Evaluating Condor Airways’ common and Prime business-class seats

Fast take: Condor Airways gives a good way to fly between North America and Europe, with respectable award availability.

Execs

• Sharp cabin design and aggressive seats
• Service is pleasant and environment friendly
• Sometimes good award availability utilizing Alaska Airways miles

Cons

• Leisure system’s distant management is difficult
• Seats might provide slightly extra privateness
• Some long-haul routes are seasonal or don’t function day by day, which may make timing tough

Condor Airways isn’t actually a family title within the U.S., regardless of its comparatively sturdy route community that features flights from a number of U.S. gateways to its fundamental hub in Frankfurt.

For those who’ve seen a Condor Airways jet, nonetheless, it is unmistakable, due to the airline’s daring, striped livery that was launched again in 2022 as a rebranding for what was as soon as a low-cost leisure airline.

A part of that rebrand included the appearance of recent business-class cabins and seats that went into service in 2023. Since then, I have been hankering to fly the German service to expertise it for myself.

I lastly had the prospect this previous June when I discovered an award ticket from Los Angeles to Johannesburg through Frankfurt, all in Condor Airways’ new enterprise class, utilizing Alaska Airways Mileage Plan miles.

Not solely did I get to fly the brand new business-class seats, however I additionally splurged on one of many airline’s business-plus “Prime” seats on the entrance of the cabin to see if the expertise actually felt that totally different. It did.

Here is what you should find out about flying Condor Airways enterprise class and the right way to profit from the expertise.

How a lot does it value to ebook Condor Airways enterprise class?

How a lot it prices to ebook Condor Airways enterprise class will depend on your origin and vacation spot.

My ticket from Los Angeles to Johannesburg through Frankfurt would have value $5,470. As an alternative, I used to be capable of redeem 110,000 Alaska Airways Mileage Plan miles plus $96 for my ticket, yielding a price of about 4.9 cents per mile redeemed — not unhealthy contemplating TPG’s July 2025 valuation of Mileage Plan miles is 1.5 cents apiece.

For my Los Angeles-to-Frankfurt flight, I paid an additional $300 for one of many Enterprise Prime seats. It will have value $240 to take action on the flight from Frankfurt to Johannesburg, which is about the identical size, however I simply stored a traditional seat task for that leg since I wished to check the experiences.

After boarding was full on my flight from Los Angeles, the flight attendants introduced that there was one business-class seat left, to which you can improve from economic system for 899 euros ($1,056), and one premium economic system seat, which was accessible for 179 euros ($210). So, that may very well be attention-grabbing in the event you resolve you need to splurge on the final minute. There was no such provide on my Johannesburg flight.

Checking into and boarding Condor Airways enterprise class

Condor Airways business-class passengers can take pleasure in the next precedence providers on the airport.

At Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX), Condor Airways’ check-in desks are in Terminal 2. There have been separate strains for economic system, premium economic system and enterprise class, however the brokers had been taking people on a first-come, first-served foundation, periodically checking if there have been business-class passengers ready in order that they may very well be given precedence.

Passengers had been directed to go upstairs by safety in Terminal 1 after which to a cordoned-off space to attend for a shuttle to the west gates at Tom Bradley Worldwide Terminal. I waited about 10 minutes in line earlier than a shuttle arrived, after which the journey took about 10 minutes.

It is circuitous, however it’s really quicker than strolling all the best way to Tom Bradley after which having to stroll by the underground passage from the primary terminal to the west gates from there.

Condor Airways has an settlement in order that its business-class passengers can entry Air France’s lounge at LAX, which we lined when it opened. It’s positioned two ranges up from the primary concourse and options loads of meals and different facilities

Condor Airways operates out of Terminal 1 at Frankfurt Airport (FRA), and its business-class passengers can entry a number of Lufthansa business-class lounges, in addition to the Luxx lounge.

I went to the Lufthansa business-class lounge nearest to my gate (B44) and had it virtually to myself for the primary few hours of the afternoon. There was a small choice of meals, together with hen curry, asparagus soup and varied snacks, together with a choice of delicate pretzels, plus German wines, beers and an intensive array of spirits.

I largely hunkered right down to work, although, after which grabbed a fast bathe earlier than my flight to Johannesburg.

How comfy is Condor Airways enterprise class?

