Austrian Airlines Reviews 2,411

overbook, and cannot be Cancelled. Poor customer

One of the worst flight experiences. No food or even coffee was served on an international flight lasting over 3.2 hours. The seats were so tight that even my child had to sit bent forward.

I purchased a connected flight directly from Austrian, but they issued tickets with a very short connection. Despite early check-in, the system placed us in the back (row 31) even though 50% of seats were still empty, so I had to pay €69 to move forward to catch the next flight faster.

The first flight was delayed by 25 minutes. I ran to the gate for the connection and arrived before departure in Vienna airport, but they said it had just closed which I could see the passengers are walking to the plane, so technically they could let us in, but I believe they sold our tickets to someone else, assuming we cannot make it.
At the airport office, I was told not to worry and given a replacement ticket, but it was not to my home country. Instead, I was rerouted on a two-stop flight, even though I had paid double for a one-stop ticket originally.

It seems they were completely confused and also failed to deliver my checked-in baggage in final destination. At the time of writing this feedback, it has been over 30 hours and we still have not received our bags.

In the end, Austrian Airlines offered no compensation. I will never fly with this airline again.

We reserved and paid for extra legroom seats from Los Angeles to Vienna, since we are a very tall family and my daughter had just had knee surgery. These seats were important not only for our comfort but also for the consideration of fellow passengers.

At the last minute, just before boarding, Austrian Airlines changed our seats—even though we had already checked in on the app and could see we had the seats, we reserved. the plane was full and there was nothing they could do. The same thing happened again on our return flight from Vienna to Los Angeles. We noticed three days before departure that our seats had been changed, and we called customer service three days in a row. Each time we got nowhere. To this day, we still have not even received a refund for the extra money we paid for the upgraded seats.

The check-in process with luggage was also a nightmare, but that’s another story.

Overall, this was a very frustrating and disappointing experience. We will never fly Austrian Airlines again, and I strongly recommend fellow travelers avoid them as well.

My luggage did not arrive at the airport of Sofia, flight from Amsterdam. I had to wait 3 days for my bag.
Return flight: the same, no luggage of me on the bagage belt in Amsterdam.

I am only looking at the reviews now and can subscribe under all the criticism. I am platinum for life with AirFrance and Silver with United, with quite some experience of flying around the world. Austrian is a category of its own. If you thought you knew what "rude" meant, try this airline and it will open you a new meaning of the word. The customer experience is outright humiliating. I tried once and never will again.

First I was switched seats without any information about it. I tried to get on the plane but they just sent me around to different staff and then I was informed that I was switched seats so I couldn’t sit next to my boyfriend.
Then a woman was already seated on my new seat and refused to move. I tried to get help from the cabin crew that just made rude comments and walked away.
The flight was delayed from previous flight and they said that we would be informed about our connecting flights. The crew told everyone going to Switzerland and Germany about their connections but didn’t inform us going to Sweden. We asked and they said that we would make it if we just ran. The ones going to Germany got extra help getting to their flight but we didn’t so we missed it. It was so disappointing that they helped others but didn’t help or even inform us.

Terrible experience.
They oversold the flight.
My ticket was full fair and I was denied boarding. They sold more tickets than places on the plane. They gave me 125€ (like that can help) and another terrible flight with 3 connections (very short connections, btw) which ended up with them losing my suitcase.
Terrible. Wouldn’t recommend them EVER!

Dear Austrian Airlines Customer Relations,

Today, 25.08.2025, we travelled from London Heathrow (LHR) to Vienna (VIE) and then onwards to Bucharest Otopeni (OTP).

At LHR, the customer service was excellent — staff were polite, professional, and allowed us to board with our hand luggage and cabin bag as expected.

However, at VIE, our experience was very disappointing. We were told we had to check in our trolley bag, even though Austrian passengers around us were allowed to carry both their cabin luggage and hand luggage on board. We felt that the treatment was unfair and discriminatory, as the only apparent difference was our nationality.

We kindly ask for clarification on Austrian Airlines’ policy regarding hand luggage and cabin bags. If the policy is the same for all passengers, we would like to understand why the rules were applied inconsistently in Vienna.

We hope you will take this matter seriously, as such inconsistent service negatively impacts the overall travel experience.

I traveled in August 2025 to Thailand where I stopped in Vienna from Naples on both the outward and return flights. I'll start by saying that the staff in general is not at all friendly, no smiles, almost angry faces, and so far so good, it could still be more or less normal... but I'll tell you what happened: an Italian lady who unfortunately didn't understand English went to the bathroom without locking herself in. It happened that another passenger didn't know it was busy and so clearly opened the door, embarrassed, and the stewardess at that point, visibly angry, literally lashed out at the ITALIAN passenger who had made the mistake of not closing the door but who, I emphasize, didn't speak or understand English, starting a racist show against Italy, insulting and saying that we are the only people who don't speak English and that only we Italians create problems. Fortunately, we managed to defend the lady, but I don't think I will ever choose this company to travel again, and I hope you too will leave them alone with their chocolates and their sadness.

