Travel from England to Vienna

I don't know anything about Manchester Airport, but arriving only 56 minutes before your flight (assuming your train arrives on time) is not sufficient for any major airport. You need to choose an earlier train.

It's usually a recommended minimum of two hours before departure time for international flights in the UK. Definitely get an earlier train.

Direct trains run hourly, so you have plenty of options. See also How to Look Up Train Schedules Online and our Great Britain train overview.

Thanks for the advice. I see it was said to arrive at least 2 hours early but due to meetings the earliest I could get a train would be 12: 11 and I would arrive at the airport at 1:26 pm. That leaves me only an hour and a half before the 3 pm flight. Could I make that work or would that not be a wise choice? That's the only flight from Manchester to Vienna that afternoon which is why I am trying to make it work.

Could I make that work or would that not be a wise choice?

It might work, it might not. Would it be a wise choice?

It all depends on how much you like a gamble, or how lucky you feel.

It would also depend on how you are able to put together a "Plan B" to use if you miss your plane. Can you get the next one at a reasonable price?

Considerations I would think of - knowing that there is sometimes bad weather around Sheffield and the Pennines in December, what will happen if the train is late or delayed?

What is your plan if your meeting over-runs?

It probably won't, but I might be slightly wondering....

Check flights from Leeds airport, East Midlands airport... also consider other flights, e.g. on Air Berlin via Berlin or Lufthansa via Frankfurt or Munich...

One other issue that might or might not add to your probability of just barely making that flight if arriving just an hour and a half before departure -- are you going to be carrying your luggage on board, or checking it for the airline to stow in the baggage compartment? If you're traveling light, then not having to check a bag and giving it adequate time to make it thru the baggage handling system, then getting it loaded onto the plane before it and you take off for Vienna could save some precious time. Also, make sure there's nothing that you can control that would delay you getting thru security at the Manchester airport (carrying excess liquids or gels, wearing metal thru the metal detector, having any prohibited items in your carry-ons, wearing heavy (suspicious) boots, etc.

Kimberly,

For travel from Sheffield to the Manchester Airport, you might consider an earlier direct train departing at 10:11, arriving Manchester Airport at 11:33 (no changes). A direct train will be easier than one that has changes. That will allow a bit more flexibility with flight connections, so you should be able to book a flight that departs at 13:40.

Which airline were you planning to use for the flight to Vienna? One of the airlines operating on that route is Jet2, which has a few "caveats" listed on Wikipedia.....

"Jet2 has attracted negative publicity for the way it chooses to hide the final price of flights. This includes bookings and baggages fees."

Be sure to leave some room in your flights budget for "surprises". They appear to be one of the few airlines operating on the MAN-VIE route, but note that they don't have flights every day. You'd probably have a greater choice of flights from the London airports, but that would require slightly longer travel time from Sheffield.

Good luck!

I used the website skyscanner and found a flight that leaves Manchester at 3:50 and arrives in Vienna at 9:40. The first leg of the flight is flown by germanwings and after the layover in Dusseldorf it is flown by Austrian airlines. Does anyone know if this is a reliable site to book through?