Review of Austrian Airlines flight Vienna Chicago in Business

Airline Austrian Airlines
Flight OS65
Class Business
Seat 5A
Flight time 09:30
Take-off 22 Mar 16, 10:00
Arrival at 22 Mar 16, 13:30
OS   #79 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 353 reviews
Rewardflying
Published on 21st May 2016
photo os65 cover.

Austrian Airlines is not an international powerhouse. In fact they only have 11 wide body jets. But if you are going to Europe, they can get you to Vienna and regionally fly you to your final destination. They even have some Asian routes from their base. Bottom line is they have an impressive premium product.

From my perspective, Austrian gets top grades in comfort, food service and entertainment. And that's the trifecta when spending 8 plus hours on a plane.

Austrian 767 Business Class Cabin:
photo os65 cabin 3.

Bottom line it's very nice. Being a 767, the cabin is on the small side for today’s standards. But the seats and color combinations are nicely done and of provide an attractive environment. Business class is 1x2x1 so all passengers have direct aisle access, solo passengers have their privacy and couples can sit together. It is also staggered allowing for more privacy from anyone across the aisle.

photo os65 cabin 1.photo os65 cabin 4.

Their business class seat is the Thompson Vantage variety. This seat is very comfortable.
photo os65 seat 1.photo os65 seat 3.photo os65 seat 5.

It has a massage function as well as two firmness settings for the bed when it's extended. I did notice a difference in the cushion between the firmer and softer settings.

photo os65 seat 7.

The only negative is the compartment is somewhat small compared to a reverse herringbone layout or open space like Turkish and United. My feet got a little cramped in the footwell.

photo os65 seat 6.


But it's private and the rows were slightly offset offering further intimacy. If you are a solo traveler and like the window, select an odd row seat where the large table is between you and the aisle. For even numbered rows the table is against the window. There wasn't a hook for your jacket, nor any storage space for a small carry on other than the footwell. There is a flap under the monitor that can hold an iPad. Just remember it's there! And there is a neat little mesh holder for a water bottle. All in all its a great seat.

photo os65 seat 9_1024.photo os65 seat 11_1024.

This was a day flight and only 8 hours so I wasn’t ready for sleep. But I did try it out. It’s comfortable with the exception of the footwell is small and my feet got tangled a couple times. The compartment is on the smallish side, but again the plane is on the smallish side, so I’d like to see how this compartment is in their 777 aircraft. (Coming soon!) A pillow and blanket are provided but no mattress pad.

A standard fare amenity kit was placed in a pocket underneath the light.

photo os65 seat 8.photo os65 amenity 1.

Oh, and then there is the food.

The food was excellent and lived up to the hype I had read about. Multiple appetizers, soup and desserts are served from trolley carts allowing you a visual selection.

You have 3 choices for a main dish with one a vegetarian offering. There is also a selection of Austrian wines. The "on-board" chef doesn't really cook anything, but it's a fun thing both Austrian and Turkish Airlines do. They even wear a chef's hat! A second smaller salad service before landing was one of the best meals I had all trip.

Beverage menu. Local Austrian wines were featured on this flight.



Food Menu.



My selections:



DO&CO does the catering for Austrian and again they proved airline food can be delicious. For my tastes each one of these dishes was restaurant quality. I had the deep fried chicken. It was not greasy and was crisp, tender and flavorful. And I'm quite certain the FAA and European Aviation Safety Administration do not allow Austrian aircraft to have a deep fryer installed!

For dessert their speciality is traditional Viennese apple strudel. And they are rightfully proud of it so they've handed out the recipe. I might just give it a try and it was very good.
photo os65 menu recipie 2.

After your meal the Viennese Coffee Shop is open for business. Menus are passed out. Select from 11 Viennese coffee specialties. Various combinations of fresh or whipped cream, steamed or foamed milk, flavored liquors and ice creams make up your selections. You can't go wrong. Starbucks can only pretend.



Franziskaner
photo os65 food 20.

