Condor premium financial system A330neo assessment: Is it value the additional value?

Fast take: This isn’t a real premium financial system seat. Nonetheless, it could be value paying further to improve from financial system — for the precise worth.

Execs

• Low money fares and award pricing
• Pleasant, environment friendly service
• Quiet airplane

Cons

• A tough, slender seat with restricted recline
• Substandard meals
• Gradual, unreliable Wi-Fi

Frankfurt-based airline Condor just isn’t well-known amongst American vacationers, nevertheless it has a powerful variety of flights to the U.S. It additionally affords engaging redemption charges by way of the Alaska Airways Mileage Plan.

Now owned by a British funding agency, the service is a serious competitor of Lufthansa however just isn’t a part of any airline alliance. Condor’s partnerships with Alaska Airways and JetBlue (amongst others) allow you to buy connecting itineraries from a number of home cities to locations all through Europe.

I had the prospect to attempt Condor premium financial system for the primary time on an 11-hour flight from South Africa to Germany in October 2024 — and I left disillusioned. Whereas many worldwide airways promote a real “premium financial system” product that features a recliner seat in addition to enhanced cabin service, Condor’s model of the seat is solely an extra-legroom providing.

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So, what must you count on from its “premium financial system” product? At what worth must you improve from financial system class? And why do I like to recommend saving your miles for a business-class redemption? Learn on to search out out.

How a lot does premium financial system value to e-book on Condor?

Three months earlier than departure, I booked a one-way money fare from Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo Worldwide Airport (JNB) to London’s Heathrow Airport for 520 euros (about $545). This included my 11-hour premium financial system flight on Condor from Johannesburg to Frankfurt, adopted by a connecting Lufthansa flight to Heathrow in financial system — a brief hop of 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Here’s a sampling of how a lot a round-trip premium financial system flight from one of many U.S. airports that Condor serves to Frankfurt would value:

Emirates Skywards affords barely cheaper redemption pricing by way of miles and taxes for financial system class in comparison with Alaska Airways Mileage Plan. Nonetheless, premium financial system redemptions are unavailable by way of Skywards, and business-class redemptions are extra aggressive by way of Mileage Plan. You can too add a free stopover in Frankfurt when reserving by way of Mileage Plan.

Each applications mean you can seek for award availability and e-book on-line.

Condor’s most important hub is Frankfurt, with choose long-haul providers (however none to the U.S.) additionally supplied from Berlin and Dusseldorf, Germany.

Condor tends to function year-round service to New York Metropolis, Miami and Seattle, with service to most different U.S. cities solely throughout the summer time months.

You will pay 35,000 Mileage Plan miles for a one-way premium financial system flight — or 55,000 miles in enterprise class to fly to Frankfurt from Anchorage, Baltimore, Boston, Miami, Minneapolis or New York Metropolis. You will pay slightly extra — 45,000 miles in premium financial system or 70,000 miles in enterprise — to fly from Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, San Francisco or Seattle.

Taxes are the identical, whatever the cabin.

A one-way business-class redemption is barely 20,000 to 25,000 miles greater than premium financial system. If you could find business-class availability and have entry to the additional miles, I would strongly suggest forking out for Condor enterprise class.

Condor doesn’t supply a first-class cabin.

Checking in to and boarding premium financial system class on Condor

Condor fees for seat assignments from the time of reserving till departure. Exit row seats have been priced at 80 euros (about $85) for my flight, with different seats at 60 euros (about $63).

The seat map confirmed a ton of empty seats, so I made a decision to attend till check-in to see my choices. Twenty-four hours earlier than departure, I checked in on the Condor app and will choose any out there seat — together with ones within the emergency exit row — for 18 euros (about $19).

I handed on an emergency exit row seat, as I did not need to be bothered by its proximity to the sunshine and noise coming from the galley; I ended up getting assigned an aisle seat within the center part at no cost. Just a few hours later, I seemed on the seat map once more, and there have been different individuals in my row, so I paid the 18 euros (about $19) to maneuver to a window seat.

In the course of the check-in course of, 24 hours earlier than departure, I used to be supplied an improve to enterprise class for 450 euros (about $475); 12 hours earlier than departure, this elevated to 600 euros (about $634). Then I obtained an e mail from Condor encouraging me to obtain the third-party SeatBoost app to bid for an improve, beginning at 407 euros (about $430). I requested on the airport check-in desk how a lot an improve can be, they usually quoted the unique 450 euros (about $475).

If I weren’t reviewing the product, I’d have paid this worth to get a greater night time’s sleep in a lie-flat seat.

In the course of the on-line check-in course of, I added my Alaska Airways Mileage Plan quantity to earn miles on this flight. (The opposite possibility was Emirates Skywards.)

I arrived at JNB two hours earlier than departure. It is the busiest airport in Africa, however I encountered no wait on the check-in desk, which has two counters for every cabin. The check-in agent was very unfriendly, nevertheless it was a fast course of that took 4 minutes.

Condor premium financial system passengers can count on the next precedence providers on the airport:

With my Precedence Move membership, I may enter 4 lounges in Terminal A; I selected the highest-rated one within the app, the Aspire Lounge, which supplied ample choices for a preflight dinner.

