My overall ratings for Condor Premium Economy
Key takeaways from my Condor Premium Economy experience
Why I booked Condor for this long-haul flight
6. Condor Premium Economy seats
Final thoughts: Would I book Condor Premium Economy again?
What’s the difference between Condor Premium Economy and Business Class?
FAQ1: Can premium economy passengers access the Condor lounge?
FAQ2: Can you sleep in Condor Premium Economy?
FAQ3: Is premium economy worth it on a long Condor flight?
FAQ4: Does Condor offer last-minute upgrades?
FAQ5: Is it cheaper to book economy and then upgrade?
FAQ6: Do you get better food in Condor Premium Economy?
Condor Premium Economy gave me mixed feelings. For EUR 98 more than economy on a round-trip ticket, I got extra legroom, a decent meal, and enough space to spend a 12-hour flight without fighting the seat in front of me. For the money, I’d give it 9.6/10. As a premium economy product? 5/10.
Those are two very different ratings, and both are deserved.
I flew from Frankfurt to San Francisco aboard an Airbus A330neo. I thought the flight would take 10 hours. It was 12. You can imagine my surprise. Two extra hours is quite a lot of time to reconsider whether you chose the right airline.
My travel dates were September 10–24, 2026. I paid EUR 898 for one round-trip premium economy ticket, compared with EUR 800 for economy. That’s a EUR 98 difference, or 12.25% extra, for the return ticket—not EUR 98 each way. This review focuses on my Frankfurt-to-San Francisco flight.
So, is Condor Premium Economy worth it? At the small price difference I found, yes. Just keep your expectations under control. The seats were okay, the food mostly felt like regular economy food, and the Wi-Fi was so bad I requested a refund. There were also things I genuinely liked, including the fast entertainment screen and the surprisingly good dinner.
Here’s my review of the price, boarding, food, entertainment, service, and seats. If you’re still sorting out the cabins, start with my airline cabin classes explained guide.
The entertainment score needs one qualification: I liked the screen and system very much. The supplied headphones were terrible. More on those below.
The Condor A330neo in its striped livery, which was honestly half the reason I clicked book :)
The big upside was simple: Condor had fairly cheap premium economy. In the fares I tend to compare, I often see something like a 50% premium over economy. For my September 2026 trip, it was just 12.25%. That made me curious about what the quality would actually be.
I also liked the striped branding. It felt modern. The A330neo was another positive, although parts of the cabin already looked a bit worn to me.
I went in hoping for a good deal on a comfortable flight. I got the deal. The comfort was more of a mixed result.
The striped Condor A330neo at SFO looks fresh from the outside
For the price markup on my booking, it was a decent product. On a 12-hour flight, having enough room for my legs is worth actual money. The luggage allowance and priority services add value too, especially if you’d otherwise pay for extras separately.
That EUR 98 difference was for one round-trip ticket on my September 2026 booking. It isn’t a fixed Condor upgrade price. Compare the total fare for your dates, including baggage and any seat reservation charges.
My 9.6/10 value rating comes mainly from getting useful extras for very little additional money. My 5/10 product rating reflects how it felt against my expectations of premium economy: ordinary food, okay seats, and a few weak details. A cheap upgrade can be a very good buy without being an impressive cabin.
If the price gap gets much bigger, I’d compare other airlines before booking. My Air France Premium Economy review, Lufthansa Premium Economy review, and Austrian Airlines Premium Economy review show why the cabin name alone tells you very little.
Condor currently lists Premium Classic, Premium Choice, and Premium Flex. The onboard cabin is the same; check the fare conditions for changes and cancellations.
For a US or Canada long-haul, the airline currently lists one checked bag up to 32 kg (70.5 lb), one carry-on up to 10 kg (22 lb), and a personal item up to 6 kg (13.2 lb). It also lists priority airport services, meals and drinks, an amenity kit, a pillow, and a blanket. Lounge access is an optional extra.
Check the current Premium Economy fare details for your itinerary. I’d price the extras I’ll actually use rather than get excited about the length of the benefits list.
The Frankfurt Airport sightseeing tour, courtesy of Condor. Lufthansa gets the jet bridge, I get the bus
Priority check-in is useful, and you don’t always get it with premium economy. Security on my trip wasn’t priority, though. That’s a different service, and the airport matters.
Condor’s current fare page lists priority security, with availability dependent on participating airports. My experience shouldn’t be read as a promise that you’ll get it everywhere—or that Condor never offers it. Check the airport priority information before counting on a faster security line.
The less pleasant side was the ground operation. There seemed to be fewer check-in counters, and instead of a jet bridge, we got a bus ride. Then another bus for the long-haul flight. Generally, flying Condor felt like checking how the shuttle transport works at Frankfurt Airport. This one point I surely didn’t like.
