You can book Premium Economy on all Austrian long-haul flights as their planes have all been retrofitted with a Premium Economy Cabin across its small fleet of just 12 B767 and B777 long-haul aircraft.
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 do have the disadvantage of a smaller entertainment screen; bulkhead seats have a fold-out 9-inch display, not the 12-inch entertainment screen found on the other seat. But overall they are a better choice because of the leg rest.
Austrian Airlines B777-200ERs Premium Economy
Austrian Airlines has a fleet which includes a six 777-200s. Currently, these planes operate flights between Vienna (VIE) and Los Angeles (LAX), Bangkok (BKK), Beijing (PEK), Hong Kong (HKG) and Shanghai (PVG).
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 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
Austrian Airlines has a fleet which includes a six B767-300ERs. Most long-haul Austrian flights are operated by the 767-300, though, with the airline flying this plane between VIE and Chicago (ORD), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), Washington, D.C. (IAD), Toronto (YYZ) and Shanghai (PVG).
There are 18 Premium Economy seats in three rows configured 2-2-2 on this plane. 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 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 and 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. During the entire flight, you can enjoy unlimited drinks, including Austrian wines, beer, coffee, tea and spirits plus your very own bottle of water before landing.
Premium Economy customers also get two pieces of checked luggage (compared to one in Economy), noise-cancelling headphones, a choice of three main course dishes, and a basic amenity kit containing an eye mask, earplugs, socks, a toothbrush and toothpaste.
The Premium Economy swing-up leg rest in row 1 is the sign of an airline investing more in Premium Economy than its competitors and offers a better Premium Economy experience than other comparable airlines except Norwegian that offers the most generous Premium Economy offering. The fact that only the first row will provide a leg rest means you had better snap up these seats as soon as you book as these are the Premium seats in this Premium Economy cabin.
They say: “The new Premium Economy Class is an important milestone in our strategy aimed at linking the issue of individualization with quality… The customer can individually choose the travel class according to her or his needs, whether the preference is to fly in a price-conscious manner in Economy Class, treat oneself to a little more service and comfort in Premium Economy or luxury travel in Business Class.”
You can also read my Austrian Airlines Premium Economy flight reviews and my Austrian Airlines long-haul Business Class fight reviews.
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