Austrian Airlines Reviews 

Austrian Airlines uses corporate awards to hide the fact that their ground service is completely broken. At Vienna Airport, their staff is actively hostile. I stood at a completely empty desk needing urgent help, and the agents deliberately refused to look at their computer screens, make eye contact, or do their jobs. They treat distressed paying passengers like an absolute annoyance. Do not buy a ticket expecting a premium legacy carrier—on the ground, they are worse than the cheapest budget airlines.

they forced all passengers to pay 70 eur on our return flight to CPH from AUT because our backpacks were “too big”. However they weren’t, the staff just wouldn’t let us try out the sizing template that was available right next to the desk. They rushed us saying we’d miss the flight, that it would fly “in 1 minute” and they were very rude and uncomfortable to all the passengers in the queue. We stood there for a long time as they had to make everybody pay for extra luggage. We came in to the plane after being forced to pay, and there was empty space above us and empty seats around us. It was all very cruel and uncomfortable and totally unnecessary as our bags were accepted on the way over with the same airline.

I took Austrian Airlines regularly and the flights were fine. I wasn’t too dissatisfied until They lost my suitcase and we all almost missed the connecting flight. It was a very long process trying to get it back, which I couldn’t unfortunately. Their customer service was terrible and no one was able to help me. I couldn’t enjoy my holiday the same since I lost my belongings. There were valuable things in the suitcase, unfortunately, but I only received some pocketmoney for the things I lost as a refund. The whole process was so much effort and took a lot of energy for something they did wrong in the first place. My contactperson that I got assigned after quite some time, was also very unhelpful. So if you ever have an issue, I wouldn’t count on their so called customer service.

They lost one of my suitcases, and I’m still waiting for it to be delivered to my address. I had two pieces of checked luggage, but one of them was lost. All my clothes and valuables were inside that suitcase.

It is unacceptable that I still don’t have my belongings. I arrived almost two days ago, and I am still waiting for my luggage to be delivered.

My spouse mistakenly missed a flight Thought PM not AM. Asked for re-booking the next day, same flight. They said yes only at full new ticket price (about $1700). We tried 3 different credit cards to pay for the new ticket through Austrian Airlines. They said all three were declined by the card carriers, so no ticket was possible. We checked with the 3 credit cards and all said no charge was turned down by them. Also there are a "convenience" charge of $150 to each card from Austrian Airlines. So now we are out $450 and still can't get a ticket. Then later in the evening got on their website and the chat agent (real person) wrote that a re-booking was impossible since she was considered a no show. We finally found a travel agent relative that was able to get another ticket to return home. This was a crazy, costly and disappointing experience. We will avoid this airline in the future. Current flight is late.

Absolutely ridiculous "legroom seats" that I paid 85€ extra for but my knees still touched the seat in front of me.
Stewardess said this issue happens a lot, absolute trash upsell bullshit.

Terrible customer service. Missed connections on both of my flights. Missed half of the wedding venue.
4 flights. 4 Times late. Not help from the staff at the airport and I had to cover for my own extra night while waiting to get on the next flight. Won’t fly again with them.

Organization: Not on time , and you have to wait more +12 hours at Airport.

Food at airplane: ONLY PASTA no other options. On top of that pasta is overheating or leftovers.

Personel:At Airplane excellent BUT at Airport terrible behavior. Not carrying at all to solve the issues.

I had a somewhat stressful experience, but really want to praise the staff:

When I checked in, I received a message saying that I was on the waiting list, had not yet been assigned a seat, and should report to the counter. At the airport, however, the counter remained unstaffed until about 45 minutes before departure.

I called customer service, and the representative explained that they were mainly responsible for booking issues and could not directly resolve the situation. Nevertheless, he said it was highly unusual that the counter was still unattended and, on his own initiative, contacted a colleague and even tried to reach the airport team. I really appreciated this.

While I was waiting, airport staff eventually arrived. They were also very friendly and understanding about my nervousness.

In summary: the staff I dealt with were very friendly and helpful, and this made a real difference. At the same time, the experience was stressful because of the overbooked flight and what seemed to be some internal organizational difficulties.

Stopped and singled out at the gate for a "random check" — for the second time flying with Austrian Airlines. Zero explanation, just rude treatment from start to finish. For an airline that charges full-service fares, this is embarrassing. I've flown budget carriers that treated me with more respect. Avoid if you can.

Play with baggage fee in summer 2026. Absurd price policy for carry on bag. Horrible talks from crew. Non transparent attitudes from employees and flight was late.

Do not pay to book seats with this airline, I paid £25.20 to book two seats and was told 3 days before travel that the seats had been changed and it turns out I am not entitled to a refund because "the seats I was given were the same category" basically if you book an economy flight you will get an economy seat, if you pay to choose a specific seat but they don't give it to you then no refund is due because they gave you an economy seat, feels like a scam to me, beware!

One of the worst travel experiences I have ever had. The staff were unprofessional, very rude, and did not speak fluent English.

This was my first and definitely my last time flying with this airline.

They made me pay €70 for my carry-on bag, even though it weighed only 6–7 kg and could easily fit under the seat. They seem to use unusually strict size requirements just to charge passengers extra fees.

To make matters worse, I saw another passenger whose carry-on bag clearly did not fit the required size, yet they were allowed to board without any issue. The rules were applied inconsistently, which felt unfair.

The boarding process was also poorly organized. The staff did not manage the crowd effectively and sometimes called different boarding groups in a confusing way.

Overall, I would not recommend this airline due to the poor customer service, inconsistent enforcement of baggage rules, and disorganized boarding process.

