Review of Austrian Airlines flight Moscow Vienna in Economy

Airline Austrian Airlines
Flight OS602
Class Economy
Seat 20F
Aircraft Airbus A319
Flight time 03:00
Take-off 21 Feb 18, 15:40
Arrival at 21 Feb 18, 16:40
OS   #79 out of 95 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 353 reviews
A321Lufthansa
Published on 3rd June 2018
Hello everyone and welcome to my trip report of Austrian Airlines flight OS602 from Moscow (DME) to Vienna (VIE).
I have bought tickets 2 weeks prior departure. Nowadays there are 4 airlines flying from Moscow to Vienna - Aeroflot, S7, UTAir and Austrian. Since the last year I always choose Austrian because they are best in terms of service (they offer hot meal with dessert or you can order Do&Co meal for 15 euros) and have the same price with Aeroflot, which offers only a sandwich of bad quality. Another bonus is that Austrian flies out of Terminal 3 in Vienna. Unfortunately, sometimes they may send you to the older gates D of Terminal 1 and that happened on the way to Moscow but that's another story.


1. Moscow-Domodedovo Airport



I reached DME from my district in about 40 minutes. Now there is only one terminal, but until summer a new international terminal will be opened and the current will become fully domestic. Also departures and arrivals will be separated in two levels (now the entance to the airport is crowded because the flows are not separated), that's why I had to walk a little bit to the terminal.



Then I entered the terminal, passing a small security check (you just need to put off your telephone, watch and any metallic items from the pockets) and then proceeded to Lufthansa Group check-in desks (83-90).

photo erkspzanaj8photo bofwujew8ruphoto tfpznardsng

Then I got my boarding pass and proceeded upstairs to the security check and passport control…



The security check was very strict because 10 days before my flight Saratov Airlines' aircraft crashed right after take-off. I didn't try to take photos there due to such conditions.
Passport control was pretty quick, right after having it passed I was able to take some apron photos.

photo dsc04330

Then I proceeded straight through the second floor of the pier.

photo dsc04331photo dsc04332photo dsc04333

Passing Austrian Airlines' Lounge which serves all business class passengers except Swiss which have their own lounge on the first floor between gates 7 and 14. Lufthansa used to have its own lounge which now serves only Priority Pass.

photo dsc04336

In the end of the corridor there is Julius Meinl Cafe.

photo dsc04337photo dsc04338

I decided to visit a renovated S7 Lounge with Priority Pass.



There is a bar with some alcohol drinks…

photo dsc04342

Catering in this lounge is excellent - there is a big choice of different snacks and hot dishes that taste fine.



Of course, you can also make tea, coffee and take some cakes for dessert.

photo dsc01549photo dsc01550photo dsc01548

Departures board is creatively designed with pictograms showing how you'll enter the aircraft - by bus or by jetbridge.

photo dsc04340

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do lots if spotting due to oncoming sunlight that day. Also the windows were closed with automatic curtains so it was difficult to move them aside.

photo dsc04357photo dsc04361photo dsc04362

Of course, I spotted the arrival of my aircraft. Today I'll fly the only A319 with myAustrian titles.

photo dsc04352photo dsc04353photo dsc04356

The boarding was about to start so I went downstairs.



I'll board my flight through gate 12.

photo dsc04369photo dsc04376

Unfortunately, you can't see the whole aircraft from there.

photo dsc04373

Next to us stands JAL B787-8.

photo dsc04372

E195 of now defunct Saratov Airlines:

photo dsc04375

Boarding started with a delay of about 15 minutes:

photo dsc04377

2. Moscow - Vienna flight



Aircraft info:
Type: A319-112
Registration and name: OE-LDE "Baku"
First flight: 08.06.2005
Delivery date: 22.06.2005
Test registration - D-AVYL

Flight info:

The route passed such cities as Kaluga, Smolensk, Minsk, Lublin, Krakow and Bratislava.

photo scr101photo scr102

Let’s return to the flight.
Business class seats are the same as in Economy.

