Trip Report: Condor Airlines, New Orleans to Frankfurt (August 2018)

Trip Report: Condor Airlines, New Orleans to Frankfurt
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There are not many long-haul or international flights directly from New Orleans, with most of them starting within the last 2-3 years.  One of the carriers that started international flights was Condor, which flies directly from New Orleans to Frankfurt.  The flight only operates from May to September and only operates two times a week, but it is still a direct flight and the fares on the flights are reasonable.  Condor also partners with many airlines and the timings for the flights are scheduled to maximize connections to other flights from Frankfurt.  For my recent flight to Europe, I flew into Vienna and flew out of London and the entire trip was booked through Condor; the New Orleans to Frankfurt and return was operated by Condor while the Frankfurt to Vienna was operated by Austrian (review here) and the London to Frankfurt was operated by Lufthansa (review here). 

Condor is a combination leisure and full-service airline in that some items are complimentary while others need to paid for.  In economy, included in the ticket is one free 23-kg checked baggage, a complimentary meal, a complimentary snack/light meal, as well as complimentary water and non-alcoholic drinks.  Items that need to be paid for include reserved seat assignment ($40-$120 depending on the seat), special meals (included vegetarian and other dietary restricted meals), other snacks, premium meals, and alcoholic drinks.  Booking direct flights through the Condor website is very easy; however, every other type of booking needs to be done by calling Condor.  As my ticket was an open-jaw (arrive into one city and depart into another), I had to call Condor as this process could not be booked via the website.  Each time I had to call Condor it was a long wait time, but once a representative came on board they were usually quick to help (although some clearly had not hear of many of Condor's U.S. destinations).  

24-hours prior to my flight I was able to check-in online.  I was told that if you do not pre-book your seat you are able to select it upon check-in (that is what I was told and that is how most other airlines operate); however, that was not the case with Condor.  When I went to check-in, I was pre-assigned a seat that I could not change.  I called customer service who told me that they could not make any changes since it was 24-hours prior to check-in; so before 24-hours I was told that the customer service could only change it closer to the date and after 24-hours I was told that only the gate agent could make any changes.  Getting conflicting information from Condor customer service happened repeatedly.  I completed check-in and received both of my boarding passes - my Condor flight as well as my connecting flight.  I arrived at the airport earlier than usual to speak with the check-in agent regarding changing my seat; luckily the check-in agent was very nice and customer-friendly and easily changed the seat with no questions.  

The flight only operates two times a week, with the flight departing Frankurt in the morning and arriving into New Orleans around 4pm the same day; and then it will turn around and depart New Orleans around 6pm and arrive into Frankfurt the next morning.  The plane was already at the gate when we arrived there, and there were already many people waiting at the gate.  The crew came and went onboard, but as we got closer to the scheduled boarding time the ground staff didn't seem to be in any hurry.  The plane was scheduled to take off at 6:25pm and we were scheduled to board around 5:45p, but we actually started boarding around 6pm.  Boarding happened in groups from the rear of the plane to the front, and even though the plane was generally quite full boarding was efficient.  

The operating aircraft is a Boeing 767-300ER in a 3-class configuration - business class, premium economy and economy.  The economy section was in a 2-3-2 layout.  The seat itself was a little narrow in terms of width, and the seat pitch was decent expect for when the seat in front was laid back (then the seat pitch was reduced dramatically - especially for someone who is tall like me.)  The seat comfort was also not very good, as after the 4th hour the seat became very uncomfortable.  Finally, the seat seemed low as it felt like you were sitting in a bucket seat and this reduced the comfort of the seat.  The seat itself had a PTV screen with a USB port and headphone jack, a tray table, and then a pocket underneath.  The pocket underneath contained the airline magazine, duty free magazine, safety card, and other airline information and the weight of this also reduced the seat pitch; also many of the seat pockets looked old and worn and had lost their elasticity thus also reducing the seat pitch.  

Even though we boarding late, we pushed back generally close to our departure time as the plane

doors closed and pushed even as people were still getting settled into their seats.  Also, while on board Condor was trying to upsell passengers on any empty business class and premium economy seats.  The safety demonstration was done by video, first in German and then in English and then it was a quick taxi before we took off to Frankfurt.  Once we reached cruising altitude, the attendants came by with the entertainment pass.  These passes, which some had pre-purchased, some had vouchers, and other bought on board, unlocked the entire entertainment section.  This is another thing you have to pay for on Condor - seatback entertainment.  Condor provides a variety of TV shows, movies, and other entertainment but most of it is locked.  Condor provides two TV episodes, one movie, and some other documentary programs on travel and Condor for free but everything else needs to be paid for (usually with the entertainment pass).  The pass is $9-$11 depending on how many screens you are purchasing and the selection is decent, but I would expect a better selection considering I am paying for it.  In contrast, the same selection of movies and TV shows are available for free on domestic U.S. flights.  I do have to say that Condor does do a good job of telling you these costs upfront so you are not surprised once you get onboard, in fact they try to see you something at every point.  Because I knew the entertainment was not complimentary, I had downloaded content onto my tablet and was able to provide my own wifi.

