For the transatlantic return segment of our royal visit to Versailles, I flew Austrian’s Boeing 787-9 business class on the nine hour flight from Vienna (VIE) to Washington (IAD).
Continue reading: Review: Austrian Business Class Boeing 787 (VIE-IAD)
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When they say "baked cod and shrimp", they literally mean just ONE shrimp?! And Austrian may lean heavily into promoting DRINKS from its home country, but not particularly the food on this flight; they do say "Austrian signature dishes meet international delicacies" as neither the soup or the three main courses are uniquely Austrian though kudos for including a pork dish, which is uncommon in European/US airlines.
You should mention in your reviews if the airlines offers previews of their menus ahead of time...just something that could add to the review.
Also, is it just me, or do the portion sizes of the main item seem a bit smaller than they used to serve?
Nice to see a review of Austrian - by far the best airline Europe. Excellent service and exceptional food.. Only let down is the mediocre lounge in Vienna.
Their coffee is the best and if you ask nicely they'll give you a bag or two to take off. The crew on OS are always the best and the food, even on a European flight is always outstanding. Love the birthday cake, card and sparkling wine surprise on my birthday too!
A big step up from their outdated 767s and 777s hard product-wise. One disappointing aspect is that the capacity has been reduced to 26. These 787s are firstly built for Hainan (all of their previously delivered 787s had 30 business seats) but were NTU.
The catering looks excellent, though I think they could invest more into the tableware and plates. They look mediocre in contrast to their meal quality.
One thing I meant to add/ask - I was booked in premium economy. Business class was about $4k and there wasn't award space on the day I have to fly. I knew the Lufthansa airlines offer bud upgrades so I went into my record to go do that. Interestingly, their bids started at $550, but I had an option to upgrade immediately and it was only $300! Couldn't believe it, and it was obviously a no-brainer. Have you seen situations like that?
When you say there are less coffee choices than before, can you tell me what year you compare it to? It seems to me that it's the same coffee menu as pre-pandemic, so I'm wondering how far you are going in your comparison.
Guess YMV. I took EWR-VIE the othter day and my culinary experience was directly opposite. In fact it was horrible. The main offering was Weiner Schnitzel which is an Austrian favorite and was inedible. Reheated breadcrumbs. Everything else that accompanied it was almost as bad from the soup to dessert. The only item was decent was an amuse which was a ham sandwhich the size of a thumb. Even breakfast was a typical air plane omelet. And no coffee drinks were served due to turbulence, of course not OS fault. I had better meals on AF regional flights. I will say the regional red wine I had was quite good. Agree on Super Diamond seats being acceptable, bedding was not. Disagree completely on pillow, too small. Yes they need mattress pads. I hadn't flown OS since before the pandemic and back then each time I was delighted with everything, now after this flight have no desire to fly them again.
Wine Schnitzel sounds like a fun idea :))) I suppose the problem here will be EWR catering. Some outstations (especially on a certain continent) are known to provide crap quality even on airlines that care about the catering. But at the same time, I consider the idea of making outstations prepare "traditional food" of the airline's origin to be a very bad idea because they simply lack expertise. This is often an issue at AF that pushes their Asian caterers to do French-style meals and it's quite often a massive fail. Whoever decided to offer schnitzel out of EWR is an idiot. Schnitzel is extremely problematic in terms of reheating and it should only be ordered where caterer has an experience of how to make it reheating-ready.
Btw, OS used to have a fantastic schnitzel in their "gourmet meals" offer on shorthaul back in 2010s. Those were the days, being able to pre-order full warm meals (which exceeded what is now served in J) in Y for mere 12 euros 🙂
It's actually "a panino" (singular is panino, plural is panini), but I am probably the only one who cares about these things...
I would agree with your assessment. My airline had outstanding catering from our key cities.... Middle East and South Asia were not nice at all.
Whats with the etihad old livery in the photo? It’s been 10 years. Did they bring that aircraft back into service?
I have experienced a gate/ jet bridge delay at IAD previously from wind. We have been having a lot of high wind in the area this year!
A short macchiato is a short macchiato. The rest of the coffee menu is lost on me.
Except it wasn't his first time, so no, it wasn't a first impression for him. Your lack of reading comprehension is what is also asinine.
Also, first impression or not, every airline has a bad day...just ask Lucky, who has been on multiple flights on many airlines and has experienced his fair share of letdowns.
Except it was his first time since pandemic, which changed everything so yes, it was a first impression for him. Your lack of reading comprehension is what is also asinine.
Also, first impression or not, every airline can have a bad day, but some don't... just ask Lucky, who has been on multiple flights on many airlines and has experienced his fair share of letdowns, have had a disappointing experiences on say, ANA or JAL.
Keep your obsession of calling everyone you hate asinine, I guess it makes insecure people like you feel better.
Love OS but the bureaucrats at LH have gone crazy cost cutting at OS. Food is still very good when flying from Europe but not what it was pre-pandemic. The new chicken schnitzel even from VIE on my last business class flight from VIE could have been dust from a vacuum cleaner bag. The service has always been A1 and I have flown them transatlantic at least twice per year. BTW, nearly all European carriers (and even some US) always have better food from Europe. The caterers in the US are bad…even on transatlantic first class.
