Last week I wrote about my experience on long-haul Austrian Business-Class. This week I’m writing a Austrian short haul business class review, about my intra-Europe experience. Intra-Europe flights have a bad reputation because you usually get a regular economy seat with the middle seat blocked. Still, I was pleasantly surprised by my experience with Austrian business class.
I flew Austrian on an award ticket from Chicago-Vienna in long-haul, with a layover in Vienna, before continuing onto Munich via a short intra-Europe flight. On my way back home to Chicago, I flew from Berlin-Vienna on the same aircraft, an Airbus A320. I’m covering both Austrian short haul business class flights here because it was a very similar experience. (If you want to check out my long-haul flight, with lie-flat business seats AND a guide for how to book this award ticket, click here.)
In This Article...
Overall: Pleasant experience! Expect a peaceful 2-hour flight, not lie-flat luxury.
Pros: Great food even on a short flight; un-crowded cabins.
Cons: Economy seats minus the middle seat; lackluster ground experience.
Booking
I booked two business-class tickets from Chicago to Munich, and then returning from Berlin back to Chicago. (In points-nerd speak, this is known as an “open jaw.”) I booked two one-way tickets using United points on the way there, and Aeroplan miles on the way back. However, all four legs of these flights were on Austrian metal. Click here for a how-to guide on the booking process itself.
I paid 250,000 points (140K Chase->United and 110K Amex->Aeroplan) and about $1,100 in taxes for all four legs, for two people. It would’ve cost about the same if my final destination had been Vienna with no layover, so I can’t break out the cost of these short intra-Europe flights on a point basis. However, round-trips between Vienna and other German cities usually run only about $400-$500 apiece in cash.
This is about the two Austrian short haul business class flights, from Vienna to Munich on my flight in, and from Berlin to Vienna before my flight back to Chicago.
Ground experience
I think Austrian’s ground experience is pretty poor, whether you’re about to get on a long-haul premium flight or a short one. I already reviewed the Austrian lounge in Vienna to be “meh” when I was on my way from Vienna to Munich.
The lounge in Berlin, before I got on my flight to Vienna, looked similarly “meh.” I would’ve had access to the Lufthansa Business Lounge in Berlin because Austrian and Lufthansa are part of the Star Alliance. However, I wasn’t sure how much time it would take to get through security, and Berlin requires you to go through security directly at your gate. So while I could’ve gone to the Lufthansa Business Lounge, I didn’t because 1) I only had about 45 minutes to spare, and 2) It was only accessible pre-security. You can check out the LoungeBuddy reviews of the Berlin lounge here. I think LoungeBuddy’s reviews are pretty accurate, even though I didn’t see this one.
I figured I’d just wait at my gate pleasantly, but literally every seat was taken and there was nothing to do past security. Instead, I stood around and waited for our flight to be called.
As per usual with Austrian, everyone mad-dashed to board the plane, the instant the boarding process began. I detailed that experience in my other review, so I won’t go through it here too. Suffice it to say, Austrian announces that they’re beginning to board, and everyone stampedes the gate at once. Austrian’s gate agents do nothing to enforce order. After significantly more shoving and shouting than I’m used to, everyone gets on the plane, with more stress than necessary.
So yeah, Austrian’s ground experience leaves a lot to be desired.
The Seat – Austrian short haul business class review
I expected economy seating with the middle seat blocked, and that’s what I got! The Airbus A320 seat map looks like this, courtesy of Seatguru:
The seat map makes it look like the seats up front might be wider than the seats in the Economy cabin. Nope, they’re exactly the same, except that the middle economy seat says “reserved for your comfort” and no one’s allowed to sit there.
Only two or three other people joined us in business class on both of our short haul flights, so the Business cabin was pretty empty.
The legroom felt pretty standard for an Economy seat. But since the middle seat was blocked, and the whole cabin was pretty empty, my partner and I were able to spread out pretty easily.
For a flight slightly under two hours, I thought this was perfectly comfortable. It was also quiet and peaceful, with so few other passengers nearby. Very different from the typical super-crowded experience in flying!
Service and Food
I thought the food was the highlight of these short flights. There isn’t enough time to serve a multi-course meal, but what we got was really impressive.
You don’t get a menu or a choice in your main food offering, and they just give it to you all at once. (I’m sure passengers with dietary restrictions can make other arrangements in advance.)
Our flight from Vienna to Munich was in the afternoon, so we got a full lunch of chicken with potato salad, bread, vegetables, and even a coffee and dessert course. We could’ve ordered beer or wine, but declined.
I thought the chicken tender was tasty, but also something a young child would enjoy (pretty simple). They encourage you to choose your own bread too.
The cheesecake was awesome:
The flavor was passionfruit, and it tasted both sweet and tart – perfect. I thought the white triangle on the side was a piece of sweet cheese, but it was actually a hard meringue.
Our flight from Berlin back to Vienna was in the early morning, so they served us an omelet breakfast with yogurt, fruit, and (as always) our choice of bread.
The omelet contains goat cheese, mushrooms, and tomatoes, and it was beautifully plated. The fruit and yogurt were tasty and fresh too.
Everything is served on actual china. And check out the attention to detail on the utensils too! Just like on our long-haul flights, Austrian includes those little clothespins in the silverware rolls.
These were some seriously short flights, so the food was especially impressive.
Bottom line
I’d absolutely fly intra-Europe business class again on Austrian Airways. However, I note that most Economy tickets are usually around $130 apiece, vs $400-$500 apiece for Business. If I were paying cash, I might buy three Economy tickets for myself and my spouse, and just take up a whole row in regular Economy for less than the cost of one Business ticket. I’d be giving up the awesome food, which was the best part of the experience. However, I’m not sure the food alone is worth $400-$500, even though it IS delicious.
But if I’m in another situation where my award flight includes a short haul, business class flight within Europe, I’m totally happy with this experience.
I hope you enjoyed my Austrian short haul business class review! As always, please reach out with any questions.