There’s a single, massive business-class cabin on the entrance of Condor Airways’ Airbus A330-900neos with 30 seats organized in seven rows of 4 seats, every in a 1-2-1 sample, plus a pair of Enterprise Prime seats in Row 1.

These are Safran’s Skylounge Core seats, and every is 21 inches vast between the armrests (although the again cushion is simply 17.5 inches vast) and reclines to a lie-flat mattress that is 78 inches lengthy.

The 4 Prime seats within the entrance row are extra personal and spacious. These are the identical width as the opposite seats, however as a substitute of getting a footwell, they’ve an open ottoman that is 28 inches vast and 27 inches deep, providing you with way more sleeping house.

The ottoman even has a seat belt so somebody can be a part of you for a meal or drink.

As for the remainder of the cabin, seats on the edges are alternately nearer to the aisle or to the window, whereas these within the center are nearer collectively in odd-numbered rows and farther aside in even rows.

Sadly, there are not any privateness dividers between heart seats (aside from the Prime ones in Row 1), so in the event you’re not touring with a companion, you can find yourself sitting reasonably near a stranger.

Essentially the most personal seats are the A and Okay ones alongside the home windows within the even-numbered rows, so I might counsel these for solo vacationers.

All seats in Condor Airways’ enterprise class are upholstered in good-looking indigo-colored material with blue-and-white striped headrests that play on the airline’s livery, together with slightly stencil of the service’s emblem. In addition they have faux-wood siding and brushed metallic accents that create a pared-down, subtle look.

Although they don’t have doorways, the seat shell types a privateness defend from the aisle that extends about 10 inches from the seatback.

Alongside the broader armrest is a set of buttons to maneuver the seat into preset positions and one for the seatback ambient gentle. Not like these on another airways, these weren’t terribly delicate, so I did not unintentionally elbow my seat into motion.

Embedded within the armrest is a corded distant for the leisure display screen, a common energy plug and each USB-A and USB-C ports. There are additionally an open shelf for stowing private objects and a bottle of water, and a hook for holding the offered noise-canceling headphones. This open compartment has an ambient gentle and a small studying gentle subsequent to the seat’s headrest.

With regular business-class seats, the desk slides out from underneath the leisure monitor. Within the Enterprise Prime seats, the desk flips down from the aspect of the seat after which slides from side to side, which is helpful.

In lie-flat mode, the mattress measures 6 toes, 6 inches, and the footwell in common seats is 17 inches vast by 12 inches excessive, so there was loads of room for my toes, although turning over was a problem. The airline gives a breathable mattress pad in each Prime and common business-class seats, which is sweet as a result of the seat cushions are agency, together with a blanket and a pillow.

As talked about, the Enterprise Prime seats have open ottomans reasonably than footwells, in order that makes sleeping a bit extra comfy. The ottoman is 20 inches away from the seat cushion in upright mode, so that you needn’t have lengthy legs to be able to prop your toes up.

Enterprise Prime seats even have a small stowage compartment close to their entrances, and there are 18 inches of clearance to the aisle, making it straightforward to get out and in.

There are many overhead compartments for passengers to make use of, too, together with some that run down the center. Sadly, there are not any particular person air nozzles, so you’re topic to the flight attendants’ temperature controls, however they stored the cabin comfortably cool on each my flights. The handbook window shades (versus digitally dimming ones) additionally helped hold out the warmth.

Lastly, there are three toilets accessible to business-class passengers. One is behind the cockpit, previous the ahead galley. The opposite two are on the rear of the cabin. There is no such thing as a galley again there, although, so if you’re in Row 8, you will be fairly near them. There have been Rituals merchandise in them for passengers to make use of, however there have been no different frills to talk of. On the draw back, neither the sink nor the bathroom was touchless.

Facilities in Condor Airways enterprise class

Arrange earlier than boarding, every business-class seat had a mattress pad, a full-size blanket and a medium-size pillow, together with a pair of striped slippers.

I additionally discovered a pair of noise-canceling headphones hanging from a seat-side hook together with ear covers, they usually functioned nicely on each flights.

The Prime amenity package got here within the type of a cotton pouch and contained:

• A dental package with a toothbrush and toothpaste
• An eye fixed masks
• A pair of branded socks
• Rituals “Jing” lotus-jujube merchandise, together with hand cream, physique mist, lip balm and face moisturizer

There was additionally a faux-leather journey organizer and a gadget bag that was a cute contact.

