I recently flew with Condor Airlines from Frankfurt to Toronto on their new Airbus A330-900neo in Premium Economy. Condor Airlines is famous for their colorful livery which should remind us of parasols and beach chairs. It should bring us directly into a happy vacation mood. I was very curious to see whether Condor airlines would succeed in that mission and whether Condor Airlines is worth considering flying InterContinental.
Condor Airlines History
Next year Condor Airlines will celebrate their 70 years anniversary. Condor Airlines was founded in 1955 by Lufthansa and other German Transport companies. Over time Lufthansa took over all shares and by 1960 they were the full owner of Condor Airlines.
In 2000, Lufthansa started selling their shares to The Thomas Cook group who ultimately became the majority shareholder. However, the Thomas Cook group collapsed in 2019 and after that the parent owner of LOT – the Polish National Airline – agreed to buy Condor Airlines in January 2020. However, that deal fell through a few months later when Covid crippled the whole airlines industry. Condor was then saved by the German government and in 2021 Attestor – an asset management company – bought 51% of the shares. After that, in 2022, also the new livery was introduced. The German federal and local government still own 49% of the shares today.
The A330-900Neo Premium Economy Cabin of Condor Airlines
Condor Airlines is using 5 different kinds of colors for the stripes on their planes so it’s always a surprise what color of stripes you’ll get when you fly with Condor Airlines. For this trip to Toronto, the color was green, and I must say, it looks pretty good! For me this livery is really working because I do get happy and excited when I see it.
The seat configuration of the A330-900Neo is 2-4-2 for premium economy and regular economy. There are 8 rows of premium economy. If you want to reserve a seat before check-in, you’ll need to pay extra, and prices range from 30 to 100 euro, where the 100 Euro surcharge is for the best seats in the front row of the cabin.
The premium economy cabin uses exactly the same seats as the regular economy class cabin but in Premium Economy there is an adjustable footrest and the pitch is 35 inch instead of 30 inch. 30 inch is really tight for a trans-Atlantic flight so these extra 5 inches are – I think – already worth it to take the premium economy seat. And not only for that, in economy class you won’t get any extras. Not even a blanket. So, take that into account when you fly basic economy with Condor; bring your own blanket!
Condor does provide a basic amenity kit for premium economy passengers as well as a bottle of water. The kit is pretty basic but does include socks as well as an eye mask. The socks have the recognizable stripes which is a very nice touch.
Even though the cabin is not as colorful as the outside livery of the plane, the cabin does look very nice and modern. The big surprise is the entertainment screen; this screen is really large, and the resolution is very good. There is also a USB and USB-C outlet.
Wireless Internet should have been available, but I wasn’t able to connect to the system. So, I wouldn’t count on this feature.
Meals
After take-off a snack was served with a drink; the choice was either prosecco or orange juice. I never had this choice of drinks before but good thing was, you could also mix them!
A menu is provided with a choice of 2 entrees and for this trip I selected the Cajun chicken.
The Cajun chicken wasn’t that great but there was also a roll with cheese, a cake, and a meatball couscous salad – an interesting combination which I didn’t really care for. Just before landing a little pizza bread is handed out which is nowadays the pre-arrival snack of choice with most airlines’ economy or premium economy cabins. The cabin crew did regularly come by with water.
Conclusion
So, what was it like flying with Condor Airlines in premium economy? Was it worth it flying in premium economy? Before I answer that, it’s important to note this was the cheapest one-way premium economy ticket I could book to North America. And it was not far off being the overall cheapest one-way ticket. So, my expectations weren’t very high. But the experience was actually pretty good. Even though the seats in premium economy are the same as the regular economy seats, there is a decent seat pitch and the seats itself are not bad. The entertainment screen is big and crisp, and there are usb charging options.
The food is very average, but I also didn’t expect an Air France Business Class experience. And it’s certainly not worse than you would get with Lufthansa in Premium Economy.
If you consider flying with Condor Airlines, I do recommend the premium economy option. Regular economy class seats have a relatively small pitch and economy class misses essentials such as a blanket.
In my case, the difference in price between an economy class and premium economy class ticket was negligible so for me it was a very easy choice.
I would certainly consider flying Condor Airlines again. With the A330-900Neo planes and their Premium Economy class product, they have a very solid offering for a very attractive price.
Also look at my review of Condor Airlines on my Youtube Channel. Please like and subscribe if you like the video!
Also have a look at my review of Lufthansa Business Class on their A380!
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