Condor Business Class Flight 1049 Seattle-Frankfurt, Germany – Review
Condor Flugdienst, based in Frankfurt, Germany, is one of the world’s leading leisure and charter carriers. Since its founding in 1955, the airline has built a reputation for offering European holiday makers inexpensive vacation packages to long-haul destinations in the Caribbean, North America, and South-east Asia.
While well-known in Europe, it remains a bit of a mysterious oddity here in the United States. Part of that may be attributed to its limited routes, many of which are operated seasonally. These include service to cities such as Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, and Seattle among others.
Leisure carriers are known for offering savings in exchange for less space per passenger, and Condor isn’t an exception. Its business class resembled a European-style premium economy class geared toward upper-middle class tourists rather than hardened road warriors that expect premium seating.
Recently, the airline retrofitted its twelve Boeing 767-300ER fleet with new cabins featuring nearly lie-flat seats, completing the transition from its Comfort Class to the new business class over the summer.
Condor flight 1049 was scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. departure. Unfortunately, a mechanical issue in Germany led to a plane swap abroad, resulting in a four-hour delay. Thankfully, a Condor representative called earlier in the day with a delay notification, sparing me from sitting around the airport for eight hours. I arrived back a few hours before the new departure time of 10:45 p.m. I was the only one in line at the check-in counter, where the agent issued my business-class ticket and provided a coupon good for either lounge entry or a €20 credit at the in-flight store.
Condor passengers use Club International as their lounge in Seattle. The lounge provides ample seating, light snack options, and enjoyable adult beverages. It is shared with several other airlines’ business- and first- class passengers, including those on ANA, Emirates, and competitor Lufthansa. Undoubtedly, due to the lateness of departure, only a handful of flyers – all on the Condor flight – were inside awaiting the boarding announcement.