Trip Report: CDG-VIE-WAW
The best way to get from France to my next destination, Poland, was by air. And luckily United allows one-way bookings and access to partner inventory online. The flights that worked best for my schedule only had business class availability, but it was only 20,000 miles and $79 in taxes so I thought, why not! I flew Austrian to Vienna and connected to LOT Polish to Warsaw.
Austrian flies from terminal 2D in CDG, which is an old 70s-looking building with arrivals and departures on the same level, and uses the Air France lounge. The lounge receptionists were very courteous, but the lounge itself has the same decor as the terminal which is rather ugly. Food was limited to chips and cookies.
Boarding was by bus.
Business class on Austrian uses the same seats as Economy, only the middle seat is blocked. The curtain dividing Business and Economy moves depends on how many passengers are booked in each class. I'm glad I got the whole row to myself.
The pilot gave us a nice present coming out of CDG - a beautiful view of Paris. You can see the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe.
The food on this less than 2 hour flight was excellent. Salad with vinaigrette, chicken with lemon, spinach, mashed potatoes, and chocolate mousse cake. I especially liked the mini clothes pin that is provided to pin up your napkin!
Austrian takes a lot of pride in its catering, or "Gourmet Entertainment" as they put it, which is from Do & Co as the plaque on the cabin wall says. It makes sense that Do & Co would do such a good job as they also cater Turkish Airlines's meals, my favorite meals on my round the world trip.
Connection in VIE was only planned 35 minutes, and a bunch of that time was taken up by getting a boarding pass at the transfer desk. I was really surprised I couldn't get the LOT boarding pass at the Austrian desk in CDG. After all, Austrian and LOT even share the same mileage program. To further the confusion, the check in agent even asked me if I had a paper ticket or e-ticket even after showing him my boarding pass.
I did take a moment to visit the Austrian lounge. Loved the alps-shaped couch!
Even had time to get some Viennese (I would like to believe!) pastries.
The detour to the lounge was worth being the last passenger to board the LOT flight.
LOT Business class is set up the same way as Austrian - Economy class seats with middle seats blocked.
The flight time was only an hour, but we were still served a snack. It was a very interesting selection of food. I think it was pate triangles on the left, with pears, sauerkraut with raisins, and maraschino cherry. On the right I think was a fish pate, with citrus section, red bell pepper strip, and mustard seeds. There were a selection of rolls, and a "Prince Polo" chocolate wafer. I learned later from my Polish friend that Prince Polos are very popular in Poland, at least among kids.
