TRIP REPORT: Austrian, Sarajevo - London via Vienna

TRIP REPORT


Written by Gus

Hi, all.

I fly the above route (mostly via Vienna) quite often (at least twice a month) for my visits to head office and thought to post a few pictures from my latest trip.

OS758 SJJ VIE 15:05 16:20 E95
OS455 VIE LHR 17:30 18:55 320

Lovely sunny day down here in “my beloved” Balkans – I live very close to the airport meaning that I can take a nice walk (exactly 22 minutes door-to-door) to catch the 3:05PM flight to Vienna. Perfect timing indeed as it allows me to work until lunch time whereas with the Frankfurt flight I would “lose” pretty much the whole day, same with the Munich service when it was still “running” (and it goes without saying that transiting at MUC was a much better experience as opposed to the FRA “lottery”) . That being said, Swiss has recently restarted flights from Sarajevo, but I’ve noticed that there will only be a limited service in the summer season (mid-morning flights on certain days), which is a shame.

Approaching the airport from Kurta Schorka street.


Ongoing works for the new terminal - fingers crossed there are also plans for a decent lounge.


Unfortunately, even though on-line check-in is now available (after completing the on-line verification process by uploading the relevant documentation), the electronic boarding pass is not accepted at security, meaning that it is always advisable to turn up a bit earlier in order to go through the COVID-19 related checks at the check-in desk, where staff is (as ever) very pleasant to deal with and, given my regular visits, always up for a quick chat.


Today’s schedule.


Very poor lounge by all means but, again, let’s hope for something to change once works for the new terminal are completed. As a side note, the “previous” Business Lounge was way better - same choice in terms of food/drinks but better seats and “ambience” on the whole.


A brief stay “entertained” by a local (Herzegovina) red wine.


View from my seat once on-board. Economy class pretty much full whereas only 2 passengers at the front of the plane (myself & a “celebrity” or so to speak, meaning Šefik Džaferović, heading to Brussels followed by a large “gathering” of staff and possibly other politicians as well).


Kosher “special meal” – not because of any particular requirement as such but merely to try something different each time. Pretty poor quality but to be honest I’m not really bothered about the food on such short flight, as long as I can enjoy a good beer! Austrian offers a choice of 2 decent beers, certainly better than Lufthansa which has just “downgraded” to Beck’s (not that Warsteiner was much better anyway…).


Arrival at Vienna slightly ahead of time, through security in seconds and I head straight to the “pre-clearance” checks for the UK at the customer services’ desk near the designated gate.


Boarding perfectly on-time, A320 packed to the brim (as usual on this route) with 8 rows of business class.


This “triple seven” is getting lined up for an unusually short flight (Frankfurt).


Again, kosher meal - not too bad for airline’s standards.


View as we cross the channel and start our descent towards Heathrow.


Highlight of the day with lovely views over central London (the football ground you see underneath is West Ham’s “London Stadium”).


Sunset over London - nothing “spectacular” like the sunset over Mount Igman here in Sarajevo but pleasant to look at nonetheless!


Relatively short wait within the “holding stack” on final approach which means landing slightly ahead of time and not even 10 minutes from docking at the gate to clearing passports.

That’s all, thanks everyone for reading.


Share your travel experience by submitting a trip report to exyu@exyuaviation.com


Comments

  1. What a poor product for business class.

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    Replies
    1. Vlad11:16

      You should see what LH serves at the moment as part of their Heimat concept. In February I got the "Berlin" meal which was supposed to be a currywurst, but is essentially half a chopped sausage garnished with pickled onions and the smallest piece of bread I've ever seen. So laughable that I felt compelled to make a comment to the cabin crew, who were visibly embarrassed.

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    2. You should have complained to the HQ. It is important to give them a message of customer dissatisfaction and refer to 5-star sirline status....

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    3. I will keep saying this forever: (some) people still regard Lufthansa as a world's class airline just because it is German and, in their mind, German means quality. In reality, Lufthansa is one of the most overrated airline out there on the market. The Only brand within the LH group which is still decent is SWISS.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous10:44

    Those photos of London are stunning.

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Well, in my opinion if I pay business class fare, I expect quality business meal. These meals looks substandard to me for business class. They should try harder.
    I also miss Warsteiner on LH flights. They used to serve it in economy class...

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    Replies
    1. European business class is a pure waste of money. Unless you fly Turkish, which provides a completely different onboard experience for J passengers.

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  5. There is finaly direct flight with wizzair from Sarajevo to London twice a week now finaly and apparently flights are pretty full.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:17

      Indeed and, like most people, I prefer direct flights but unfortunately the business does not allow "low-cost carriers" and, even if they would, Heathrow would still be the most convenient airport (roughly 20 minutes from our headquarters).

      Gus

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  6. Nice concise report.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:13

      Thank you, Charlie - much appreciated.

      Gus

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  7. Anonymous10:31

    Thanks everyone for the comments and I entirely agree concerning the "poor show" in terms of catering (it must be said, though, that a few airlines still manage to get it right - and I refer to LOT & BA amongst others). That being said, I must admit that I'm not really bothered by the food, as long as I can get through security (at Heathrow) via the dedicated lane (especially in the summer, this is a godsend or so to speak), access the lounge, get priority boarding and the empty seat next to me.

    Gus

    ReplyDelete

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