photo dsc04379

Then I proceeded to Economy to my seat 20F.

photo dsc04380photo dsc04381

Next to us a EK’s A380 was standing.

photo dsc04390photo dsc04404

Also there were some rare aircrafts for Europe - for example, Yak-42 of now bankrupt Saratov Airlines, Uzbekistan Airways B757-200, Nordavia B737-500.

photo dsc04400photo dsc04401

New international terminal is still not finished. Only its arrival zone will be opened in 2 days for flights, whose passengers arrive by bus.

photo dsc04406

With a delay of 10 minutes, the taxiing started.

photo dsc04405photo dsc04407

From all of Moscow airports, Domodedovo is most interesting considering the diversity of airlines flying there.
Montenegro Airlines E195, Lufthansa A321 and Pegasus A320neo:

photo dsc04408photo dsc04410photo dsc04412

The domestic sector is full of S7 and Ural Airlines:

photo dsc04413photo dsc04415photo dsc04416

IL-96 of now bankrupt Domodedovo Airlines:

photo dsc04418

British Airways B777-300ER:

photo dsc04419

Red Wings TU-204

photo dsc04420

Then we parked for de-icing procedure:

photo dsc04424

Nearby were some Yamal’s A320s and SSJ-100:

photo dsc04425

With a delay of 35 minutes we finally took off.



Let’s check the front seat pocket, there were:

1) Skylines inflight magazine

photo dsc04393photo dsc04395photo dsc04396

2) Safety instruction

photo dsc04391photo dsc04392

3) FlyNet connection instruction

photo dsc04397photo dsc04398

4) Fly&Buy catalogue

photo dsc04399

Soon my pre-ordered a la carte meal was distributed. It consisted of cucumber and potato salad, two Wiener Schnitzels, chocolate mousse and a bottle of Vöslauer water. The cutlery was steel. It was very tasty and really worth 15€.

photo dsc06423

Now let’s have a look at the cabin.
Some general views:

photo dsc04439photo dsc04432

The seatbelt, armrest and antimacassar were in a good condition, nothing surprising, as the seats are new.

photo dsc04382photo dsc04383photo dsc04384

The overhead bins and panels were typical for A320 family until mid-2005. The bins’ handles were renovated as you can see.

photo dsc04403photo dsc04442

20 minutes before arrival we started our descending into Vienna. Oops! I really didn’t expect the same weather in Vienna as I left in Moscow.

photo dsc04440photo dsc04444photo dsc04446

We arrived in Vienna right on time - 4 minutes before scheduled.



The terminal is full of OS aircrafts - there was no free jet bridge left for us…



So we parked on a remote stand opposite the terminal.

photo dsc04455

Disembarking started…

photo dsc04458photo dsc04459

While leaving the aircraft, I took some shots from the apron and bus:



3. Vienna - Schwechat airport



After a short bus ride we arrived in the terminal and took escalator up to the passport control.



Passport control was quick as it is always in Schwechat, then we went down to baggage claim.

photo dsc04472photo dsc04473photo dsc04474

I got my luggage on the belt 7.

photo dsc04475photo dsc04476

Everything was very quick as always in VIE. In few minutes I was already outside.

See more

Verdict

Austrian Airlines

8.8/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi7.5
Meal/catering10.0

Moscow - DME

8.5/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.5
Services8.5
Cleanliness8.5

Vienna - VIE

9.8/10
Efficiency9.5
Access10.0
Services9.5
Cleanliness10.0

Conclusion

Overall it was a very pleasant flight with Austrian Airlines. Since then I always order a la carte meal. The aircrafts are well-kept, the crews are pretty friendly. For me Austrian Airlines is the best variant to fly to Vienna from Moscow.
Domodedovo is pretty convenient, despite the reconstruction of the driveway. The terminal is nice, the pre-flight procedures are quick. S7 Lounge is surely one of the best in Moscow airports. Vienna - Schwechat airport is clean and modern as always.

Related

0 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !

Login to post a comment.