Austrian Airlines (OS)
London to Vienna (LHR-VIE)
Airbus A320, Business Class

This is quietest I've ever heard my little London street. My watch tells me its 4:10AM which means that I'm tired and that the driver is 10 minutes late. I doubt he got stuck in traffic at this hour. I'm on my way to India: a quick business trip to our office in New Delhi. It will be my first time to this country to which I owe a partial ancestry.

This is my first Asian flight from Europe, which means I get to fly a non-U.S. airline for the adventure. I had booked the out-going flight on Austrian Airlines through Vienna, to sample their renowned in-flight service, and the return on Lufthansa through Frankfurt, with the hopes of using some of my United SWUs to land a seat in First class on the way home.

What the driver lacked in timeliness, he made up in speed. I was checked in for my flight to Vienna 15 minutes after sitting down inside his car. I decide to try my luck with the evil Heathrow security line goons and stuff my laptop bag into my 22" Travelpro suitcase. The one-suitcase rule is ridiculous: an effort, in my opinion, for the new owners of BAA to cut their costs by calling two bags a "security" issue.

I am not awarded for my good efforts to slim down. Instead, I and my bag are unceremoniously sent back downstairs. As the agent had only given me my boarding pass for the first leg to Vienna, he could only check my bag to Vienna. It's an added complication, but no big deal, I tell him. As I run off to catch my flight, the agent shouts after me that he has no record of me continuing on to New Delhi. With 45 minutes to flight time, there is no time to debate. "I'll take care of it in Vienna!" I proclaim while striding away.

The security line is longer now but it moves quickly -- I get through in 20 minutes. One of my pet peeves about Heathrow (besides the one-bag rule) is how they display "Final Call" on the departure monitors even before the doors of the airplane open! Luckily, my gate was close and I joined the rest of the passengers in the pre-board holding area to wait for the real boarding to begin.

No early boarding for business class or Star Alliance elite members and we get on the plane first-come-first-serve, last-flight-out-of-Vietnam style. I'm in a window seat near the back of the business cabin. Like other European carriers, there is no real "class" in business. The seats are exactly the same as in coach -- tight legroom, narrow and barely any recline. The middle seat is blocked... whoopdido. I would take a domestic United First seat any day over this!

Newspapers are distributed through the business class cabin as the plane taxis out. After driving around Heathrow for 45 minutes, we take to the sky. The Austrian flight attendants move with mechanical precision into the drink and food service at the two dings. It's almost as if I am taking a survey from a computer: "Breakfast?" Yes/No, "Coffee?" Yes/No. There's no nonsense about service here. Although, I did catch one of the flight attendants smiling... Or maybe finishing a yawn. I'm not sure.

Breakfast is plopped in front of me. It appears to be some sort of apple crepe, accompanied by a choice of hearty breads from a basket and some fresh fruit. The attendants did not unwrap the plastic covering the items on the tray, which was a bit strange/awkward to have balls of plastic wrap ending up around my seat.

There was no in-flight entertainment from the overhead monitors and in a couple short hours we touched down at Vienna International Airport. Mozart played over the plane's speakers as we disembarked down the stairs. The attendant smiled at me when I disembarked. I guess they do know how to use those face muscles afterall! Flights from London are bused to the terminal so they can run us through immigration checks. As we walk down the stairs, I notice a grey Mercedes parked off to the side with "HON Circle, First Class" etched on the side. A few men in suits get in and are whisked off quickly as the rest of us squeeze into a bus.

The Vienna Airport and Senator Lounges

Vienna's airport is a joy to transit through: small and well-organized with a lively duty-free shopping area. Star Alliance Gold and HON members can check in at a designated room by the entrance to the terminal. It would be great to see this feature at other airports as well. I step inside the haven to find red carpets and six beautiful Austrian women smiling and gesturing me to their kiosks. I choose the pretty brunette, and in less than two minutes I have my boarding pass and am sent on my way with another smile.

