If you’ve been following along on Instagram, I’ve talked a lot about how my twin boys started high school this year at different schools and have had different holidays for the first time. So this year we had different spring breaks and one of them went to see stars in Tucson with his dad who had a business trip there during his break and the other ended up planning a trip with me. I gave him a budget and told him he could also use points. He decided he would like to see a soccer game in Europe and found a flight from Seattle to Frankfurt on Condor Airlines using our Alaska Airlines miles. We would then take a train to Munich and see a Bayern Munich football game.
We had no idea what to expect on a Condor Airlines flight
Is Condor Airlines a budget airline? We tried to figure this out before we got our tickets but couldn’t get a definitive answer. What we did find out is that every option from choosing seats to overhead bin space incurred extra fees. We were a little skeptical about how our flights would be until we read that this airline had been around for nearly 70 years because we had never heard of it. With our Alaska Airlines Mileage plan miles we ended up with economy seats that included a checked bag. We paid extra to make sure we had seats together and chose a pair of seats near the window. We did not pay for overhead bin space. We thought we would carry on our luggage to Frankfurt and check our luggage coming back. We tried to check in 24 hours ahead and thought we did but when we got to the airport and through security we needed to show our passports at the gate. They weighed our bags there with both carryons together and made us check our suitcases. We were delayed because they had a problem with technology on the incoming flight so we ended up visiting both the Centurian and the Club at Sea while we waited. We also joked that we had to go in the longest tunnel to the plane we’d ever been in because it felt like it was at least three lengths of the airplane long. But once we got on the flight, it was an incredibly smooth and pleasant experience. (We also went to Germany just days after a major transportation strike with airlines and rail involved-a reminder to always check local news)
Could other planes please use Condor Airlines seats?
When we first arrived at our seats they appeared a little squished together. All seats on airplanes not in first or business class look this way lately-like if you don’t know your neighbor before the flight, you’ll get to know them pretty intimately. But once we sat down and got our things put away, the seats were incredibly comfortable and we couldn’t figure out why. Were they bouncy? Was it the material? I’m not sure. But both my son and I agreed that our seats were way more comfortable than we were expecting, and way more comfortable than other flights we’ve been on and this was such a pleasant thing about this flight.
We also really enjoyed our meals. For some reason we weren’t sure if we were going to get any included meals, but we had a lunch as well as a snack sandwich at the end of the flight. We could have water, juices, soft drinks and coffee as well. And all the meals were vegetarian. I tried to buy the wifi but it never worked on the way to Frankfurt. On our returning flight I successfully purchased wifi and I think it was 20 Euro and didn’t last very long. I hadn’t planned much for the trip so it was bit of a bummer not having WIFI on the first leg of the trip, but I had bought a Rick Steve’s guide to Germany last minute and that was a helpful read.
Would I fly Condor Airlines again?
After flying Condor Airlines, we would definitely fly them again and I noticed that Vancouver, BC also just recently got Vancouver flights with Condor Airlines as well. When we booked it was around the same amount of points to go to Florida from Seattle as it was from Seattle to Frankfurt for spring break and once in Europe our hotels and meals were often more reasonable in comparison to current Seattle prices. We enjoyed our trip immensely and I’ll include more details here as I post more about the rest of our itinerary. (Our first two nights were at the Westin Grand Frankfurt because I’m a Platinum Marriott member and they have a really great lounge open all day so we had snacks and drinks and an excellent break) It’s always nice to learn about another nonstop flight option from Seattle.
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)