I don’t ride on the ERJ195 very much, mostly because they are not popular in North America. However, they are a great ride. Like their smaller brother, the ERJ170, the ERJ 195 is very comfortable. Val and I rode with Austrian on their ERJ195 in Business Class between Vienna and Vilnius. This is a continuation of our Thanksgiving trip to Europe and the second flight on Austrian, but after spending 5 days in Vienna. I didn’t know what to expect from this short flight but I was pleasantly surprised.
Bottom Line: I really loved Austrian’s ERJ195 in Business Class. For a 95 minute flight, the service was just fantastic. I rarely say this, but the meal provided was fantastic. Sure, Euro-Business is just economy with a seat blocked, but on the ERJ 195 that means you’re own row.
Austrian Airlines ERJ195 Boarding VIE
We arrived at the gate about 30 minutes before departure time. We didn’t have enough time to check out any of the lounge options here in Vienna, I don’t feel the need to get to airports that early on an intra-Schengen flight.
Boarding was soon called. Austrian boards by groups starting with Group 1 and ends with Group 5. Group 2 is for Business Class passengers like us.
Austrian Airlines ERJ195 Business Class Cabin
Business Class on the Austrian ERJ195 is standard Euro-Business. This means that each row has a seat blocked out. Because the 2-2 arrangement of seats on the ERJ195, that means you get your own row to yourself.
On this particular Austrian flight, there were 3 rows of business class. Because the seats are the same as economy, the airline can move the deviding curtain and create more business class seats as needed.
Next to me there was an empty seat. Val was in the row behind me. In this situation you can sit in either seat, window or aisle, I think I was assigned the window but it doesn’t really matter.
Austrian Airlines ERJ195 Business Class Comfort and Features
The leg room on the Austrian ERJ195 is decent, but there’s no extra leg room than economy, but it is nice to not have a seat mate.
There’s no in seat entertainment options on the Austrian ERJ195. This is why I always have some podcasts or shows downloaded onto my phone.
There’s a little coat hook on the seat in-front too. Not sure how useful this really is, my jacket basically hung into my lap, but it does exist. (I moved my jacket to the seat next to me.)
Austrian Airlines ERJ195 Departure and Takeoff
Outside it looked a little stormy. The chief flight attendant gave her welcome announcement and said it would be a 1:35 flight up to Vilnius. The door was then shut. They gave the safety briefing.
We pushed back right on time and began our taxi to the runway. As we did, the pilot made his welcome announcement. He told us he’d update in flight with some more information.
There were a few breaks in the clouds as we took off.
We soon turned and pointed North towards Vilnius. This part of the world is really beautiful.
Once above the clouds the flight was extremely smooth. The ERJ195 is a nice riding aircraft(Except for that time we diverted on an Air France ERJ190).
Austrian Airlines ERJ195 Business Class Meal
The seatbelt sign was turned off and the flight attendant here in business class sprung into action.
She came around and asked if we’d like some lunch. I didn’t know what type of service to expect on a short 95 minute flight on an ERJ.
Turns out Austrian served a full hot meal! Even on this short flight.
There’s not options, it’s just a would you like lunch?
Today we got a potato curry with chicken and rice. It was surprising good. It’s not as good as Singapore’s offering, but I was extremely satisfied. I’ve had much worse food in business class on long haul flights.
I had a coke with my lunch. There’s no cart service on this flight, the attendant just runs back and forth to the front galley. She was really great, the service on Austrian is top notch.
Austrian gets a full 5 stars for their business class lunch on the ERJ195. I’m really impressed. When we started to eat our desserts, we were asking if we’d like some coffee, I again declined.
Outside this is a beautiful day for a flight. Nice and smooth. So far, I’m seriously enjoying myself on this trip.
About halfway through the flight, while flying over Warsaw, Chocolate was distributed.
It’s a milk chocolate, not really my thing.
Austrian Airlines ERJ195 Lavatory
The front lavatory on the Erj195 isn’t small, but doesn’t have a ton of head height. With my headphones on, I was bumping my head on the ceiling. It was very clean for the whole flight though.
Austrian Airlines ERJ195 Business Class In Flight
There’s no in flight entertainment on the Austrian ERJ195, so I settled into a podcast I had downloaded on my phone. There’s also no power provided to charge devices so plan accordingly.
As we continued further north the clouds had subsided completely.
And even further north we could see the snow on the ground. This is the Baltic area in November after all.
Austrian ERJ195 Decent and Landing
The pilots came on and asked for the flight attendants to prepare for landing. We started to decend about 25 minutes before landing. The flight attendant passed through the cabin and then stowed the curtain.
Just a few minutes later we landed into a somewhat wet Vilnius.
And at the gate just a minute or two later. A perfect flight in basically every way.
Austrian ERJ195 Business Class Final Thoughts
This was a great flight. I know an Austrian ERJ195 isn’t an exciting aircraft or flight, but I really enjoyed it. Austrian does everything right and the whole process was very polished. The flight was right on time, the service was friendly and fast, the meal was shockingly good, and the seats were comfortable. The only downside is the lack of in seat power or entertainment.
Sure, ERJ195 euro-business hard product isn’t amazing, the seats are just economy rows with a seat blocked, but really, that’s a very comfortable way to travel. This was our second Austrian Euro-Business Class flight in 5 days, I have to say I’m impressed. They are a very solid experience and I would love to ride with them again. Hopefully on one of their long haul flights.
Follow Our Trip
Brief Review: United 737-9 Max Economy. ATL-ORD
Lounge Review: United Polaris Lounge ORD
Flight Review: Lufthansa 747-8 Business Class Upper Deck. ORD-FRA
Lounge Review: Lufthansa Panorama Lounge Frankfurt
Flight Review: Austrian Airlines A320 Business Class. FRA-VIE
Hotel Review: 25 Hours Hotel Vienna Museumsquartier
Flight Review: Austrian Airlines ERJ195 Business Class. Small Plane, Great Food. VIE-VNO
Hotel Review: Artagonist Hotel Vilnius
Lounge Review: Narbutas Business Lounge VNO
Flight Review: airBaltic A220-300 Economy. VNO-TLL
Hotel Review: Hotel Telegraaf Tallinn Estonia
Lounge Review: Business reLounge Tallinn Airport
Flight Review: Lufthansa A321 Economy. TLL-FRA
Hotel Review: Hotel Sinsheim Am Technik Museum
Hotel Review: LUME Boutique Hotel Frankfurt
Flight Review: Delta Air Lines A330-200 Delta One-Business Class. FRA-DTW