Review of Condor Business Class

Passengers flying Condor Business Class enjoy all the privileges expected from Business Class travel, ranging from priority check-in, priority tags on checked baggage and fast track security to lounge access and priority boarding.

At its main hub in Frankfurt, Condor has a branded (striped of course!) check-in area located in the Departures C area of the departure hall. A dedicated Condor Service Center is located nearby to help resolve any requests or issues.

At Condor´s hub at Frankfurt Terminal 1 there are no third-party lounge providers, so Condor Business Class passengers are somewhat ironically invited to the Lufthansa Business Class lounges before departure. At other airports, Condor partners with a range of lounge providers.

While the stripes of Condor may appear to be everywhere, the designers made the wise decision of sticking to mostly white and navy in the Business Class cabin. While stripes have certainly been incorporated into the cabin design, the designers have mastered the balancing act of not overdoing it. While Condor has five primary brand colours – navy is in fact a sixth brand colour that is reserved for Business Class.

The overall impression when entering the cabin is that of elegance and style. Condor dares to be different – and they do it well. The carrier has opted for a relatively dark and masculine cabin design, with navy blue seat shells, seat covers, carpets and curtains coupled with brushed copper details. The overall impression is that of a distinct and bold - yet soothing - cabin environment. Navy has been scientifically proven to be the ideal colour for sleep, supporting the design scheme. The colours coupled with the mood lighting offered on the A330-900neo create a contemporary and colourful ambiance.

The best seats in Condor Business Class are the four front-row seats that offer significantly more legroom and personal space plus larger screens. While advance seat selection is complimentary for all Business Class passengers, the four Prime Seats come with an extra charge starting from EUR199. Passengers in Prime Seats also receive pyjamas and a snack basket. Upgrades to Prime seats can be booked in advance, at check-in or even onboard, subject to availability.

The Condor Business Class seats are a customized version of the Safran Skylounge Core seat, with each 50,8 cm (20 inches) wide seat reclining to a fully flat bed of 1,99 meters (78 inches). Seats come with a 17.3-inch 4K high-resolution touchscreen and a cabled touchpad remote control, which cleverly sports a small display indicating the remaining flight time. A universal power outlet plus USB and USBC outlets are also available. The designers have wisely employed a range of textures. The seat is upholstered in navy fabric; armrests are in leather; the seat shells are a combination of plain hard plastic and textured carbon fibre look. When reclined, the inside of the seat shells reveals a soft suede lining. The table design is brilliant - allowing the table to slide back and forth so that you can easily leave the seat without having to stow away the table. When not in use, the table is neatly tucked away just under the personal screen.

Seats are comfortable and provide decent privacy, but they are quite narrow when fully reclined. Larger passengers must sleep on the side. A missed opportunity is that it would help if the armrest could be lowered as some other seat designs allow. Also missing from the seat is some more space for storing personal devices such as a laptop computer or toiletries. Personal air nozzles and wireless charging would also have been nice features.

The Business Class cabin sports 30 seats in a staggered 1-2-1 setup. The single seats along the sides of the cabin are positioned with seats on even numbered rows placed close to the windows with a side table on the aisle side. Single seats in odd numbered rows are placed closer to the aisle, making them less private. In the centre section of the cabin, odd numbered rows offer “honeymoon seats” placed close together. These seats are ideal for couples and offer a cocoon-like seating arrangement, although they may be awkward for passengers flying solo. Centre seats inn even numbered rows are placed close to the aisle, making them relatively exposed.

If you would like to sit close together with a travel companion, select the centre seats in rows 1,3,5 or 7. Alternatively, opt for seats located across the aisle from each other as these allow for easier conversation than the centre seats on even numbered rows.

Condor does not offer bassinets in Business Class, and it does not allow young children to sit in the single seats by the windows. Parents travelling with infants may want to select the front-row Prime seats that offer additional space.

The flight search on BusinessClass.com includes images, videos and seat maps for most airlines and aircraft. Search results also include details such as seat pitch, width and recline. This way, you can see the seat and cabin configuration of the flight in which you are interested before making your choice.

Nobody leaves hungry after a flight in Condor Business Class. The airline offers a solid inflight dining experience under the title Taste the World, developed by the Condor culinary team in partnership with Gate Gourmet. There is a winter menu and a summer menu, plus special seasonal menus such as traditional German goose with red cabbage served for Christmas.

Menus are distributed after take-off, detailing the food and beverages on offer. Meals are served on crisp white linens with tableware from Schönwald and glassware from Zwiesel, both well-known German brands. A signature item of Condor Business Class inflight dining is the very cute salt and pepper shaker in the form of a small propeller aircraft. Passengers are welcome to bring them home as a souvenir (they even say “Aeroplane Souvenir” on the underside”).

