We arrived at Frankfurt Airport around two hours before departure, at 2PM. One of my favorite things about Frankfurt Airport is the old-style departures board, so we stopped there to check the status of our flight to Whitehorse.
Frankfurt Airport departures board
Condor departs from Terminal 1 at Frankfurt Airport, and Condor business class passengers have access to the Lufthansa Business Lounge. I’ve reviewed that lounge in the past, so won’t be doing so again with this review.
While some Condor flights were parked at gates, our flight would be departing from gate B56, which was a remote stand.
Condor 767 Frankfurt Airport
We took the escalator down a level to our departure gate. Our boarding passes indicated that boarding would start at 3PM, though in the end it actually only started at 3:15PM. Leading up to boarding they made several announcements offering paid upgrades to their extra legroom economy section as well as to business class.
Condor departure gate Frankfurt Airport
They really waited to fill up the bus, and by 3:30PM we were at the plane.
Condor 767 Frankfurt Airport
Condor 2426
Frankfurt (FRA) – Whitehorse (YXY)
Sunday, September 16
Depart: 4:00PM
Arrive: 4:30PM
Duration: 9hr30min
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300
Seat: 3C (Business Class)
They had set up air stairs both for the forward and rear door, and we boarded through the forward door. This Condor 767-300 configuration featured a total of 18 business class seats, spread across three rows in a 2-2-2 configuration (some Condor 767s feature 30 business class seats).
Condor 767 business class cabin
Condor 767 business class cabin
I also quickly took a glance at economy. Everything ahead of that mid-cabin divider is their extra legroom section.
Condor 767 economy cabin
While the 2-3-2 configuration in economy on the 767 is comfortable, the 2-2-2 configuration in business class is really tight. We had assigned ourselves seats 3A & 3C, the aisle and window seat in the third row on the left side.
Condor business class seats
Condor business class seats
As you can see, each seat had a personal television on the seatback. The seatback also had a literature pocket and a coat hook.
Condor business class seats
Seat controls were on the center armrest, and were easy to use.
Condor business class seat controls
Then underneath the center armrest were the entertainment controls, which required scrolling — I always find these remotes to be sort of tough to use.
Condor business class entertainment controls
Also underneath the center armrest were two power outlets.
Condor business class seat power outlets
At the back of the area between seats was a partition that could be extended for a bit more privacy. Frankly if I were traveling alone and sitting next to a stranger I’d probably just want to keep that extended the whole time, because the armrest is so narrow that you otherwise almost feel like you’re in economy.
Condor business class privacy partition
The tray table, meanwhile, could be folded out from the far armrest.
Condor business class tray table
The only other thing I’d mention about the hard product is that there were no individual air nozzles, which is sort of annoying when you consider that the cabin was kept pretty warm.
It goes without saying that this isn’t an amazing hard product, and it’s not competitive with other business class products out there. However, Condor also has consistently excellent business class fares, and you can earn Alaska miles for flying with them, so for me there’s value in still flying with them.
As far as the amenities go, waiting at our seats upon boarding were pillows and blankets. The pillow was fine, while the blanket was rather warm, and feels like an easy area where they could improve the quality of the product.
Condor business class pillow & blanket
There were also some headphones, which were quite uncomfortable, so I used my Bose headphones throughout the flight.
Condor business class headphones
There was also a basic amenity kit, which had a pair of socks, eyeshades, earplugs, a toothbrush, and toothpaste.
Condor business class amenity kit
Also waiting at our seats upon boarding was the menu for the flight.
Condor business class menu
Within a few minutes of settling in we were offered pre-departure drinks, with the choice between sparkling wine and orange juice.
Condor business class pre-departure champagne
We were also offered bottled water.
Condor business class bottled water
They were boarding passengers through both the forward and rear door, and the 767 has really narrow aisles, so sitting in the cabin during boarding isn’t especially fun, as I was hit by a countless number of bags coming down the aisle.
Within about 15 minutes business class was full, with the exception of the two seats in the front right of the cabin, which were a crew rest (as you can see, they had curtains around them). With the exception of one other guy, just about everyone in the cabin seemed to be older German couples, which I guess is about what you’d expect on a flight from Frankfurt to Whitehorse.
Condor business class cabin 767
At 4:05PM, shortly after our scheduled departure time, the captain made an announcement informing us of a technical problem. He promised to keep us updated, but based on the tone of his voice and the way he described it, it seemed pretty serious.
With a potential significant delay you’d think the crew would serve some additional drinks in business class, but rather they closed the curtains between the galley and cabin and just ignored passengers.
We sat there for a while without any sort of updates, and then at 5PM the captain came back on the PA to inform us that the technical problem couldn’t be fixed, but that they have another aircraft ready to go at a different stand.
