We have seen a lot of questions about Condor recently, mainly concerned with negative reviews people have posted. I decided to see for myself what it was like to fly this budget airline, in business class. I was attracted to the direct Frankfurt to Seattle flight, and the cost for business class ($1188 per person, one way) was about what we pay to fly British Airways in business class with our miles- but without using any miles. Instead, we would earn miles in our Alaska Airlines plan.
The negative reviews I read mostly concerned customer service, mainly with connecting flights. Some people complained of surly flight attendants who only wanted to speak German. There was also the matter of the " angle flat" seats, not true "lie flat" that we get on British Airways. I had also read of confusion and long lines at check-in, security (an airport problem, not Condor specific), and boarding. I had also seen a review stating that from the lounge in Concourse C one had to pass through security again to reach the gate, and this could take a long time. So here is what we found.
We spent the night before our flight in Frankfurt, at the Intercontinental, which is within walking distance of the Bahnhof. Our room had a river view. In the morning we took the S-Bahn from the Hauptbahnhof to the airport, a 10-minute ride. From the time we left the S-Bahn to the time we found our way to the lounge in Concourse B, the total elapsed time was 40 minutes. That was for the walk through the terminal, finding the check-in counter ( a dedicated one for business class, with no line), security (including full pat-down for both of us), then walking to the lounge. So much for the horror stories about long lines and confusion.
We were advised at check-in that our flight was two hours late. I had been expecting this, as I monitored the flight over the previous three days, and found it always running late. Apparently there was a weather-related delay several days before, and they were still catching up. Our plane was coming to Frankfurt from Vancouver, which it left two hours late. Our boarding pass advised us to head to the gate (B60) an hour before the scheduled departure, so 3:30 in the afternoon. This meant we had five hours to pass in the lounge, but at least it was a comfortable place. Condor uses the Lufthansa business class lounges, and the one we used, near the B46 gate, was bright and spacious, uncrowded, and relatively quiet.
At 3:30 the gate was officially posted and we made our way there, only to find the reason for the one-hour arrival. It was not security, but a document check to enter the gate area. We saw some people pulled aside, presumably for the SSSS extra security check. We were allowed straight through, only to find a crowd around the gate. There was no dedicated line for business class ( boo-hoo), indeed no lines at all, just a crush. Turns out we needed to take a bus to the plane. But that went OK and soon we were walking up the steps into plane (I still love to do that).
The plane, a 767, seemed newly refurbished, as it was in excellent condition inside and out. We quickly settled into our seats and enjoyed a welcome beverage ( Sekt). From this point on, apartfrom the seats, the flight was not much different from our British Airways business class experience. The flight was smooth, the flight attendants were attentive and professional, the food was quite nice ( as good as BA biz class, anyway), the beverage service frequent. I cannot comment on the entertainment system as neither of us used it.
That leaves the seats. As this was a westbound daytime flight, we did not feel the need to sleep, although I did have a nap to pass the time. I first tried the "lie flat" mode, which lowers the backrest and also puts the footrest in a low position to fit in a little well underneath the seat in front. The result is a not-quite-flat bed that feels like it is on a slight slant downward. TBC