight. That meant we should have about an hour left until we're back on the ground.
Austrian chocolate:
I decided to try to order the third beer, but they had run out of Gösser Märzen. Unfortunate; I would have liked to have had all three, but then again, I do have more Austrian flights coming up. For now, though, I noticed one more beer in the economy buy-on-board menu: Murauer Märzen for €4,5. Perhaps my favorite thing is to try new beers on flights, so I enquired as to the availability of this new beer. I was informed that it wasn't complimentary, which to be honest, I was expecting, just like on Swiss and a prior flight on Air Canada. While I'd prefer everything to be free to business class, when it comes down to it, I'm ok with paying to try something new from the buy-on-board menu. It's part of how I enjoy a flight experience to the fullest. The beer was brought up from economy for me, and I was happy to get a new, unexpected beer on this flight! Murauer Märzen - das ist reinster Genuss, Hergestellt von der Brauerei Murau aus kontrollierten hochwertigen Rohstoffen. Brauerei Murau - Österreichische Privatbeauerei, 100% Unabhängig. Gebraut in Murau nach alter Tradition seit 1495.
Additional Austrian beer:
We had about a half hour left, and I was finishing my last beer and relaxing, enjoying the rest of my time onboard Austrian's European service. The flight attendant asked for my thoughts on the beers and which I preferred. The captain soon announced 20 minutes to go for an on-time landing in London. The cabin prep announcement followed.
We flew west down the River Thames, which is a great airport approach, but I was seated on the incorrect side for the best views. Our landing was at 19:45, and we parked at our gate in LHRT2 at 19:54, or 18:54 local time. There was a very long, 40-minute line for passport control, where most people are now sent to the e-gates, meaning no more passport stamp. All that time waiting in line, yet no passport stamp anymore! Disappointing on multiple levels!
At the gate in LHR:
I love trying new airlines, and Austrian was really great. I could have gone for an even longer flight, but that's pretty tough to accomplish within Europe. This flight length was good enough to enjoy Austrian's European service. I was ok with my bulkhead seat, a pretty comfortable seat with good bulkhead legroom and footroom, a good seat for a flight of this length. I had really enjoyed trying the Austrian offerings, from the hot meal to multiple Austrian beers. The flight attendants were very attentive and helpful, and provided good service. I was looking forward to my next Austrian flight, in a non-bulkhead seat next time.