Unfortunately there were no buses available, so we had to wait a further 30 minutes until we could get off the plane. There was one guy in the cabin who I overheard telling the crew that he needed to go to the terminal, as he rebooked on another routing in Lufthansa first class. I’m not sure if he just gave up on the trip completely or found another creative way to get to Whitehorse, but it’s not exactly the easiest to reach destination.
Finally at 5:30PM we were driven back to the terminal. Once there we were told to hang around the gate area, and at 5:50PM it was announced that we’d be boarding in 20 minutes. The wait wasn’t even that long, and at around 6PM we were driven to our new plane.
While our previous plane had arrived from Portland, this plane (in a different livery) had arrived from Montego Bay earlier in the day.
New Condor 767 taking us to Whitehorse
New Condor 767 taking us to Whitehorse
Once we pulled up to the new plane unfortunately things weren’t looking good once again. We were advised to wait on the bus. I did see several maintenance workers around the forward gear.
Eventually a maintenance worker came up to the bus driver. I heard the bus driver say (I’m translating here) “broken?” The maintenance guy nodded, and the driver said “was thinking that.” So we waited on the bus for another 20 minutes, and then we were allowed to board, so that was good news.
Uh oh… more problems?
Once they actually did start boarding I’ve never seen a more efficient boarding process. Everyone was onboard within five minutes, and the crew seemed really motivated to close the door. I’m not sure if the crew was about to time out, or what, but we were finally in a rush.
The captain apologized over the PA for the delay, and informed us that our flight time was just 8hr25min, which he said was significantly shorter than usual.
By 6:45PM we began our pushback, at which point the safety demonstration was screened.
Condor has possibly the worst safety video I’ve ever seen. There are some airlines that don’t try with their safety video, and that’s fine. But Condor clearly tries, and the video is just so awful/borderline offensive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFgea3ye5cg
By 6:55PM we were cleared for takeoff on runway 7C. This had to be one of the fastest taxis I’ve ever had at the airport.
Taking off from Frankfurt Airport
Given the position of Frankfurt’s runways, I love how you often still have a great terminal view several seconds after takeoff.
View after takeoff from Frankfurt
As we climbed out I browsed the inflight entertainment, starting with the flight map.
Condor entertainment selection
Airshow enroute to Whitehorse
Airshow enroute to Whitehorse
Airshow enroute to Whitehorse
The entertainment selection was solid, with 60+ movies and 160+ TV shows.
Condor entertainment selection
Condor entertainment selection
I decided to watch “I Feel Pretty,” starring Amy Schumer. While my entertainment selection was excellent, Andrew’s TV kept glitching, and he also had only a subset of the entertainment I had (his screen had about 35 movies and 85 TV shows). I’m not sure what exactly caused that, but it sure was weird.
The seatbelt sign was turned off about 20 minutes after takeoff, at which point the crew distributed newspapers. Around this time the captain made another announcement, informing us that we were cruising at 30,000 feet, and were over North Germany and then would be flying West of Norway, then we’d be flying over Northern Greenland at 82 degrees, and then we’d go from there to Northern Canada. He anticipated an arrival time of 6:30PM, meaning we’d only be about two hours late, which wasn’t bad given how delayed our departure was.
The meal service began about 35 minutes after takeoff. All the service started in row three and then moved forward. The menu read as follows:
The drink list read as follows:
First warm towels were distributed.
Condor business class dinner service — warm towel
Then tablecloths were brought out.
Condor business class dinner service — table setting
Service began with drinks and packaged roasted cashews. I had a glass of the Nicolas Feuillatte champagne to drink, as well as a glass of sparkling water.
Condor business class dinner service — drinks and nuts
The service was quick, about 15 minutes later the first tray of food was served. The appetizers were described as follows:
- rabbit mousse delice with fig mustard and pomegranate mayonnaise,
- sushi California filled with chili cream cheese, salmon tataki marinated in sweet soya sauce, salad wakame, cake with wasabi and ginger
- seasonal salad with tomato vinaigrette
I was also offered a selection of bread, and chose both a pretzel and some garlic bread.
Condor business class dinner service — appetizer & salad
I loved the little airplane themed salt and pepper shaker.
Condor business class dinner service — cute salt & pepper shaker
For the main course I ordered the cod served with polenta Mediterranean vegetables, and tomato sauce with red wine.
Condor business class dinner service — main course
Andrew had the truffle ravioli served with a white wine cream sauce and vegetables with pesto.
Condor business class dinner service — main course
Next up we were offered a cheese course, which consisted of wildblume cheese, sheep cheese with rosemary, and comte, accompanied by confit of red onions.
Condor business class dinner service — cheese plate
Lastly there was dessert, which consisted of mascarpone berry cake with mango ragout. I also had a cup of coffee to go along with it.
Condor business class dinner service — dessert and coffee
The meal service was done two hours after takeoff. I was impressed by the quality of food, which was on par with what you’d expect in business class on a typical full service airline. Condor doesn’t skimp when it comes to the quality of their food.
