Though I normally review luxury hotels, today I’m reviewing a flight: My Austrian Business Class Review on the 777-200 from Chicago to Vienna. I went with my spouse on a trip to Germany over Christmas, where I reviewed the Waldorf Astoria Berlin and the InterContinental Berlin hotels along with several others you’ll see shortly. To get there from Chicago, I flew Austrian’s 777-200 into Vienna, then continued onto Munich via short-haul. I’ll focus on the long-haul, lie-flat flight from Chicago to Vienna today. I also reviewed the shorter, intra-Europe flight from Vienna to Munich in a separate post here.
NOTE: We flew the same aircraft (777-200) from Vienna back to Chicago and had largely the same experience, albeit some different food dishes. I will therefore cover both flights in this post.
In This Article...
Overall: Gets the job done, but I’d try another carrier next time.
Pros: Easy booking; Good food and in-flight entertainment
Cons: Poor lie-flat seat, service, ground experience, and flight operations
How to book award flights with Austrian Business class
- Search for award availability on United, whether or not you plan to use United miles to book. United is just the easiest Star Alliance booking engine to navigate, in the fewest amounts of clicks. Note: If you do NOT plan to use United miles to book, and you’re a United elite or a MileagePlus credit card holder, don’t log into United’s site when you’re searching. Why not? Because they release more award seats to people who fall into these categories.
- Make sure you see the full flight details and can confirm Saver award availability on Austrian business class, from the United website. See below for a screenshot!
- Once you know which flight dates/times you want, you need to decide what miles to use to book the award:
- United charges 120K-140K miles, round-trip, for a Saver award from the U.S. to Europe. Air Canada’s Aeroplan program only charges 110K miles for the same flight. However, this doesn’t automatically mean you should go with Air Canada.
- One consideration: Air Canada adds significant fuel surcharges for partner flights. Flying TO Europe will cost about $600 per ticket; flying FROM Europe will cost about $400. With United, neither direction will cost more than ~$30.
- Another consideration: Where your points reside. United is a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards (1:1 ratio), whereas Air Canada is a transfer partner of Amex Membership Rewards (1:1 ratio), Capital One (2:1.5 ratio), and Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 ratio). If you have a stash of Chase points and nothing else, your decision becomes easier.
- Some good news: I found the same exact award availability on both United and Aeroplan for every date I checked. I booked two one-way flights (me + spouse) TO Europe on United for 140K United miles, and two one-way flights FROM Europe on Air Canada for 110K Aeroplan miles. In total, I paid 250,000 Chase + Amex miles and about $1100 for two round-trip tickets, worth about $12,000 had I paid cash.
- Transfer your points immediately after making your decision and confirming availability of the flights you want. Your points should transfer nearly instantaneously from either Chase or Amex (my experience), so be ready to book those flights immediately after transfer.
- After ticketing, call up Austrian and pick your seats. You want to do this early, so as to get your choice. If you’re traveling alone, pick a “throne” seat (see section below). If you’re with a partner, pick seats C and G in rows 3 or 5 if possible, since you’ll have the fewest number of people in your row and relatively more privacy.
One major pro to Austrian Airways is that they’re pretty generous with award availability.
Ground experience – Lounges – Austrian Business Class Review
Chicago’s O’Hare airport has the Polaris Lounge, which is awesome! I’ve visited it when flying ANA First Class to Tokyo. You’re entitled to visit the Polaris Lounge at O’Hare if you’re flying business or first class on a Star Alliance carrier on a long-haul flight, which I was. The downside: Polaris is in Terminal 1, whereas most long-haul departures are out of Terminal 5, with the exception of ANA. So while I could have gone to the Polaris lounge, it would’ve taken forever. I’d have to drop my bags off in Terminal 5, then take a long shuttle bus to Terminal 1, then go through security there. THEN the Polaris Lounge is all the way down the C gates, which is a 10-minute walk from security. I’d have to do all this in reverse on the way back too.
The Austrian gate agent said it would take about an hour round-trip to do all this, which I believed. I only had about 2 hours before departure, so I decided to visit the Swiss Business Lounge at Terminal 5 instead.
This Swiss Business lounge REALLY fell short and I regretted skipping the Polaris Lounge.
I failed to take pictures. But Loungebuddy’s depiction and reviews are accurate. You’ve got a few cold cuts, some cookies, chips, and self-serve cheap wine and beer. Seating is extra-limited.
Image courtesy of LoungeBuddy
The Swiss First Lounge was actually attached to the Swiss Business Lounge. I peeked my head in to see if it was nicer – not really. It’s a little bigger but offers the same food and drinks. I wasn’t able to sneak pics, but it was nothing special.