Since the attendants were busy selling passengers on the entertainment, it took a while for the meal service to get started.  Most other airlines usually get the meal service started quickly in order to finish that up and get passengers to sleep, but the Condor attendants took their time.  We were almost 2.5-3 hours into the flight before the inflight service started.  Condor provides complimentary meals, but there is a charge for premium meals or if you have a dietary restriction.  For the complimentary meals, there was no choice nor any description of the meals; they were just handed out.  The meal turned out to be baked pasta with tomatoes and cheese, cheese and crackers, a bread roll, salad and dessert.  While not a grand meal, it was more than I expected for the complimentary meal and inline with catering I have seen on long-haul U.S. carriers.  The meal service was followed by complimentary drinks, tea, and coffee.  Once the meal trays were cleared, the attendants passed out full bottles of water; I was very surprised that Condor offered full bottles of water and freely offered them to all passengers.  

Attendants would come through the aisle periodically handing out water.  About 2 hours prior to

landing, a second meal service was provided.  This meal service was generally smaller and more like a heavy snack versus a light meal.  There was a piece of bread, some fruit, as well as meat and cheese.  Again, it was a light snack to tide you over until we landed.  This was followed by a drink service, and while the meal trays were being cleared there was also a drink service.  Once everything had been served and cleared, there was a bit of time left for the passengers to just relax before we started our decent into Frankfurt.  Condor's safety checks are interesting in that as we were descending, they made the standard announcement regarding tray tables and seat in the upright position, but they never really came down the aisle to check nor did they reinforce it.  The attendants did pass through the aisle many times, but only to collect remaining money.  We finally landed in Frankfurt, had a long taxiway to our remote stand, and then had to take an even longer bus ride to the terminal.  Many passengers were connecting to other flights, and the boarding passes I had received when I checked in with Condor were valid for my onward journey (which is unusual as usually the new airline likes to check or issue their own boarding pass, but Austrian did not seem to mind.  You can check out my review of my onward flight here).

The return flight was similar to the outbound flight, both in terms of ground service and inflight service.  On the ground, I had called customer service regarding the seat only to be told that I need to call once the airline has assigned my seat; and once the airline assigned my seat I was told that only the gate agent could change and when I got to the gate agent they said they had no authority to change anything.  As I said earlier, I was connecting to Condor in Frankfurt as I originated out of London with Lufthansa (you can check out that review here) so my check-in process was with Lufthansa.  Again at check-in in London I was given both boarding passes, and in Frankfurt I only had about hour to transfer.  All of the Condor flights to America depart from a small number of bus gates, and you have to go through additional documentation check before entering these gates.  When I previously traveled internationally back to the U.S.,there is more security and more documentation check when entering the boarding area for American flights so I was a bit surprised at the lack of that here. 

The boarding area is a small and there are a large number of passengers waiting for the flights.  Restrooms area available but there is only one restaurant serving all the passengers.  The boarding time was scheduled for 11am while the scheduled departure time was 12pm with a same-day 4pm arrival time.  Condor seems to have a flexible definition of on-time because boarding started late and this made the departure late as well.  There were some differences in the return flight, in that boarding was not done by groups but a 'come one, come all' call and the pitch to upsell passengers on premium economy and business was made in the boarding area instead of onboard.  

Once onboard, the plane layout and the seat (dis)comfort were generally the same although the lack of seat comfort was felt more on this flight (considering it was a bit longer flight time).  Once we took off, and reached cruising altitude, the attendants came by first to sell passengers on the premium entertainment package.  The standard entertainment again only had one TV show and one movie, but this time the selection was worse that the outbound (the moving map is complimentary though).  Again during this flight a meal, with only one option, was served about 3 hours in and then a light snack was served 2 hours prior to landing.  In the middle, the attendants did come by with water and a drink service (again, I was surprised at how freely Condor provided complimentary drinks and water).  Again, safety checks for passengers were lack on the return flight as the attendants only generally monitored if passengers were in the landing position; they seem more interested in other stuff or really were not paying attention to this aspect.  We finally landed, and after a quick taxi, deplaned.  

Overall, it was a mixed experience with Condor.  Given the low cost, I had low expectations (I mean, you get what you pay for) but even then I was surprised.  I was surprised at how uncomfortable the seats were, especially given the longhaul flights. I was surprised at how freely they provided complimentary drinks and water, given how they advertise charging for extras.  I was surprised that passengers have to pay for special meals (this seems a bit cruel in my opinion), and lastly I was a bit surprised at the customer service; the attendants seem apathetic as in they were not bad but they were not good either.  The question is, would I fly with them again?  The benefits were that they provided good option, were direct from my home time, and had good connections with various partners.  The bad were the seat comfort and the apathetic service.  So the answer is, if I had another option that was in the same cost range and same time range then I would not choose Condor.  The price is low, but you do get what you pay for and I would much rather a bit higher to get a more quality product.