WesternCDN

Tried that, but don't have the option on either the Condor or Lufthansa website, which was expected since my booking was in Y. I'll just wait and call them in 2 hours once they're open.

Lake_Hood

I have had issues when they are open as well. I had to call back a couple of different times to get an agent that would be able to do the seat reservation. Might not worth it for most, but for $120, they will give you an "XL Seat" which is an exit row.

WesternCDN

Flying for Fun

It could be a requirement to confirm travel documents before your boarding pass is issued.

James

WesternCDN

Condor partnership has been around for a few months now, but having just returned on a Condor redemption thought I'd add my brief experience.

Flew a reward YVR-FRA return for 25k each way. OLCI for the flight to FRA wouldn't process (for me) and had to check-in and have seat assigned at the check in counter at YVR. Had the option of calling in ahead and paying $50 for a seat but figured I'd chance it and just hope for an aisle at check in (I got one). Flight to FRA was uneventful and left on time, which seems like a rarity with Condor flights. I sat in 29H on the outbound, not a ton of legroom but having the aisle to extend your leg definitely helps. The hot meal served was very basic, just pasta with some tomato sauce dumped on top along with a cold potato salad-type side, a bun, and a desert. I think they did drink service 3-4 times on the flight. There was also a small meal about 2hrs out of FRA. IFE had 1 free movie and 1 free TV show, unless you bought an entertainment code for 8 euro onboard. I had numerous movies downloaded on Netflix, so didn't bother. Arrived at remote stand in FRA and had to be bussed through to customs and baggage claim.

Flew in the window seat 29K on the return FRA-YVR, didn't have the option to change my seat but at least OLCI worked when departing FRA and was able to print BP using the self service counters. The return flight was delayed by an hour due to late inbound from ANC. I had checked flightradar earlier and it was showing a different aircraft would be operating our flight that had been on the ground overnight, so I was surprised when the delay was posted, but I guess Condor can shift their fleet around on a whim at FRA. Bus gates for loading again, and we stood on the bus next to the aircraft for 15 minutes while cleaning staff finished onboard. Got onboard and ended up sitting around for another hour so maintenance could fix a broken overhead bin. When we finally got airborne we were about 2.5 hours late. Hot meal served on this flight was pasta again, but this time the sauce seemed creamier (and better) and there was also some cheesed mixed in. Came with the potato salad, piece of cheese, a bun, and a desert. Second meal served prior to landing was the potato salad again and 2 cold sausages with mustard, along with a pretzel pastry type thing. Landed in YVR about 2 hours late and luckily no bus gate, but the bags did take a while to arrive.

Overall, Condor is certainly a budget airline and you can notice it during your flight (at least in economy). Flights are regularly delayed, legroom tight, and IFE isn't free, but if you're looking for a cheap redemption to Europe I'd certainly fly them again. Just thought I'd add my voice to the other posts here in case anyone was thinking of booking an economy redemption with them!

wonderlaw

I will weigh in with an entirely different debacle experience since I won't be flying, booking, or redeeming on Condor again. EVER. At the start of the year, four of us booked business class mileage award tickets SEA/FRA on DE 2033 departing Seattle Friday, August 17 at 1805. Walking to check-in a little before 3:30 p.m., we received a text from Condor that the flight would have a slight delay. Bear in mind, this was the first delay notice we received. The gate agent (Swissport -- no Condor staff in sight) told us the plane was delayed because it was still on the ground in Frankfurt (I would suspect they knew it wasn't going to take off on time from Seattle since FRA is at least 10 1/2 hours away plus plane turnover time). At that time, there were at least four (4) seats on British connecting through LHR, four (4) seats on Lufthansa in business the next day at 1:30 p.m., and several other routings to FRA. BUT, Condor doesn't have anyone on the ground able to assist passengers, doesn't rebook on other airlines, doesn't do anything to re-accommodate travelers, leaving the helpless and clueless Swissport staff on their own. We spent an hour (ok, I exaggerate -- I just looked it up and it was only 57 minutes) on the phone with the AS MVPG and Partner Travel desks to see if we can be re-accommodated, rebooked, or somehow get out of Seattle (having not so much confidence in Condor at this point), only to have the AS representative tell us they spent almost all of the time on hold because they don't have numbers for Condor directly and have to go through the queue just like everyone else. So we are stuck in Seattle for now.

So the Condor Swissport agents sent us to the Red Lion Seatac for the night (no vouchers, just a handwritten note that said Red Lion Seatac) and instructed us to be at check-in the next day at 10:00 a.m. for a 1:00 p.m. Saturday departure. On arrival at the Red Lion Seatac they had no idea who we were or why we were there. It turned out Condor Swissport staff sent us (and just about everyone else on the Condor flight) to the wrong hotel; they meant the Red Lion Renton (memo to self: never stay at that hotel again!). So, never ones to let a delayed flight get us down, we go out for a nice meal, have as nice a sleep as you can have in a non-smoking room where the guests ignore the non-smoking rules, next to a celebratory group that was a little bit too energized for early sleep.