Our boarding gate was claustrophobic, with low ceilings; the boarding course of was messy, complicated and traumatic.

Boarding began 50 minutes earlier than departure. The pc system was down, so the brokers needed to course of everybody manually.

After preboarding and group 1, premium financial system passengers have been invited to board in group 2. We then waited eight minutes within the jet bridge earlier than being warmly welcomed onboard.

In the end, we departed 5 minutes delayed and arrived 5 minutes late.

The Airbus A330neo is the smoothest and quietest airplane I’ve ever been on; I did not even understand it once we pulled out of the gate to taxi to the runway.

How snug was premium financial system on Condor?

The Condor premium financial system cabin is giant, with 64 seats (greater than double the business-class cabin) arrange in a typical 2-4-2 configuration.

This is the fundamental format of the cabin and seats:

Premium financial system is instantly adopted by the economy-class cabin, with a small separator hanging from the ceiling. This successfully makes the 2 cabins one, as they share the identical area and not using a curtain divider, and all passengers use the identical 5 toilets. Premium financial system on Condor is basically an extra-legroom economy-class seat.

The window seats are greatest for {couples}.

Center seats are greatest for households and teams.

Listed below are my suggestions for one of the best seats in Condor premium financial system:

Premium financial system seats normally have a minimum of 38 inches of seat pitch, the space between your seat and the one in entrance of you. Nonetheless, I got here into this flight figuring out that it solely had 35 inches of seat pitch, which you normally get from an extra-legroom financial system seat branded as Most important Cabin Further, Economic system Plus and Consolation+ on the three main U.S. airways.

What stunned me was how little recline this seat supplied. As you’ll be able to see from the image beneath, 12 levels would not get you far. Positive, it is greater than the 8 1/2 levels in financial system, however barely extra.

The seat base moved ahead barely half an inch. Additionally, greater than half of the footrests within the cabin have been lacking, together with from my seat. Once I informed a cabin crew member I could not work out the sample of which seats had one and which of them did not, she mentioned most have been damaged and within the means of being changed.

Had I stayed in my seat after the meal service, I think about I’d’ve had an uncomfortable sleep.

Roughly 85% of the premium financial system cabin’s seats have been unoccupied, and the 2 cabin crew members devoted to our cabin actively ensured nobody from financial system class crept in. So, I took the empty row of 4 throughout from me, raised the armrests, and arrange two (scratchy) pillows and two (snug) blankets to lie right down to sleep.

I am 5 ft and 11 inches tall, and my ft didn’t protrude into the aisle. With the quiet atmosphere of the airplane and little-to-no turbulence, I received seven hours of (interrupted) sleep. At one level, a fellow passenger woke me up by making an attempt to yank my prime blanket from me. I believe they have been confused as to the place the second got here from — the empty seat subsequent to me — with theirs stowed away within the overhead locker.

Whereas I am (rightly) complaining loads in regards to the seat, the tray desk was sufficiently big at 18 inches diagonal.

I appreciated the neat, virtually hidden machine holder compartment for telephones and tablets below the touchscreen.

The seatback pocket is deep, becoming two blankets, as proven beneath. Nonetheless, the shortage of aspect stitching was a design flaw; this meant small objects I had stowed away — like my AirPods case, hand sanitizer and earplugs — simply fell out a number of instances.

Heat sleepers will lament the shortage of particular person air nozzles, although the cabin crew saved the air temperature comparatively cool.

It was unusual to me that such a brand new airplane didn’t have computerized window shades.

The 13-inch, high-definition touchscreen is spectacular, with fast response instances and adjustable brightness; you too can pull it out to vary the viewing angle when the passenger in entrance reclines.

Facilities in Condor premium financial system

The inflight leisure choice was disappointing, with greater than 250 films and TV exhibits however restricted choices in English. A number of of the 11 “new releases” have been launched over a 12 months in the past, and a lot of the TV exhibits have been from the 2010s. I additionally did not acknowledge any artists within the music part. Due to this fact, my recommendation can be to obtain content material onto your individual machine earlier than your flight.

The airline’s earplugs are low cost and of low high quality, as you’ll be able to most likely glean from the picture beneath.

It is higher to attach your individual headphones by way of Bluetooth pairing on the touchscreen. Fortunately, my AirPods paired in lower than 10 seconds and gave me superior noise cancellation whereas watching leisure.

You will discover one USB-A and USB-C port every and a headphone jack beneath the display.

Wi-Fi on my flight value 20 euros (about $21) for limitless knowledge or 7 euros ($7.39) for messaging (which is free on an growing variety of rivals). It was a simple two-minute course of to buy the information pack and take a look at with Apple Pay.

Nonetheless, the Wi-Fi speeds have been gradual, peaking at 1.2 Mbps obtain and 0.8 Mbps add. The Wi-Fi additionally reduce out a number of instances, and I needed to reconnect to the sign.

Screenshot the username and password generated for you if you wish to change between units.