This was a poor experience, so I decided to head to the Air France KLM Lounge, just a few gates away, to see if it was any better. I had access to it through my Priority Pass subscription with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, NOT my business-class ticket with Austrian. I could’ve accessed this lounge with an economy ticket.
It was significantly nicer than the Swiss lounges, with some to-go sandwiches and snack options, plus some pretty good pasta and salad. Still nothing really special, but much nicer than what Austrian provided for a lounge experience.
I didn’t manage to get any photos here either, but LoungeBuddy’s depiction is consistent with my experience at the Air France lounge at ORD too.
Image courtesy of LoungeBuddy
What about the lounges in Vienna, you ask? I wasn’t wowed, but they were nicer than these. They had self-serve beer and wine. Their wine was of higher quality than the wine in U.S. lounges, though!
Food included carby snacks, your usual cheese spread, some breads, and a couple of soups or pasta dishes.
The Vienna lounge was attractive with plenty of seating. Again, pic below is courtesy of LoungeBuddy:
Image courtesy of LoungeBuddy
Ground experience – Boarding – Austrian Business Class Review
Austrian’s lounges weren’t great, but what about the boarding experience? I actually thought it was awful, all four legs: Chicago – Vienna, Vienna – Munich, Berlin – Vienna, Vienna – Chicago.
The common denominator? Austrian’s gate attendants don’t create or enforce any order. Passengers RUN up to the front regardless of boarding group in a mad dash. A few times, we had people literally pushing us to get on the plane. The gate attendants called business class (only) and we moved to the front. At the same time, economy-class passengers rushed the gate and pushed past us – and the gate agents let them on.
Clearly, this was a pattern, as it happened 4 out of 4 legs of our trip. (I assure you, we’re neither slow nor handicapped… And if we were, this would’ve been even worse behavior!) Clearly, Austrian loyalists were used to this. As soon as they uttered the phrase “business class passengers,” it was like a gunshot went off with the running and pushing.
Another problem with Austrian’s gate attendants: They took forever auctioning off a few unfilled business-class seats prior to boarding. I get it, offering passengers an upgrade for EUR450 over the loudspeaker is a good way to earn some extra revenue. And it’s a good deal for passengers too! While I support this win-win initiative, it took 25 minutes out of our boarding time and caused us to depart late on 2 out of 2 of our long-haul flights. Not cool.
In short, I thought Austrian’s gate attendants were unprofessional.
The Seat – Austrian Business Class Review
Austrian’s seats on the 777-200 are lie-flat. Lie-flat seats are way better than, well, other types of seats. But they’re about the worst lie-flat seats.
The Business class seats are arranged in rows that alternate between 1-2-1 and 2-2-2, per Seatguru:
Image courtesy of Seatguru
What this means is, the footwells are really narrow.
I could not fit both of my feet in the little cubby at the same time, unless I placed them perfectly sideways (not comfortable) and didn’t move. At all.
My partner said it felt like “descending into a coffin” when reclining all the way.
A lot of people talk about how you want the “throne seats” because you have more space, as you can see here.
They’re more private, but the footwells are just as narrow as all the other seats.
However, you’ve still got the same tiny footwell problem. Yes, the throne seats are more private. But they’re no more comfortable. (I peeked really closely before everyone boarded.)
There were a few positives about the seats, however. I thought the little glass holders next to the in-flight entertainment were pretty cool, and the noise-cancelling headphones were of high quality:
I also enjoyed the little pockets with the outlets, where you could fit your passport, amenity kit, toiletries, etc. (The amenity kits were pretty basic, consisting of mini bottles of lotion, earplugs, and a dental set.)
And finally, the in-flight entertainment system was pretty great. Lots of different choices, and it’s hard to tell here, but the TV display was high-quality and crisp.
Menu detailed in next section 🙂
Austrian Business Class Review – Food – Chicago to Vienna
Food is one area where Austrian is really supposed to shine. They use DO & CO Catering, and a chef is onboard every flight to serve premium cabin passengers.
I think the food lived up to its reputation. I still think ANA’s business class food is better, but ANA is just incredible all around. Don’t judge other airlines against ANA, or you’ll always be disappointed.
Here was the dinner menu for our departing flight, which they handed out after we boarded. The chef took our orders shortly thereafter.
I loved all of the intricate dishes and place settings. At each meal, they gave you a white patterned tablecloth and china, and little china salt and pepper shakers.
After the nuts, my partner and I both chose the prawns over the goat cheese. They were good, if a little underseasoned, so the salt shaker came in handy. Notice the tiny little clothespin too! These came in all of our silverware bundles.
