Whether you’re here for the bold ‘beach towel’ stripes or you’re wondering if Condor’s new A330neo can actually compete with the big guys, you’ve come to the right place. After flying Condor Business Class on two separate routes, we’re breaking down everything from the lie-flat seats to the service to see if this quirky airline is worth your dollars or miles!
Who is Condor?
Founded in 1955 and once owned by Lufthansa, Condor has been flying long and short haul routes to various tourist markets. Today, Condor maintains its main base in Frankfurt and offers year-round and seasonal flights to about 90 tourist destinations across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Since 2024, the A330neo has been used for long haul flights in a re-branded and modern cabin…with lots of stripes!
Our Flights:
- Route:
- YYZ – Toronto to FRA – Frankfurt: departure at 18:30 and arrival at 06:25, which is about a 7 hour flight.
- FRA – Frankfurt to HKT – Phuket: departure at 14:50 and arrival at 08:10, which is about an 11.25 hour flight.
- Aircraft: Airbus A330-900neo
- Seat: 6K and 8K on both flights
- Price/Points Used: Redeemed 85,000 Atmos points each (formerly Alaska Mileage Plan).
1. Ground Experience
The ground experience was what you would expect in general.
- Check-in & Security:
- YYZ: For check-in, there was a dedicated line for business class passengers that moved quickly. We had to show our itinerary for the return home to have our boarding passes printed through to Phuket. Overall, the service was friendly and efficient. For security, access to premium security, which involves a queue jump was provided, but we used the Trusted Traveler line instead.
- FRA: We decided to clear customs to go explore Frankfurt during our 8 hour layover. As we already have our boarding pass, we didnt visit the check in desk in Frankfurt. Security was quick and efficient, as was customs.
- Lounge Access:
- YYZ: Condor doesn’t have their own lounges but offers access to a 3rd party lounge, in this case the Plaza Premium International Lounge. We found this lounge rather disappointing, as it was crowded and had very basic food/drink options that we found unappealing overall. One strange positive was the bathrooms, which were private and kept clean despite the crowds.
- FRA: We had access to the Lufthansa Senator Lounge, which was a pleasant experience. With ample seating and no crowds at the time of our visit, the lounge provided a very peaceful space to relax. We ended up using one of the shower rooms and it was clean and well equipped with all you need to freshen up in transit. There were varied and high quality food and beverage options, including a wide array of German beer and wines, as well as many alcohol-free products (including alcohol-free wine and spirits). The food options included a wide variety of small savoury and sweet snacks, hot dishes (soups, stews) as well as many cold dishes, like a salad bar. They featured some German style foods, like dumplings and pretzels!
- Boarding: Boarding was more or less on time for both flights, but the gate situation in Toronto was very crowded and disorderly. In Frankfurt, the gate was more spacious, but boarding was a little chaotic due to all the families traveling with children.
2. The Cabin & Seat
While the livery might be extremely unique and polarizing, the cabin style is much more muted. The design is sleek and modern with dark blue accents to the seat and the placement of stripes in some spots to keep it all in check.
Overall, we found the seat was comfortable and spacious (especially the A and K seats, which have the side table closer to the aisle). We chose 6K and 8K to have more privacy and for each of us to get a window seat! Other than the lack of storage, we have no major complaints. The seat showed minor signs of wear and tear in some spots. For the YYZ-FRA leg, the aircraft was very clean, but the aircraft from FRA-HKT had some spots that appeared to have been missed during the cleaning, i.e. spots on the tray table that needed to be wiped.
Seat Specs:
| Feature | Details |
| Configuration | 1-2-1 (All aisle access) |
| Bed Length | ~199 cm (6’6″) |
| Storage | The seat did not have much storage and the footwell space was a little narrow. The best place to store smaller items was in the small open compartment by the side table, or on the side table. Depending on the size of the items you want access to, they will need to go in the overhead bin. |
| Tech | 17.3” 4K screen, touch screen and remote, you can use your own Bluetooth headphones, and there are charging ports (USB A and USB C). |
| Prime Seats | The four seats in the first row of the business class cabin are known as “Prime Seats”: they come with extra perks, like extra legroom, a larger screen, a visitor seat, a small storage compartment, pajamas and a snack basket are also provided.These come at an extra cost and you can pay to upgrade to them. |
3. The “Soft Product” (Service & Amenities)
Service was attentive, efficient, and friendly. The soft product was better than we expected and also better than other higher rated airlines we have flown in the past.
