1 · POSITION
The object that distinguishes Austrian’s long-haul business class is a person. On 3 March 2023 the airline and its catering partner DO & CO announced the comeback of the Flying Chefs after a three-year break attributed to the pandemic. From April 2023 chefs employed by DO & CO were to work in the cabin on flights to long-haul destinations. What is offered is described as cooking rather than as a seat. [1]
2 · THE RETURN WAS STAGED
The announcement describes a gradual reintroduction. In the first months of the summer schedule the chefs were to curate the existing business-class service, and from summer 2023 guests were promised a completely newly designed catering service built on regional products with an Austrian emphasis. The chief commercial officer Michael Trestl is quoted welcoming the chefs back on long-haul flights, and DO & CO’s Attila Dogudan speaks of menus built around individual preferences. Both are company statements. [1]
3 · THE FLAT BED CAME IN TWO STEPS
The airline’s own history dates a new Austrian Business Class to 2006, when the first Boeing 777 took off with it, and a new long-haul cabin with full flat business seats to 2012. Premium Economy was presented for the long-haul fleet in 2017, and short- and medium-haul aircraft had been reseated in 2011. Two Boeing 787-9s had entered scheduled service by 2024, a type announced in April 2023 with adjustable lighting and dimmable windows. [2, 3]
4 · TWO AUSTRIAN HABITS
The history records that seventy-two per cent of 2,500 passengers surveyed in 2018 were in favour of keeping the Danube waltz played during boarding, and it was kept. In spring 2021 the airline launched a catering concept called Austrian Melangerie on European flights of up to three hours. A uniform and corporate design named AUA Red dates from 1996. These are named rituals rather than equipment. [2]
5 · ⚑ CANDOUR
⚑ The Flying Chefs belong to long-haul business class and cannot be assumed on any other route or cabin. The three-year break is asserted without a stated suspension date, and the redesigned catering is a promise recorded in March 2023 rather than a verified outcome. The 787 release describes lighting and window dimming as expectations for aircraft not yet delivered. The history gives the founding as 30 September 1957, agreeing with the register, and the first scheduled flight as 31 March 1958. [1–3]
Sources & Further Reading
Sources checked 12 October 2026.