Flying Condor’s A300Neo Business Class Round-Trip From Vancouver to Frankfurt

October 8, 2024

Last spring, I was invited to board a Condor Airlines A330neo following its maiden arrival into Vancouver International Airport from Frankfurt. Considered one of the most sustainable aircraft flying the friendly skies, the A300neo’s most striking aspect is its bright stripes.

The state-of-the-art aircraft has been designed with green, blue, red, yellow, and gold stripes, flying in and out of airports worldwide.

The 310-passenger jet has become known for its whisper-quiet cabin in all three classes — Economy, Premium Economy, and Business Class.

Condor’s A330neo supports state-of-the-art flight and navigation systems specifically matched to the airline’s requirements that reduces noise pollution by up to 60 percent. Looking to minimize its carbon footprint, the A300neo uses only 2.1 litres of fuel per passenger for each 100 km flown – well below the industry average.

I recently had the chance to fly on Condor’s nonstop service to Frankfurt (and back) seated in business class, and was pleased to once again see the beauty of every seat offering direct aisle access. Older Condor aircraft didn’t offer fully-lie-flat beds, so the A330neo is already one huge step ahead of its predecessor in that regard.

Another feature that I was looking forward to checking out was their crisp 4K screens that can pair with your own Bluetooth headphones.

Lufthansa Lounge, Frankfurt Airport

Condor Airlines provides business class passengers access to Frankfurt’s Lufthansa Business Lounge by gate 44, and at Vancouver International Airport, the Plaza Premium Lounge, currently being remodelled for a late autumn relaunch. There’s a temporary space here with full service hot and cold meals, desserts, snacks, and drinks.

Lufthansa’s full-service lounge includes a darkened sleeping room with lounge beds, showers, numerous work stations, lockers by the entrance, a seating area with TV screens, plus a full range of hot and cold food, drinks (a good variety of beers, spirits, non-alcoholic bitters, soft drinks, tea, and coffee), desserts, and a sweets bar.

Cabin Layout

The A330neo contains 30 business class seats staggered in a 1-2-1 configuration. Solo seats line both sides of the aircraft, with two seats side-by-side in the center. There’s a few rows at the front considered their premium business class seats.

These have even larger screens, an ottoman to put up your feet, extra storage and amenities (pyjamas, premium snack basket), and seats that be positioned to face another passenger for meetings, dining together, etc. They also cost a bit more than a regular business class ticket.

The navy and beige striped interior gives a classy feel to the cabin, with a matching stripe design on the bathroom walls. Wood panel accents complete the picture. Shortly following meal service, the lights are dimmed with blue and orange tints for relaxing the eyes.

Entertainment

I really like how all the selections are clearly organized and you can easily filter and toggle exactly what you’re looking for, e.g. films, series, podcasts. You could also add different selections to a “favourites” category to watch later.

And should you desire sleep during the flight, there’s a Do Not Disturb mode.

[Noise-cancelling headphones include hygienic ear pad covers]

Wifi can be purchased as well, with a basic two-hour package priced at $12, and a faster premium one at $20.

The ability to connect your own headphones to Condor’s entertainment system via Bluetooth is a huge bonus. This is something that just a handful of airlines have begun to roll out as they’ve refreshed their fleets or brought new planes onboard.

The fact that Condor is one of them is a very welcome surprise. It was easy to click a couple of buttons and have my Belkin earbuds paired with the TV.

Comfort

Condor’s business class seats sport comfortable armrests, with the dining table positioned right under the TV rather than stowed into the armrest.

The best feature of the table is being able to get up if needed while the table is open at its original position (such a great design, one that I hope is implemented on more aircraft!). A side table by the charging area adds some extra room for laptops, snacks, or small items needed during the flight.

A USB-C and standard UBC-equipped charging space under a small storage shelf keeps your tech charged up inflight.

Moving the seat into both reading and lie-flat positions is smooth sailing via controls under the armrest. A super-soft German-made blanket and pillow are ready and waiting for when you’re ready to tuck in. This is seriously the most comfortable blanket I’ve ever used on any business class flight!

The control panel is placed close to your left arm in a way that sometimes accidentally turns on the lighting by the charging station or moves the lie-flat bed towards the upright position. This took some adjusting of my arm and body position.

The lavatories are simply decorated with grey stripes along one wall. I noticed that the used towel waste bin smartly opens hands-free via a foot pedal on the floor. It’s little touches like these around the cabin that make this aircraft a pleasure to fly in.

The A300Neo’s enhanced, state-of-the-art cabin air system provides a clean environment during our nine-hour-plus flight to Germany.

[My Frankfurt – Vancouver flight included an amenity kit plus a striped cooler bag]

The amenity kit includes a pair of slippers, a metal box for storing cables, small travel items, or a DIY first aid kit, plus a travel set with flight essentials.

Dining

On our outbound flight, Condor menu offered three entrée choices: Beef short ribs, teriyaki-glazed lingcod, or mushroom ravioli. Assorted cheeses, breads, butter and a dessert of lavender Earl Grey cake completed the dinner menu.

[Starters before the entrée on our Frankfurt – Vancouver flight]

[Lavender Earl Grey cake with Bailey’s]

An array of sparking wines from Motzenbäcker Estate as well as Rosé Brut Methode Rurale are on offer, as well as French reserve brut from Nicolas Feuillatte. Red and white wines from Germany and France plus beer, spirits, cocktails, non-alcoholic drinks, an after-dinner digestif, ILLY coffee and an array of teas round out the beverage menu.

Before landing, fresh fruits accompany a freshly-boiled organic egg, meats and cheese, scrambled eggs with grilled tomato and bacon, choice of breads, freshly-squeezed orange juice, plus coffee or tea.

Service

Condor’s upped the game in affordable business class travel, with the highest quality in-flight entertainment system I’ve encountered (17.3 inch touch screens!) to a beautifully designed space for crossing the pond.

Together with tasty meals, Condor’s friendly, attentive, and prompt service made the flights to and from Germany a pleasure to experience. Another plus is a lack of annoying ads normally heard on other airlines before take-off.