- Amenity Kit: The amenity kit provided was lightweight and made of recyclable/sustainable materials. The kits had socks (striped of course!), an eye mask, Rituals toiletries (lip balm and moisturiser). We really like the Ritual toiletries and found them to be good quality and a pleasant scent. Slippers (with stripes!) were also provided, which is a nice touch. Ear plugs were only available on request. In addition, another small kit was provided, like a gadget bag or even a beach pouch, which we found very useful.
- Bedding: The bedding was comfortable: a mattress pad, pillow, and blanket are provided. The pillow was large and plush, the blanket was soft and cozy, and the mattress pad, while looking a little worn, did provide some extra comfort for the entire flight.
- Service Pace: Both the dinner and breakfast service was quick and efficient. The Flight Attendants did not come through the cabin often after the meal service, but passengers were invited to come to the front galley any time for snacks and drinks throughout the flight: service was prompt and friendly.
- Internet: Internet is available for a fee, free inflight text messaging is not available.
- In-flight Entertainment: The IFE system had some good options for movies, TV shows, and more. The flight map and camera views were fun and interesting too.
4. Food & Beverage
We found the food and dining experience to be consistent on both flights and the concept really met our preferences. During boarding, we were served a glass of German sparkling wine that was really good (we ended up having more on the flight!).
- YYZ-FRA: The meal service follows a tray service model, but offers a lot of variety. For dinner, we served a selection of appetizers, followed by a choice of a main, and one dessert option. For breakfast, they serve a tray with a couple of sweet and savoury things without a choice, but we were not hungry and chose to sleep. The bread basket that has those signature pretzels is offered a couple of times during both services.
- FRA-HKT: The meal service follows a tray service model, but offers a lot of variety. For dinner, we served a selection of appetizers, followed by a choice of a main, a cheese course, and one dessert option. For breakfast, they served a tray with a few sweet and savoury things without a choice. The bread basket that has those signature pretzels is offered a couple of times during both services.
- The Menu: We could not pre-order a meal in advance, but printed menus were in the seats when we boarded. There are not many options, but the options in each tray offer variety to suit many taste preferences.
- Taste Test: We really enjoyed the small selection of starters due to the size of the meal and the variety. Our mains were decent, but nothing special. The cheese and desserts were good too. We both really enjoyed the breakfast tray on the FRA-HKT leg: the Turkish yogurt was a standout and the small egg dish was well executed. Overall, the food exceeded our expectations and we would rate it as good to very good.
- Drink Selection: The wine and beer selection was impressive with more or less the same options being offered on each flight. There were a couple of sparkling wines, white wines, rose, and red wine, in addition to spirits. We were particularly impressed with the beer selection, as they featured a craft beer brewed by Brewdog specifically for them, a non-alcoholic beer, and some German beers.
5. Comparison: Flight 1 vs. Flight 2
While airline quality often fluctuates, our experience was impressively high across both flights.
- Crew: The crew was very consistent in their service orientation
- Catering: We found the quality of the food to be consistent on both flights
- Seat: The seat is one of the areas where it was a little inconsistent, as the seat on the FRA-HKT flight was more worn, with some broken pieces, and was not as clean as the YYZ-FRA flight.
- Lounge: The lounge experience can greatly vary depending on your departure point. Due to limited options in Toronto, we found our experience to be a little disappointing, but the access to the Lufthansa lounge in Frankfurt made up for it.
6. The Verdict
Our experience flying Condor was positive, and we would not hesitate to fly with them again.
- The Pros:
- Cash rates: On some routes, they offer competitive cash rates that are much lower than other airlines.
- Route Network: Condor offers an impressive list of destinations through their Frankfurt hub including more difficult places to access, like Mauritius and the Seychelles.
- Points: We found a great deal using Atmos Rewards points for this flight, and felt that we received a high ROI on this redemption. We also received points for the miles flown as part of the new Atmos Rewards changes.
- Overall Experience: The new A330neos, good food and drinks, and decent service make it a higher class experience than what you might expect for a leisure carrier. (e.g., Competitive pricing, brand new cabin, great IFE).
- The Cons:
- Loyalty Programs: Unlike other airlines, there are limited options for loyalty programs, and Condor doesn’t have its own. If earning status and miles is your priority, this might not be the best option for you.
- Food Program: Unless you are ordering a special meal, there are no pre-order meal options on Condor. As meal service is tray service, the options are more limited for picky eaters.
- Lounge Access: If lounge access is important to you, some of the options may be below your expectations. Lounge access is also not available at all destinations, which can also happen on other airlines too though.
- Final Grade: Based on our experience, we would give it an 8.5 out of 10.
Based on this review, are you interested in flying on Condor?
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