For the first leg of my trip home from Vienna, I chose Austrian A321 Business Class. Why the upgrade to intra-Europe Business Class? Though the product is usually unremarkable, the buy-up here wasn’t particularly large. I paid €331 for this one-way flight, which was a modest ~100 euro premium over coach. And the flight pretty much met my modest expectations, with mediocre seating but very decent catering for short-haul.
Note: this post is part of my trip report series covering my visit to Austria in May, 2022. Click here for the trip report index and introductory post.
Austrian Airlines (OS) Flight 419
- Sunday, May 8, 2022
- Depart; Vienna International Airport, Terminal 3, Gate F21, 20:37, 12m late
- Arrive: Paris – Charles de Gaulle Airport, Terminal 2B, 22:30, on time
- Duration: 1 hour 53 minutes
- Seat: 2F
- Equipment: Airbus A321
Check-In and Boarding
There’s really nothing to report here, as I checked in online the night before. One major advantage of Business Class is priority security, so I made it through in only a couple of minutes. After a couple of hours in the Austrian Business Lounge, I headed to the gate about 45 minutes before departure. Though the incoming plane arrived two hours prior, boarding ended up delayed a few minutes. And as I find all too typical in European hubs, long, disorganized lines ensued long before boarding began. (Then again, that’s not any different than here at home, is it?) Anyway, boarding began about 20 minutes late, which led to a 10-ish minute departure delay. Soon enough, though, we were on our way to Paris.
Austrian A321 Business Class – Seating and Interior
Let’s face it, there’s just not much exciting about the intra-Europe Business Class hard product. This particular aircraft certainly qualified as long in the tooth, originally placed in service in February, 1996. You know it’s bad when the plane started flying before you graduated high school. Anyway, the slimline seats at least appeared recently refurbished. You’ll find the typical 3-3 configuration with the middle seat blocked. Meanwhile, Business Class consisted of three rows on this flight.
Austrian likes to tell you the middle seats are “reserved for your comfort”. While it’s nice having the middle blocked off, the seats themselves aren’t very comfortable. The Recaro BL3520 “NEK” slimline seats lack padding, become uncomfortable on the thighs and bum after an hour or so. They reminded me somewhat of the now defunct (d)Evolve seating on Southwest from about 10 years ago.
Interestingly enough, seats in the forward cabin (Rows 1 through 10) feature 32 inches of pitch. Seats in the aft cabin, meanwhile, have just 29 inches of pitch. (Yes, the bulkhead in Row 1 does have more pitch.) Legroom, therefore, isn’t terrible up front. All seats measure 17.7″ wide; the empty middle seat does help make Business Class feel a little more spacious.
The bulkhead, meanwhile, features “my Austrian” signage.
In other words, you’ll find a typically underwhelming intra-Europe Business Class hard product. The one benefit, though, is three extra inches of pitch up front.
Austrian A321 Business Class – In-Flight Entertainment
Austrian doesn’t offer TV screens, or even in-seat power, on its ancient A321s. However, the airline has recently installed FlyNet WiFi onboard, though all plans require you to pay unless you have elite status with Miles & More. A messaging pass costs 3 euro, while a surfing pass costs 6-8 euro depending on flight length. With a less than 2-hour flight, I decided to pass on the WiFi, and just listen to some music while looking out the window. Speaking of which, we sure enjoyed a beautiful sunset over northwest Austria and southern Germany. One that lasted quite a while with the time change.
Austrian A321 Business Class – Food, Beverage, and Service
One positive of flying Austrian Business Class, even on short routes, is the catering. Provided by Do&Co, it’s usually pretty solid. On this flight, the meal consisted of bow-tie pasta with cheese and mushrooms, a bread roll, and a quasi-tiramisu. Though the pasta’s presentation wasn’t great, it was cooked well and tasty. In addition, the bread roll was fresh, not packaged.
I also had a glass of a very decent white wine, offered in real glassware.
And that was pretty much it for this uneventful flight to France. Over the years, service on Lufthansa group airlines has left me consistently underwhelmed, whatever the cabin. On this flight, though, I found it fine. The flight attendants provided an efficient, friendly service, even making a second drink run. About all you can ask for on a sub-2 hour flight.
Final Thoughts
Like sister airline SWISS, Austrian provides decent service and a decent meal in Business Class. But as I’ve grown used to on Lufthansa, you’re on an ancient Airbus with a spartan interior and no lackluster seats. At the modest premium I paid, the lounge access and priority security were worth it. But with prices back up to normal levels, I suggest saving your money. Unless you have a tight connection or something where the priority services come in handy.