We are looking to visit the Austrian Christmas markets Dec 2024. Planning to fly in to VIE and leave from SZG. We did this in 2015 (LAX-VIE, SZG-LAX) and 2016 (R/T from Munich, rented a car that trip, which we will not be doing this time around).
Would appreciate any insights in regards to which airports to avoid, given the double whammy of winter and holiday travel. We're hoping to go early December to avoid the worst of holiday travel. In 2015 we flew Lufthansa, and the connections through Frankfurt were fine. But I was eyeing getting in a bit earlier this time around, which would mean either Air Canada or Air Canada/Austrian, w/ connections in either Toronto or Montreal. Return will probably be SZG-LAX on Lufthansa, connecting through Frankfurt, fewer moving parts than taking a train in to Munich to catch a flight there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Los Angeles
4412 posts
I just did that trip, but in early October so might not work for the Christmas bit. Austrian flies a nonstop LAX-VIE for some reason but it's seasonal, so you might experiment with some dates researching nonstops next year to see when it's running. And Austrian is owned by Lufthansa so you can easily interface with them at German airports on the return.
I did the train from Salzburg to Munich airport to catch the Lufthansa nonstop back home (again an odd routing but worked for me), spent the night at the Munich airport Hilton it was ultra easy. And it's a pretty train ride.
From what I've seen online lately people are not loving Air Canada so much. I would always for a nonstop where possible.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
I just did that trip, but in early October so might not work for the Christmas bit. Austrian flies a nonstop LAX-VIE for some reason but it's seasonal, so you might experiment with some dates researching nonstops next year to see when it's running. And Austrian is owned by Lufthansa so you can easily interface with them at German airports on the return.
I did the train from Salzburg to Munich airport to catch the Lufthansa nonstop back home (again an odd routing but worked for me), spent the night at the Munich airport Hilton it was ultra easy. And it's a pretty train ride.
From what I've seen online lately people are not loving Air Canada so much. I would always for a nonstop where possible.
Thanks for your advice. Lufthansa has schedules through the first week of Dec 2024, so I checked. No nonstops LAX-VIE, unfortunately. My top options are AC through Toronto, AC/OS through Montreal, or LH/OS through Frankfurt. Looks like the Canadians are saying Toronto might be better for winter travel, since it doesn't usually get as much snow as Montreal. I might look into the train into Munich for the return flight. More options than SZG
Posted by
San Diego, California
4735 posts
When I did a Xmas markets trip precovid, I noticed that the nonstops only ran a few times a week, so don't give up yet! Good luck!
Posted by
OP
9 posts
Thanks! We're really looking forward to it. Our third Austrian Christmas market trip. 2015 we did Vienna and Salzburg, 2016 we landed in Munich, stopped at Linderhof en route to Innsbruck, did some northern Italian towns, Berchtesgaden, Fussen, Herrenchiemsee. This time we'll replicate the Vienna and Salzburg and avoid the rental car. But there is just something about Old World Christmas markets, isn't there!
Posted by
Chicago
291 posts
Airline schedules are first loaded into the system ~330 days ahead of time. But there
is often a revision of schedules once or twice during the year. And airlines are more
apt to modify destinations these days with shorter notice. So it will be around end of
Jan before you can book anything, and no matter what you book, I would expect it to
change.
So, 1) whatever you end up booking, check every once in a while and make sure you
still have it 2) if something happens like last week's storm that shut MUC down, you
will be hosed no matter what.
As Munich is generally viewed as a more efficient airport with less walking than FRA,
it seems like a tossup to me whether SZG-FRA-LAX is better than SZG->MUC by train
and MUC-LAX. The connect time probably kind of equals the train time. But I see
where you're coming from with having to change from DB to SBahn.
You might add confidence to the connection by flying through Madrid, Lisbon, or Milan.
Zurich might also work, but I'd train it from Salzburg to Zurich.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
Thanks for the great insights, shoeflyer.
I won't know till March if DD will be able to get the time off next year. Poor kid is an intern at the county hospital, working through the holidays this year, so, dreaming of gluhwein and pretzels next year. But I enjoy researching and planning ahead.
I did read about the storm in Munich this year. Mother Nature is getting more unpredictable nowadays, isn't she.
Any thoughts on the flight over? Would you pick a connection through Toronto, the US, or Frankfurt? My research so far points to either Toronto (the "rhythm" of the flight is better..a 5 hour flight during the daytime, a 3+ hour layover, and then a longer transatlantic flight allowing for sleep, and then arriving around 9 AM) or Lufthansa via Frankfurt. I figure with Lufthansa, there are more options to get us to Vienna from Frankfurt than there would be from Toronto.
Posted by
Paris
9590 posts
I like to get further on my first flight to have more options.
If you make it to Frankfurt, indeed, you are going to have far more options for making it onward.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
thanks, Kim
Posted by
Chicago
291 posts
I second what Kim said; in addition, if the goal is to get somewhere in Europe,
getting anywhere in Europe is preferable to spending the night in the US - you
are pretty much guaranteed to lose a day of your trip.
Toronto, I would think, carries a bit more risk since it's farther north, and, transiting
through a 3rd country, even if it's Canada, is a factor. What, for instance, if Canada
institutes some sort of travel restriction for connecting passengers that the US does
not have?
If you have to connect from LAX, connecting through the hub of an alliance airline
may give you more options for managing the time of the flight. For instance, LH has
late night flights to MUC or FRA out of Chicago, so you're more likely to be tired. Of
course, starting in Cali kind of negates that.
You appear to be tending towards Star Alliance, but you could also fly to CDG, AMS,
CPH. Or ZRH on Star Alliance. If you have status on UA, that makes sense, but if you
don't, and price is a factor, those options are viable.
matrix.itasoftware.com is a great site for doing comprehensive searches.
Posted by
Los Angeles
683 posts
...but you could also fly to CDG, AMS, CPH. Or ZRH on Star Alliance.
I believe shoeflyer intended to say Sky Team, which does greatly expand your options, as does returning from Munich, which offers many more choices than Salzburg. I would think the train connection would be relatively painless.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
thank you shoeflyer and markcw for your advice and insights.
I think I will cross Canada off my list. And lean towards connecting on the continent. Even if something goes sideways it will be much nicer to be on the continent enjoying some sort of Christmas market, old world vibe, if/while delayed.
DD also mentioned taking the train back to Vienna for the last night and leaving from there, since we are more familiar with Vienna, and the train routing. But yes, Munich does give me far more flight options, and it is reassuring to know that others have had no issues w/ taking the train there.
But you have all answered the question that I had on my mind, which is where to transit through, thank you again for taking the time to share your wisdom and experience.