Over the next three hours before my flight to Delhi, I visit both Senator lounges in Vienna. The one in the A concourse is small and looks out across the tarmac. There are not many people here as this lounge caters primarily to the international flights leaving from A. And speaking of catering, the food is provided by Do&Co, a local catering company ("a food entertainment company" as they call themselves) -- it is excellent, perhaps only surpassed by some of the food I've found in Singapore Airlines' lounges. At 11:00AM, they switch out the scrambled eggs and morning breads for lunchier fair: Potato Goulash with Turkey Sausage, vinaigrette mixed salad with mozzarella balls, and Cream of Pumpkin soup. Since I'm looking forward to my Do&Co meal onboard in a few hours, I dabble lightly in the food. There are two computers in the lounge for internet access, a host of magazines and newspapers and two private rooms for phone calls. The second lounge, in the B concourse, provides a place for domestic and European travelers to relax. It is much more crowded and people mill around the food. I see one guy taking pictures -- an FT'er perhaps... There is slightly more selection here, but generally the same items. I eat a couple of the small desserts and help myself to some white wine before heading back to Concourse A and to board my flight.

Like Heathrow, Vienna uses a "pre-boarding" area to hold its passengers. Each gate has its own security check and on this flight there did not appear to be a special line for business class or Star Gold members. The flight to Tokyo at the next gate did have a dedicated line for these customers. Once inside the pre-boarding area, business class passengers were welcomed into a cordoned area near the plane entrance. This was helpful as the whole scene was rather mob-like and crowded. We were ushered onto the 767 first and I settled into 1A.

Austrian Airlines (OS)
Vienna to New Delhi (VIE-DEL)
Boeing 767, Business Class

Again, I found the flight attendant interactions mechanical. They took jackets and hung them, offered the cabin pre-departure champagne and water, and went about their duties. Shortly after take-off, the purser did come by to introduce herself. Her pronounciation of my name was excellent, which is actually pretty rare! Nevertheless, her little speech was dry, brief and to the point. Essentially, "If you need anything, let me know." I smiled graciously as she walked me through how to use the seat and the entertainment system. The latter is not unlike on United -- a small screen that pops up from the center console. On this plane there were no additional pause/play controls, only a channel changer and volume.

The seat itself is quite comfortable. I love the flexibility of being able to put it in whichever position I want. As the seat is electronic, no body and muscle distortions required. On the negative side, it is narrower than I expected and I now understand the rants about sliding down the seat in the sleep position. The angle is just to steep to sleep naturally.

Before I get too concerned, the elaborate Austrian Airlines meal service begins. The menu and wine list, a small book inside a folder, makes me salivate:




I want it all!! Appetizers and soup are shared from a cart with a smile. The soup is impeccable -- sweet and smooth. The vegetarian samosa, perhaps not the best pairing with the soup, has delicate Indian flavours. The wine I ask for is by far the best in-air wine I've tasted. It's an Australian Merlot by Salomon SUeD. Within 10 minutes of me dusting off the first course, the lamb was presented to me by the on-board chef. Wow! A real plate, a real rack of lamb -- not a dense piece of airplane meat -- it was tender and very flavorful. The pappardelle was an excellent side dish with the wild mushrooms and I downed it all faster than you can say "bring me dessert!" And dessert they did bring: the austrian style apricot dumplings were warm and also bursting with summer flavor. I cannot say enough good things about the food on Austrian Airlines -- it is worth taking a flight in daytime flight in their long-haul business class just to try this out.

I play with the entertainment system. With my low standards coming from United Airlines, it doesn't bother me too much that I cannot stop/pause/fast-forward/rewind the films. The selection is reasonable. After the movie is over, I decide to take a nap and put the seat in a sleep position. As I mentioned above, the slope of the chair combined with an awkward foot shelf and the leather cover on the foot rest make it too easy to slip down the chair while sleeping. I try various positions on my side, my stomach (uncomfortable!) and on my back. I am most comfortable on my back, but since I'm in 1A, the light from the galley is annoying, even with the curtain. In the end, I toss and turn for a couple hours before getting up to read. Soon it is time for the second meal service as we approach New Delhi:



An insert in the small menu folder exclaims: "Sorry, no coffee on this flight..." When you open up the little booklet, you discover the secrets of Viennese coffee. Inside a literal menu of 10 coffee drinks, brewed from a Julius Meinl roast. As I don't want the caffeine, I stay away, but watch with intrigue as the flight attendants serve veritable cappucinos, lattes and mochas -- foam and all -- from the galley.

The flight was over too soon and we begin our descent into New Delhi. It's dark outside and there is not much light from the area around the city. Almost 1AM here. Thankfully, my hotel has sent a driver.

Report on Lufthansa (LH) from New Delhi to Frankfurt to follow soon...