Vienna to Istanbul via Tokyo: Austrian Business Class Brussels to Vienna

Nice report. But some of my most interesting flights have been intra-Europe, such as Zurich-nice or Paris-Milan , right over the alps. Madrid-Venice was awesome scenery as well.

I flew DXB-VIE on Austrian and I was agitated to be on a remote stand on both legs of the journey. Was yours like that?

VIE Terminal G is probably one of the friendliest terminals in Europe and I always appreciate my layovers there. It has seats with tables and power for laptops, free and decent Wi-Fi and even rest areas.
And, by the way, thanks for the great report.

12 seats for 3 passengers? How many people were in economy? Otherwise, while that does seem exclusive for the people in business, it does seem a bit inefficient...

Also, what do people in economy get served? The meal seems like a fancy version of economy class meal, portion wise, anyway...does that make sense?

Going to Vienna in July and still in decided if renting a car at the airport, city, or not at all. How much did it cost for the train and taxi? How long did it take you to the hotel?

Austrian is probably the most under-rated European airline as far as service and soft product. It's a shame that they are now owned by Lufthansa which means the product will probably only get worse over time.

I love that... When we broke through the clouds it was a beautiful day. That's one of the great things about flying, it's always sunny above the clouds.

@ WebRobby -- Both of my Austrian flights went to a gate, fortunately.

@ wwk5d -- Economy seemed pretty full, though obviously not oversold or they would have moved the curtain. Didn't see what the people in coach were served, though typically it's something like a sandwich.

@ austinsmith -- Are you just staying in the city or visiting surrounding areas? If the former, definitely don't rent a car, as Vienna is very walkable and has great public transportation. The whole trip took about 45 minutes, 30 minutes on the train and 15 minutes in a taxi.

I love Austrian. The food is great and they play classic music while the plain is on the ground. Who could ask for anything more?

Euro business is the biggest rip off in modern history. At least in Australia, our "domestic" business is 38" seat pitch, which is like premium economy on international flights.

And on transcontinental flights from Melbourne and Sydney to/from Perth, we have international angle flat beds because it is approximately a 5-hour flight.

some comments re: vienna

1. parking is difficult in vienna. and it has one of the best public transport coverage, along with no-turnstile entrances. there are multiple choices going b/t city--airport, from the local s7 train at 4 eur, to express train (11 eur?), to booked-taxis (~30 eur), to walk-up taxis (40-50 eur). they are all clean, fast, efficient. in fact the local train is a great choice if you dont have luggage

2. there are no schemes for complimentary upgrades, thus the business cabins are usually 1/3-1/2 full.

3. y cabin on the LH family gets either a sandwich or a big tart or some kind of similar light snack. which are much much tastier than the "hamburger" on USA-domestic F flights. i.e., these are the kind of foods one would actually pay for.