We have the worst experience of my travelling live, we have paid 2 seats x26 € , I got surprised that my seat sold to other passanger, they order us to seat at the end of the plane,2 of the serving personnel of the airplane were so rude , a lady and gentleman “,
When I refuse the it seat , we was told to leave the plane SAD 😞…..

I was at the Vienna airport for almost 4 hours waiting to board Austrian Airlines flight 0S0409 to Paris. I arrived in Paris only to find that my luggage was not put on the plane.
My journey began with anticipation but quickly turned into frustration and distress as soon as I realized my luggage had not arrived in Paris with me. Throughout the ordeal, I spent countless hours on the phone with customer service, each conversation ending in promises that the bag would arrive the next day. The uncertainty was exhausting and overshadowed what was supposed to be an unforgettable adventure.
I reported it to the lost desk and was told it was still in Vienna and would be put on flight 417 that night. The luggage came on that night on flight 417, I called that night and it had arrived and I was told it would take 24-48 hours to be delivered to the apartment I was staying at for 10 days. On July 9th I was told it would be delivered on the 10th. Nothing…I called for 10 days while I was in Paris only to get the run around from the company (SBA) that took my claim (CDGOS26073) and Austrian Airlines baggage. Everyday it was going to be delivered and around On July 15th I spoke to a David at Austrian baggage, and he said totally unacceptable as they had the luggage and he was sending a expedite email to see why not deliver and make it a priority. Nothing happened, then I was told as I was leaving on the 18th back to the United States that it would be delivered to me in the US. I said it makes no sense as they had 10 days to deliver it.
After many phones calls every day, I was told to make a claim that the luggage was lost. I filed a claim, I had 2 months of clothes, medicine, prescription glasses, toiletries, vitamins, exercise wheel and 6 new shirts never worn. I purchased 3 shirts, swimsuit, flip flops in Spain-never used. I sent in credit card bills showing the purchases only to be told they want receipts. I told them the receipts were in the luggage that they lost. So, they are only offering 10% of the value I claimed. I was trying to be honest and underclaimed as most the clothes were fairly new and not at the price I would have to pay to re-purchase. What they are offering will not even buy a new suitcase. The big question is who has receipts for clothes and items they packed on a vacation???? They are offering $176.42 for $1,796.00. I purchased $141.00 of toiletries and pants to stay in Paris for 10 days without luggage.
The issue is I paid to have my luggage checked in and it is the responsibility of the airline to make sure my luggage was delivered to Paris. They failed to do that, that is a breach of contract. Bottom line is that they said they had my luggage, and they failed to deliver it. I want my luggage back or they need to pay me for what I claimed.
Needless to say, my trip to Paris was a total disaster, I had only 1 pair of pants and shirt that was washed out every night, only the very basic toiletries as I was told every day that it was going to be delivered. I could not go on several tours as again I waited by the apartment with the assumption that my luggage would be delivered. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE....I WILL NEVER FLY THEM AGAIN AND THEY ARE PART OF LUFTANSA.

AUSTRIAN AIRLINES – Be extremely careful when requesting boarding assistance! The following almost unbelievable story happened to us on a flight with Austrian Airlines from Copenhagen to Vienna (OS 304) on August 12, 2025. Since my wife (71) still has difficulty walking long distances after breaking her femur five months ago, we asked Austrian Airlines for assistance. Initially, this assistance was not available by phone from Copenhagen; instead, a lengthy online form had to be completed. This form asked for the reason for the requested assistance and required a diagnosis and confirmation from the responsible doctor in Vienna. This, of course, was impossible to obtain from Copenhagen on the weekend, so the form could not be completed completely. After many attempts, I finally reached an airline employee by phone, who clearly confirmed that assistance would be provided at the airport despite the incomplete form.

We then checked in, received our boarding passes (with seat reservations, for which we had specifically paid!), and made our way to the airport. There, the requested assistance was indeed provided without any problems by a very friendly and competent employee from the company "Falck," who took my wife the long way in a wheelchair through security to the boarding gate (Gate A17). At the boarding gate—just a few steps before boarding—a brazen person then informed us that my wife was absolutely forbidden to board the plane because the required online form had not been fully completed. Even the telephone confirmation from Austrian Airlines and the assistance already provided were completely irrelevant. I (73) could fly at any time, but I would have to leave my supposedly flightless wife behind alone!

In short (or bad!), OS 304 then flew to Vienna without us, with other "guests" occupying the seats we had specifically reserved and paid for! We soon suspected that OS 304 was overbooked, and that they were looking for "guests" who could be "eliminated" for some reason.

We actually managed to fly to Vienna that same evening with new, double-paid tickets—ironically, on another Austrian Airlines flight, where my supposedly so unfit wife even got a seat in the emergency exit row!

All in all, it was, of course, an extremely unpleasant, unjustifiable experience, with a result that cost us over 300 euros extra and a lot more stress. The attempt to reach an agreement with Austrian Airlines afterward was, of course, doomed to failure from the start, as the telephone operators refused to discuss the matter in detail!

So, all that remains is to urge everyone to double-check their security with Austrian Airlines, especially when requesting services that deviate from the usual procedure. Skepticism and mistrust are not appropriate; understanding or goodwill should not be expected!