My connecting flight had good legroom and a layout I appreciated. It also took off about 15 minutes late. Add the bus transfer, and we were roughly 20 minutes behind expectations, which put unnecessary pressure on the connection.
Frankfurt is among my favorite airports because I find it clean, efficient, and fast. I’m usually willing to allow myself a slightly shorter layover there than elsewhere. After this connection, I’d leave more breathing room when flying Condor.
One thing they did well: useful information. During the flight, the announcements explained practical things about the airport and luggage. Once we landed, I received an SMS and email with the gate for my connecting flight. I very much liked that.
The long-haul departed about 45 minutes late and arrived roughly 15 minutes late. An improvement, but I’d have preferred leaving on time.
No, it isn’t included as a standard cabin benefit. Condor lists lounge access as a bookable add-on. Don’t include a free lounge in your value calculation.
The Condor Premium Economy menu sold the best meal of the flight as "Hot snack." Underpromise, overdeliver
Right after takeoff, we were served a welcome drink: orange juice or sparkling wine. I’m not a fan of either, but that’s hardly the airline’s fault. On the other hand, I got pretzels, which I liked very much.
The menu was waiting at the seat, printed on normal paper. Nothing particularly fancy. We did get proper metal cutlery, and lunch arrived about an hour after departure.
Both Condor Premium Economy lunch options on the left, dinner on the right. I took the paneer and avoided the polenta
The roast beef portion was fairly small, but together with the Brie, it was the tastiest part of lunch.
For the main course, I chose Indian paneer. The other option was chicken with polenta, which I profoundly dislike. The paneer tasted properly Indian, so I enjoyed it. The bread was tough, and the lemon tart was okayish. I liked the little touch of a small Snickers.
The whole lunch felt like normal economy food. That was fine given the price, and I generally like airplane food. But I didn’t feel I was eating anything significantly better because I’d paid for premium economy.
Dinner was actually very good: pizza, quinoa salad, and fruit salad. It pulled the food score out of what would otherwise have been around 5/10 by premium standards.
Overall, I give the food 8/10 for airplane food and 7/10 considering it premium economy food. The dinner deserves quite a lot of credit for that result.
Menus vary by flight. I wouldn’t book expecting this exact meal, and I definitely wouldn’t make food the main reason to pay for the upgrade.
The Condor flight info screen in seat 14G, with 9169 km to go and a Bluetooth button I'd soon be very grateful for
The screen was quite big and fast. I hate those slow tablets where you press something and have time to reconsider your entire movie choice before anything happens. A responsive screen is one of the most important parts of a long flight for me.
Condor got that right. There were recent movies, classics, and TV shows. I could easily have chosen five movies. I wouldn’t necessarily award extra premium economy points for the selection, though; good entertainment is an industry expectation, and economy gets the same size screen on this aircraft.
What I liked was the size and speed. Somehow, the flight information felt more useful too.
There were no games that I could find. Especially no trivia. That annoyed me more than it probably should have. For the screen and entertainment system, I still give an easy 9/10. Finding trivia would have helped with the last point.
The best use of that jack was leaving it empty
The supplied headphones were much poorer than those I’ve had with other premium economy products, including Air France. There was a lot of echo. Had I not been watching a movie I already knew, I would have understood about half of it. My girlfriend couldn’t watch anything with hers.
Fortunately, the screen had a Bluetooth option. Bring your own headphones. It’s a small preparation that makes a big difference here.
The internet had an okay price. The speed was quite slow even with the highest-tier package.
Over Greenland the Wi-Fi was mostly decorative. Canada would have to save the day
Actually, “quite slow” is generous. It almost couldn’t handle the Google homepage, and that is mostly a white screen. The connection was such a disappointment that I requested a refund.
Once we were over Canada and the US, it worked a bit better. I still wouldn’t plan on dependable online work or streaming based on this flight.
Working is by far my most productive way to pass time on a plane. Condor gave me the charging connections to do that, but the Wi-Fi made online work frustrating. Download your files before boarding and have something useful to do offline.
The flight attendant serving us early in the flight was very nice and attentive. She was quick, and I generally liked the service during that part of the journey.
In the second half, the service was almost nonexistent. When the flight attendants were there, they were attentive. They just weren’t there very much.
Where they failed heavily was cleaning the toilets. On a flight this long, keeping them clean is a basic expectation. I don’t need somebody hovering around my seat for 12 hours, but I do expect a usable bathroom.
I’d give the service 6/10. I’ve had worse with KLM, for example, but I’ve also had significantly better. You can read that comparison in my KLM Premium Economy review.
Honestly, the seat felt like a slightly larger economy seat with more room for my legs. It reclined a bit more than basic economy, but it didn’t feel like a major step into another cabin category.
