Review: Austrian Airlines Economy Class Airbus A321
This review covers my Austrian Airlines economy class flight on the Airbus A321 from Vienna (VIE) to Bucharest (OTP).
Flying from Vienna to Bucharest
After a fun trip to Bratislava and Vienna, I flew with Austrian Airlines in economy class back to my home in Bucharest, Romania.
Although I typically prefer to take the Dacia night train when traveling between Austria and Romania (I already took a train instead of a plane on the inbound journey), this time I opted for a flight due to time constraints.
As it had been a while since I last flew with Austrian Airlines, this flight provided a good opportunity for me to review their economy class product on an intra-European route.
Booking an Austrian Airlines economy class ticket
Austrian Airlines frequently offers reasonably priced or even highly affordable tickets on intra-European routes.
For my ‘economy light’ ticket from Vienna to Bucharest, I only paid €55.
Note that Austrian Airlines offers different economy class fares, ranging from heavily restricted ‘economy light’ tickets to flexible ‘economy flex’ tickets.
Similar to Lufthansa economy class, only hand luggage is included in the cheapest ‘economy light’ fares of Austrian Airlines, and there is no complimentary seat assignment either.
For an additional fee, you can pre-select a seat and add a checked bag when you book an ‘economy light’ ticket, although if you do both, you will likely pay more than buying an ‘economy classic’ fare outright, where checked baggage and an assigned seat are already included.
Do note that Star Alliance Gold status won’t give you a free checked bag on intra-European flights if you book an ‘economy light’ ticket with Austrian Airlines.
Seat assignment
If you book an economy class ticket with free seat reservation, you can pre-select one of the ‘classic’ (standard) seats on board the aircraft, or pay a small surcharge for one of the premium seats, such as those in the emergency exit rows or the up-front seats.
However, with an Austrian Airlines economy light fare, you either pay for advance seat selection or wait until check-in, when the system will automatically assign you a random seat on the plane.
As I didn’t want to risk ending up with an unfavourable seat, I opted to pay extra for seat assignment, even though my flight to Bucharest was fairly short.
Interestingly, the seat map of the Airbus A321 set to operate my flight from Vienna to Bucharest didn’t display the middle seats in row 3, as you could only select 3A/C, and 3D/F.
For an additional €20, I therefore selected 3F, hoping that the middle seat was indeed not bookable and would therefore remain unoccupied.
Vienna Airport
While Vienna Airport isn’t my top choice among European airports, I do quite like the place.
Sure, Vienna Airport isn’t the most visually appealing airport and it doesn’t have any stand-out facilities, but it’s one of Europe’s more efficient airports, and you never have to wait long at check-in or security.
Austrian Airlines, along with most other Star Alliance carriers, uses Terminal 3 at Vienna Airport, with flights within the Schengen zone departing from the F gates, and flights to non-Schengen countries departing from the G gates.
As I hold Star Alliance gold status, I was able to wait for departure in the Austrian Airlines Senator Lounge while enjoying a glass of sparkling wine and some food.
Boarding
After spending some time in the lounge, I made my way to the departure gate for my flight to Bucharest.
The screens at the gate indicated a minor delay of 5 minutes, which was so insignificant that you almost wonder why they bothered displaying it at all.
In the end, boarding started more or less on time, with priority given to business class passengers, families with young children, and passengers holding Star Alliance gold status.
Vienna (VIE) to Bucharest (OTP)
Austrian Airlines – Flight OS785 – Airbus A321
Plane registration number: OE-LBF
Economy class – Seat 3F
Departure: 3.35pm – Arrival: 6.10pm
Flight time: 1h35m – Distance: 517 miles
Economy class on the Austrian Airlines Airbus A321
Austrian Airlines adheres to the standard European practice of having just a single type of seat on their narrow-body aircraft such as the Airbus A321, with the only real benefit of business class being an empty middle seat and a better on-board service.
The divider curtains between the business class and economy class sections can be adjusted forward or backward in the cabin based on demand.
Fortunately, the seat map on which I pre-selected a seat was accurate.
Row 3, where I was seated, did indeed have a blocked middle seat, with an extra table occupying this place just like in the forward business class section.
I have to say that this is certainly not standard practice for economy class, and I really got lucky here by getting an empty middle seat and a lot more personal space this way.