Austrian Airlines flight OS 0452 from London to Vienna, Aug 18th, was a complete joke. The woman working the gate before boarding was unbelievably rude to everyone. She kept loudly insisting we could not bring two bags on board, even though my ticket clearly says I’m allowed a carry-on up to 8kg plus a personal item. That is what I paid for, and yet she acted like we were all trying to sneak something past her.

When I explained that my carry-on had laptops inside and I needed to keep it with me, she was dismissive, condescending, and flat-out rude. Zero professionalism, zero respect. Instead of calmly explaining or actually looking at the boarding conditions, she treated paying customers like we were a nuisance.

It’s outrageous that Austrian Airlines sells tickets with two bags included and then allows their staff to bully passengers at the gate for trying to use what they paid for. If this is how they treat customers, I’ll think twice before ever booking with them again.

Poor service. Missed our flight due to public transport delays (police stopped train for over an hour so we missed a connection, and then missed bag drop etc). Asked online customer service if they could move us to a later flight as there was plenty of space. They refused and said we would have to book new flights, neither flight was transferrable.

Once we checked our t&cs, it turned out one of the tickets actually was transferrable because it was a different ticket type with luggage, and we could transfer it.

If we had just listened to customer service and accepted it we would've been out of pocket by over £200 more than we should have been.

No apologies, no offer of assistance with the other ticket even though they had a half empty plane flying.

It's a Ryanair level of operation and servic, they just charge triple the price for it. Will never fly with Austrian Airlines again as they have done nothing to try and rectify the situation and clearly don't care about customers at all.

terrible service and the experience is absolutely awful 😖 😱 they changed my seat only because someone paid more money and also they took our cabin luggages just because they wanted to save space for the Business class. Shame on you, such a treatment, never again.

I used to fly Austrian all the time and even had a miles ticket. I was traveling with my sibling when the flight was delayed then cancelled. The app automatically booked us on another flight that goes through Heathrow airport which is impossible for us since we don't have transit visas. The flight was also in another 2 days.

I made two international calls to try to rebook the flight and was forced to hold for 20 minutes. When I asked the resonder on the phone to give me 5 minutes to check online how to get this Heathrow transit visa, she refused to hold... for 5 miserable minutes, so I can confirm the flight... It's clear that I was on hold because they take multiple calls at the same time.

Everyone else we spoke to on the app was either not trained for the job or AI. I used to fly with Austrian twice a year but suddenly they have all this AI bullshit on their app. We could not even find a customer service number to call and all the AIs/incompetent staff refused to give it to us. Finally a nice random man gave us the number from a business card he had been given by his agent...

They refused to compensate us for this delay and shitshow because it was a bird strike.... Sure, that I get, but no compensations for their utter failure as an airline?

You used to be good, Austrian. Now you're just AI trash.

I’m not normally the person to write bad reviews but I make an exception for this unprofessional lady . We recently flew with Austrian and we had some complication issues with our seat’s. There was a chief flight attendant who had a unecessary attitude and was weary rude not only towards me but also towards other passengers . This experience doesn’t only come from my perspective, I’ve heard this kind of stuff from other people too. Austrian airlines need’s to steep up with their staff.

Absolutely horrible, refuse to even attempt to help, leave passengers stranded instead of finding the solution

Our recent experience with Austrian Airlines was disappointing. Due to a delay on our initial flight, we missed our connection and were left without a proper rebooking solution. Despite assurances from their staff, we were later denied reimbursement for alternative tickets we were advised to book ourselves. Communication was poor, empathy was lacking, and the claims process has been slow and uncooperative. A frustrating experience that could have been handled more professionally.

Dear Austrian Airlines Customer Service,

I am writing to formally express my disappointment following a recent experience with your airline, which resulted in me being denied boarding due to my dog allegedly exceeding the cabin pet weight limit by 1 kg.

I have flown with Austrian Airlines at least six times with the same dog, under the same conditions, and I have never encountered any issues. I fully understand that there are rules and regulations in place for safety and consistency. However, I find it unacceptable that enforcement appears so inconsistent. If my dog’s weight has always been the same, why was it suddenly a problem now?

What made the situation even more frustrating was the unprofessional behavior of the staff member handling my check-in, Mrs. Wegschneider. Instead of trying to assist me in a constructive manner, she was dismissive and rude. She briefly suggested the possibility of transporting my dog in the cargo hold, but before anything could be arranged, she stated that we had to wait for her supervisor’s approval. Despite waiting over an hour, the supervisor never arrived. Combined with the long check-in queue, this led to me missing my flight entirely.

As a loyal customer of Austrian Airlines, I feel extremely disrespected. I could have used that lost time to explore alternative solutions or make other travel arrangements, but instead, I was left without support or recourse.

Given this experience, I regret to inform you that I will no longer be choosing Austrian Airlines for either my business or private travel. I will also advise my colleagues and professional network to consider alternative carriers, as I can no longer recommend Austrian Airlines in good faith.

I hope you will take this feedback seriously and review how such situations are handled in the future, to avoid causing unnecessary inconvenience and frustration to other passengers.