The service was… completely fine. Actually, this was possibly the most unmemorable crew I’ve had in a long time, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. They did nothing wrong, but they also didn’t do anything especially great either. They were just sort of there.
I was curious how this flight was staffed, given that this was the last flight to Whitehorse of the season. So I asked one of the flight attendants, and he explained that they were spending a night in Whitehorse, and were then returning as passengers the following day back to Frankfurt via Calgary.
After the meal I checked out the business class lavatories, located in front of the cabin. Usually 767s have ancient-looking lavatories, though these had to be among the most modern-looking ones I’ve seen.
Condor business class lavatory
Condor business class lavatory
Eventually the cabin lights were dimmed, so I decided to recline my seat to try and get some rest.
Condor business class crew rest
At this point we were just under six hours from arriving in Whitehorse.
Airshow enroute to Whitehorse
Airshow enroute to Whitehorse
Condor has angled seats in business class, and they’re very angled. There are some airlines with business class seats that only have a minor angle, which doesn’t bother me, but Condor isn’t one of those airlines. I found the seats to be extremely uncomfortable for sleeping, though admittedly I’m someone who struggles to sleep without the perfect conditions.
Fortunately I must have been really tired, because I managed to sleep for nearly two hours. Andrew wasn’t able to sleep.
Condor business class angled bed
Random tangent, but am I the only one who thinks airlines overuse mood lighting? I appreciate it in moderation, but when the lights aren’t on for a service I’d much rather they just be off, rather than this purple disco-style lighting.
Condor business class mood lighting
When I woke up we were quite literally on top of the world, over Northern Greenland. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day, so the views were limited.
Airshow enroute to Whitehorse
Flying over Greenland
At this point the crew came through the cabin with some snacks, including Haagen-Dazs ice cream.
Condor business class mid-flight snack
There were also some snacks in the galley, including candy bars.
Condor business class snacks
Also around this time they distributed landing cards for Canada.
Landing card for Canada
We got a nice sunset while enroute, but then it became light again.
Sunset enroute to Whitehorse
I decided to work for a couple of hours (there’s no Wi-Fi on Condor, though I worked on some stuff in offline mode), and before I knew it we were just two hours from arriving in Whitehorse. At this point the cabin lights were turned up and warm towels were distributed.
There was no choice for the pre-arrival meal, but rather everyone received the same thing. This included seasonal greens with dried pomegranate and grape seed oil dressing, chicken in a tikka sauce with basmati gobi masala, and mousse from white chocolate with macadamia nuts. The meal was pretty tasty.
Condor business class pre-arrival meal
Once the meal was cleared we were just an hour from landing in Whitehorse, at this point flying almost directly South.
Airshow enroute to Whitehorse
The views on our approach were beautiful.
View enroute to Whitehorse
View enroute to Whitehorse
At around 5:30PM local time the captain announced we’d be landing in about 30 minutes, and 10 minutes later the seatbelt sign was turned on.
The views on our approach were breathtaking, and made us excited about our time in Whitehorse.
View approaching Whitehorse
View approaching Whitehorse
View approaching Whitehorse
View approaching Whitehorse
View approaching Whitehorse
View approaching Whitehorse
View approaching Whitehorse
Final approach to Whitehorse
We had a smooth touchdown at 6:05PM. We rolled out to the very end of the runway and then had to backtaxi. While there was a taxiway at the end of the runway, I suspect it was too small to accommodate the 767.
Taxiing Whitehorse Airport
Taxiing Whitehorse Airport
Taxiing Whitehorse Airport
I was surprised that the airport had a gate that could fit a 767, as I figured we’d be deplaning by stairs. We parked right next to an Air North turboprop.
Arrival gate Whitehorse
Arrival gate Whitehorse
Whitehorse Airport was so adorable. The immigration facility was modern, and there were three immigration officers. They were friendly, though also confused why we were flying through Whitehorse. I asked what other international flights they deal with, and they explained that they also had a couple of flights from Alaska.
Whitehorse Airport
Whitehorse Airport
We exited customs quickly, and then were in the cute check-in hall.
Whitehorse Airport
Not exactly an airport where you’d expect a transatlantic 767 to depart from, eh?
Whitehorse Airport
We rented a car at the airport, and had another beautiful view of our Condor 767 before leaving the airport.
Condor 767 in Whitehorse
Condor business class bottom line
I’m so happy we had the chance to take this flight. Reviewing Condor business class has been on my “to do” list for a while, as has this unique transatlantic flight, so to be able to do both in one trip was pretty awesome.
Condor business class met my expectations, though perhaps the food was a bit better than I was expecting. The food was great, and amenities and service were alright.
The seat is angled so not very comfortable, but I knew that coming in, and given the reasonable fares Condor charges for business class, I can’t fault them for that. I’d fly Condor again, especially on a daytime flight if the price is right, given that I can earn Alaska Mileage Plan miles for these flights.
If you’ve flown Condor business class, what was your experience like?
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