IFE:
Austrian has the best IFE system I’ve seen. I was in awe of the monitor. It had brilliant, vibrant colors. Watch the quick video below on how to make your selections with the hand held controller. You could also use the touchscreen as unlike Turkish Airlines, you are within arms reach of the monitor. Content was good and they even had some aviation enthusiasts' videos from Pilot’s Eye TV. The one I watched was a sightseeing flight made from Vienna to Barcelona flown by the head captain of their Airbus A320 division. There were a couple other videos from Pilots Eye as well.

(My poor photo does an injustice to the monitor!)
photo os65 ife 10.

Austrian IFE controller

photo os65 ife 1.photo os65 ife 3.photo os65 ife 8.

Wi-Fi:
Austrian does not have Wi-Fi installed on their aircraft

Crew:
This crew was really good as well. It seemed with each flight the crew got better. The purser on this flight introduced herself at departure and thanked me for flying with them on arrival.

Aircraft:

The 767 is an older aircraft but was in excellent condition. It was registration #OE-LAW, built in 1992 and original flown by Lauda Air. The aircraft had winglets installed in 2011.

photo os65 flight path.

Business Class Lounge in VIE Terminal 3 was nothing special. Small and not much in the way of food, although there was a huge buffet tray of scrambled eggs, as it was breakfast time. It just wasn’t a very comfortable lounge, but it had a nice view of the airfield. I wouldn't go out of my way to arrive early just to spend time in this lounge.



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Verdict

Austrian Airlines

9.0/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi9.5
Meal/catering9.5

Austrian Airlines Business Lounge Plaza

5.5/10
Comfort5.0
Meal/catering5.0
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Services5.0

Vienna - VIE

7.5/10
Efficiency7.5
Access8.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.5

Chicago - ORD

7.0/10
Efficiency7.5
Access7.5
Services6.0
Cleanliness7.0

Conclusion

Austrian is on the top of my list for a return to Vienna some day. I totally recommend Austrian Airlines and can't wait to fly them again. (And I am, in 3 days from posting this!)

Information on the route Vienna (VIE) Chicago (ORD)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 4 avis concernant 1 compagnies sur la ligne Vienna (VIE) → Chicago (ORD).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Austrian Airlines avec 7.2/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 9 heures et 58 minutes.

  More information

5 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 349359 by
    Airfunes 323 Comments
    Hi
    Thank you for this very interesting report ! Austrian Airways seems to have a very good product in business class !
    I particulary appreciate the Viennese Coffee Shop :)
  • Comment 349571 by
    WanWan 18 Comments
    a nice rreport. I am curious about the traditional Viennese apfelstrudel, this dessert sounds interesting
  • Comment 349943 by
    Sukhoi47 53 Comments
    Hi thanks for this report !

    Indeed OS offers a solid premium product on its long-haul. Most importantly, it uses very well its local identity to differentiate its product : when flying OS, you definetly feel like you're in Austria, which isn't the case of many airlines despite some local touches here and there.

    The staggered configuration is standard on *A 767 and I also find it to be the best compromise between privacy and comfort for airlines that are neither full-business nor full-leisure. LX also has this arrangement in the region. Do&Co catering indeed is great, but I can't help but find it is not as great as on TK or on LX (though the latter isn't Do&Co). The chef is not as useless as you may think : re-heating and presentation seem to be much better performed when there is a chef on-board. Or at least, there are less mishaps.

    The beverage list isn't only impressive in terms of coffee, the wine list, although allmost 100% local is of great quality : Kamptal is a region of very high quality wines, only challenged by Karnuntum, Wieninger is one of the top-5 wine producers of Vienna region, plus the Trilogie is one of their very good bottles. This is indeed confirmed by the Falstaff guide grades, which are high, Falstaff being the reference in terms of good wine in Austria. I wish all countries that produce wine had a local carrier with such a thorough high-quality sample.

    Looking forward your report on the 777 !
    • Comment 349955 by
      Rewardflying AUTHOR 493 Comments
      Well said sykhoi47. Flew 777 last night and liked the flight even better. Food was unbelievable for 39,000 feet. And yes the chef did prepare my eggs this morning better than I could do. Sitting at cafe museum having a trilogy right now!

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