Today’s check-in experience with Austrian Airlines at LAX was, without question, the worst I have ever experienced.

Economy passengers were forced to use overcrowded self-service kiosks with very little assistance, while the staffed counters were reserved for Business and First Class. We had four checked bags, including one extra bag that we had already paid for. The automated baggage drop-off accepted three bags but refused the fourth. The employee at the baggage drop-off couldn’t help and sent us back to the Austrian counter.

That’s when we met an employee named Doug. Instead of helping, he argued with us, made rude facial expressions, and treated us like we were inconveniencing him. After finally understanding that another employee had sent us back, he turned to his colleague and said, “Take care of it because this passenger is bothering me and the other passengers.”

I chose not to respond because I refused to lower myself to that level. It was humiliating to be treated that way simply for asking for help with a problem caused by Austrian Airlines’ own system.

Ironically, once another employee scanned the bag, it was accepted immediately. We spent over 90 minutes just trying to check in our luggage because of a broken process and poor customer service.

What made this even more disappointing was that, while walking to the security checkpoint, I saw Doug speaking to other passengers in the same rude and dismissive manner. We were clearly not the only customers frustrated by his behavior.

We paid over $3,000 for our tickets plus extra baggage fees, yet we never felt appreciated as customers. Every passenger—regardless of whether they fly Economy, Business, or First Class—deserves to be treated with courtesy and respect.

I travel frequently and have flown with many airlines from LAX. This was by far the worst customer service experience I have ever had. I will also be reporting this experience directly to Austrian Airlines in the hope that no future passenger has to go through what we did.

We will not be flying Austrian Airlines again.

I have flown between Vienna and Amsterdam almost every weekend for more than three years and spend over EUR 15,000 annually on Austrian Airlines. After my experience on flight OS319 on 10 July 2026, I am seriously considering moving my business to KLM.

I had specifically purchased a EUR 279 Samsonite Pro-DLX 6 backpack because it fits under the seat. At the gate, however, the ground staff insisted that it fit into an absurdly tight 40 × 30 × 15 cm measuring box, rather than considering whether it actually fitted safely under the seat, which it did.

The measuring frame for a personal item should reflect the actual usable space beneath the seat. It should not be a rigid box that is more restrictive than the space passengers are permitted to use.

The staff member also treated my Defa orthopaedic backrest as an additional personal item, even though I use it because I cannot sit for long periods without back pain. She refused to listen, repeatedly talked over me and then accused me of shouting, while speaking to me in the same raised and confrontational manner.

I was then forced to put my backpack in the hold, despite it fitting easily under the seat. Afterwards, two new carabiners worth EUR 28 were missing from the bag.

This is not the way to treat a loyal and frequent customer.

Austrian Airlines also regularly uses shuttle buses instead of jet bridges. This makes so-called priority boarding largely pointless. You may board the bus first, but everyone then gets off together and queues again at the aircraft. Customers pay for priority boarding, yet the practical benefit is often completely negated.

If this rigid approach to baggage, poor customer handling and meaningless priority boarding represents Austrian Airlines’ normal standard, I will move my regular Vienna–Amsterdam travel to KLM.

Lower than Wizzair and Ryanair.When you think that you ve seen it all and no airline could go lower then Wizzair and Ryanair, Austrian airline strikes us with the lowest blow anyone could think of.
I went to check in with my small rucksack that I normally travel with and the wanted 70 euros.Thats for a small rucksack that fits easily under the seat.No airline has ever been there yet.Well done Austrian..you are an inspiration for all rip off airlines out there and now you have top prize for most hated airline that people will avoid when the book a flight.

Krejka and Schelland - Vienna International Airport. Awful customer service.

Krejka and Schelland at Vienna International Airport provided one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever encountered.

At the gate, I was stopped and told I had to pay €65 for “extra luggage” or check in one of my bags. My hand luggage fit perfectly in the sizing box, and I also had a backpack and a garment bag. I explained that I could have placed my small cross-body bag inside my luggage to fully comply with the allowance, but this was not taken into consideration.

I also explained that I had travelled from Greece with the same luggage setup and had never been charged extra before. They refused to listen and were extremely rude throughout the interaction, barely allowing me to speak. At one point, I was threatened with being denied boarding if I did not immediately comply.

I was even told to apologise to one staff member, while the other stood behind with crossed arms, appearing confrontational and unprofessional.

In the end, I had no choice but to pay and ship my luggage separately, which was expensive and caused significant inconvenience, as the luggage itself is valuable.

Overall, the experience was intimidating, unprofessional, and far below the standard expected at an airport.

Never experienced such a thing before. People with hardly any cabine bagage are charged eur 70 for a very small bag - even the con Artists of Ryanair would allow this in the Cabin - because they obviously have invented an even smaller size of acceptable cabin luggage. A new invention to make some extra cash. Terrible! This woman is next to me crying. Terrible way of flying

Austrian Airlines have the best employees and managers. We missed flight last Sunday and the lady and at counter and her manager were super kind and helped us get to another flight . I have brain tumor so I forgot their names Manager is from Kazakhstan such a kind and professional that I can’t explain in the worlds . As we missed flight and I am sick I didn’t feel very well so he set us up in Lounge so I can rest and eat before another flight comes
We never experience this my son and I traveled all the world but never met such a nice people who took extra care for us
Thank your Manger and your employee sorry I forgot your names God bless you we will have forget you and we are forever grateful
Luka and Jelena

TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE less service then low cost airline and less allowence then low cost airline beside what recently had medical emergency and they dont want to refund it