Business class with Austrian on their E195s is about the best you can get in Eurobiz, gaining greater-than-usual personal space at the expense of a hot meal.

Introduction

Austrian flies across Europe from their hub in Vienna, with a fleet of E195 and A320 family aircraft. From the ground experience, to the seat, to the service (especially the service), both my flights with Austrian were flawless, and what every Eurobiz product should aspire to.

Check-In, Security, and Lounge

This review will cover two flights, Milan MXP to Vienna VIE and onwards from Vienna to Prague PRG. Since airlines tend to offer their best experience out of their hubs, I will focus on the VIE-PRG flight unless otherwise noted.

I had already received my boarding pass for MXP-VIE back in Montreal so proceeded directly to Fast Track security at Milan, included for Austrian business class passengers. From there it was around a five-minute walk to the Lufthansa lounge, which was a solid out-station offering.

You'll find the Lufthansa Lounge, available to all Star Alliance business class passengers, tucked away next to the A-gates concourse at Milan Malpensa.

In Vienna, business class and status-holding passengers have access to a dedicated check-in area. Austrian uses Terminal 3 at Vienna, which they refer to as the “Star Alliance Terminal” but confusingly this term is not used by the airport itself. Priority check-in leads directly to Fast Track security, and immediately after security you’ll find the elevator to all of Austrian’s T3 lounges: out of the elevator, turn left for the G-gate (non-Schengen) lounge, right for F-gate (Schengen).

Business class passengers have access to the Austrian Business Lounge, with an adjacent lounge available for Star Alliance Gold members. The business lounge was nice, offering ramp views and varied seating options as well as two shower suites, which would be appreciated by passengers connecting through Vienna after a long-haul flight.

Intra-Schengen passengers will turn right down this corridor for the F-gates Austrian lounge, non-Schengen passengers turn left and go through passport control before arriving at the G-gates lounge.

Typical continental breakfast options were on offer, including plentiful pastries and sliced meats/cheeses and, of course, excellent espresso bean coffee. Alcohol was also available at this early hour (I stayed for around an hour, arriving around 8:00 a.m.) and flowing freely—I was in the strong minority enjoying a glass of sparkling wine, with beer and liquor also being available for self-service.

Boarding, Seat, and Departure

Business class passengers were invited to board immediately following those needing pre-boarding, though this being a remote stand with a small regional jet, every passenger got onto the same bus so “priority boarding” was rather pointless.

Business class seating on Austrian's E195s. The 2-2 layout means all business class passengers have a row to themselves with standard Eurobiz practice of blocking the adjacent seat—the red headrests visible above make clear that only one seat per row is to be occupied.

During the boarding process the flight attendant who would be serving business class came around to offer a packaged moist towel along with a small bottle of water.

Boarding wrapped up with business class about half full. One passenger reckoned he was clever being the last passenger to board and snagging an empty business class seat, but the steward was having none of it: business class occupancy is shown to crew on their tablets, and the steward politely asked the self-upgrader for his boarding pass, redirected him down the plane, and diplomatically played off an attempt at theft as an innocent mistake.

Pillows and blankets were offered before departure. Seat pitch was generous, especially in the front row though my knees did not touch in the second row either. There was no in-flight entertainment, nor is this expected on short-haul services.

Our early-morning departure on a clear winter day afforded views of the Austrian countryside.

We had an on-time departure. The seatbelt sign was switched off four minutes and 10 seconds after wheels-up, and came back on 24 minutes and 29 seconds into the flight—almost 20 minutes exactly for service.

Food and Service

Within a minute I was offered a pre-packaged meal, and a few minutes later received a glass of sparkling wine and water. After I had put the packed sandwich away to eat later, the steward saw this and proactively offered me a salty snack mix “to pair with the sparkling wine”, which I accepted.

On short flights like Vienna to Prague, business class passengers on Austrian are served a packaged snack. A bit heavy for breakfast, so I saved this for later.

A few passengers skipped the meal on this morning flight, and again the service shone through: one passenger who slept woke up to find two small chocolates perched on his armrest, and another who worked through the flight was offered a to-go bag with meal and drinks upon deplaning. Neither of these are standard service practices, and show how diligent and proactive the crew on this flight were.

One bottle of Austrian sparkling wine was enough for this short morning flight, despite the crew's multiple offers for more.

The captain provided two thorough updates, one before departure and one upon commencing descent. At this stage of the flight the crew came around for their pre-landing check and the chief steward, seeing I had not finished my sparkling wine, brought a plastic cup so I could keep it during landing, and even offered a second bottle which I declined, figuring a half-litre of booze between the lounge and flight was probably enough by 10 in the morning.

On longer flights like Milan to Vienna, Austrian serves a more complete meal. This salmon and cream cheese dish was light and refreshing, the apple strudel (a Viennese speciality) was excellent, and for a short-haul service I was impressed at the wine selection: two white, two red, one sparkling, all Austrian.

During 20 minutes, this crew did more than would be expected on flights of a few hours in North American business/first class, providing a meal, multiple drink services, regularly clearing trays and trash, and finding time for personal, unexpected touches. Before landing I stopped the chief steward and thanked him for the excellent service, which I then saw him pass on to his colleagues—yet another sign of his professionalism.

Arrival and Cost

Our descent into Prague offered lovely views of the Old Town, including the River Vltava and Prague Castle.

We touched down in Prague 35 minutes and four seconds after wheels-up in Vienna. Both of these short flights were part of a larger Aeroplan booking of six flights between Montreal and Vilnius, which cost 75,000 points plus $336.80 in taxes and fees, most of which was for my long-haul flight with SWISS. Cash fares for both of these flights, booked one way around two months out, are in the neighbourhood of €250—which is pretty high for such a short flight, especially considering regular, cheap, comfortable trains link Vienna and Prague and low-cost carriers compete on the Milan-Vienna route.