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My First Flight in Austrian Airlines Business Class VIE-IAD

a woman sitting in an airplane

I had my first experience with Austrian Airlines Business Class last month on my flight back to DC from Vienna. And not for a moment did I second guess my decisions to splurge and buy the upgrade!

After checking out the Vienna Airport Senator Lounge, I headed to the gate and boarded shortly after. I’d noticed on the seat map that Austrian Airline’s business class seats were staggered, so every other seat had their arm rest/work space closest to the aisle. I deliberate picked one of those so I wouldn’t get constantly bumped during boarding as people filed back to their seats.

a seat on an airplane

The business class cabin was barely half full on the Monday morning flight and mostly with the window seats which increased the feeling of privacy.

a plane with seats and windows

There was a much larger pillow and blanket than I’d had in Economy on the flight over.The amenity kit was done in an authentic Austrian style and had a fairly decent selection of items. No high end face or hand creams, but I wasn’t expecting them either.

a close up of a bag

a group of items on a table

The seat was comfortable and had options for back massage. The controls for the in-flight entertainment were sleek — though because they were located in the armrest, I often unintentionally paused my movie when I leaned my elbow on the cover.

a close-up of a screen

a close-up of a control panel

There were only two downsides to the seat. The first is that there is no significant storage space, so my laptop case had to be in the overhead for take off and landing. The second, none of the electrical outlets worked to charge my laptop or iPad. And I tried some of the empty seats as well as my own.

a person's leg in a chair with a tv

a close-up of a passport

The selection of in-flight movies and TV shows was decent. They had more than a couple dozen options, but not the library that Singapore and Cathay Pacific carry.

And now for the best part, the food! There’s a chef that takes your order personally, and it shows in the food, which was all quite good, particularly the dessert and I’m not a dessert person.

a man in a white uniform standing in an airplane

a plate of food on a table

a plate of food on a table

In-flight coffee is also a specialty, and you have a separate menu that show cases your choices. For a full review of the menu options, see my food only post. 🙂

a white paper with blue text on it

a cup of coffee on a tray

The bathroom is basic, though many of the amenities I thought were missing from the kit, like a comb and toothbrush/toothpaste

a sink with a soap dispenser and a tissue paper holder

I don’t fly international business class very often — I’m either using miles and therefore in first, or I’m paying for it, and thus in Economy, so my basis for comparison are slight. That said, I was really happy with it all! I didn’t want the flight to go longer, but neither did I need it to end as soon as possible, like I would have if I hadn’t upgraded from economy!

More from this trip
Austrian Airlines Economy IAD-VIE
The Suite Life at the Historic Hotel Bristol in Vienna
Winning Tickets to the Vienna Film Ball
A Poorly Planned Pilgrimage: Visiting FA Hayek’s Grave
Sneak Peak at the New Park Hyatt Vienna
Seeing Vienna in a Hurry
RadissonBlu Style Review
Austrian Airlines Senator Lounge Vienna Airport
Buying the Upgrade to Austrian Airlines Business Class
Food & Coffee in Austrian Airlines Business Class

Full Disclosure: I may receive affiliate credit from links in this post or on this site which will help fund my travels. Thank you for your support!

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2 Comments

  1. Given how your blog’s name is Heels First, I think it would be really cool to take a pic of your heels inside the plane in all your flight reviews! In this case, perhaps your heels with the chef? lol jk.

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