Wednesday newsletters all the time characteristic a lodge or flight overview.
I lately loved a sunny vacation on the gorgeous island of Mauritius within the Indian Ocean. You’ll be able to learn my journey reviews right here:
- Evaluation: Austrian Airways Boeing 777 Enterprise Class from Vienna to Mauritius (at this time)
- Evaluation: One&Solely Le Saint Géran Mauritius
- Evaluation: The Oberoi Seashore Resort Mauritius
- Evaluation: 4 Seasons Resort Mauritius at Anahita
- Evaluation: Shangri-La Le Touessrok, Mauritius
- Evaluation: Eurowings Uncover Airbus A330 from Mauritius to Frankfurt
As we speak: Review of Austrian Airways’ B777 Enterprise Class from Vienna to Mauritius
I lately flew Enterprise Class with Austrian Airways from Vienna Worldwide Airport (VIE) in Austria to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Worldwide Airport (MRU) in Mauritius. Austria’s flag provider – a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group – operates a number of flights per week to/from Mauritius within the winter months utilizing its Boeing 777-200ER plane. Austrian Airways, typically shortened to Austrian, has at the moment a fleet of 83 plane, together with a small wide-body fleet comprised of 6 Boeing 777 and three Boeing 767 plane. Most of those B777 & B767 planes had been acquired by Lauda Air – which was later bought by Austrian – and are fairly outdated (with a median age of greater than 20 years). These plane will quickly get replaced by extra fashionable B787 Dreamliner planes, that are extra environmentally pleasant and less expensive to keep up.
Though its flatbed seats aren’t the perfect within the business, Austrian Airways had all the time been my favourite airline throughout the Lufthansa Group to fly Enterprise Class for the reason that provider had by far the perfect tender product of any Lufthansa Group airline. An absolute spotlight throughout any longhaul journey with Austrian Airways was the provider’s terrific catering from DO & CO – served by an onboard chef. Sadly, the idea of “flying cooks” was minimize in the course of the pandemic, so I used to be a little bit disillusioned by the meals providing throughout my flight to Mauritius (because it didn’t examine to my earlier stellar experiences with the provider). I did take pleasure in although the exceptionally heat service offered by the cabin crew. And the excellent news is that Austrian Airways’ flying cooks are making a comeback in summer time 2023 (so the provider’s wonderful meals service must be absolutely restored by then).
Have you ever ever flown with Austrian Airways? In that case, what was your expertise? Go away a remark.
- Journey: Vienna (VIE) to Mauritius (MRU)
- Airline: Austrian Airways
- Plane kind: Boeing 777-200ER
- Plane registration quantity: OE-LPA (in-built 1997)
- On time departure: Sure (8:30 pm)
- On time arrival: Sure (9:30 am; + 1 day)
- Miles: 5370 miles (8640 km)
- Flight time: 10 hours
- Seat: 5A
- Class: Enterprise Class
On this overview (extra data & photographs beneath my YouTube video):
- Austrian Airways Lounge at Vienna Airport
- Enterprise Class cabin
- Enterprise Class seat (+ greatest & worst seats)
- Facilities & bedding
- Meals
- Leisure
- Onboard web
- Different inflight experiences
- My verdict (rating)
1. LOUNGE
Austrian Airways has a number of lounges at its hub Vienna Worldwide Airport. It is a overview of the airline’s non-Schengen flagship lounge, the place passengers can chill out previous to departure on one of many provider’s longhaul flights. The lounge, which is situated straight behind the safety checkpoint, has one fundamental entrance however is split right into a separate Enterprise Class lounge and a Senator lounge (the latter can solely be accessed by Star Alliance Gold members).
The lounge is mainly an L-shaped room, which is relatively small and may get very busy to the purpose that there aren’t sufficient seats for everybody. Upon coming into the lounge, there’s an oblong house that includes some high-top tables with chairs on either side, which supplies solution to the lounge’s fundamental house the place the principle bulk of the seats is situated. Many of the seats are organized round espresso tables, and a few sitting areas are separated from others by curtains, including a degree of privateness. On the far finish of the lounge is a quiet space the place six lounge chairs enable for a fast nap or relaxation. Ground-to-ceiling home windows stretching alongside your complete facet of the lounge enable for some good views of the apron and plane actions. Fitted in a Scandinavian kind, considerably funky design, the lounge options furnishings in largely shiny pink and inexperienced colours, that are in step with Austrian Airways’ model colours.
