With direct flights from London to the airline's hub in Vienna, Austrian Airlines is a great choice for your flight to Austria, or beyond.

The airline flies from its Vienna hub to more than 130 convenient and exciting destinations in 66 countries around the world, including New York, Delhi and Bangkok.

Recently the carrier has announced that it is boosting its links to London, with the English capital's City airport being incorporated into its flight schedule from October 29th 2007 onwards.

It is not only England that will enjoy an increased service from Austrian Airlines however, as the carrier will continue to expand its network in eastern Europe this year.

With its winter schedule coming into effect on October 28th 2007, the operator announced that it will offer a greater choice of connections to Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia and Montenegro.

Introducing the new services, chief executive officer Alfred Otsch said: "We currently offer passengers 45 destinations and almost 600 flights a week to Central and Eastern Europe. In addition to this, passengers can enjoy the very best service on the ground and on board our aircraft."

Austrian Airlines' domestic hub, Vienna International Airport, has an average passenger transfer time of just 25 minutes, an offering that the operator claims is unique in Europe.

It is able to offer such a low transfer time through its use of advanced infrastructure and efficient handling of incoming and outgoing aircraft.

Austrian Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance, the largest airline network in the world, which allows it to offer an even greater range of great flight destinations and cheap airfares.

The alliance includes other prestigious airlines such as Lufthansa and South African Airways and collectively serves 842 destinations in almost 152 countries around the globe.

The airline regularly holds special offers with cheap airfares, and for the best choice of cheap flights from Austrian Airlines, make sure you book your ticket through Major Travel.

Commencing its flying operations in 1958 with flights between Vienna and London, the airline has a long experience of providing top quality customer service and says that it prides itself on the friendliness, charm and attentiveness of its employees.

A range of great entertainment and dining facilities are available on board Austrian Airlines flights, depending on the length and class of your flight.

The 2007 World Airline Awards named Austrian the best provider of business-class catering following evaluations by 14 million passengers from over 90 countries.

Since the middle of June 2007 passengers with Austrian Airlines have received meals from catering company Do & Co, which provides typical local foods and Austrian specialities.

The introduction of business class has dramatically increased the amount of space available on flights, with lie-flat sleeper beds available as well as seats with two metres of legroom.

Austrian Airlines operates its flights with a very modern and efficient fleet, with an average aircraft age of only 6.2 years old, which is far below the European average.

In the first half of 2007 these aircraft carried a record number of passengers for Austria's national operator.

A total of 5.08 million passengers used Austrian Airlines services and the highlight of the first six months of the year was the short- and medium-haul traffic figure. In this sector passenger numbers increased by 8.1 per cent in the first six months of 2007 compared to the same period the previous year. The airline's load factor, the rate at which it fills its planes, also increased.

Commenting on the figures, Mr Otsch said: "The record number of passengers carried and increases in our load factor figures in the first half-year are encouraging us to continue in our present overall direction."

With maintenance an extremely high priority for Austrian Airlines, the company has an exceptional safety record and has not had a single aircraft accident since it began jet operations in 1963.

In this time over 100 million passengers have boarded a flight with the carrier and been taken to their destination safely.