After I was simply in a regular seat for the second leg of my journey, the amenity package I used to be given was created from recycled paper and contained many of the similar objects, aside from the Rituals face moisturizer and physique mist. As an alternative of a small organizer, I used to be given a cute waterproof seashore bag.

As a Enterprise Prime passenger, I used to be provided a pair of pajamas shortly after boarding (and heard a number of different passengers asking the place their pajamas had been, although solely Prime passengers obtain them).

Enterprise Prime passengers additionally get a private snack basket at their seats. Mine included:

• Haribo “Journey Parade” gummies
• Peanut M&Ms
• Paprika-flavored Pringles
• Joe & Seph’s salted caramel popcorn
• Decide Up! chocolate cookies
• A Nu fruit smoothie drink

The leisure system at my Enterprise Prime seat was a 24-inch 4K display screen (in comparison with 17.3 inches at common business-class seats), which is just about on the high of what you will discover in enterprise class nowadays.

It was loaded with over 200 motion pictures, together with “A Full Unknown,” “Conclave” and “Moana 2,” and TV exhibits, similar to “Hacks” and “Brooklyn 9-9,” plus music and meditation choices.

One main situation I discovered with the system was that the distant management didn’t work within the Prime seat. Its floor capabilities like a mousepad the place you’ll be able to click on on varied objects, however I had no management over the place the cursor was on the display screen. I simply ended up utilizing the monitor itself as a touchscreen, which was easy sufficient within the common seat.

Within the Prime seat, nonetheless, that was tougher given the bigger footprint and the way far the display screen was from the chair. Nonetheless, as soon as a film was taking part in, I might use the distant to start out and pause it. The distant in my regular business-class seat labored simply superb, although it was simpler to achieve the touchscreen, too.

In case you have your individual headphones with Bluetooth functionality, you will most likely simply need to pair them with the leisure system.

Wi-Fi was accessible on each my flights, with two doable paid choices:

• Messaging as much as 100 Kbps for 7 euros ($8)
• Full-flight textual content, electronic mail and social media as much as 1.2 Mbps for 20 euros ($22)

As a Enterprise Prime passenger, I used to be given a full-flight Wi-Fi voucher and was capable of join simply. I clocked speeds of 1 Mbps on the flight to Frankfurt, which was helpful for emailing, however far slower speeds on the flight to Johannesburg, throughout which I paid for the full-flight Wi-Fi.

How was the meals in Condor Airways enterprise class?

As boarding acquired underway on my first flight, which started slightly late, attendants got here by providing passengers glowing wine, orange juice or a drink of option to take pleasure in together with a ramekin of nuts.

About half-hour into the flight, throughout what could be dinnertime in Los Angeles, flight attendants got here again by providing two rounds of drinks earlier than dinner started.

Simply over an hour into the flight, the appetizer course was served from a trolley on a single tray that included:

• Bell pepper cream cheese dip
• Compressed tomato and mozzarella with balsamic and smoky bresaola
• Marinated tuna with yellow beet and tarragon dressing
• Combined inexperienced salad with celery and balsamic dressing

Passengers might additionally select from a bread basket with garlic, bread, pretzels, a seedy wheat choice and focaccia. The starters had been gentle and flavorful, and it was good to have a big number of tastes.

The principle programs included a alternative of:

• Beef tenderloin with grilled greens, roasted potato wedges and purple wine jus
• Shrimp with broccoli, saffron rice and tomato-bell pepper jus
• Ravioli filled with mascarpone and artichoke with mushroom sauce, child spinach, roasted tomato and Parmesan cheese

These had been served individually, and orders had been taken as flight attendants labored their approach by the cabin. I selected the tenderloin, and it was respectable however not memorable.

Lastly, for dessert, there was:

• A cheese course with dill havarti, cheddar and goat cheese served with a choice of bread
• Lemon tartlet

I really tried each, as did many of the different passengers round me.

As for drinks, the menu highlighted the airline’s signature Condorpolitan cocktail with vodka, lychee, lime zest and cranberry.