A buffet space takes heart stage within the lounge. The meals choice is respectable and contains salads, soups, sweets and chilly cuts. Drinks embody tender drinks, self serve wine, beer, liquor, espresso and tea. There’s additionally a second staffed kitchen stand close to the lounge’s entrance, with affords a number of sizzling dishes (e.g. gratinated ham pasta or fried rice with coriander, curcuma, mustard seeds and pumpkin).
Services on the lounge embody complimentary WiFi, magazines, newspapers, and bathe rooms.
2. BUSINESS CLASS CABIN
Enterprise Class on Austrian Airways’ Boeing 777-200ER is situated in a single cabin in entrance of the airplane. There are 32 lie-flat seats, unfold over 7 rows and organized in a staggered configuration (or so-called Sogerma Solstys structure). This structure feels relatively dense because the foot compartment of every seat is situated between and below the seats in entrance. The middle seats are available pairs, whereas the seats on the left and proper facet of the plane alternate from 1 to 2 per row.
The identical staggered Enterprise Class structure can also be put in on Brussels Airways’ A330, Finnair’s A330/A340, Swiss’ A340/A330, Edelweiss Air’s A340, and American’s B767 plane. This configuration affords a point of privateness as not one of the seat rows fairly line up, so no person is straight wanting into the seat throughout the aisle. However nonetheless, the privateness in the sort of Enterprise Class cabin is inferior in comparison with the absolutely enclosed Enterprise Class suites that you just discover on different airways, comparable to Qatar’s A350s or Delta’s A350s (and which appear to turn out to be the usual within the aviation business).
Regardless of not being fitted with the perfect seat structure, the design of Austrian Airways’ Enterprise Class cabin seems to be stunning, ethereal and fairly stylish with a putting red-blue-white shade scheme contrasting with the darkish gray seat covers. The brilliant pink design touches within the cabin replicate the corporate’s model consciousness. Like nearly all main air carriers, Austrian Airways makes use of the colour palette of its nation’s nationwide flag (pink and white) for its visible id.
For the seat map of Austrian Airways’ Boeing 777-200ER, click on right here.
3. BUSINESS CLASS SEAT (+ BEST & WORST SEATS)
All Enterprise Class seats onboard Austrian Airways’ B777 plane characteristic the identical dimensions: they’ve 152 cm (60 inches) in pitch, a width of 52 cm (20 inches), and a 180 diploma recline. All seats have a minimum of one massive work floor on the facet (the place you may arrange your laptop computer), with most solo seats and a few paired seats that includes this work house on either side (a so-called ‘throne seat’). One facet of the seat incorporates a energy port with worldwide adapters, a studying lamp (at eye degree), a panel for the seat controls, and an ordinary wired handset (situated beneath a flap within the armrest). The console on this facet of the seat additionally holds the fold-out tray desk, which is launched on the push of a button. In entrance of the seat is a HD leisure display screen with a foot compartment beneath.
The seat will be remodeled in a Lantal air-cushion mattress with a size of two m (6.5 ft). Though it’s a 180 diploma recline, the seat and your decrease legs descend into an area carved out for it within the seat(s) in entrance, beneath the leisure display screen. This foot compartment is sort of slender, making it laborious to modify place throughout your sleep whereas not waking up, as your legs will consistently hit the partitions. The seats that wouldn’t have the ‘throne’ characteristic have more room for the toes, therefore making them a little bit extra snug for sleeping. In its lie flat place, the Enterprise Class seat is simply 45 cm (17 inch) above the ground, making it really feel like you’re resting on the bottom or in a coffin (due to the excessive seat partitions), and making it uncomfortable getting out and in to go to the restroom.
What are the greatest Enterprise Class seats?
- The one greatest seats for solo vacationers are the only seats in row 1, 3 and 5 (‘throne seats’).