The main attraction is a four-course lunch or dinner featuring more dishes than you may expect. The menu indicates two cold starters, a cream cheese dip, a side salad, a choice of three hot main courses, a cheese course and finally desert. What first-time flyers on Condor may not realise is that up until the main course, everybody gets everything. As the meal starts, a linen-lined tray is presented with the salad, a salad dressing, a cream cheese dip, both starters and a bread plate with butter. A selection of bread and rolls is offered from a basket, including delicious garlic bread. The starter tray is removed before the hot main course is served. There is a choice of three main courses, typically one meat, one fish and one vegetarian.

On long daytime flights, a selection of cheese is served as a separate course, while on shorter flights and overnight flights it is placed on the same tray as the starters to speed up the service. Dessert and coffee round off the meal service, which on daytime flights may take as long as three hours. The relaxed pace may frustrate some, but makes (somewhat) sense as many Condor passengers are on holiday and want to enjoy the full dining experience.

Ice cream is offered as a mid-flight refreshment, and a small snack bar is set up in the galley for those who are feeling peckish.

A second meal is served 2-2,5 hours before arrival. On daytime flights this is a light three-course dinner served all on one tray, while on overnight flights breakfast is offered. Breakfast on overnight flights is a solid affair that includes fresh fruits, a selection of cold cuts, an omelette, and a wide selection of breads, rolls and pastries with a large selection of jams. Condor also deserves credit for offering each passenger a freshly boiled organic egg. While a boiled egg may appear simple, it is in fact very unusual onboard an aircraft and normally only offered in First Class.

There is no choice of main course for the second meal, but the cabin crew will often have an alternative available on request. Vegetarians and others with special meal preferences are encouraged to pre-order their special meals minimum 24 hours before departure.

Condor offers a wide range of beverages, as expected in Business Class. Orange juice or sparkling wine are served as a pre-departure beverage together with packaged snacks, but once in the air passengers are offered Jacquart Mosaique Brut Champagne. Before the meal service, a round of drinks is offered together with mixed nuts served in a ramekin.

There is a choice of two white wines and two red wines, with one of each type representing Germany as a significant wine producing nation. Beer-lovers will enjoy the unique Ferien Lager, specially developed by Brewdog for Condor. A range of other alcoholic and non-alcoholic classics are available, plus Darboven coffee and four different types of Messmer tea. Espresso is also available in single or double shots creatively served with an edible spoon, but no other espresso-based beverages such as cappuccino. A bottle of water is waiting at each seat as passengers board, and cabin crew are happy to provide more.

The flight search on BusinessClass.com includes information on which Champagne is served in First Class and Business Class on many airlines. We do our best to keep track of any changes but feel free to let us know if there is something we missed.

Service on Condor is professional and courteous while also being personal and engaging. Cabin crew work under the guidance of an experienced Purser, who actively interacts with Business Class passengers and ensures that everything is up to standards. All Condor crew speak fluent German and English, and some also speak additional languages such as French, Spanish, and Italian. All announcements are made in German and English, and the cabin crew are excellent at remembering which passenger speaks which language. Cabin crew work on a rotational basis, meaning that they may work in Business Class outbound and Economy Class on the return, and they also work a combination of long haul and short haul flights. The Purser primarily works in Business Class, helping to maintain a premium level of service.

Trolleys are used during meal services but mixed with hand carried tray service to make the experience more personal and less like an assembly line. A point of improvement would be to serve Champagne and other wine from the bottle at the seat of each passenger rather than bringing filled glasses from the galley. Cabin crew could also use passenger names when addressing them.

In line with the fun and unusual branding of Condor, the airline is inviting passengers to take a peek at the socks worn by its staff and crew. Since the fall of 2023, Condor has partnered with Swedish socks specialist Happy Socks as an official outfitter of Condor. A range of striped socks was exclusively developed based on the five brand colours of Condor. Employees do not have to wear the striped socks, but do not be surprised if your flight steward or captain is wearing socks that match the aircraft they are flying on! And if you would like a pair, they are available for purchase from condorshop.com along with a wide range of other Condor merchandise.

