The airlines operating from Austria expect that many passengers will be on the road, especially in midsummer. After more than two years of corona-related "dry spells", demand has risen sharply again. But what actually happens at Austrian Airlines when there is no more space in the hand luggage compartments?

Especially on short and medium-haul routes, most airlines no longer include checked baggage in the cheapest economy class fares. Many passengers are not willing to pay extra for this and exhaust the permitted amount of hand luggage completely. When flights are fully booked, things can get tight. But what does Austrian Airlines do when it is determined on board that there is no room at all for the last trolleys and handbags?

"If hand baggage can no longer be properly and safely stowed in the cabin (in the overhead bins or under the front seat), the excess hand baggage will be loaded into the hold free of charge. Since the stowage of hand luggage during boarding can generally lead to delays and, above all, the short-term loading of hand luggage from the cabin is very time-consuming, the handling of hand luggage carries the risk of delaying departure. Accordingly, various measures have been taken to reduce the amount of hand luggage on board. This includes, among other things, checking hand luggage for size, weight and number, as well as the option of being able to check in hand luggage that conforms to the rules free of charge at the check-in counter on selected flights,” explains an AUA spokeswoman.

Small children are not allowed to sit in the exit row

Paid seat reservations are now a very good source of income for airlines, because more and more travelers are willing to pay money for the seat they want. While low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet work together to set travelers apart in order to be able to collect cash for sitting together in the last step before printing the boarding cards, many seats can be selected free of charge with Austrian Airlines during web check-in. However, it is possible to reserve these for money in advance.

The seats in the exit row are particularly popular because there is usually more legroom there. Frequent flyers know that small children are not allowed to sit there. But what actually happens at Austrian Airlines when a family with small children reserves the seats at the emergency exit for a fee.

A spokeswoman responded to this question: "Since the age of all passengers must be specified when booking the flight, the family cannot reserve a row at the emergency exit in this case - our system does not allow it. In the unlikely event that this should nevertheless happen, the family or a traveling companion with legal guardianship and the infant will be relocated on board by the crew. The safety of our passengers and crew is always our top priority.”

Lost your boarding pass in the security area - it's not the end of the world

Boarding cards are now only of a symbolic nature, because the QR code they contain can also be shown from a smartphone at most European airports. On some holiday flights, however, there is no internet and/or automatic check-in, so travelers can only get their boarding pass with a QR code at the counter.

No one does it on purpose, but time and again it just happens that the boarding pass gets lost somewhere on the way from the check-in counter to the gate. Be it left at the security checkpoint or simply dropped out of your pocket unnoticed. If you traveled by train, you would have a problem with machine and counter tickets, because these would be gone in the truest sense of the word. In aviation, however, this is not the end of the world.

A spokeswoman for Austrian Airlines replied to the question of what passengers who lost their boarding pass in the security area should do - instead of getting nervous and worrying about flying: "In this case, the affected passenger can contact the colleagues at the station contact at Vienna Airport. Austrian Airlines/Star Alliance ticket counters are located both before and after the security checks in Terminal 3. Here the passenger will be issued a new boarding pass”.

Forgot your smartphone and co on board? You can do that

Who does not know this scenario? As soon as the plane has landed, the first passengers jump up and want to get their hand luggage from the overhead bins. The flight attendants warn with announcements that you can only get up when the machine is in the parking position. At this point at the latest, the rest of the passengers are getting hectic and the aisle is filling up so much that nobody can move.

Some travelers feel stressed by fellow passengers who feel that standing in the aisle allows them to get off faster. It sometimes happens that personal items such as smartphones, books, bags or jackets are forgotten on the plane in the rush. As it is in life: It is only noticeable when you have left the cabin for a long time.

The chances of getting the forgotten items back are not that bad if you act as quickly as possible. A spokeswoman for Austrian Airlines explains the procedure: "Since the lost items are found in most cases by the cleaning staff of the aircraft and thus the airports, they are also taken to the Lost & Found office of the respective airport. After entering there, the passenger will be informed within 24 hours. If they have any questions, passengers can also contact Austrian Airlines customer service, which can be reached on 051766 1000.

Boarded the wrong plane?

While it's easy to get on the wrong train by mistake in rail travel, it's more complicated in aviation. It is very rare for passengers to be seated on the wrong aircraft due to a chain of unfavorable circumstances. When that happens, the public usually finds out about the debacle in the form of major media reports.

For example, a British woman who wanted to fly from London to Palma de Mallorca a few years ago, but only found out at passport control that she had landed in Kyiv-Borispil, caused a stir. Such cases are extremely rare and should not occur. But exceptions prove the rule.

What does Austrian Airlines actually do if a passenger who wanted to fly from Vienna to Palma de Mallorca mistakenly flew to Frankfurt am Main due to a chain of unfavorable circumstances? A spokeswoman explained this scenario, which is extremely rare: “This case is actually extremely unusual, as the ticket is already checked or scanned when boarding or boarding the machine. Should this actually happen, the passenger can contact the crew. If the aircraft is still at the gate, the passenger will be picked up and taken to the service center. If the passenger only notices it while he is being taxied on the runway, in most cases he will be picked up from the aircraft by an Austrian employee and then also taken to the service center. During the flight, turning back or stopping over to disembark is not planned. However, our ground staff at the destination will do their best to bring the passenger to their original destination safely and as quickly as possible”.