Travel: Flights to Vienna

The Vienna International Airport (IATA: VIE) (ICAO: LOWW) is actually located in the suburb of "Schwechat". The airport "Wien-Schwechat" is the home base of the Flagcarrier Austrian and the budget airline Fly Niki. Most European airlines and a significant number of international airlines have direct connections to Vienna.

Nevertheless, sometimes it is cheaper to fly to a nearby city and connect by train or bus. Ryanair flies to Linz (1.5 - 2 hours by train), Graz (2.5 hours by train) and Brno (IATA: BRQ) and Sky Europe flies to Bratislava (1.5 hours by bus and 8 euros book at Ryan airlines destinations page). By March 25, 2007, SkyEurope will also serve Vienna International Airport from which the company will operate a network of 16 European routes.

There are three options by public transport to reach the city center of Vienna.

• Taxi

As a point of reference, a taxi from the airport to the western part of the city (District 7) is around EUR 40 (including extras and a tip). A taxi from the Rennweg S-Bahn station (where the S-Bahn to the airport departs) to the airport costs around 25 EUR. Taxi prices are negotiable before you climb in!

• City Airport Train

The City Airport Train (CAT) takes you directly from the airport to the city centre in 16 minutes. The return ticket costs €16 or €9 one way. The CAT is used mainly by business travellers (or those lured by advertising into believing that there are no alternatives) and is only useful if you are in a great hurry. The CAT is owned by the airport (not by the Austrian Federal Railways) and is heavily advertised in Austrian Airlines cabin announcements upon landing, in terminal transfer buses and in the airport building itself.

When you leave Vienna by plane, and if you use Star Alliance Flights, Air Berlin or Fly Niki, your baggage can be checked in at the city center, which leaves you baggage-free and more time in Vienna; the price is still high for saving 11 minutes.

[Note: If you are flying to the United States, due to extra security measures, you cannot check-in your luggage at the City Center.]

• S-Bahn (local commuter train)

Although no longer advertised by the airport management (which prefers to deny the S-Bahn's existence and to promote its overpriced CAT instead), the normal S-Bahn (Schnellbahn) (fast regional train) S7 (or S2) is also direct, merely 10 minutes slower than the CAT and costs just a third: €6 return (or €3 one way) if bought in advance (and only €3 if you have the Wien card), stopping at Wien Mitte, Wien Nord and Wien Handelskai among others. If you already have a U-Bahn day pass, you only need to add a ?Aussenzonen? (outer zone) ticket for 2 Euro (1.50 Euro if bought in advance). Do punch the ticket before getting on the S-Bahn, as punching machines are not installed inside the train. Note that you will need to buy a 2-zone ticket (or two 1-zone tickets) to total €3 each way to and from the airport. To reach the S-Bahn, follow the CAT signs for all but the final 50 meters: the S-Bahn and the CAT leave from the same underground railway station, but from different platforms. For more information check out http://www.info.wien.at/article.asp?IDArticle=10263.

Once you have your 2-zone ticket, you can travel from the airport to any Viennese destination (free transfer for one hour; you don't need to buy further tickets for Viennese bus, subway or tram lines).

• Bus

There are two direct lines going every 30 minutes from the airport to Vienna. One is going to "Morzinplatz" next to "Schwedenplatz" very close to the city center, the other one to the main railway stations. At Schwedenplatz you have two subway lines (U4 and U1) as well as busses and trams. In about 5 minutes walk you are at St. Stephan´s Cathedral, the very center of Vienna. The trip costs €6 and takes about 20 minutes. The bus trip to Südbahnhof (Southern Rail Station) or Westbahnhof (Western Rail Station) costs €6 and takes about half an hour. Usually a bus leaves the airport or the stations every 30 minutes. Costs : Single ride - 6 Euro, Round trip - 11 Euro. You buy the ticket from the bus driver.