Alaska & Condor Announce A New Partnership!

If you do review them, you HAVE to fly the flight from Frankfurt to Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. It's really one of the most random lines on the map, and I'm really curious why on Earth Condor flies that route? Are that many German tourists interested in seeing the Canadian arctic?

Any way of combining the 50% biz plat rebate on any of these business fares? Condor doesn't seem to show up on the amex travel website

I flew Condor last summer from BWI to Frankfurt and connected onwards to Barcelona. I needed a one way ticket and as you point out - their one way pricing is good. I splurged for business class and it was great. Service on board was nice, food was good. Seats were tight for business, but they were comfortable. We were nearly 4 hours delayed leaving BWI due to a late inbound flight. I had scheduled a 4 hour connection in Frankfurt and I just barely made it. The issue with Condor was this - they are CHEAP. The check in agents in the US are only given a computer system that lets them check in passengers. they cannot change anybody's tickets. So literally the whole plane was going to misconnect (or let's say 80%). The agents at BWI had NO POWER to reaccommodate them on later flights at Frankfurt - all the misconnecting passengers had to wait until they got to Frankfurt to be reaccommodated. It was a mess upon arrival. Also, to note - even though I bought a business class ticket, they sell connections in Frankfurt to Lufthansa as Economy. So I was in Economy from FRA to BCN. Not a big deal, as intra-European business on LH isnt anything to write home about, but something to be aware of. That said, the price was right, and again, food was great in business, service was good, and the entertainment system was solid. I'd recommend them.

And what kind of connecting flights are available when you get to Frankfurt ?

@John-
Condor will sell you connecting flights to any destination Lufthansa and partners flies to. When I flew them BWI - FRA last summer, the whole plane was connecting. There must have been 20 people on my ongoing flight to Barcelona on Lufthansa. The whole thing is seamless. If you go to condor.com to book a ticket, you just type in your origin - BWI (in my case) and destination BCN. The itinerary will include BWI (or wherever) - FRA on Condor and then FRA - XXX on Lufthansa. It's easy - Condor interlines with and sells tickets with everybody from Frankfurt. Word of warning - if you buy business, Condor only puts you in Business on them from the US to Frankfurt. It's economy on Lufthansa for the connection. That happened to me last summer, as I mentioned above.

How about Thomas Cook Airlines? Does this apply to them as well?

Condor used to be owned by Lufthansa. I think 'charter airline' is more appropriate than 'low cost'.

Hi Ben, I flew Condor Business Class a few month ago, in a B767 from Frankfurt to the Seychelles, and I loved the experience. You have to try them out again. The food was some of the best I ever got in Business Class (on the level of Austrian Airlines & Singapore Airlines). I published a review on my blog ( http://wp.me/p4d1XU-GmI). You should fly them to the Seychelles, a blind spot on your travel map. The scenery of the island is stunning, and North Island is the most amazing resort in the world (even better than the St Regis Maldives, which you recently reviewed and where I stayed as well). Best, Jan

I find this tie up odd as Condor is owned by Thomas Cook with is partially owned by LH.

@Lucky You mention they used to fly TPA to FRA, which you used. You also mention flying to leisure destinations, but I see no mention of any Florida destinations. What gives?

This single change makes me interested in flying with Condor now. Good work expanding your partnerships Alaska.

Anyone know if there's any route restrictions on the Alaska/Condor partnership ? As in is it just for US routes or could I use this on say the DE flights between FRA and CPT ? Also anyone else figured out how to add a frequent flyer number during the Condor booking process cos I couldn't spot it. Unless I'm being thick 😉

@ hamiltus -- No route restrictions, as long as the flight is Condor marketed and coded.

@ lucky - Thanks for that ! So I guess with that, the connecting Lufthansa flights that Condor sells don't count towards AS earnings ? Say for me to fly from my home airport of NCE to FRA in order to connect with the CPT leg ?

Your readers should be aware of the manual nature AS miles get credited on Condor. I just booked tix from Prague to San Diego - the one way biz fare was very good.
In speaking with Condor I was told that the only way to obtain Alaska miles credit was to show them your MP card in Frankfurt when transiting in Frankfurt. Seems a bit of a pain so we'll see how it goes.

Ooh, that is quite handy for me. I have often wondered why Condor would be like as they do have some awesome J fares.

Just FYI according to Condor's website they have fully lie flat seats in their new upgraded cabin. Could be interesting to check out