It was certainly well-worth to pay the 20 euro extra for it, so if you see this anomality of a blocked middle seat on the seat map, I do recommend to go for it!
Regarding the seat itself, it’s about average for European flights in terms of seat pitch, legroom, and overall comfort.
It’s perfectly adequate for a short distance, but it’s not the most comfortable option for longer flights.
Departure
We pushed back from our gate more or less on time, and after a short bit of taxiing we reached the runway.
Upon take-off there were some fine views over the Austrian countryside.
From the window of the Airbus A321, I could easily spot the town of Bruck an der Leitha and the Neusiedler See (Lake Neusiedl) below.
In-flight service
Austrian Airlines economy class passengers on flights within Europe are provided with a complimentary glass of water and a piece of chocolate.
Although this is a far cry from the complimentary snacks and drinks Austrian Airlines once provided, it’s still a nice little touch considering you won’t receive anything for free at all with most other European airlines, which includes partner airline Lufthansa.
Buy-on-board menu
Austrian Airlines does have a buy-on-board menu in economy class for passengers who wish to eat or drink something.
The buy-on-board selection on Austrian Airlines is extensive, but the prices are somewhat high, with a coffee costing €3.70, a beer €4.70, and sandwiches ranging from €6 to €9.90.
It is nice to see many traditional Austrian snacks and drinks featured in the buy-on-board menu, such as a meatloaf bun, Wiener Schnitzel, Julius Meinl coffee, as well as a good selection of Austrian beers and wine.
You can opt to pre-order a meal or snack to ensure that your preferred choice will be available.
This must be done up to 48 hours before departure and is only available for flights with a minimum duration of 50 minutes.
Wi-Fi internet
Although not the entire narrow-body fleet of Austrian Airlines is equipped with Wi-Fi, there is internet connectivity available on board the Airbus A321.
Wi-Fi internet is reasonably priced on Austrian Airlines, with a ‘chat’ pass for sending messages on social media costing €3, and a ‘mail & surf’ pass, which also allows internet browsing and sending pictures, costing €5.
A stream pass which enables the use of VPN networks and the streaming of videos was €10 on my flight.
There are no data caps on these Wi-Fi passes, and they are valid for the entire duration of the flight.
However, a major downside is the absence of power sockets and USB charging ports on the Austrian Airlines Airbus A321.
Landing in Bucharest
My Austrian Airlines flight went by quickly, and before I realised it, we were already beginning our descent towards Bucharest Otopeni Airport.
There were some fine views over the Wallachian countryside as we descended towards Bucharest.
Our Airbus A321 initially approached Bucharest Otopeni Airport from the west, but instead of landing, we flew past the airport first, then made a 180-degree turn, and headed towards the runway from the east
In the end, we landed spot on time at Bucharest Otopeni Airport, and after a short taxi ride arrived at one of the jet bridges of the terminal building.
Conclusion
My flight from Vienna to Bucharest on Austrian Airlines was pretty much what you’d expect from a standard intra-European economy class experience.
However, there are a few things that distinguish Austrian Airlines from some of its competitors.
It’s a nice touch that Austrian Airlines provides complimentary water and chocolates on their intra-European economy class flights to complement their buy-on-board service.
Another added benefit of flying Austrian is that Vienna is an easy and hassle-free airport to connect through.
Although my Airbus A321 was equipped with Wi-Fi internet, which was affordably priced and came without data caps, it was a downside (and major oversight!) that Austrian Airlines didn’t install power sockets or USB ports.
Overall, I think Austrian Airlines is a good choice to fly in economy class, and considering the low price I paid for my ticket, I really don’t have much reason to complain at all.
Interesting Koen.
Aren’t the Austrian A321s on the way out to be replaced by A21Ns?
Here at LHR, we only ever see A20Ns these days probably because of the incentive to use them and cut back on the cost of noise payments. Certainly LH, LX, OS, EW and most recently SN never seem to use anything else these days – well LX use the A220 too.
With other European carriers, those that have A20/21Ns seem to use them exclusively – A3, AZ, IB, TP, EI, SK all in the name of quiet!
The worse customers service ever. Ladies are so rude anything you ask for they just yell.They took blanket from my baby that was sleeping just bc we were connect to their other plane. They don’t welcome you they don’t know how to be polite.My husband asked for some water and she told him it’s not time for water now. So rude will never fly again and would never recommend them to anyone.