Review: Condor Business Class (A330neo)

To start our European trip, which included a road trip through the Baltics, I was eager to fly with Condor. The airline recently completed a full refresh of its long-haul fleet, featuring the latest-generation Airbus A330neo fitted with an impressive new hard product.

Since I was also flying business class with Lufthansa’s brand-new Allegris product on my way home, I thought it would be a great opportunity to compare the two German airlines. Although Condor might be relatively unknown in the transatlantic market, especially when compared to the major alliance carriers, Condor’s new aircraft and business class cabin are far superior to what’s available from most competing airlines.

Let’s take a look at Condor’s service to Europe and why you definitely shouldn’t overlook it on your next trip across the pond. 

Booking Condor Business Class

Condor operates independently outside of any major airline alliance and has instead opted to establish partnerships with select global airlines. One of its longstanding partnerships is with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, enabling members to use Alaska Miles to book flights on Condor’s transatlantic routes to and from Frankfurt.

The total cost for this business class ticket came to 55,000 Alaska Miles plus $59.12 USD in taxes and fees for a one-segment itinerary.

This partnership with Alaska Mileage Plan will be the most accessible frequent flyer program for Canadians to book Condor flights with points and miles. Admittedly, Condor may not be the first airline any of us will think of when it comes to premium cabin redemptions to Europe. However, these somewhat niche partnerships can come in really handy, as finding award availability from Western Canada direct to Europe can be tricky during peak travel times. 

With the booking of this Condor flight, I used up my remaining stash of Alaska Miles that I had earned from the now-defunct MBNA Alaska Airlines Mastercard. Unfortunately, there’s currently no direct way to earn Alaska Airlines Miles through credit card spend in Canada.

Ground Experience

As a predominantly leisure-oriented carrier, Condor does not operate any of its own lounges. Instead, the airline contracts out airport lounge access for business class passengers to a third-party lounge operator. As a Condor business class passenger, I had access to the Plaza Premium Lounge in the international terminal at Vancouver International Airport (YVR). 

Plaza Premium lounges have a widespread presence across many of Canada’s major international airports. Individuals who hold a credit card that offers a Priority Pass membership as a benefit will likely find them very familiar. 

Plaza Premium lounges provide a basic lounge experience, typically including complimentary food and beverages, and ample seating, but little else in terms of amenities.

That’s what I had at least anticipated until I reached the lounge, only to find it closed for renovations. During the renovations, a temporary location has been set up in a cordoned-off area in the corner of the terminal.

While this is far from ideal, all of the usual complementary food and beverage options were available and there was plenty of seating. 

Cold items included fruit, yogurt, various salads, premade sandwiches, and some sweets. Hot items were a rice and chicken dish, a noodle dish, and minestrone soup. 

Plaza Premium lounges provide complimentary select alcoholic beverages and offer premium alcoholic drinks for an additional charge.

While having access to a lounge under any circumstance is better than waiting at the gate, this certainly wasn’t the start to my trip I had in mind. I can’t fault the airline though; this is beyond their control. Nevertheless, I am eagerly anticipating a visit to the new Plaza Premium Lounge once renovations are completed.

Cabin Arrangement

The Condor A330neo business class cabin has a total of 30 seats spread across 8 rows in a staggered 1-2-1 layout. Due to this staggered configuration, the seats in each row alternate between being either closer to or further from the aisle. All business class seats provide direct aisle access, with the primary difference between seating configurations being the varying levels of privacy.

The seats in the even-numbered rows near the windows (A and K) are ideal for solo travelers, as they offer extra distance from the aisle, providing a bit more privacy. I was traveling alone on this flight, so I selected seat 6A, a seat situated closer to the window on the left side of the aircraft. 

For those traveling with a companion, the middle seats (E and F) in the odd-numbered rows offer a preferred seating arrangement. These seats are closer together and provide some additional separation from the aisle.

Similar to Lufthansa’s new Allegris cabin concept, Condor has installed four business class “plus” seats at the very front of the business class cabin to take advantage of the additional space in the bulkhead row. Condor refers to these as Prime Seats, which are available to any business class passenger for an additional cost. 

The Prime Seat offers considerably more personal space with a wider bed and more legroom, a larger 24” 4K entertainment screen, and additional amenities such as pajamas, a snack basket, and free Wi-Fi.

I was offered the opportunity to purchase an upgrade to a Prime Seat during check-in, but I declined to take the offer, as I felt the price was quite steep at $240 USD. Below is the upgrade screen I was presented with during check-in, detailing all the extra features and amenities included with the Prime Seat.

Seat

Condor’s new A330neo cabins exude a sleek, modern aesthetic. Predominantly clad in navy blue, the design tastefully integrates Condor’s signature vertical stripes to provide both contrast and stylish accents throughout the cabin.

As I mentioned in the cabin overview, if you’re traveling with a companion, you’ll likely want to select the middle seats positioned closer together. The odd-numbered rows feature these honeymoon seats, offering a bit more privacy and are ideal for couples.

For a leisure airline, Condor’s business class seats hold up against some of the very best in the industry. While this seat doesn’t have a single standout feature, its overall design is quite sophisticated, excelling at all the basics one would expect from a modern business class seat. The seats situated away from the aisle offer good privacy. Additionally, they are equipped with the latest technology, including 4K high-definition screens and Bluetooth connectivity.

The airline provides a decent set of amenities to keep you comfortable during the journey. Awaiting me at my seat was a blanket, pillow, mattress pad, and a pair of slippers.

Next to the seat is a small flat surface that also serves as one of the armrests. It provides space for placing a few items and contains all the seat controls within the side console.

