Talk:Vienna International Airport

Railway options

First of all the City Air Train (CAT) is not faster than the S-Bahn. They travel at the same speed. Only the S-Bahn stops more often.

Secondly the S-Bahn offers more station to connect or get out inside Vienna (Rennweg, Wien Mitte, Praterstern, Floridsorf).

Third of all I think we shouldn't promote the connection that every Viennese considers as "rip off" due to the high prices and no services (no wireless, no food either).

Fourth the CAT doesn't travel that much more often than the S-bahn.

While I like all new images User:PrinceGloria put, I do think we shouldn't promote the CAT. I would kick that one and replace by the S-Bahn. Also if you look back in Vienna the S-bahn was rightfully named first. --Axisstroke (talk) 06:49, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

I don't have the feeling we promote the CAT, for the record both here and in other sites I've always been quite critical of it, especially the marginal extra value vs. the price hike over the S-Bahn. I like the luggage drop feature though. At any rate, I believe it is important to show how the CAT looks like for the traveller who ends up in the wrong platform to be able to back off. Let us just list the facts and let the traveller make the choice - since "everybody" considers it a rip-off, it should be an obvious one (and I still sometimes choose the CAT to save me the hassle with luggage).

BTW, is the SPEED of the train the same, or the connection time? I believe the CAT take marginally less time to get to Mitte, regardless of whether it is valuable or not. I'd simply use more precise wording - for somebody, 10 mins may make a difference. PrinceGloria (talk) 06:54, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

The picture does promote the CAT. I think it is better to put an S-Bahn out there (several of those across Vienna). Also due to putting it up-front we do promote it. The check-in facility is quite limited. Many traverls do not know the S-Bahn and end up with CAT tickets due to the airport shops.

The CAT travels on the same railway as the S-Bahn hence same speed. The CAT travel time is a bit shorter due to not stopping anywhere besides Landstrasse.

The S-7 can get you before CAT in Vienna, depending on your departure time. I will restore conventional ordering. --Axisstroke (talk) 07:09, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

I think, with all due respect, that it is absurd to say that a picture promotes the CAT. Just as well we may say that a picture promotes the S-Bahn. We just put pictures up there for illustrative purposes, and the text gives the reader the ability to discern and choose. Our narrative here is clear and surely not promotional.

The speed is quite irrelevant - when one refers to the connections as "faster" what matters is the total travel time. Which is shorter on the CAT, regardless if worth the money. And the article clearly states that the S7 can get you quicker to Vienna depending on departure time.

Feel free to reorder this, but I believe the wording is just right to give the traveller the ability to discern properly. PrinceGloria (talk) 07:13, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

PS. I actually believe that putting the CAT first is actually better for the traveller, for it makes them read our advice on the CAT first, as CAT may be the first thing they come across. Only on reading on the drawbacks on CAT may they understand why they should delve into the more complicated world of S-Bahn.

As a matter of fact, there is some CAT infrastructure at the airport (and Wien Mitte), and as far as I know, the service is rather popular among tourists as well as citizens. Although the Taurus locomotive of the CAT definitely has a higher top speed than the 4020 and 4024 S-Bahn trains, I'm not sure whether it actually is faster than the S-Bahn, but it is definitely more comfortable than it and as a Viennese citizen myself I don't think the CAT service is considered a "rip-off". Therefore, the City Airport Train is definitely relevant for a travel guide about the airport in my opinion, and we shouldn't remove pictures of it just because you don't like it. (By the way, the S-Bahn and the CAT are currently operated by the same company.)    FDMS  4    12:39, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

There is no question about the listing itself. The speed of both S-7 and CAT are *not* limited by their respective locomotives. The CAT is a superbe tourist rip-off, the case for it is even stronger now that it won't connect to the Hauptbahnhof, but the S7 will. In any case, your tone is very much of a Viennese, please do some effort for the future to sound nicer and not personal. Best, --Axisstroke (talk) 13:57, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

I'm sorry, but I don't have the feeling that my comment was less friendly than yours – anyway, my intentions are and have always been to communicate in a friendly way.

Regarding "rip-off": I've found an article saying that 82% of passengers would "definitely again" choose the City Airport Train again (81% even recommend it) while only less than 0.5% definitely wouldn't …    FDMS  4    13:10, 25 June 2014 (UTC)