Austrian Airlines is about as old-school as you can get on its 777-200, with my 11.5 hour economy class flight featuring plenty of food and efficient service, but an uncomfortable seat, oppressively warm cabin, and no Wi-Fi.
Austrian Airlines 777-200 Economy Class – My First Impressions
My wife has spoken to my kids in German since they were born and both my daughter, 6, and son, 9, are fluent. Even so, as with many things, there is a “use it or lose it” quality to language. Thus, we like to send the kids to Germany each summer to spend a month with their grandparents. It’s a great way for them to be forced to speak in German and also it’s a great time filled with camps, ice cream, and hikes (though the summers turn warmer and warmer each year, it seems). This year, it fell on me to transport the kids to Germany.
I don’t tend to splurge for business class with the kids because they just don’t value it like I do…all they want is an IFE screen and can sleep even in economy class. This year, I booked Austrian Airlines economy class from Los Angeles to Zurich via Vienna specifically to try a new product (I’ve never flown in economy class on an Austrian longhaul flight) and also so that we could spend a night in Vienna, one of my favorite cities in the world. I was able to work in a 23-hour layover into the ticket for no extra charge.
Our flight departed LAX in the middle of the afternoon, hardly a good time for sleeping, but in a way that was preferred because I cannot sleep in economy class one way or another.
The Austrian economy class cabin on the 777-200 features Recaro seats that are not particularly comfortable with legroom that felt tight (30 inches). A respectable pillow and blanket were provided, but the cabin was kept far too warm during the flight…any hopes of sleep were dashed by how hot it was throughout the flight.
Dinner was impressive in terms of quantity: it was fried chicken that looked like Wienerschnitzel (the other choice was pasta) and the portion was massive: four large pieces. The kids could not finish their meals (I did…plenty of protien for me on this flight). Everyone seemed to want chicken because they ran out a couple rows behind us…pasta only for the rear half of the cabin.
A small, cold sandwich with highly-processed bread and cheese was served mid-flight…horrible.
I was impressed that a hot breakfast was served before landing, but the omelet tasted horrible – fake and powered and the mushrooms under it were repulsive (yes, I guess I’m opinionated about inflight dining). And as I’m writing this and look at the catering truck above, you can see it is the same Flying Food Group that is now under investigation.
Lastly, a particular gripe for a coffee snob like me: Austrian uses powdered coffee in economy class. Yes, while business class has a separate coffee menu with specialties like melange and Eiskafe, in steerage there is only powdered coffee served…and it is horrible. I just cannot reconcile why Austrian cannot even offer brewed coffee on its longhaul flights.
Meanwhile, the kids slept well, though in a contorted position, for about eight hours…oh, to be a child.
Finally, no Wi-Fi onboard, which is just uncompetitive in 2026, and an IFE selection that was also more limited than many competitors, though the kids found plenty to watch.
So a very mixed bag indeed. It was fun to try Austrian in economy class on a long haul flight, but I won’t do it again, though I bet the food is far superior when departing Vienna.
I’ll have a lot more details in the full review…
I had no idea austrian airlines serve LAX.
Only during the spring/summer season.
Aww! Such a great family selfie!
(And that Wienerschnitzel looks yum!)