- Journey companions ought to go for the paired, center seats, which all have direct aisle entry. There are additionally paired window seats in rows 2, 4, and 6 however right here the passenger within the window seat must soar over his/her neighbor’s toes to entry the aisle.
What are the worst Enterprise Class seats?
- I recommend to keep away from the solo window seats in row 7. Not solely are these seats near the galley (which can trigger occasional noise disturbance), in addition they characteristic just one work floor on the facet (as an alternative of two), so they provide much less house as in comparison with the throne seats.
4. AMENITIES & BEDDING
Austrian Airways’ Enterprise Class passengers obtain the next facilities on longhaul flights:
- A Lufthansa Group amenity package, which is wrapped inside a reusable tote bag. The package options the important journey gadgets (e.g. toothpaste, toothbrush, socks and a single breath mint) in addition to some L’Occitane toiletries. To scale back waste, eye masks and ear plugs aren’t offered contained in the bag however can be found within the toilets
- A snug, thick pillow
- A classy, heat and high-quality blanket
- Noise cancelling headphones (that are fairly efficient in blocking out the cabin noise)
5. MEALS
As already talked about, Austrian Airways used to excel in its meals choices, not solely with onboard cooks but in addition by collaborating with DO & CO, a catering firm that has upscale eating places and cafés in cities like Vienna, London and New York. Sadly, the idea of “flying cooks” was minimize in the course of the pandemic, however they’re making a comeback in summer time 2023.
A bit to my very own shock, the catering on this in a single day flight to Mauritius was relatively disappointing, particularly the dinner service. The meals itself was mediocre at greatest (a ham roll for starter?) and the parts had been tiny. There have been nonetheless some features although through which Austrian Airways carried out properly throughout dinner. For instance, a pleasant contact was that the crew rolled a number of starters and desserts by way of the cabin, so for every course (apart from the entree), you possibly can all the time select what you need. Additionally, Austrian Airways has a wonderful inflight espresso menu, the place you get to select from various kinds of Austrian Meinl espresso.
Dinner was served after takeoff, and I select the next gadgets from the menu:
- Starter: ham roll with toasted darkish bread
- Principal course: roasted pikeperch with potato discipline salad
- Dessert: ardour fruit panna cotta and recent fruits
Ninety minutes previous to touchdown, the cabin crew rolled out a trolley with breakfast gadgets. The breakfast choice included buckwheat Muesli, plain yoghurt, artisan bread, recent fruit and diverse ham and cheese. For decent dish, there was a alternative between scrambled eggs (served with sausage, cheese toast, mushroom and tomato) or caramelised apple pancake with berry roaster. Breakfast service was a lot better and filling in comparison with the dinner just a few hours earlier.
6. ENTERTAINMENT
Every Enterprise Class seats comes with its personal 15 inches HD touchscreen. The leisure program is respectable, with a big selection of movies and collection in 20 languages (the leisure is up to date on a month-to-month foundation).
7. ONBOARD INTERNET
Sadly, Austrian Airways’ extensive physique plane aren’t geared up with WiFi. Austria’s flag provider might be one of many final remaining airways within the Western world that doesn’t provide WiFi on longhaul journeys. The provider solely affords web entry in cooperation with Deutsche Telekom on brief and medium-haul flights.
8. OTHER INFLIGHT EXPERIENCES
# CREW: Austrian Airways’ crew members – with their shiny pink outfits – are amongst the perfect, most pleasant and best on the planet, and it was no completely different on this flight. The crew on this flight was completely implausible they usually did all they may to make the flight as nice as doable for all passengers within the Enterprise Class cabin.
# LAVATORY: There are three toilets for the 32 Enterprise Class passengers. One is situated behind the cockpit and two are situated within the galley between the Enterprise and Financial system Class cabin.
9. MY VERDICT
- Seat consolation (upright): 7/10
- Seat consolation (mattress place): 5/10
- Meals (high quality): 8/10
- Meals (amount): 8/10
- Inflight leisure : 8/10
- WiFi: 0/10 (not accessible)
- Service: 9/10
- Cabin design: 8/10
- Total expertise: good (7/10)
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