Flight check-in at Wien Mitte

A couple of questions for anyone who has used the flight check-in service at the Wien Mitte %26quot;City airport terminal%26quot;...

Firstly, does anyone known when the check-in desks at Wien Mitte are open? I have a recollection of barrelling through and the place being deserted - and I wanted to check-in on a Sunday afternoon so wondered if there would be anyone working then ...

Secondly, is it right that you need a valid CAT train ticket to check in? Uh, why? Does this mean I am in effect paying 9 euros (one way) to check in at Wien Mitte rather than the airport? I can do that ... if I have to ... but I really prefer the S7 for 3 euros (I%26#39;m cheap!)

And thirdly, I presume I am right in supposing they will check luggage so I can get rid of my portly suitcase and go haring off to the Konzerthaus unencumbered? And I assume I do not myself need to supervise its shipment to the airport?

And lastly - to anyone who has used this service - were you duly reunited with your suitcase at your destination - or had it been dispatched to Trinidad %26amp; Tobago, never to be seen again? Call me paranoid but I can just imagine the mess us Brits would make of a system like this - can Austrian efficiency make it work? I hope so!

Thanks!

rol

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HI Roley, I used the check in this year and

1) Knicked from their website:

Check-in services at the %26quot;Wien-Mitte%26quot; railway station in the City Air Terminal are available daily from 5.00 am to 11.00 pm for all Star Alliance flights (Austrian Airlines Group, Lufthansa, etc.) from 24 hours up to 75 minutes before departure. Your airline customer service representative can provide information on the exact check-in times.

Check-in for all NIKI and Air Berlin flights is possible at the %26quot;Wien-Mitte%26quot; railway station in the City Air Terminal from 5.00 am to 9 pm, and from 6.00 pm to 9.00 pm the night before your flight.

At the %26quot;Wien-Mitte%26quot; railway station you will find four manned check-in counters to assist you. If your airline offers check-in facilities at the City Air Terminal, go to the counter, present your valid CAT ticket, and check in your luggage. You will then receive your boarding card.

2) I did have a CAT ticket, I%26#39;d decided for variety to come in on the S7 and go out on the CAT. Judging by the website, it%26#39;s the CAT service that provides the check-in, that%26#39;s why you have to travel with them. I really, really found it worth it - and I see from the site that now AirBerlin flights can check in there. Great, I%26#39;m travelling back by AB next march.

3) OK, this I can answer: yes, you check your luggage in as though it were the airport.

4) Roley, Roley, this is Austria! Have faith lol! Yes, I waved goodbye to my suitcase at Wien Mitte and next saw it 16 hours later in Leeds/Bradford.

So when%26#39;s this next trip then?

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Thank you for this - it%26#39;s very encouraging! I thought I would give it a go, since I always fly Austrian and I rashly booked myself a concert at 15:30 with a flight leaving at 19:40 - I hope that should be OK! And yeah, I%26#39;ll cough up for the CAT ticket if need be. Guess it%26#39;s worth it for the time saved.

I%26#39;m off again on 14 October - hoorah! When I came back (on 19 September hem hem) I thought oh I am a silly billy booking another hol so soon. But now I am all keen and have masses of things I want to do and ack, it%26#39;s still 2 weeks to go. I can%26#39;t wait!

xr

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If you buy your CAT Train ticket on line you save 1 euro . The site sells you a one way ticket for 8 euro. You print out the ticket and present this at check-in.- saves time and trouble.

Austrian Air will do the check-in same procedure as you would have at the airport with much smaller lines too!

I have had no problem with the luggage as they go to the airport and are just added to the regular luggage. You do not need to do anything more after Wien- Mitte. Your chances of lost luggage are the same regardless of where you check-in.

To me this service is a great thing and much less trouble and having to haul luggage around. Worth the small additional cost versus S-bahn or transfer bus.

Only problem - the CAT area is not convenient to the U-bahn or S bahn.

Austrian efficiency?

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This is very reassuring - thanks!

And yes, of course, Austrian efficiency! You%26#39;d notice a difference if you lived in Britain, believe me. When I lived in Cambridge I never dared use the train to Stansted Airport because services were always being cancelled without notice. Where I live now, people periodically find sacks of mail abandoned in ditches because the postal workers couldn%26#39;t be bothered delivering them. Mostly it%26#39;s the sheer pressure of numbers and the system buckling under the weight, I guess, but Austria is delightfully smooth-running by comparison!

r

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Not always- Cat Train had numerous problems when it first began operations- now seem to be resolved.

Also something to investigate- some airlines( such as Swiss ) allow a night before the flight check-in with luggage.

Probably better for those residing in or near Vienna but it can be a very convenient thing to do especially for Charters that often have long lines.

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www.cityairporttrain.at

Schedules, participating airlines, fares and location details

(in English as well)

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I used the CAT train about this time last year and it was very good, if almost completely deserted.

9 Euros each way is more expensive than the S-bahn but it%26#39;s also quite a lot quicker and more frequent, so we figured given we had onward travel to consider we%26#39;d splash out.