Why We Used Condor Airlines For Our Camper and Mountan Bike Trip in Europe

Traveling to Europe from the West Coast, particularly from Portland, Oregon, can be challenging, especially if you want a nonstop flight with two large bike bags. Tom and I wanted to take our Santa Cruz mountain bikes to accompany us on our trip, which consisted of renting vans from both Roadsurfer and Anywhere Campers and traveling through France, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.

But which airline would take our bike bag? And how could we get a direct flight?

After doing research and scouring the internet for various options, we decided on Condor Airlines, which, seasonally, offers a direct 10.5-hour flights between Portland and Frankfurt. This route runs May-September and we were lucky to take it on the first part of our trip.

For our flight home, we flew back to Seattle and opted to find another form of transportation back to Portland. However, Condor does have an agreement with Alaska Airlines to fly you back to Portland seamlessly on a 737, and you can check your bags the whole way through.

We flew Business Class to Frankfurt and then Premium Economy back to Seattle with our two large bike bags. In this review, I’ll tell you all about Condor Airlines and whether you should consider taking a Condor flight to Europe.

What is Condor Airlines?

Like me, I’d never heard of Condor Airlines before our flights from the West Coast to Germany. Condor is a German airline known for affordable flights between Europe, North America, and the Caribbean.

The airline is based in Frankfurt, Germany, and operates a mix of long-haul and short-haul flights. Condor’s fleet is modern with telltale green-and-white stripes, with aircraft like the new Airbus A330-Neo, the Airbus A320 and A321, and the Boeing 757. They offer a range of cabin classes, including Economy, Premium Economy, and Business Class.

For both of our long-haul flights, we flew on the Airbus A330-Neo, which was a comfortable and VERY quiet airplane pressurized to 6,000 feet.

Taking Bikes on Condor Airlines

One thing that stood out for us about Condor Airlines was their policy on sports equipment like bike bags. Their weight limit is higher than other airlines, with a maximum of 30kg, or 66.1 pounds. This was PERFECT for our two bikes, which we took apart and packed into soft-sided Dakine bike bags.

You have to make sure to register your bikes a couple days BEFORE you get to the ticket counter to ensure the airline plans for the space and weight. Once you get to the airport, you’ll have to wheel your bags over to the oversize counter, which will weigh the bags and send them off to load on the plane.

One tip is to add Apple Air Tags to your bike bags so you know where they are, both before and after takeoff. Being able to track our bags gave us great peace of mind.

It was a little harder to find our bike bags at the Frankfurt airport. We waited at the oversize area in baggage claim for a long time for them to show up and they never did. I used the Apple Air tags to locate the bags at another oversized pickup area in the terminal.

Portland, Oregon-Frankfurt: The Business Class Experience

Business Class on Condor Airlines comes with a lot of perks. It was my first time flying business and I think I’ve been ruined for life. We’d purchased economy tickets for this leg of our flight, and Condor was nice enough to upgrade us to Business.

It was a wonderful experience, and here’s why:

Lounge Access

With Business Class tickets, we were allowed entry into the United Lounge at PDX. The lounge is a wonderful space with tables and chairs, food, coffee and alcoholic drinks. There are huge windows facing the runway so you can watch planes coming and going. The only bummer is that the lounge is pretty far from the Condor gate – in another wing – so there’s no easy way to check on the gate for boarding.

Priority Boarding

With a Business Class boarding pass, we got to board before anyone else. We were ushered to the left once stepping foot on the plane to the Business cabin. There was tons of overhead compartment space and a relaxed feel to getting onboard. I liked how we were separated from Premium Economy and Economy by a door and curtain.

Incredible, Spacious Seats

The lie-back seats in Condor Business Class are amazing. There are two seats down the middle rows of the cabin and one along the port and starboard windows of the airplane. So, in all, there are only four seats spanning the entire width of the plane. The seats were huge, with storage compartments for my Kindle and water bottle, and a little kit of supplies for an overnight flight that included an eye mask, ear plugs, toothbrush and toothpaste, and socks.

The seats recline all the way flat for the overnight part of the trip, complete with a mattress pad you can roll out for extra comfort. We also got a blanket and pillow. The seats do have both a waist and a chest strap which the flight attendants encourage everyone to wear at all times.

Premium Service

Right when we took our seats, the flight attendants offered us a welcome beverage. We both chose champagne and cheers our adventure. What a fun way to settle in for the flight!

Another wonderful touch is that before eating, the staff handed out hot, damp towels so we could wash our hands and faces. This felt particularly luxurious after hanging out at the airport for several hours before our flight.

