Trip Report: Condor's Alaska Express from Frankfurt

FRANKFURT — Welcome back, readers! We left the previous trip report just after arriving at Frankfurt (FRA) from Milan Malpensa (MXP).

After deboarding from Gate Alpha 16 at Frankfurt Terminal 1, I went directly to the Bravo gate area, following the indications and taking the famous underground tunnel that connects Alpha to Bravo Gates.
Border control was quick and uneventful, and soon after I arrived at Bravo 46, the gate from where my Anchorage flight was scheduled to depart in four hours.

Like in Malpensa, a Condor business class ticket holder can access all of Lufthansa’s business lounges located throughout Frankfurt, so I headed straight to it.

Conveniently enough, the one I used is located just above the Bravo 4x gate area but before having the possibility to enjoy the Lounge amenities, I had to perform an additional security check thanks to the infamous quadruple S code on my ticket, which I rapidly performed at the Bundespolizei counter near gate B41.

Lufthansa business lounge is located on the upper floor of gate B4x area, and as soon as you enter the facility, the main desk welcomes you and tons of space, which becomes even more thanks to the usage of the whole upper floor. Even being quite full there wasn’t any idea of being that way so I had the pleasure to spend the 3 hour layover relaxing and enjoying the lounge facilities.

With a very complete selection of drinks, hot plates, fruits, snacks, etc… The lounge gives the possibility to properly relax before the next flight. Obviously, being in Germany there was even self-service tap beer!

Three hours passed like a breeze and in no time at all I headed down the stairs to the new departure gate, B45 where a beautiful Green and white A330-900 was waiting, getting ready for the 9 hours flight.

Thanks to early coordination with Condor I was able to board 20 minutes early to be able to thoroughly visit the passenger cabin.

Condor’s A330neo aircraft are configured with a total of 310 seats divided in (Seat Map courtesy of Aerolopa):

• 30 Business class seats in marina blue, dark wood decor and leather, in a 1-2-1 configuration with direct aisle access, 78” long fully lie flat beds, 19” seat width and a 17.3” 4K touchscreen display.
  Seats 2A, 2K, 1E and 1F are called “prime seats” and offer more space plus a 23.6” touchscreen display.
  All seats are equipped with USB-A and C plus universal AC and a six way adjustable headrest.

• 64 Premium economy seats arranged in a 2-4-2 configuration with 18” seat width, 35” seat pitch, 12° of seat recline plus 13.3” 4K touchscreen IFE and USB-A, C and universal AC adapter.
  
• Lastly, in economy class we can find 216 seats arranged again in a 2-4-2 configuration with the same seat width as the premium economy seat but with 30” seat pitch and 8.5° recline.

In every business class seat, passengers found waiting for them a mattress for the seat in lie flat mode,a blanket, slippers and an eco-friendly amenity kit with toothbrush and toothpaste, eye patch, lip balm, moisturizer cream and a pair of socks.

Boarding started a little late because of a technical snag but, after resolving it, it went very quickly and in no time we were ready for departure from Frankfurt, not after drinking a welcome drink.

After about one hour, meal service started with a refreshing hot towel followed by a salted nuts appetiser that I accompanied with an orange juice and a Cosmopolitan.
(funnily enough, Condor calls it the “Condorpolitan”, one of the many Condor touches).

On international flights, business class passengers can enjoy an appetizer, a choice between three main courses and a dessert to close with a sweet note the meal.

Instead of choosing the onboard menù, I've asked for a Gluten free meal which was served with an entree with delicious Raw Salmon, Chicken with potato salad, vegetables and fruit.

The main course instead was rice, broccoli and chicken which I lightly ate because I was already feeling full from the appetizer.

To close the meal service, a plate of melon fruit, grapes and ananas was served which I found very flavorful.

Soon after meal service I reclined the seat in a lounging position and I dove into the huge selection of films, tv series and music that the IFE was offering and thanks to some “The office” and “Brooklyn 99” episodes we quickly reached the last part of the flight.

I need to praise the very quiet cabin, maybe one of the most quiet I've flown with. It was possible to have a conversation without the need to raise the voice and with the noise cancelling headphones it was like I wasn’t on an airplane. Bravo Condor!

But, I should note that i found the lack of storage space of the seat very lacking with only a little shelf which was enough for a phone, glasses and a very small drink.

In addition, the seat controls are in a position where, sometimes it’s possible to activate them with your body even if they are “protected” by tapping them one time and holding down afterwards to move the seat.

After a little nap a small but plentiful dinner meal was served about 2 hours before arriving, consisting of a rice and vegetable mix, salad and dessert.

After 9 hours of flying we landed about 20 minutes behind schedule in a rainy Anchorage and after a brief taxi we stopped at North Terminal which is Anchorage only facility with immigration lines.

I hope you enjoyed reading this trip report!

See you next time!