krispy84

I am travelling to northern Italy in late Sep for a friend's wedding and, underwhelmed by the BA CE Panini, I looked at flying with a connection. I think I have come down to either LX via ZRH or OS via VIE and I would be grateful for the forum's thoughts on pros and cons. I have excluded LH (through no particular reason) so please say if you think they merit a second look. I have no status with *A and will be flying in J.

My priorities are: selection and quality of the food and beverage (alcohol ;-) ) offer in the air and lounges, level of service and general atmosphere / ambiance (acknowledging it is European short-haul J!). I am going on holiday and would like to enjoy the experience.

Research so far makes me lean slightly towards OS: MXP - VIE seems to be A320 family, whereas MXP - ZRH is often a regional jet. Plus the OS flights are longer than LX, which gives me longer to enjoy the service.

I know that decisions like this are very subjective; however, I'm keen to hear different views to help me make up my mind.

Thanks :-)

Lack

OS has better food then LX for sure.

You'll get a better experience going to a restaurant in London or Milan before/after the flights and you're still going to save time.

krispy84

I'm certain I will; but I only travel for leisure and therefore enjoy the flight and airport experience as part of the holiday. I'm fortunate that time-off from work isn't a particular issue.

Do&Co is adding to the OS side of the scales!

chris63

OS hands down if it’s the catering your interested in & everything else is just as good if not better than LX intra EU.

LH, very wise of you to have already crossed them off intra EU catering is a sad joke !

oliver2002

Another tip is to book economy and add the DO&CO meal option for 15€, those meals are often superior to what is served in business... https://www.austrian.com/Info/Austri..._lang=en&cc=DE

Lack

For the airport experience, I think LX might have an edge if you venture out to the E gates lounges for the novelty factor of having a cup of coffee on the outdoor deck.

All in, I can't imagine voluntarily spending any more time then needed on those intra-EU park bench seats to sample the latest in cost cutting catering innovations, but I have strange hobbies of my own.

Fabo.sk

A lounges should be in full swing by September as well.

As for "regional jets" as opposed to mainline A320s... don't be so quick to discount them. I have yet to fly Swiss C-Series (only a single A320 leg so far with LX) or OS E-Jets (annoyingly, they keep putting DH8s as substitutes on the now rare occasions I go to VIE), but I did fly E-Jets with KLM, LOT, Air Dolomiti and others, as well as C-Series with Air Baltic, and I can't say that the are any worse comfortwise than the A320s. Sometimes quite the opposite.

Lack

Oh, the regional jets usually place higher then the mainline narrow bodies on my lists, no argument there. Still, both fail miserably when compared to a park bench so I don't see any reason to spend any more time then needed on either one of those (other things being equal).

AlicorporateUK

Fabo.sk

Yes, that part wasn't in reply to you, but to this:

Lack

krispy84

Fabo.sk

I'm not a fan of pszeniczne, but a reliable source informs me, that brewery scene in Poland is a treasure trove of great options. And I'm heading more and more towards a LOT fest of domestic segment runs in the summer.
What town are we talking about?


In my experience, it's a smaller cabin and therefore more attentive crew, while seats are just as good as mainline, if not better. Service remains the same.

krispy84

Kacee

While I haven't flown it yet, if it's LX's new CS100, I'd take that over any LH or LX mainline intra-Europe. Brand new aircraft, great reviews. Wide seats. Blocked to 1-2 in J.