Getting to Vienna Airport

I spend the night in Vienna at the Hilton am Stadtpark, which has been refurbished since my last visit and now looks very nice. The hotel is located opposite the railway station for Wien Mitte, from where the CAT to the airport operates. Wien Mitte is not the main railway station, though.

The CAT logo is the green one in the photo below and directions for the CAT train are well signposted, if you just follow the green squares.

I don‘t try it out, but from what I understand you can check your suitcase in at the railway station in the CAT lounge.

I catch the 07:37 train to the airport, which is not at all full on a Sunday morning.

Check-In

Austrian checks in at Terminal 3.

There is a dedicated area for Business Class passengers, Senators, and HONs.

Two counters are dedicated to passengers with Senator status. I have a nice chat with the friendly check-in agent, and then head from there to security. There is also a dedicated Fast Track queue that is accessed directly from the segregated check-in area.

Security is busy, but totally hassle free. It‘s a quick process here in Vienna.

Non-Schengen Senator Lounge

As Cyprus is not in Schengen, my flight is departing from the G gates, which means I have to go through emigration first. The lounge is right after passport control.

The lounge is small, but comfortable.

It has some excellent ramp views, though.

Boarding

The non-Schengen gates on the top floor seem a lot more spacious than the Schengen area. I‘m not quite sure how they achieved that, because it‘s not as though the upper floor of the terminal building is any wider than the rest.

We‘re boarding from a bus gate, which is the usual down an escalator, left turn, left turn again, three right turns, down two flights of stairs process typical of Vienna airport. But still, a remote stand and the opportunities it promises are not to be snuffed at…

The Crew

As I enter the plane, there‘s a middle aged couple standing in the galley making a complete spectacle of themselves. Apparently, they‘re in Economy Class and not seated together. And didn’t bother paying to reserve seats either. And the wife is not having any of it. The purser welcomes me aboard and gives me apologetic smile and welcome, before returning to dealing with Queen Hysteria, who is now screetching. Poor purser, nobody‘s Sunday morning should have to be like that. On row four some kid has decided now would be a good time to have a tantrum. I think it‘s going to be a long three hours to Larnaca… I also suspect I‘m the only person on the whole plane going to Cyprus for work.

I‘m seated on 1A. The guy on the aisle seat is more than just a little bit strange and has the manners of a pig. Please and thank you are obviously alien concepts to him, as his interaction with the crew stays in the „I want…, give me…“, and at some point just simply, „you, water“ range throughout the flight. Dude, seriously? So I make the effort to be extra nice to the crew, who seem to appreciate it and reciprocate in kind. Never piss off the people who handle your food. Unlike him, they keep addressing me with my name, and it‘s pretty clear by the look on his face that he really can‘t understand why he‘s being ghosted.

The Meal

The meal service starts around 45 minutes after take-off. Mainly because it‘s quite turbulent during most of the climb.

The main course is a kind of Shakuka but with a poached egg. It‘s quite good actually. Also on the tray is a yoghurt with müsli and slices of apple. The crew pass through the cabin with the bread basket, and 1C takes two croissants, and four rolls.

To drink I have a mint tea, which is served in a nice, large mug. „I want coffee“ orders a cappuccino and then complains why my mug is bigger than his. Is that supposed to be a euphemism or something…?

The trays are cleared away and I spend the rest of the time reading. When the crew pass through the cabin with the chocolates, „I want more“ looks very upset when the crew just ignore him and keep on walking down the aisle.

Arrival

We land in Larnaca on time. God it‘s hot here! My suitcase arrives quickly, and then I‘m on my way to the hotel.

The journey from Larnaca airport to Nicosia takes about forty minutes. The airport website says it is a fixed price of EUR50 to anywhere in Nicosia. My taxi driver wants EUR60, so I tell him I‘m not paying more than EUR50, which he seems to accept. By the time we pull up at the hotel, the price is EUR65, because „your hotel on other side of town“. So I tell him again I‘m not paying EUR60, and certainly not EUR65 for the trip. So he tries to guilt trip me into a tip. But honestky, at this stage, having had to sit and listen to Mr. 1C‘s obnoxious drivel for three hours, I honestly couldn‘t give a rat‘s bum.

Conclusion

This was another pleasant flight with Austrian, and I think we all have Mr. 1C to thank for that. It was as though the more obnoxious he behaved, the more out of their way the crew went to make this a good flight for everybody else.