I could not find much information about Condor's seasonal service between BWI and FRA so I decided to do this trip report. This is the first time that I have flown with Condor and did not know what to expect. Reviews online are mixed so that did not help much. Note that any information about the equipment and service apply only to this BWI-FRA-BWI flight as those are the only Condor flights I have ever taken!
We fly to Germany frequently to visit family and normally fly United from IAD to FRA. I used to be a 1K with United but had been disappointed with their post merger service so I was looking for another airline to fly the family to Germany on my own dime. United wanted approximately $1,800 per person round-trip in Economy plus (I am now just a GM so I don't even get that anymore!) But I live close to BWI and recalled something about Condor's service to Germany. It turns out that they fly June through September from BWI to FRA on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Fares vary but they appear to be bucket style, similar to Amtrak. The lowest economy price I could see was $638 including tax, but unfortunately this was not for my trip dates!
Condor offers three classes, Economy, Premium Economy, or Business Class. For the BWI-FRA flight, every seat has in-seat entertainment and a USB port for charging a phone or tablet (0.5A so an iPad will slow charge and say "not charging" but will still charge.)
Condor's BWI-FRA service (DE2075 and DE2074) is on a Boeing 767 in a 2-2-2 for Business Class and 2-3-2 for Economy and Premium Economy. There were 18 Business Class seats, 35 Premium Economy seats and the rest were Economy. There are no individual air vents on this aircraft and they cabin both ways was uncomfortably hot. Cabin crew said that they were unable to change the temperature.
Economy is standard economy seat pitch but the seats were no less comfortable than other economy class seats. You have to pay 8 EUR for in seat entertainment and get a basic meal of pasta and sauce with a small salad and dessert as well as a small breakfast prior to landing. Every seat also gets a blanket and pillow.
Premium Economy is like United's Economy Plus with more legroom. They also have fold down footrests and the blankets and pillows are bigger. You get the in seat entertainment for free and an upgrade meal service. The pillow is bigger than the economy pillow. Alcoholic beverages are free in Premium Economy. You also get an advance seat assignment.
Business Class has 170% "almost" lie-flat seats with a 15" in seat entertainment screen. Meals are improved over Premium Economy. They closed the curtains between Business Class and Premium Economy so I cannot comment on the service in that class.
If you want to upgrade you simply pay the difference in fare from your ticket to the upgrading class. This has to be done either on the phone prior to the day of departure or at the check-in counter. They GA told me they don't have access to do upgrades at the gate.
I took a chance and booked the three of us in Economy. Since I did not want to play the seat lottery I booked three seats which means paying for a seat fee both ways for each person. I paid $759 per person round trip and had to add the $59 seat selection fee for a round trip total of about $820 per person. The fare United was asking for was more than twice that price for the same dates.
After I booked the flight and Condor emailed a copy of my receipt and also a copy of their baggage policy. Their policy varies depending on what your origin and destination are but to/from the USA is considered "Zone 5". This includes the USA, Canada, and Puerto Rico (I know, also in the USA!) Their baggage policies are as follows:
Economy: 1 checked bag up to 23kg/50lbs
Premium Economy: 1 checked bag up to 32kg/70lbs
Business Class: 2 checked bags up to 32kg/70lbs
Extra bags for BOTH Economy and Premium Economy cost $85 if booked more than 30 days in advance, $91 if booked within 30 days, or $98 if booked at the airport. This fee is for each way. Bags are restricted to 158cm length x width x height, which is normal suitcase dimension. But be careful as their oversize and overweight bag fees are expensive! For bags exceeding 158cm it is an extra $260 per bag each way. For bags heavier than the allowed weight it is an additional $130 per bag each way.
Condor also restricts carry-on baggage too and they do weigh them at BWI!
Economy 1 item at 6kg + 1 personal item
Premium Economy 1 item at 10kg + 1 personal item
Business Class 2 items totaling no more than 12kg + 1 personal item
BWI-FRA
You cannot check-in online for a departure from BWI.
When we arrived at the airport we went to Terminal E, which is the BWI international terminal. It serves a handful of airlines like BA and WOW but is also a busy hub for military charter flights so it can get quite busy for such a small terminal. We arrived two and a half hours early and proceeded to the Condor counter. They have separate check-in for Business Class. Condor's BWI ground operations are staffed by ASIG contract personnel. I have to say that they were pretty fast and professional. They weighed our carryon bags and tagged them in addition to weighing the checked bags. The security line for Terminal E is shared by the military personnel so it moved quite slowly. Fortunately our flight was delayed because the incoming aircraft was delayed so we had plenty of time. There is only one restaurant in the E terminal and it is so good that I recommend you get something th eat or bring with you before you get into the security line.
Our flight was scheduled to depart at 8:05 p.m.
7:19 Crew boards
7:23 Was the first boarding announcement. They said that they will board Business Class first, followed by Premium Economy then economy back to front. The latter means rows 35-45 first, then 25-35, and then the rest.
7:58 They announced pre-boarding for persons with disabilities, then Business Class, and then Premium Economy.
8:08 Economy boarding
8:30 We had boarded and stowed our belongings. Then there was an additional departure delay as we were waiting for paperwork.
8:55 Departure time
11:10 Local time we landed
11:35 Cleared immigration (it was fast this time of the morning and we do not have EU electronic immigration)
11:42 Arrived terminal 1 section C bag claim number 34 across from the Sheraton
12:10 bags arrived on carousel
FRA to BWI
For the return flight I decided to see what upgrading would cost. Upgrade to Premium Economy was $150/person and Business Class was $1,000/person. The agent helping me said that we would get half of our seat selection fees refunded, which we did, so it cost $360 to upgrade all three of us. I went ahead and upgraded for the return.
I was able to print online boarding passes for departure from Frankfurt for both myself and daughter and we are US Citizens and my wife who is an EU Citizen. At Frankfurt Airport there is a Premium Economy priority lane and we also got bag tags that said priority. It is staffed by Condor and they weighed checked bags only (because of priority?) Went to Kaeffer for lunch made reservations (outside security--we love that place!)
Departure was scheduled at 3:15 local time.
1:21 Plane arrived at gate
1:46 Customs check - there was a long line for gate check before security and only one line. Condor was not very efficient at this check and it took some time.
2:22 Cleared gate check and security. Gate has its own security
Note that the boarding pass said boarding starts at 14:10 but actually started at 14:40
2:41 First boarding announcement said that rows 35-45 boarding first but was an accident. Business class and premium economy first the economy back to front just like out of BWI.
3:22 Fifteen minute delay for takeoff was announced
3:40 Push back
4:04 Takeoff
4:43 Pilot announced 7:40 left to go
Again, very warm in plane with no air vents
For the Premium Economy amenity kit it is a bottle of still water and pack with a bottle cozy, earbuds, foam earplugs, a sleeping mask, socks, and a toothbrush with toothpaste.
The Premium Economy meal was a choice of chicken or pasta. There was a snack halfway through and then a light meal prior to arrival.
7:42 The Entertainment system went out. It came back on only for some. I used the call button but after five minutes no response. I finally tried to "reset" by exiting the movie and restarted it. Then I just fast forwarded.
00:35 (18:35 BWI time) we landed
18:45 BWI time we were at Global Entry and that only took 10 minutes. Our bags were on the carousel when we got out.
19:00 BWI time we were heading to parking lot