United and Star Alliance partner airlines still have some routes to Vienna and Salzburg, Austria on sale at $421 round trip from Los Angeles and $432 San Francisco for travel August to October.
There are far fewer routes and fewer competitive fares with Oneworld and SkyTeam airlines. Several cities in Germany, Poland and Budapest are still priced in the $400s with Star Alliance. Last weekend there were fares in the $300s and $400s from LAX, SFO and SJC with all three alliances to many cities in Central Europe.
United Airlines $431.06 round trip
San Francisco SFO – Washington IAD – Vienna VIE – Chicago ORD – San Francisco SFO
Tue Oct 17 – Tue Oct 24
United Airlines/Austrian Airlines $420.96 round trip
Los Angeles LAX – Chicago ORD – Vienna VIE (Austrian) – Salzburg ZSB (train) – Vienna (train) (17 hr overnight layover) – Los Angeles LAX (Austrian)
Tue Oct 17 – Tue Oct 24
A train ride across Salzburg takes longer than a flight, but the ride can be kind of pleasurable. I rode the Vienna to Salzburg route last year for a flight to California from Salzburg. Interestingly, what surprised me about my trip to Salzburg in September 2016 was finding the majority of tourists in the city walking around with cameras like me were Asian tourists.
This ticket also includes a 17 hour overnight in Vienna on the return for an opportunity to spend the evening in the city before flying home.
Trip Report: Vienna Snow Day, White Night (Dec 2016).
