Austrian Airlines’ Premium Economy will be launched on its long-haul flights from March 6 next year – but what do you get?
The airline refitting all of its (twelve) current long-haul aircraft. The seating will be based on Lufthansa’s Premium Economy (pictured above) with 18 Premium Economy seats in the cabin on its B767-300ERs, and 24 on their B777-200ER (see seat maps).
Seat Review
The new Austrian Airlines Premium Economy Seat is nearly identical to what you’ll find on Lufthansa, Austrian’s parent company. Designed by ZIM, the stats are up to 38 inches of pitch and 9 inches of recline. All seats also have individual power outlets and USB ports.
Bulkhead seats offer a substantial leg rest, while those behind do not. The other seats just offer a footrest making the front, making bulkhead seats in the cabin extremely appealing and by far the best choice on the plane. These seats have the disadvantage of a smaller entertainment screen; bulkhead seats have a fold-out 9-inch display, not the 12-inch entertainment screen on the other seat. But overall, they are a better choice because of the leg rest.
Austrian Airlines B777-200ERs Premium Economy
There are 24 Premium Economy seats in three rows configured 2-4-2 on these planes. The best seats in the cabin are at the front of the cabin because of the large leg rest. These seats are situated closest to Business Class and furthest from the extra-space seats in Economy, which tend to be where airlines allocate bassinets (or cradles) for babies. The seats at the back of Premium Economy are most likely to suffer from noise coming from the Economy cabin. For couples, the best choice is the window duos. There is little advantage of being in the central seats in the cabin, although I would still pick the bulkhead’s middle row over the window duos behind due to the leg rest. The middle seats in the 4s behind the bulkhead set are undoubtedly the worst seats in the cabin.
Austrian Airlines B767-300ER Premium Economy
There are 18 Premium Economy seats in three rows configured 2-2-2 on these planes. As above, the best seats in the cabin are at the front of the cabin because of the large leg rest. These seats are situated closest to Business Class and furthest from the extra-space seats in Economy, which tend to be where airlines allocate bassinets (or cradles) for babies. The seats at the back of Premium Economy are most likely to suffer from noise coming from the Economy cabin. For couples, the best choice is the window duos. There is little advantage of being in the central seats in the cabin, although I would still pick the bulkhead’s middle row over the window duos behind due to the leg rest.
Food On Austrian In Premium Economy
The dining service includes a welcome drink, hot towel service, menus with entree choices, two hot meals per flight (instead of a cold second meal in Economy), and a water bottle.
Meals will be catered by DO&CO, which offers excellent in-flight dining and should be very good.
Premium Economy customers also get two pieces of checked luggage (compared to one in Economy), noise-canceling headphones, a choice of three main course dishes, and a basic amenity kit containing an eye mask, earplugs, socks, a toothbrush, and toothpaste.
Interestingly Austrian Airlines has a non-stop air service linking Europe with the US West Coast. The flights are during the day on the way out Vienna-Los Angeles, and an overnight flight back from Los Angeles-Vienna, so Austrian is worth considering for this route.
You can also read our Austrian Airlines Premium Economy flight reviews and Austrian Airlines long-haul Business Class fight reviews.
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