Condor is a German low cost carrier that has nicely increased their transatlantic route network lately. They’ve long had good fares in both business class and economy, and operate transatlantic routes to some destinations that don’t otherwise get much love (like Whitehorse, Canada).
For us miles & points geeks they’ve become much more interesting earlier this year, given that they’re now partnering with Alaska Mileage Plan. Alaska Mileage Plan is one of my favorite loyalty programs, so it’s possible to earn 300% redeemable miles for travel in Condor business class (if you’re an MVP Gold 75K you get a further 125% mileage bonus, for a total of 425% miles — wow!).
On top of that, you can now also redeem miles for travel on Condor. However, I think earning is definitely a better value than burning, given that Condor’s business class product doesn’t feature fully flat beds.
While it’s still a ways off, Condor has announced two new routes for next summer, which I imagine will interest many. Per @airlineroute, in summer 2018, Condor will launch flights from Frankfurt to both Los Angeles and San Francisco.
As of May 27, 2018, Condor will launch 2x weekly flights between Frankfurt and Los Angeles with the following schedule:
DE2080 Frankfurt to Los Angeles departing 11:35AM arriving 2:50PM
DE2081 Los Angeles to Frankfurt departing 4:50PM arriving 1:15PM (+1 day)
Meanwhile as of June 22, 2018, Condor will launch 3x weekly flights between Frankfurt and San Francisco with the following schedule:
DE2092 Frankfurt to San Francisco departing 3:40PM arriving 6:40PM
DE2093 San Francisco to Frankfurt departing 8:40PM arriving 4:55PM (+1 day)
These flights aren’t yet bookable, though I imagine they will be shortly, and that the fares will be fairly attractive.
Interestingly Condor has also announced that they won’t be resuming their seasonal Frankfurt to San Diego flight next year. This is a route they only launched this year, though I guess they’re not too happy with its performance. That’s a bit surprising, given the amount of longhaul growth that San Diego has seen lately. It looks like Condor is basically conceding the route to Lufthansa, as they plan on operating the route starting in summer 2018.
However, both of these new routes are ones on which they’re going head-to-head with Lufthansa. While they’ve had some overlap in their destinations (Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, etc.), most of their transatlantic flights have been to markets that weren’t served by Lufthansa (Anchorage, Baltimore, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh , etc.). Admittedly Los Angeles and San Francisco are huge markets, though it’s an interesting strategy nonetheless.
Would you consider flying Condor to/from California?
Note they asked announced PHX service from FRA as well for next summer (2x/week)
@Rupert If you don't know what fees he's talking about, why don't you check their website? Seat assignment in eco is NOT free, special meals (vegan, vegetarian, glutenfree) are NOT free, the free entertainment consists of 1 movie and about 2 episodes of a tv show, everything else is considered "Premium entertainment" and costs extra and Intraeurope meals and beverages are NOT free. Please inform yourself a little.
It's good to see Condor back at LAX. They flew there in the 80's and and loved seeing them there.
@William - I don't think they are "horrible" at all and I don't know what fees you are talking about: free, seat assignment, free food, free luggage, free entertainment... They charge less than the other LCC across the North Atlantic - see a comparison table below: http://dreamtravelonpoints.com/2017/04/low-fares-high-fees-low-cost-carriers-between-the-us-and-europe-compared/
I flew their business class in May from PDX to FRA and was pleasantly surprised. The seat was a little narrow, but I was able to get a few hours sleep. The service was excellent and the food was quite good. For the convenience (and 15,000 one way Alaska miles earned) I'd definitely fly them again.
Too bad they don't fly to Asia.
How many miles will this earn from LAX - FRA in J on Alaska?
Horrible aircraft, don't fly this airline. It's not worth saving a few bucks on (all the fees add up, like with Norwegian). Then again, also don't fly the US oligopoly.
Not many great options left, but let's support the European legacy carriers and the ME3. They at least try.
Condor adds new routes and cancels them just as fast, so we'll have to see wether this is really gonna happen.
Also, I agree with Chris. Condor is not a low cost carrier per se.
I would call them "charter carrier" instead of "low cost carrier"'. My understanding is that most passengers have bought their flight as part of a charter package.