Looking closer, you will find the handheld entertainment controller and the connectivity panel for the seat. The connectivity panel includes a universal power outlet, USB-A port, USB-C port, and the headphone connector.

Below the armrest, there is a row of buttons that control the seat recline, lumbar support, and reading light settings

In a slightly elevated storage tray, you’ll find a bottle of water, the amenity kit, and a set of headphones hanging on a hook. 

Opposite the seat is a 17” 4K entertainment screen. The display quality was excellent: crisp, bright, and highly responsive.

The tray table is stowed directly beneath the entertainment screen and can be released with the push of a button. It is adjustable, moving forward and backward, allowing passengers to leave their seats even while the tray table is deployed.

I found the footwell to be adequate, though perhaps a bit narrow towards the back. Despite this, there was still plenty of room for my feet to maneuver around. I think the somewhat limited space in the footwell is more of a result of the A330’s slightly narrower cabin compared to other wide-body aircraft, rather than a design flaw in the seat itself. 

Bed

The seat converts into a fully flat bed and with the provided mattress pad, pillow, and blanket, makes for a reasonably comfortable sleeping arrangement. However, because of the A330’s slightly narrower fuselage, it did feel a little cramped. In spite of that, I still managed to settle into a comfortable sleep on this overnight flight.

Amenity Kit

Along with the amenity kit, passengers receive a metal travel organizer case. Inside the cardboard amenity kit is a pair of socks, an eye mask, a dental kit, and products from Rituals Cosmetics. The amenity kit does not include earplugs, but they are available on request. 

To complete the amenities, guests are provided with a pair of Condor-branded striped slippers.

Dining

The drink and meal service began approximately 30 minutes after take-off. The in-flight menu was distributed at this time.

Condor provides two meals on overnight transatlantic flights: dinner shortly after take-off, and breakfast is served approximately 90 minutes before landing.

Below is the full business class menu for the flight.

Dinner

The meal service began with a round of drinks served with a small bowl of mixed nuts. 

From there, it was right into the appetizer, which was a few assorted dishes that included a smoked salmon and fennel salad, turmeric chicken breast, a seasonal salad, and a German pretzel. The presentation of the appetizer was certainly appealing, and everything was fresh and of high quality. 

For the main dish, I chose the vegetarian option. In retrospect, although the pasta was fine, I think either of the other two choices from the menu would have been a better pick. However, the dinner service offered an abundance of food, so I didn’t regret my decision too much.

Following the main course, a cheese plate was served, accompanied by some prunes and a few walnuts. I asked for another pretzel to go with the cheese plate and thoroughly enjoyed every item.

Dessert consisted of a lavender Earl Grey cake—a delightful conclusion to an overall pleasant and impressive meal service.

Breakfast

Breakfast service began approximately 90 minutes before landing. It included a bowl of fresh fruit, cold cut meats and cheese, a croissant, and a scrambled egg dish with bacon and tomato. Alongside breakfast, you’ll receive a glass of orange juice and your choice of coffee or tea.

Condor continued to impress throughout with their meal service. Although the airline is a low-cost leisure carrier,  its onboard meals and service rival those of almost every legacy North American or European airline.

While I found my main course to be a bit of a miss, everything else was fantastic. The crew worked diligently to keep the meal service running smoothly, which I imagine is a challenge given the volume of food served, but I found the service to be both efficient and friendly throughout.

Entertainment

Entertainment Console

The entertainment system on Condor’s A330neo’s is outfitted with all the latest technology. Each seat has a large 4K touchscreen display. The menus were easy to navigate and the screen was very responsive to each input. From the home screen, you can quickly access movies and TV shows, music, duty-free shopping, and the in-flight map.

The system includes a library of over 200 movies and over 100 TV shows. Dozens of new and classic Hollywood releases are available, as well as a large selection of foreign-language programming. 

The high-resolution 4K display really made the interactive map a breeze to use.

Condor provides a set of over-the-ear headphones for all business class passengers. I did not use the headphones, so I cannot comment on the quality.

One of the best features of modern aircraft is the use of Bluetooth connectivity. This allows passengers to pair their own wireless headphones with the entertainment system. Once connected, you can enjoy wire-free audio through your own headphones!

Wi-Fi

Condor offers Wi-Fi across its entire A330neo fleet. Once connected to the Wi-Fi network, you can scan a QR code on the entertainment screen which will direct you to the in-flight web portal. 

Two Wi-Fi passes are available, both of which are valid for the entire flight. A text message-only FlyConnect Chat pass is available for €7, and the FlyConnect Surf pass costs €20. 

As a reminder, passengers who purchase an upgrade to a Prime Seat receive complimentary access to the FlyConnect Surf pass.

Disappointingly, the FlyConnect Surf pass has an advertised speed of up to only 1.2 Mbps, which is agonizingly slow, in my opinion. I chose not to purchase any Wi-Fi on this flight, as I just wanted to sleep as much as possible after the meal service. 

Conclusion

Due to the challenging nature of securing award space on direct flights to Europe from Western Canada, Condor will now be my airline of choice for these routes. With routes from Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary, I think it’s now one of the best Alaska Mileage Plan redemptions for Western Canadians looking to cross the Atlantic. They offer a fantastic new and sleek business class seat, along with friendly service and great meals.

Condor’s business class compares quite favorably to the legacy carriers we’re all familiar with, offering a superior product to nearly every one of those carriers. Combined with reasonable award pricing and availability, Condor is an excellent choice and a much-needed option for direct flights to Europe.