The inflight wine choice included:

• Pol Hensler Grande Reserve Champagne
• Motzenbacker brut rose
• Te Awa sauvignon blanc
• Vom Haus gruner veltliner
• Studio by Miraval rose
• Motzenbacker Wild und Rot purple wine
• Lynx Wine Property petite sirah and zinfandel mix

The Champagne was good up within the air; crisp however with physique. I additionally loved the German purple wine, which was light-bodied and fruity with out being cloying. Other than wine, there was a choice of Bitburger and BrewDog beers, spirits like Bombay Sapphire gin and Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky, varied sodas and juices, and Illy espresso and Messmer teas.

Ninety minutes earlier than touchdown (at round midday, Frankfurt time), the cabin lights steadily got here on and flight attendants got here by with breakfast service. This began with a choice of drinks, after which meals had been handed out on a single tray from a trolley with all the next:

• Recent melon and pineapple
• Italian salami, cream cheese and cheddar
• Bread rolls and croissants with a alternative of butter, jam, honey and Nutella
• Omelet with ham and cheese in tomato sauce

I wasn’t too hungry, so I solely pecked on the meals, which was salty, although a scorching cup of espresso hit the spot.

The service circulate was a lot the identical on my second flight, although meal service began round 90 minutes into the flight. I had hoped it might be a bit quicker to maximise time to relaxation, however there have been nonetheless 7 1/2 hours to go by the point meal service wrapped up.

It began with a choice of small plates:

• Chili cream cheese dip
• Lemongrass prawn with carrot, inexperienced asparagus and yuzu mayo
• Italian burrata with tomato, inexperienced pesto and basil
• Rooster Caesar salad
• Eiskeller, montagnolo and sheep’s cheese with date-sesame-honey chutney

That is quite a lot of dairy on one plate, so whereas I loved it, if you cannot have milk merchandise, you would possibly need to contemplate ordering a particular meal.

The three decisions of mains had been:

• Rooster breast filet with polenta gnocchi, artichokes, bell pepper and lemon cream sauce
• Salmon filet over five-grain rice with egg, spinach, edamame, purple ginger and teriyaki sauce
• Pasta with wild garlic, cheese sauce and spring onions

I believed the hen sounded finest, and it was flavorful but additionally very creamy, and the polenta was fairly filling. For dessert, there was cheesecake (extra dairy!) with raspberry and mint.

About an hour and 45 minutes earlier than touchdown, breakfast service started and wrapped up an hour earlier than arrival.

Objects had been served on a single tray with the next:

• Recent fruit with Bircher muesli
• Ham, Gouda and radish cream cheese
• Pastries with jam, honey or Nutella
• Omelet with herbed potato cubes and pepperonata

Meal service was the identical in each common and Prime enterprise class. You are most likely simply extra more likely to get your first alternative of fundamental course since they take orders from the entrance of the cabin to the again.

Was Condor Airways’ Prime business-class seat price it?

Having flown back-to-back flights in Condor Airways enterprise class, the primary in one of many Prime seats and the second in an everyday seat, I feel paying the upcharge for Prime can definitely be price it.

On my set of two flights, it might have value $240 to $300 per leg. That is not low cost, however it’s not too costly both, contemplating the size of the flights, how a lot bigger the Prime seats are and the additional goodies you get, like pajamas, the snack basket, a nicer amenity package and free Wi-Fi.

That mentioned, the conventional seats are definitely comfy sufficient if you wish to save your cash.

Would you advocate Condor Airways enterprise class?

After spending practically 24 hours within the air with Condor Airways, I might advocate the airline’s enterprise class with out hesitation. The seats are comfy, the facilities are respectable and the leisure techniques present loads of distraction. The food-and-beverage choice was simply superb, too.

Having the ability to use good airport lounges in each Los Angeles and Frankfurt additionally had a giant, optimistic influence on my journey, particularly as a result of I had an almost seven-hour layover.

What set the expertise aside for me, nonetheless, was the service. All three flight attendants overseeing the business-class cabin on my first flight had been so heat and cheerful. They appeared genuinely excited to point out off the cabin and seats and had been proactive about providing drink refills, menu ideas and extra, in excellent German and English. The identical was true of the crew on my second flight. They had been polished, congenial and readily available instantly for any requests. Each crews made an already good expertise even higher.

Along with the comfy seats and commendable service, the primary cause I might advocate Condor is that it is an awesome use of Alaska Airways miles to get to and from Europe (or past) at cheap redemption charges with out paying excessive taxes and charges. I will hold my eye out for extra award tickets so I get to expertise the airline once more.

Associated studying: