FeuilladeTravel: Airline review: Austrian Airlines E195 economy class, Vienna to Oslo

Austrian Airlines Embraer 195 economy class, Vienna to Oslo
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01. Trip report introduction
02. Ryanair 737-800 economy class, Stockholm Skavsta to Niš
03. Hotel Sole, Niš
04. Exploring Niš
05. Ryanair 737-800 economy class, Niš to Bratislava
06. Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel, Bratislava
07. Getting from Bratislava to Vienna Airport
08. Austrian Airlines E195 economy class, Vienna to Oslo
09. Ethiopian Airlines B787 Dreamliner economy class, Oslo to Stockholm
10. Trip summary
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Vienna (VIE) to Oslo (OSL)

Date: 2018-04-07
Flight number: Austrian Airlines OS335
Aircraft: Embraer 195
Registration: OE-LWG
Age of aircraft: 6½ years
Duration of flight: 2:15 (gate to gate)
Seat: 3A (economy class)

Seat map with my seat (3A) in red. Courtesy of Seatguru.com

Alright! It was finally time to leave Ryanair behind, and fly with a real airline again! I was really excited as the bus stopped outside the departures hall at Vienna/Schwechat. Compared to all the other airports I had visited thus far on this trip, VIE plays in a league of its own. The sheer size of the airport, the number of people passing through, shops and restaurants, views of the aircraft... Yeah - this was definitely more my cup of tea! I'm a guy who likes peace and quiet, but I'm also an AvGeek, so I definitely prefer big airports such as VIE to the tiny airports of NYO, INI or BTS. (On the downside, it took half an hour to get airside...)

Great views of the aircraft that were coming and going

I was excited to try Austrian Airlines for the first time. They operate at ARN as well, but they've never been an option on my previous travels. I was also happy that this flight was operated by an Embraer 195. I've flown Embraers a couple of times before, and always liked them. This particular model was new to me however, so this would mean both a new aircraft and a new airline!

Walking around in the F pier of Terminal 3

You often hear that Germans are supposed to be punctual. I've never heard the same thing about Austrians, but based on my experiences on this trip, they seem to be pretty punctual as well. The departures board stated that the gate would be revealed at 9:10. Sure thing - at 9:10, the board declared gate F13 as our departure gate. And when we got on the plane, the FA told us that the "flight time today will be two hours". That's what she said. Not approximately two hours, but two hours. And then we took off at 10:34, and landed at 12:34. Impressive! It made me smile like a dork when I thought back on it walking around in Oslo later, but I'm getting way ahead of myself now. Back to VIE, where boarding commenced one minute after scheduled time. What was the cause of such a horrible delay? ;)

Gate F13 is a gate with a jet bridge. But we wouldn't get to fly the B777 that was parked there. That bus was ours, though...

Ready for boarding!

Walking down the jet bridge

Nope, this 777-200ER was not our ride...

But this beauty was! I just love how sleek and slender the Embraers look!

You lookin' at me?

Making sure it is the right model. I've flown the 190 before...

OK - I'm not that tall, but this kind of legroom is still good for a small regional jet!

After boarding was completed, we waited for some fifteen minutes, but pushback was punctual as well. (What else could you expect?) Then we headed out towards runway 16, where there was a short queue before we could take off.

Waiting for pushback

Another E195, but this one from Montenegro Airlines, ahead of us in the queue for takeoff

Thundering down runway 16...

...and we're airborne!

Getting one last good look at the runways at VIE

Downtown Vienna, with the arena Ernst Happel-Stadion to the left, a stone's throw from the Danube

As we reached our cruising altitude, the flight attendants offered drinks and a sweet or salty snack. Since Austrian is part of the Lufthansa Group, I asked if they had any Apfelsaftschorle (one part apple juice and one part sparkling water). Yes, of course, came the reply. The FA filled a glass with apple juice, and then realised her mistake. "Oh, als Schorle... Entschuldigung!" She put half of it in a new glass, filled them both up with sparkling water, then handed me both glasses. Thank you! The sweet snack was a bit like a Kit Kat, but with dark chocolate. Tasty!

Apfelsaftschorle - my favourite drink in the air. I don't know why that is. Maybe because it's likely that I'm on a Lufthansa flight if I drink it ;)

Lots of aircraft in the air today as well!

Business class is the first two rows on these Austrian E195s. Same legroom but with a blocked seat, which gives you a little more privacy. No business class passengers on today's flight, however.

I love those bright red winglets! If I ever buy an E195, I might buy one with the Austrian livery...

The flight attendants (three of them) made several rounds through the cabin, but were very professional and unobtrusive. Unlike many other airlines, where they walk through the cabin, shouting "ANY TRASH?" they just kept their eyes open, and as soon as you were done with something, they would pick it up so smoothly that you wouldn't even notice it if you looked the other way for a second. But that's also only possible in these small jets with a 2-2 configuration, I guess. During one of these rounds through the cabin, I asked for a cup of coffee. It was hands down the best coffee I've had on a plane, ever. A far cry from the instant coffee that you sometimes get.

Another positive thing about this jet was the lavatory. Unlike the SAS/Cityjet CRJ 900, where you could hardly close the door, the doors on this lavatory opened out towards the cabin (instead of into the lavatory), which made it a lot easier. They also had wet wipes in the lavatory. Not that common, in my experience.

The best coffee I've ever had on a plane

Can you tell I'm enjoying this flight?

Wet wipes in the lavatory

Apart from great snacks and drinks, a nice aircraft, friendly crew, perfect flying conditions and everything else that was making this flight so great, they also had a really nice inflight magazine - Skylines. I don't usually read much when flying, but this magazine was a great way to pass some time, as they had some great articles commemorating the 60th birthday of Austrian Airlines. The magazine also included some articles about their aircraft and their routes, making any AvGeek happy.

The only downside to this flight was that the Austrian guy sitting in 4A put his feet on my armrest. Just like the manspreader on the previous flight, he had to go on the blog...

Great inflight magazine

Why??! But not even this scoundrel could turn this into a bad flight

This flight was going way too fast, as opposed to my flight from Stockholm two days earlier. I was really enjoying myself, and I was a little bummed when the crew announced that we had started our descent towards OSL. To further dampen my spirits, the sky in Oslo was overcast and there was still snow on the ground. Oh well... All things come to an end, but I only had seven hours to go before trying out the Dreamliner for the first time - the icing on this Europe Tour cake. But this flight had been my best flight in a really long time - thank you Austrian Airlines!