The facilities equipment is comprised of cardboard packaging and is supposedly reusable, however you’ll be able to’t securely shut it after opening it. You will obtain a toothbrush and toothpaste, an eye fixed masks and a pair of white-and-beige Condor-branded socks. (I puzzled why they did not do navy blue and white or orange to maintain with the model’s colours.) Earplugs can be found on request for “environmental causes.”

As talked about earlier than, the 280 premium financial system and economy-class passengers share 5 toilets between them, giving a ratio of 56 passengers to every one. Fortunately, my flight was not full; if it have been, I think about there would have been lengthy waits.

Attempt to use both the left-hand-side toilet on the entrance of the premium financial system cabin, which numerous passengers did not appear to find out about; or the left-hand-side center toilet in the midst of financial system, which is the most important toilet I’ve ever seen on a airplane (aside from in first-class). It made it simple to vary out and in of my pajamas (I introduced my very own) at the beginning and finish of the flight.

How was the meals in Condor premium financial system?

A small three-page meals and drinks menu was ready at every seat. Aside from the inexperienced Condor-branded stripes, I discovered the grey textual content boring, and I felt extra shade would have added some life to the menu.

Nobody supplied me a predeparture beverage, though there was a water bottle ready at every seat. Twenty minutes after takeoff, I received to decide on between glowing wine or orange juice served in a flimsy plastic cup. (Economic system class passengers should pay for alcoholic drinks, however these in premium financial system do not.)

A four-course meal service — albeit all on one plate — got here 40 minutes after takeoff. Whereas employees members served the post-takeoff drink from the entrance to the again of the cabin, they served the meals and second drink from again to entrance. I prefer it when airways do that to equalize the service between all passengers; nonetheless, the second meal service ought to’ve been served entrance to again to attain this intention (which it wasn’t).

The starter was a refreshing coleslaw topped with biltong strips (like beef jerky), which I eliminated, as I am pescatarian.

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There have been two most important course choices:

• Grilled rooster breast in a Cape Malay sauce with basmati rice, carrots and zucchini
• A purple vegetarian Thai curry with basmati rice

The curry was thick, brilliant and really spicy.

The Gouda cheese block was full and creamy, and it paired properly with the pretzel roll. Nonetheless, the passionfruit mousse cake with mango sauce was bland and a whole miss; the KitKat bar was a safer alternative.

I had additionally ordered a particular vegetarian meal, so I used to be served twice — which I used to be joyful about as a result of I may pattern extra choices. I used to be happy to eat some uncooked veggies and a few extra Gouda. Nonetheless, the pasta had method an excessive amount of artificial-tasting cheese, and the dessert was equally as bland as the sooner one.

Whereas I appreciated the metallic silverware, all chilly drinks have been served in skinny plastic cups; this cheapened the expertise, particularly provided that some rivals’ premium financial system merchandise supply glassware.

The primary meal service wrapped up half-hour after commencing; I appreciated the pace to maximise sleep. Workers dimmed the lights — not promptly, although, because the economy-class cabin was nonetheless consuming — and I laid down within the center row to sleep.

Breakfast service started one hour and 45 minutes earlier than touchdown. Everybody received the identical customary meal of:

• A bland-but-filling cheese croissant
• A very candy strawberry-flavored yogurt
• A mean blueberry muffin
• A normal fruit bowl

I paired this with orange juice and a black espresso, as there have been no nondairy milk choices out there.

The cabin crew was proactive with drink refills throughout each meal providers and immediate at selecting up trash.

I appreciated the refreshing wipes handed out earlier than touchdown in Frankfurt.

Total, the meals on my flight left me wanting extra taste. The cheese croissant, for instance, may have been enhanced with some jam; melting the cheese would’ve improved it as properly. The one standout dish was the Thai coconut curry, which I’d fortunately eat once more.

Would you suggest Condor premium financial system?

I used to be apprehensive about flying this product on an in a single day flight as a result of it isn’t a real premium financial system product.

The cabin was fairly empty — and the airplane is the quietest I’ve ever flown on — so I may stretch out throughout 4 seats and get an excellent (albeit interrupted) quantity of sleep. Plus, the service from the cabin crew was pleasant, proactive and environment friendly.

Nonetheless, the principle draw back of this product is that it’s primarily an extra-legroom economy-class seat. You do get to board earlier than financial system, take pleasure in free alcoholic drinks and obtain a small facilities equipment; nonetheless, there aren’t another substantial perks.

The meals high quality pales compared to its rivals. The seat is slender and has little cushion, and the Wi-Fi is gradual and unreliable.

My recommendation can be to improve from financial system to premium financial system if it value as much as $15 per flight hour further. So if the worth distinction between financial system and premium financial system have been $150 for a 10-hour flight, I would pay it. If it have been over that worth, I would begin to query its worth. I’d even be extra more likely to pay the upper worth on an in a single day flight versus a daytime one.

In abstract, this isn’t an actual premium financial system product; its most important perk is that it is much less claustrophobic than customary financial system class. If I have been to fly Condor once more, I would need to redeem my Alaska Airways Mileage Plan miles to attempt its glorious enterprise class on the Airbus A330neo.

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