Departing Vienna: Austrian Airlines’ Senator Lounge
I decided to leave for the airport about 3 hours early for my flight home from Vienna. It was a Monday morning and I wasn’t sure how badly traffic would be backed up. Turns out there was very little traffic leaving the city and we made excellent time, arriving in about 20 minutes.
My driver dropped me off at the Austrian Airlines door and I made my way to the check in area. I originally tried to check in using the electronic kiosk but decided since there was no line and I was unfamiliar with the airport anyway, I’d rather just use a real person.
Check in was speedy and I was soon heading to the automatic security gates where you scan your boarding pass to gain access. Pretty nifty!
There appeared to be several lounges I could choose from, but I opted for the first Austrian Airlines Lounges I saw, going for the nicer (according to others’ reviews) Senator side of the lounge which I could access as a Star Gold.
It was around 8:30AM when I arrived and the lounge was nearly empty. (Perfect for taking pictures) By the time I left around 10AM though it was standing room only.
There was a nice area for napping and hanging coats which stayed empty most of the time.
The Senator lounge is catered by Do & Co, but I found the breakfast options rather limited and the display uninspiring. There were cheesy scrambled eggs, a selection of meats and cheeses, and some pastries. I was hoping for some bacon or potatoes. 🙂
They had a nice selection of beverages, including a variety of teas and non-instant decaf coffee, so I was happy enough.
I ate breakfast overlooking the gates and runway while catching up on my work email.
I headed to my gate early once the monitor showed it was open. Turned out I was quite early and the agent checking tickets gave me the choice of going into the gate area (which apparently only business class and special assistance passengers had access to before boarding) or going back to the lounge. I thought I’d want to go back to the lounge, but realized what a trek it was and turned back to wait at the gate.
Next: Austrian Airlines Business Class Review VIE-IAD
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Going to Vienna for first time in September for 3 days. Any tips??
@jethro: My favorite 3 things we did in Vienna were (in order):
1) Drank the best cocktails of my life at Dino’s American Bar (ask for Elvis). We went 3 nights in a row. I’d be a regular there for sure if I live in Vienna.
2) Listened to old Austrian men playing jazz in an underground bunker @ Jazzland
3) Ate excellent pizza and drank great cocktails at Pizzeria Riva.