A flight for a ski break via Vienna, Munich and Zurich is a convenient way for a quick getaway winter break. Especially with airlines such as SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa, with love to the mountains and winter sports engraved in their DNA, as they originate from Alpine nations, where the art of ski was first born.
If you would like to take the opportunity of for a few days of activity during the winter school break, or you simply want to catch the last rays of March sun on the slope – this is the solution for you.
Olympic slopes in Innsbruck
With Austrian Airlines, the trip from Warsaw to Vienna takes only 1h and 25 mins. A mere hour later, after a strudel break on the Vienna Airport, and one convenient change to Innsbruck in one up to 5 daily frequencies, the Olympic slopes are open for the heart’s content.
The arrival at the Innsbruck Kranebitten Airport itself, located in a picturesque valley surrounded by 1400m peaks, is an experience of its own. The airport is situated 4km from the city of Innsbruck.
Surrounded by Alpine peaks and unique history, Innsbruck’s Austro-Hungarian buildings create a truly special atmosphere.
Austrian Innsbruck hosted Winter Olympic Games – in 1964 and 1947, as well as Youth Winter Olympic Games in 1212. Currently, the Olympic slopes in the area are available for everyone.
The Patscherkofel is the home mountain of Innsbruck. This ski resort, which is located 1400 m above the city, provides the right conditions for skiing, snowboarding and every other type of winter sport. Other resorts in the 35km radius include Seegrube-Nordkette, Glungezer, Mutterer Alm, Axamer Lizum, and romantic and always sunny Region Kühtai – one of the winter resorts on the highest altitude in Austria, where snow can be found even in late April.
In Austrian Airlines sports baggage is carried without a surcharge as long as the baggage allowance shown on your ticket is not exceeded either in terms of the number of items or weight.
Austrian Airlines operates from Warsaw to Vienna in up to 18 weekly flights as well as up to 13 weekly connections from Krakow.
Munich: the gateway to the Alps
The Alpine vibe can be sensed right on arrival on the Munich airport, greeting travelers with the peaks of the highest mountains of Europe, located several dozen kilometers from the airport, luring travelers with a promise of winter activity.
The ski resort located closest to Munich is Garmisch-Partenkirchen, known to the ski jumping fans from the Four Hills Tournament are also located nearby.
In Garmisch-Partenkirchen the classic ski slopes are available as well (Hausberg, Kreuyeck and Alpspitz/Ostenfelderkopf). Upon arrival, ski enthusiast will find 40km of slopes and 5 ways down to the valley with artificial snow support. The longest ski run is 8,8 km long, and starts at the altitude of 1330m in Osterfelderkopf.
But there are also other interesting ski resorts at a 100 to 150 kilometres distance from Lufthansa’s hub Munich. Train, busses or rental cars ensure easy access to the slopes.
Lufthansa serves 122 weekly fequecies to Munich from Gdansk, Poznan, Wrocław, Katowice, Krakow, Rzeszow, and Warsaw.
Lufthansa offers free sports baggage as long as the number of items and the weight do not exceed the free baggage allowance stipulated for selected travel class.
SWISS – skis fly with you for free
As the Airline of Switzerland, SWISS is proud to call itself the official airline of the International Lauberhorn Races, which are among the highest-attended winter sports events in the world. As a partner of Swiss-Ski SWISS also accompanies the Swiss national team on its travels to world cup and FIS races abroad. SWISS also supports its customers with their winter sports activities. Skiing and snowboarding equipment is carried free of charge on flights operated by SWISS. And with the recently introduced Stopover Switzerland programme, SWISS now also enables passengers travelling via Zurich to spend up to four days in Switzerland. Thanks to special packages, they can also spend a few days exploring the loveliest spots in the world.
And with a train station under the airport, you aren’t reliant on buses or private transfers to get you to your chosen ski resort. With the ski resorts nearest to Zurich, an early flight in will mean you could be on the slopes by lunchtime e.g. in Flumserberg – on of the most popular ski resort for Zurich locals.
Other ski resorts within a two-hour train ride from the Zurich airport include Amden, Stoops-Fronalpstock, and Mythen, with Mythenpark – an insider tip for snowboarders and freeskiers, and the crosspiste on the Rotenflue guaranteed to delight young freestylers.
On the way back to Poland one can relax at the SWISS Alpine Lounge in Terminal A of the Zurich Airport (available for SWISS business customers). The new SWISS Alpine Lounge combines the charm of a rustic yet modern alpine cabin with the comfort of the established SWISS lounges. In the heart of the lounge is a rustic oven in which seasonal dishes are prepared for guests. There is also a water fountain in the SWISS Alpine Lounge, where guests can fill their own containers.
Being the skiers’ airline of choice, SWISS happy to transport the first set of skis or snowboard and boots free of charge in addition to the standard free baggage allowance. The standard free baggage allowance per person is 1 piece of max. 23kg in Economy Class and 2 pieces of max. 32kg in Business Class.
SWISS operates on 30 weekly frequencies from Poland, serving flights between Zurich and Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk and Wroclaw.