Transfer in Vienna
At 16h45 I enter the terminal building. Passport control for entry into the Schengen area is right opposite my arrival gate. I then make my way through the complicated maze of Vienna airport until eventually I reach the security checkpoint. The place is surprisingly quiet. I don’t even bother looking for the priority lane and just take the first empty Economy Class lane. My departure to Basel is not until 18h30, so I might as well head for the Senator Lounge on the F pier.
Star Gold Schengen Lounge
The entrance to the Senator lounge is off to the left of the reception area for the main lounge.
The Senator lounge is smaller than the main lounge. And today it’s absolutely packed. There is literally not a single table left available.
So I figure I might as well go wait somewhere with a better view. Two minutes after I entered the lounge, I’m out again and heading down the F pier in search of a quiet space, which eventually I find at the gate for the flight to Leipzig, which is in the final stages of boarding.
Boarding
As usual in Vienna, boarding starts without any prior announcement and seemingly with no order. I’m so absorbed writing the previous post that I don’t even notice that the gate is nearly empty. So I grab my bag and head through the gate and then down to the waiting bus.
Of course, a remote stand means more geeky airplane photos for me to regale you with!
The Cabin
The cabin on this bird is much nicer than the Airbus on the previous flight. I’m seated on the bulkhead row on seat 1F, and the pitch is great. The pitch on the other side of the aisle is not quite so generous, but still good. There are two rows of Business Class, for a total of four passengers. There are only three passengers seated in Business Class, and I’m the only person on row 1.
Service & Crew
The crew on this flight are a lot friendlier than on the previous flight. Three things are noticable about the Austrian crews in general, though: a) they persistently refuse to speak anything but German, b) they persistently refuse to show any kind of human emotion in their interaction with passengers – no even the slightest of smiles, and c) they aren’t proactive at all. They bring you a tray and ask you what you want to drink in German. Everything else you have to ask for, even if it’s just a coffee.
The Meal
The meal on this flight is another oversized tray with hardly anything on it. The main course is some kind of zucchini salad with olives and herbs and a large dollop of mozzarella. There is a slice of bread and a roll already on the tray. Which is convenient, because it means less interaction with passengers for the crew.
Dessert is a nice piece of apricot pie.
The tray is quickly removed, and once I have waited long enough to be sure that they’re really not going to bother, I intercept one of the crew on her way to the rear galley and ask her for a coffee. Which is clearly a big mistake, because she quickly takes her revenge by bringing me the vilest mug of instant coffee. I think it’s actually starting to desolve the spoon I’m using to stir it. At least they serve another chocolate with the coffee.
Arrival
The flight time is 75 minutes. Our descent into Basel is lovely, with the sun slowly setting. Down below I spot the TGV speeding towards Mulhouse. Judging by the time, I’m guessing it must be the 18:34 service from Zürich to Paris, which is the train I usually catch to go home.
And guess what? While I wait for the airbridge to be attached to our aircraft, I chance a glance at the Apple AirTag app, and I am very much surprised to find that my suitcase actually made it to Basel. Cool!
Hi William——I love a vintage livery too!——–The last time i flew with the old Austrian colours was in the early 80’s twice.Once from Heathrow in First class[with Menu!] to Vienna,and the second time was a first class hop from Munich to Vienna,connecting from a Lufthansa 727 from Rome. Both flights were on ancient DC9s and neither was particularly good!.Best,Peter.
PS——Ive also flown on the Lufthansa’Retrojet’——– this was a couple of years ago when i missed my Barcelona connection in Zurich and had to be re-routed via the dreaded Frankfurt onto the last LH flight of the day——-Offhand service and strange canape type food served!
Hi Peter
I’m wondering if perhaps you might be able to help me. When I was a kid, I remember that Swissair still had a first class on the MD-80. The seating was 2+2, and the seats were in some striped grey design. In Economy the configuration was 2+3, green and orange seat covers. But I can’t remember what Business Class looked like. Any ideas?
Cheers,
William
Hi William.As far as i remember,the Swissair md 80 had 12 Tan coloured leather seats in first class for most of the 80s,which they reduced to 8 stripey[i think shades of brown graduating to orange] fabric covered seats in the final couple of years that they kept First in Europe.They also added an anti-maccasar with the words ‘First class’ on them[Didnt look good!]. They also had these colours on their other aircraft[747s ,md 11s, A310’s]. i think economy had the same coloured stripes. Business would have had the same coulours ,but i dont know how they sold the seats[free seats as now?] other than there was a curtain between Business and economy—–Hope this helps!
On another subject,youve managed to’sell’ the J suites[think thats the name] in Sydney to me——am thinking of going in February for my birthday. Have found a bargain LH/SQ fare thats half of what SQ are asking from london——and it includes LH first for half the trip on the ‘Queen of the Skies’!
And 2x3x2 on A310’s!
PPS The above comments obviously apply to the Tirana–Vienna flight.
PS William——-Re the ‘Business’ seats on Swissair european flights——–They were the same as economy in the 80’s,but they introduced very different seating—- roughly 40 seats per plane!—— that were very different to regular economy seats——-a bit wider and[I think] in a 2-3 configuration.
Actually William, i think the seats they had in the 90s were configured 2×2.——-about 40 of them in a separate cabin. And the hotel in Sydney is Q station.
Dont know how that 2x3x2 got to where it is!!!!
Final William! re reading this i dont think i was clear———- they introduced a completely new separate European Business class in about 1990
I think I actually remember the brown leather seats they used to have. Seems like an eternity ago! Thanks for the clarification. And I hope you enjoy the QStation. It’s not luxurious or anything, but it’s unique and in a beautiful setting.
Thanks William