Tried & Tested

Austrian Airlines Fokker 100 economy class

24 Aug 2011 by Jenny Southan

CHECK-IN As I was transferring from an internal Lufthansa flight from Hamburg to Frankfurt (click here to read the review) that was, in fact, it’s inaugural biofuel-powered passenger service (click here for the full report), I had already been checked in for this Austrian Airlines (a subsidiary of the German carrier) service to Salzburg. I landed in Frankfurt at 1215, and once off the plane, walked five minutes to the Lufthansa/Star Alliance business class lounge, for which I had been issued a pass, even though I was travelling economy.

THE LOUNGE As my connection to Salzburg (OS266) was scheduled for 1730, I had a few hours to pass so I found a private booth in the lounge with a power socket and a small desk on which to do some work. There were about 12 of these and all were occupied except for the one that I chose, which to my disdain had a dirty coffee cup and a newspaper left there. The lounge was busy but had several seating areas, plus natural daylight through floor-to-ceiling windows, free wifi, and a self-service refreshment station with spirits, wine, beer, tea, coffee, juice and other soft drinks to hand.

I was disappointed to find there wasn’t much in the way of food – just some tomato soup and fresh bread, bratwurst sausages in buns (no good for me as I am vegetarian), sweets, rice crackers, biscuits, chocolate-covered doughnuts and olives. I would have welcomed some sandwiches or a pasta dish of some kind. After helping myself to a drink, some bread and some olives, I settled down to work. The booth was pretty gloomy and tucked away in a corner behind a wooden screen so there was nothing to look at. 

BOARDING At 1620 I headed for Gate A02, from which my flight was departing. I had not been issued with a boarding pass yet (as I had been part of a special press contingent) and when I asked at the lounge what to do about it was told that I would be issued with one at the gate. When I arrived 15 minutes later and spoke to a member of Lufthansa staff, she was indeed able to oblige.

Boarding started at 1700 – passengers descended a flight of stairs before stepping on to a shuttle bus. There was a seven-minute wait while it filled up, at which point it drove the short way to the aircraft. We then crossed the tarmac to board via some steps at the front.

THE SEAT I was in my exit row aisle seat (14D) by 1720. This Fokker 100 is configured with both business and economy seats in a 2-3 (A-C, D-E-F) arrangement, and is operated by Tyrolean Airways, which is a member of the Austrian Airlines Group. The five rows of business class at the front were pretty empty. Economy was across rows six to 21. The interior was garish, with seats upholstered in worn-looking viridian green fabric, red seatbelts, chunky grey seat-back tray tables and a stripy green and yellow carpet. As I was in an exit row seat I was asked to keep my bag in the overhead locker and also given an explanation by a member of crew as to how to open the door in an emergency. Row 12 (there is not row 13) is also by the exits.

WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE? Exit row seats (12 and 14) offer a little extra legroom. Avoid middle seats E as they feel claustrophobic.

THE FLIGHT The 60-minute flight went quickly and I made use of the time by reading a book.

ARRIVAL We landed on schedule at 1830 and passengers were promptly disembarked. 

VERDICT There was a long wait in the lounge for my connection and a disappointing food offering, but the flight itself was punctual. A perfectly decent option for a short hop.

FACT FILE

PLANE TYPE Fokker 100

SEAT CONFIGURATION 2-3

SEAT PITCH 30in/76cm

PRICE Internet rates for a return economy class flight from Frankfurt to Salzburg in October started from €139.

CONTACT austrian.com

Jenny Southan

Loading comments...

Search Flight

See a whole year of Reward Seat Availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Be up-to-date
Magazine Subscription
To see our latest subscription offers for Business Traveller editions worldwide, click on the Subscribe & Save link below
Polls