VIE departure experiences??
#16
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
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VIE is or was renown for strictly enforcing the 8kg carry-on rule. If your carry-on weighed more than 8kg, regardless of size, they would not let you through the security checkpoint and send you back to the check-in counter. Not sure if that's still the case, but something to keep in mind.
#18
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: BSL/FRA or PHL
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VIE is or was renown for strictly enforcing the 8kg carry-on rule. If your carry-on weighed more than 8kg, regardless of size, they would not let you through the security checkpoint and send you back to the check-in counter. Not sure if that's still the case, but something to keep in mind.
I generally carry a small (personal-item-sized) computer bag with heavy items like power supplies and power cables along with my small computers (which for me is about 6kg), and I put it inside my carry-on. The combined suite typically weighs out at about 13kg. If I get busted for overweight (which has happened to me a couple of times at VIE), I just pull out the personal item bag and weigh separately, and it was fine. Note: LOT can also be quite strict at check-in, though they officially allow 10kg for business class instead of the normal 8kg.
The OS folks in my experience are very hard with respect to enforcement of carry-on weight restrictions.
Good to hear some have had good experiences in this regard at VIE. I personally have not. My experience only goes back to 2007, but I have been checked more than once, and one time it was a very unpleasant experience, because my bag weighed in at about 12.5kg and had no alternative bag.
#20
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: HAG
Programs: Der 5* FTL
Posts: 8,043
Not sure if we can print boarding passes from the ship but does OS and LOT provide electronic boarding passes through an app for international flights?
With a short connection in BUD, and since we will be on our way home, we may just check our bags and not worry about them. If the bags don’t get transferred in BUD, they’ll have to eventually be delivered to us. (one *A ticket all the way to IAH.)
They are 20 inch carry ons but we don’t want to take the chance of having to gate check them in VIE and then wait for them to be brought up to the jetway in BUD.
With a short connection in BUD, and since we will be on our way home, we may just check our bags and not worry about them. If the bags don’t get transferred in BUD, they’ll have to eventually be delivered to us. (one *A ticket all the way to IAH.)
They are 20 inch carry ons but we don’t want to take the chance of having to gate check them in VIE and then wait for them to be brought up to the jetway in BUD.
Also: the self check of the bag that has been mentioned is not at the gate - VIE has a system where you can print your own baggage tag and then just put the bags on the belt at a separate counter, meaning you don't have to wait in line for a common checkin/baggage drop.
With regards to VIE in general, as much as I like it for (*A-*A) transfers, I'm not much of a fan of departing from there. Security is a drag and layout can be somewhat confusing.
#21
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,088
Also: the self check of the bag that has been mentioned is not at the gate - VIE has a system where you can print your own baggage tag and then just put the bags on the belt at a separate counter, meaning you don't have to wait in line for a common checkin/baggage drop.
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#22
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: HAG
Programs: Der 5* FTL
Posts: 8,043
I'm leaning toward just checking our bags all the way through to IAH and hope they make it. With a 45 minute connection in BUD, I don't want to be hassled over the bags or slowed down at security between flights. However, I'm still not clear if there even IS security between flights. OS arrives 2A. Lot Departs 2A.
LOT flight to Warsaw would depart 2A, not the LOT flight to ORD. That ought to be 2B.
Still there might be no security, just passport control... I don't quite remember how the security setup was in 2B, and either way it's like 2 years since I last departed from there. I do know that my 2A arrivals threw me out in secure area.
One way or another. 45 minutes is apparently
Last edited by Fabo.sk; Mar 19, 2018 at 5:27 pm
#23
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Tasmania, Australia
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I'm leaning toward just checking our bags all the way through to IAH and hope they make it. With a 45 minute connection in BUD, I don't want to be hassled over the bags or slowed down at security between flights. However, I'm still not clear if there even IS security between flights. OS arrives 2A. Lot Departs 2A.
#24
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Join Date: Apr 2013
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The issue I had at VIE was the seating area at the departure gates is too small, and the boarding process insanely chaotic. I would think this much a less a concern in the context of loading a Dash 8 or RJ9 to BUD as opposed to a 777 to the U.S.
#26
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Tasmania, Australia
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