After we were in the air, we were treated to a three-course meal with a starter, main course, cheese, bread, and dessert. Drinks were unlimited, and I chose red wine and my partner Tom had beer. We felt like we were at a fine dining restaurant and the time flew by as we dined on delicious food on white tableclothes.

Typically, right before arrival in Frankfurt the staff serves breakfast, but we had severe turbulence on our descent into Frankfurt. Still, the staff handed out another round of hot towels for our hands and faces, which felt great after sleeping on the plane.

Attentive Staff

One benefit of a Business Class ticket is that the staff is particularly attentive. Throughout dinner service, they’d walk by and offer more bread out of the bread basket or drinks. There were plenty of flight attendants per passenger in Business Class.

The Only Negatives of our Business Class Experience

We really enjoyed our Business Class trip on Condor Airlines, but there were a couple improvements that could have been made.

Hot Cabin

During the overnight portion of the flight to Frankfurt, both of us got overheated while trying to sleep. For some reason, the airplane’s cabin seemed extra warm. We told the flight attendants about this but didn’t notice a change in the cabin temperature. We did notice that the part of the plane where the flight attendants sit was really cold.

Difficulty in Using the Condor App

Our flight out of PDX was delayed by a couple hours, and we didn’t receive any type of update via the Condor app. This meant one of us could hang out in the United lounge and the other had to trot down to the gate to see if there were any updates with the schedule. Usually when I use an airline’s app, the app announces delays, and when boarding is beginning and ending. This app didn’t have any type of notifications or updates.

Frankfurt-Seattle: The Premium Economy Class Experience

(We flew back to SEA as they were discontinuing the PDX route)Due to the cancellation of the Frankfurt-Portland, Oregon route, we had to fly back to Seattle when we finished our campervan rental trip in Europe. We were in Premium Economy this time, which was another enjoyable experience (for the most part) on Condor. Here’s what it was like:

More Legroom

Although the Premium Economy seats were nothing like those huge ones in Business Class, we still enjoyed extra legroom on the flight back to Seattle. This was very apparent to me when I walked back through Basic Economy and saw how close together the seats were. I was thankful to be in Premium Economy!

Welcome Beverage

Right after takeoff, the cabin crew came through and offered welcome drinks to those in Premium Economy. We could choose between sparkling wine and orange juice. I had a glass of sparkling wine and it was quite good, and a treat!

Delicious Food and Drink

Just like our Business Class experience, we really enjoyed the food options in Premium Economy. Also, alcoholic drinks are included in this class. I enjoyed wine and Tom had beer during the flight.

And just like Business, the staff handed out a hot, damp towel so we could wipe our hands and faces before we ate. The hot towel in both classes feels like a small luxury during an airplane flight.

A few hours after our first meal, the flight crew handed out a tub of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for our snack. Then two hours before landing, we got another small meal.

Anytime during our flight we could walk back to the rear galley and request an additional beverage, which came in handy because I forgot my water bottle and was very thirsty.

We were both impressed by the food offerings in both Business Class and Premium Economy on Condor.

Negatives of the Premium Economy Experience

While our trip was mostly positive, there were a couple things we thought the airline could work on with Premium Economy.

Dirty Seat Pockets

It was apparent to us that Condor was in a rush and didn’t properly clean the plane before it took off from Frankfurt. Both of our seat pockets on the seats in front of us were filled with other people’s garbage, wrappers and Condor socks. This was kind of gross, and we thought the staff should have properly picked up garbage from every seat.

We also noticed upon landing in Seattle, the staff didn’t do one last cabin walkthrough to pick up people’s garbage.

Hot Cabin

Like our Business Class experience, we felt the air temperature was too hot when we were flying back to Seattle. The warm temperatures made it harder to relax and sleep.

Do We Recommend Condor Airlines for a Trip to Europe?

Overall, we loved flying on Condor Airlines and would definitely recommend this company for a trip to Europe, whether you’re renting a campervan or not. Frankfurt is a central city in which to fly. From there, you can take trains or short commuter plane hops to other parts of Europe. We also liked that the Frankfurt airport has a train station right IN IT, so you can easily hop on a long-haul train to pretty much anywhere in Europe.

We also loved how QUIET the airplane was during our flight. The Airbus A330-Neo was so quiet that we could take our earplugs out and talk in regular voices. The plane was smooth, with barely any turbulence on our way back home to Seattle. The staff was attentive, and the food was delicious.

We definitely recommend Condor for your next flight overseas.