Love VIE also for transfers…easy to get around and avoids the chaos of the mega airports in Europe.
Great review!
You're the one who seems insecure here, not me. And you threw that word around as well, which makes you, well, extremely asinine.
First time post-pandemic is still not the first time on a flight ever. But anyone with even half an ounce of common sense would understand that (or even just the concept of what a real first impression is).
And it's not not just your reading comprehension, but also your writing as well, since your second paragraph is just nonsensical (for the record, Lucky has had a letdown on just about every airline he has flown multiple times, even the Japanese ones).
I'd call you asinine again, but at this point, it was just be insulting to asinine people.
You just said something that you can't handle and thinks it's not your fault for doing so.
The Chosen People ahh mindset.
What a snowflake.
First time post-pandemic is still not the first time on a flight ever. But anyone with even half an ounce of common sense would understand that (or even just the concept of what a real first impression is).
Sorry that the world doesn't revolve around you.
Whoever taught your so called "common sense" is not getting it right.
If something went through a major change as to what that is, to the point which it has a little sign of old itself, then wouldn't it be sufficient to be considered new, and thus allowed to give "the first impression"?
Being the wrong one, not accepting the truths, and going through a denial and calling everyone you want to deny asinine.
What a strategy.
AeroB13a, E39, and even Proximanova would have a healthier mindset than yours.
And it's not not just your reading comprehension, but also your writing as well, since your second paragraph is just nonsensical (for the record, Lucky has had a letdown on just about every airline he has flown multiple times, even the Japanese ones).
Maybe you're at least partially right. Ben has been disappointed on various airlines he has flown multiple times.
But not on ANA & JAL.
Even that SS III 787 was awarded more stars than the actual experiences he described disappointing.
I'd call you asinine again, but at this point, it was just be insulting to asinine people.
Totally The Chosen People behavior.
Keep calling me or anyone else asinine, I realize that real asinine people need to classify others asinine so they don't feel alone.
Of course you're gonna come back with "asinine" play of words.
I see no point of continuing afterwards, so enjoy barking at a wall. Maybe the god of asinine will solve your issue one day.
Asinine? It's asinine to want the best experience for my points and dollars? No the only thing that extremely stupid and foolish is your comment.
I was on the same flight but 2 days after the author and the pork was raw! Definitely wouldn’t recommend it but I was on the same flight a month later and the pasta was really good, so was the coconut soup! They don’t offer snacks, though, and I was really hungry about halfway through the flight since I didn’t eat the pork and so they just warmed up a panini early for me.
Seeing that photo of the Etihad 777; does anyone know why some (or maybe all?) their 777s are kept in the old livery? Is this a conscious decision or are they just being really slow repainting them?
I just completed a VIE-ORD trip on the 787 yesterday in business.
My experience wasn't as positive.
1) I connected at VIE by arriving at the F-gates (Schengen), and based on signage, it seems the only way to get to the D-gates (from where ORD was departing) is to zig-zag in very peculiar hallways that eventually lead to a bus that runs every 10 minutes. It made FRA look like a "put together" terminal.
2) Upon arriving at the D gates, it was another long hike to passport control, and that was about a 10 minute wait. It took me 35 minutes to connect from the jetbridge of my arriving flight to clearing passport control, and I'm a super fast walker.
3) The OS Lounge by the D gates wasn't even worth using. It must be an interim lounge; it looks nothing like those that have been reviewed. I walked in and did a U-turn. Being in the terminal was a far more pleasant experience.
4) I am not fluent in German, yet my OS flight attendants kept speaking to me in German. (I know, ugly American. :)) Whenever I've been on LH, even short hauls, they seem to instantly remember I'm an English-speaker.
5) I realize I value air nozzles so much. A warm cabin is really uncomfortable, and only worth tolerating for JL or NH F. 🙂
6) Cute about provisioning Austrian products, but a mix of wines from more legacy lands would have been nice. The 12 EUR blaufränkisch from the local Billa was fine, but not aspirational. (Also, the whites were not kept chilled.)
7) Perhaps a crew variability, but I asked for 2 coffee drinks and they simply forgot. The upside is they were so friendly, I didn't want to make them feel bad by reminding them.
8) The main course was, indeed, very good food. I will give them that. It was better than LH F main courses, although that's not the greatest compliment. 🙂
9) The pre-arrival meal was U.S.-carrier quality (read: not that great). In my case, lettuce packed so tight into a bowl that spills onto the tray when mixing in the salad dressing, and there was some chicken on top. They had run out of the sandwich option.
I guess I don't value a standout main course over all of the other stuff: janky hub airport when connecting, a terrible lounge (although I believe there are better at VIE), warm cabin, friendly but forgetful crew, etc.
I would take OS again if my destination were VIE as non-stops are preferred and they're convenient. But I wouldn't go out of my way to fly them.
Instead of Vitello Tonnato you have a ricotta app? Vitello is an amazing dish - I am sure it would have been impeccable. Also, the pork tenderloin I would imagine is heavenly since Austria and Eastern /Central Europe definitely know their way around a pig. Agree that Austrian is a terrific carrier as far as service and food.