The salmon with creamed spinach was cooked perfectly. Very attractive on the plate too, although the creamed spinach was a bit watery.
By the time dessert came around, we were pretty full. The almond cherry cake and cheeses were both good, and pretty much exactly as you’d expect.
The crew came around multiple times offering various different breads. All were good and generous.
They served breakfast about 90 minutes prior to landing, and it was really tasty. We had a choice of either muesli or a savory omelet, and both of us chose the (excellent) omelet with mushrooms and bacon.
Austrian Business Class Review – Food – Vienna to Chicago
Similar to the first flight, we received a menu and provided our orders to the chef.
Unlike our first flight, the antipasti came by in a trolley. I wish I had thought to grab everything, but I didn’t (and they came by really fast!). I thought the roast beef was a standout.
The creamy pea soup picture is a little blurry due to a bunch of turbulence. It was fine, if a little thin.
Both my partner and I were disappointed by the fillet of pork. The wilted green layers at the top of the plate are “zucchini.” It just wasn’t a very flavorful dish, and everything seemed a bit tired.
The traditional milk & cream strudel had a really strong egg flavor, which I didn’t care for. However, the texture was nice, and I think this is probably just an acquired taste.
The cheese course was identical to the Chicago -> Vienna flight, so I won’t include here. However, we did partake in the coffee menu this time, and this was a highlight.
For the second meal on the way back to Chicago, finally, my partner and I ordered something different from each other. The smoked salmon avocado tartare was tasty.
The roasted Augsburger sausage was the standout, though.
I give Austrian high marks for food. Some of the dishes were so-so, and some were very good. ALL of them were served and plated beautifully.
Austrian Business Class Review – Beverages – Both flights
The beverage menu was identical going both to and from Chicago, so I’m copying down the menu here. My spouse and I managed to collectively try ALL of the wines (you’re welcome).
Most of the wine bottles appeared to retail for $20-$45 per bottle on the ground, meaning they’d cost $80-$180ish at a restaurant.
I appreciate the inclusion of many Austrian wines. It felt very authentic. We stuck to the wine because the liquors and other drink offerings were pretty basic.
Overall, some good beverage offerings to go along with the food! However, the service leaves something to be desired. Which brings me to….
Service and operations
I already mentioned I wasn’t impressed with the Austrian gate agents on the ground. The flight attendants were equally unimpressive. Operations were haphazard at best.
Both flights departed late because the boarding process — which was scheduled to take 50 whole minutes — took a lot longer. This was because of long “auction” processes and people rushing the gate.
The flight from Vienna to Chicago had a few additional problems, too. After taxiing out to the front of the queue, they pulled us back to the gate for unspecified mechanical problems. A maintenance person came on board and “fixed” whatever the problem was, but by then, the crew “timed out” and they needed to find new crew members. All told, we sat around for about 2.5 hours. These issues could’ve been handled better, with some anticipation and planning.
Passengers weren’t happy, naturally. So I took it as a good sign when the flight attendants came down the aisle to talk to us. A flight attendant asked us if we were ok. I said, “Yes, can I please have a glass of pinot gris?” The attendant said they weren’t serving anything. So what on earth was the point of talking to us? I mean, we were all ok, no one was dying or anything. Another round of drinks while we’re sitting around for a couple hours really would’ve made passengers happier, though.
This apathetic service was common to both flights. On the flight from Chicago to Vienna, we turned on the call button halfway through the flight. No one came. After 10 minutes (I timed it), I stood up when a flight attendant was walking down the aisle and asked for her attention. I pointed to my call button and asked for a drink. She got it for me briskly and never turned off the call button, ever again, for the rest of the flight. I noticed other passengers’ call buttons remained on too.
Bottom line
I still enjoyed my first experience with Austrian business class. Would I fly it again? Probably not, because I suspect there are better ways to get from Chicago to Europe in style and for roughly the same amount of points. (I have yet to try Delta One, which I can maybe connect to in Minneapolis, and Air France.)
However, I don’t regret my experience at all! I really can’t complain about being able to rest and stretch out on a long flight, and the food and wine were really nice.
I think Austrian has done a fantastic job of marketing themselves lately, and they’re a much better-known airline to U.S. consumers these days. Kudos to them for their catering and their award availability too. Their seats are a bit lagging, and they could work on their service and operations too. But overall, this was a solid business-class product.
I hope this Austrian business class review helps you in your travel decisions. Reach out with any questions, as always!
Author’s note: All images are mine unless otherwise specified.