New aircraft come with new technology, and the entertainment offering in Condor Business Class lives up to expectations. The entertainment system is easily navigated using the touchscreen or the remote control. A wide range of movies and TV shows is available. As expected, there is a lot of German content, but passengers looking for entertainment in English are not disappointed. From recent Hollywood releases to black and white classics, the list of movies is extensive. Children will also find plenty of movies, cartoons and TV shows. There are however no games. Aviation enthusiasts will love the Condor Insights section, that includes plenty of behind the scenes mini  documentaries and landing videos showing the final approach to 20 popular Condor destinations. Each Business Class seat comes with noise cancelling headphones, but passengers can also pair their personal bluetooth headphones with the inflight entertainment system.

Wi-Fi is available via the Condor FlyConnect portal and is charged based on duration. The service is provided by T-Mobile HotSpot. All passengers can access FlyConnect Chat for 10 minutes of free text messaging.

While several airlines have ended onboard duty-free sales, Condor still offers this service as the Condor Bordshop.

The flight search on Businessclass.com includes information on Co2 emissions for each flight. Our quality algorithms also give a higher score to flights operated by the most modern and environmentally friendly aircraft.

A wide range of amenities await at each seat as passengers board. There is a pillow, a wrapped fluffy blanket and a seat topper, plus an amenity kit and a collectible gift. The amenity kit is presented in a simple cardboard packaging, and includes socks, a sleeping mask and a toothbrush with toothpaste plus lip balm and facial moisturiser from WK, a German brand that Condor has a long history with. A card explains that the airline is dedicated to protecting the environment and reducing waste, and that earplugs are available from the cabin crew on request. Condor deserves credit for also offering slippers to all Business Class passengers on all long-haul routes, something more airlines should do. Unfortunately, the slippers seem to come in only once size, which is relatively small.

While the amenity kit itself may not be much to get excited about, there is a good reason for it. Frequent flyers know that amenity kits tend to end up unused in a drawer or left behind on the aircraft. Condor has opted to present each passenger with a collectible gift that is worth taking home. Condor has developed a series of travel organisers that come in four different sizes and a range of striped colours. These include a practical zipped pouch for carrying beach wear or other wet textiles, a laundry bag, a zipped pouch for passports and travel documents and a bag for underwear or other garments. The airline has clearly put some thought into this initiative, deciding to skimp on the packaging of amenities to instead provide something practical that passenger can put to good use and even collect.

Passengers in Prime Seats also receive a stylish set of pyjamas, striped socks and a better amenity kit than other Business Class passengers, featuring products from Rituals.

As the renewal of the long-haul fleet is completed in March 2024, Condor is embarking on a renewal of its short haul fleet. The first of 41 brand-new aircraft sporting the new look will be an Airbus A320neo that joins the Condor fleet in April 2024.

Short- and medium-haul routes are operated by a mixed fleet of Airbus A320s and A321s, plus Boeing  757-300s that are due for replacement. While long haul flights are only operated by aircraft with blue, green or beige stripes, short haul aircraft also come with yellow and red stripes.

Condor Business Class on short and medium-haul flights is as expected on most European airlines, meaning that seats are the same as in Economy, but with the centre seat blocked to add some more personal space. A movable cabin divider is meant to separate Business Class from Economy, but not all aircraft feature this. Legroom can be very tight unless you manage to secure a seat on the first row.

With the introduction of new aircraft for short- and medium-haul flights, Condor will also introduce differentiated seats for Business Class passengers. While still technically an Economy Class seat, the first six rows of each new aircraft will feature the Recaro BL3710 seat, offering more seat pitch, a longer armrest and more recline than the Recaro SL3710 seats offered in the rest of the aircraft.

Each passenger receives a comfortable pillow and a travel organizer, like on long-haul flights. Business Class passengers are served a hot meal on a tray and unlimited drinks. On short and medium-haul flights, Condor serves Starbucks coffee and hot chocolate. Condor provides a (striped!) tray liner on each table, which is a nice touch. There is no choice of meal onboard, but Business Class passengers can pre-select their main course from the Condor Taste the World menu up to 24 hours before departure on the airline website.  A small box of chocolates is offered towards the end of the flight. Selected aircraft offer streaming entertainment to your own device via the Condor FlyStream service.

By renewing its fleet, Condor is taking a significant leap forward in terms of sustainability. While the now retired Boeing 767s had a fuel consumption of close to 4 liters per passenger per 100 kilometres, the new Airbus A330neo uses only 2,1 liters per passenger to fly the same distance. The new short-haul aircraft also cut emissions by 20% compared to the current fleet, and noise by 50%.

Condor puts social responsibility in focus with its ConTribute organization that is involved in numerous charitable projects related to children in poverty, natural disasters, and cultural exchange. The airline is also an official donation partner of Fly & Help, with donations collected onboard supporting the building of schools in developing countries.