For Condor Premium Economy seats on the A330neo, the airline lists 89 cm (35 in) of seat pitch, compared with 76 cm (30 in) in economy, and up to 12 degrees of recline. Seat pitch is the distance between the same point on consecutive seats, rather than the empty space available to your knees.
At my 186 cm (6 ft 1 in), I had absolutely no problems with legroom. That is a meaningful positive on a 12-hour flight. I also liked the small tray for drinks on the seat in front.
Legroom was the one premium thing nobody could argue with
The layout was 2-4-2, one of my favorites when traveling with someone. Get one of the window pairs, and you have a window or aisle on one side and your companion on the other. It feels much more private than sitting in the middle block with strangers.
We also got lucky: two seats next to us were empty, giving us more space to ourselves. That certainly improved the experience, but empty neighboring seats aren’t something you can buy with a premium economy ticket.
Compared with the Air France shell seats I prefer, I’d give these 7/10. I’m somewhat biased because I like seats with hard-shell sides; they feel more substantial and private to me. Condor gave me comfortable legroom, but the seat itself didn’t have that same feeling.
The Condor Premium Economy amenity kit
You get a pillow, a blanket, and an amenity kit in a very nice box. I really liked the box. Condor was trying, and I appreciated the small touches even if they didn’t transform the seat.
Another positive was having a normal electrical outlet for charging my laptop, plus USB-C and USB-A for the phone. The laptop outlet matters to me because I’d rather spend some of the flight working than browse the movie menu for the fifth time.
For sleeping, keep your expectations realistic. This is a reclining seat, and I wouldn’t confuse it with a bed.
@ Frankfurt Airport
At a similar small price difference, yes. For so little extra money, you get useful space, baggage, and priority benefits. I still have mixed feelings about the actual experience, but the value is hard to argue with.
The biggest disappointments were the Wi-Fi, supplied headphones, disappearing service, and toilet cleanliness. The repeated airport buses didn’t help either. The best parts were the legroom, responsive screen, nice early service, and dinner.
My recommendation is to buy it for the extra room at a good price. If you’re expecting a noticeably more premium seat and dining experience, compare the alternatives carefully. That distinction explains how I ended up at 9.6/10 for value and 5/10 for the product.
On the A330neo, Business Class is a much bigger step up. Condor lists lie-flat beds and direct aisle access for every business seat. Premium economy gives you extra legroom and a bit more recline, while business changes how you can sleep.
I haven’t reviewed Condor Business Class here, so I won’t pretend to know how its food or service compares from experience. If you’re weighing the cabins, compare the fare gap against how much a proper bed matters on your flight. My Air France Business Class review shows what I value in that upgrade.
Lounge access is an optional paid extra, rather than a standard inclusion. Check the available options for your departure airport before buying it.
The seat reclines and has more pitch than economy, but it isn’t lie-flat. I had enough legroom at 186 cm (6 ft 1 in). I wouldn’t choose it expecting business-class sleep.
For the EUR 98 round-trip fare difference I found, yes. Extra room becomes useful over 12 hours. A much larger price gap deserves a fresh comparison with other cabins and airlines.
Condor advertises upgrades subject to available seats. Check its upgrade options or your booking. Availability and price aren’t guaranteed.
Don’t assume it will be. Compare the premium economy fare available now with any actual upgrade offer. If you book economy first, you need to be willing to fly in it if no suitable upgrade appears.
Condor markets a Premium Menu. My lunch still felt like ordinary economy food, although dinner was very good. I wouldn’t pay the upgrade mainly for the meals.
One of the window pairs in the 2-4-2 layout when traveling as a couple. Check your flight’s seat map and reservation price. Don’t budget on empty seats next to you; ours were luck.
The clearest onboard improvement is the extra legroom and recline. That mattered to me. The entertainment screen is also available in economy, so it shouldn’t be your reason to upgrade.
For more cabin comparisons, read my ANA Premium Class review. It covers a domestic Japanese premium product, so keep that distinction in mind when comparing it with a transatlantic flight.
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My overall ratings for Condor Premium Economy
Key takeaways from my Condor Premium Economy experience
Why I booked Condor for this long-haul flight
6. Condor Premium Economy seats
Final thoughts: Would I book Condor Premium Economy again?
What’s the difference between Condor Premium Economy and Business Class?
FAQ1: Can premium economy passengers access the Condor lounge?
FAQ2: Can you sleep in Condor Premium Economy?
FAQ3: Is premium economy worth it on a long Condor flight?
FAQ4: Does Condor offer last-minute upgrades?
FAQ5: Is it cheaper to book economy and then upgrade?
FAQ6: Do you get better food in Condor Premium Economy?
Hi, I’m Jan. I travel fast and intensely, whether I’m exploring the buzz of Tokyo in 3 days or road-tripping through mountains and beaches on a 3-week Thailand adventure. And no matter where I am, you’ll always find me in a comfortable hotel at night and eating the best food.
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