The next morning was as close as I have come to seeing a riot in an airport. A Condor Swissport agent called 911 once regarding one aggressive passenger (I think the agent overreacted and the passenger, while angry (who wasn't?), did not threaten or touch the individual. But, there were a lot of angry people. I think they got angry when, after being issued their boarding passes (like us), the Condor Swissport agents told the waiting passengers that instead of sending the crew out at 1:00 p.m. on the plane that had just finally arrived with the rested crew that had been in Seattle for almost 48 hours, the rested crew would fly as scheduled on the regularly scheduled Saturday 1805 flight and those of us told to arrive for a 1:00 p.m. departure could cool our heels and return yet again to the airport for a 1:30 a.m. Sunday departure. Of course, by this time, any opportunities to get out of Seattle on an alternative airline were dwindling, BA's Saturday flights were filled, morning opportunities with AA had passed, and things were pretty slim. After another half hour with AS MVPG and the partner desk, I had enough, cashed in a March flight to Europe booked with Aeroplan, transferred some more Amex points to Aeroplan, and took the last four coach seats on Lufthansa to Frankfurt (with the assistance of a very helpful Aeroplan rep). It appears the Condor flight eventually left Seattle, but once we get beyond thirty hours late on a vacation with others flying in from around the world to meet it becomes too much.

The takeaways are (1) both AS and Aeroplan had great representatives, (2) Condor has no (zero/zilch/nada) customer service, (3) Condor has no plan, ability, or desire to rebook onto other airlines, so don't plan on service like if you had booked with AA, BA, Cathay, JAL, or the rest of the AS MP Partners, and (4) it will be a cold day in an otherwise hot place that I am in a seat on a Condor plane. The future takeaway is that, although the EU 261 rules require Condor compensation for the delay in this case (at the least, it ceased being mechanical when the opted and then reversed their decision to have the rested crew fly the plane out at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday to avoid having a pair of planes with EU 261 liability), I think we will be denied by Condor until we get some small claims judgments and then have the King County Sheriff seize the Condor plane to satisfy the judgment (it apparently happened in Salzburg for a disgruntled customer). Condor really isn't an airline partner; at best they are a charter airline running charter quality service on routes that may be regularly scheduled but are as regularly delayed as they are scheduled.

notquiteaff

Seattlenerd

I do have experience with this type of scenario, having award tickets on BA and BA canceling its flights on one leg before departure (this was outbound Seattle-London, return Dublin-London-Seattle; BA decided to no longer fly Dublin-London). AS was unable to get BA to book us on another carrier, and BA directly was unhelpful. We had to find our way back from Dublin to London on our own to catch our BA flight, and wound up purchasing those tickets on a discount carrier. There were no other options on partner airlines.

So it's not a great situation for the OP. We had a marginally acceptable business class award experience on Condor six months ago. Among other smaller annoyances and challenges, it included something happening to our return tickets from Frankfurt to Seattle that required last-minute work at the airport counter in Frankfurt by a Condor rep to make them valid for travel. She originally didn't see our tickets in her system. Which was odd, because the outbound tickets were fine, and we were given no explanation of what the problem was on the return. Condor is marginal as a scheduled airline, overall.

BOB W

I also have a similar experience, except with AF. A few years ago I flew AF LAX-CDG in J and was booked on the return. The outbound was fine. While in France I was notified by AF that there was a strike scheduled and my return flight was cancelled by AF. They told me that they would not help and that I needed to figure out my own way home. I spent an hour on Skype with AS and they finally found me an EK flight MUC-DXB-LAX. MUC0DXB in J, DXB-LAX in F. I booked the train to MUC to get home (at my expense).

It is not fun being stranded half way around the world and having the carrier you were depending on to just walk away from their duty to their customers. this was before EU261 so I got nothing from AF for their problem.

wonderlaw

My rebooking experience has generally been better. I had AA get us to the gate late in ORD on an award ticket, and put us on the later LH flight to Frankfurt. The same was true with Air France 3-4 years ago. I also have had other rebooking experiences to different airlines, although they have not involved force majeure type events like a strike. Last year, JAL rebooked us to Cathay in a southeast Asia hurrican situation on an award flight, so I think it is certainly airline dependent. Where I might disagree is whether the airlines have to buy full revenue tickets, as my understanding was most airlines have accommodation policies that aren't full fare revenue tickets.

wonderlaw

I don't anticipate Condor responding to the EU 261 claims, but I do anticipate educating a judge here locally. The curious thing is Condor is not registered to do business in the State of Washington, so that is a bit unusual in trying to figure out who to serve. But I'll give them another 30 days to respond, and then pursue the matter locally if they don't. At least Condor has assets that are regularly in Seattle that can be used to satisfy a judgment.

wonderlaw

Just a footnote to the Condor debacle and our EU 261 claims. Two of us just received checks from Condor for $680.00 representing the value of our EU 261 claim. They have been rushed to the bank in the hopes they will not be dishonored. However, the other two in our party received an email from Condor denying their claim. Condor's reasoning was that although they were unable to operate the flight as planned, and were not going to be able to operate the flight until a minimum of 32 hours after its scheduled departure from Seattle, they owed no damages for the EU 261 delay because the booking of an independent flight to salvage the vacation was a withdrawal form the contract of carriage. They will be going to small claims court for this.

We'll keep you posted as we continue to avoid Condor.

sfozrhfco

ncncyoo

Is anyone able to find fare class on MH leg. My first segment from SYD-KUL on MH and KUL-FRA on DE2359 Try call Condor but no luck. Thanks

johnp012001

Curious what the relevance of a MH flight is to Alaska Airlines or the Condor thread.