Austrian Airlines review by Tony 2016-03-16

Economy Flex is a phoney offer
Austrian – along with parent airline Lufthansa and Swissair – introduced their new, passenger friendly fare structure with a lot of media noise last summer. however, in practice it is an offer no passenger should take up. Why? When booking, the site suggests that choosing this option allows you to re-book to an earlier flight on the same day without cost (if seats are available, of course). Sounds exactly what you are looking for when travelling on business and longing to get home a bit earlier? Do not trust it. Actually the offer is tied to “available seats in the same booking class”. But on busy business routes more often than not, only the most expensive booking class is available which usually means a hefty payment if you want to use the option. Even if you would not think so, reputable airlines like these are playing foul marketing tricks to squeeze a few EUR out of their passengers. My advice: go for the cheapest ticket and if possible use alternative carriers like Air Berlin or Transavia. They are not any worse, actually even better, at lower cost. Face it, the airline industry is so starved that it acts shortsighted and does not shy back to t