Condor, once explicitly positioned as a leisure airline, is currently undergoing a transformation that includes its own feeder flights to Frankfurt am Main. These so-called "city flights" have a special status within the fare system. A "C" class is also offered – Aviation.Direct has taken a closer look at the German airline's short-haul business class.
Until 2025, Condor did not operate its own feeder flights to its hub in Frankfurt am Main, as it relied on services from its former parent company, Lufthansa, for historical reasons. However, Lufthansa has terminated the corresponding contract, which stipulated special conditions for the subsidiary it had once sold off. After a lengthy legal battle, it appears that Condor will permanently lose these special conditions. Lufthansa has no interest in feeding the flights of its former subsidiary, as it has established a direct competitor, Discover Airlines, operating in the same market segment.
Condor is therefore more or less forced to organize its own feeder flights. Consequently, it offers feeder flights to Frankfurt from various European cities, including Vienna, as well as within Germany. These flights, which have a special status regarding included services, offer both Economy and Business Class.
Regarding the Vienna-Frankfurt route, it's worth noting that there has been virtually no competition on this route for many years. The Lufthansa Group operated as a monopolist, resulting in high point-to-point prices. Condor initially entered the market in 2025 with one daily rotation and only increased to three rotations per day at the start of the 2025/26 winter flight schedule. It's quite obvious that the airline isn't just aiming to feed its own long-haul flights, but also to attract point-to-point passengers. This is likely the main reason for the significant differences in included services compared to traditional holiday destinations. When the German airline phased out its Boeing 757-300 fleet, Condor's management stated that Vienna-Frankfurt is currently the strongest route in its new city route network. While Condor's prices tend to be lower than those of the Lufthansa Group, this isn't always the case. Therefore, anyone wishing to fly point-to-point on this route should always compare prices.
As is typical in Europe: an empty adjacent seat instead of a real C-seat.
The business class offered on Condor's city flights doesn't boast any special seats. Very few airlines in Europe offer true C-class seats on short-haul flights. While this is standard practice on other continents, in Europe, a free adjacent seat is considered sufficient. In other words, the seats in Condor's business class are no different from those in economy class. Only the middle seat, which has a cushion that can be used if needed, remains empty.
This approach also has another advantage for the airline: depending on demand, the business class area can be expanded or reduced. According to Condor, the first six rows are usually reserved for business class. A spokesperson also emphasized that the seatbacks in this section should be adjustable. However, on the test flight from Frankfurt to Vienna, this was not the case in either the first or second row. Be that as it may, it's only a short flight.
Passengers in Condor Business Class benefit from significantly more checked baggage and carry-on baggage allowance compared to Economy Class. Since conditions can theoretically change at any time, it is recommended to review the included services on the Condor website before booking. In any case, the German airline also offers its Business Class passengers lounge access, priority boarding, a security fast lane, and, where available, dedicated check-in counters. In Frankfurt am Main, the Condor Business Class boarding pass grants access to Lufthansa Business Class lounges at no extra charge.
"Funky Falafel" without alternative
On board, it's quite noticeable that the German airline's C-class product, while well-intentioned, isn't quite fully developed. For example, no welcome drink is offered on short flights, and there's no hot food. On the test flight, there was no choice when it came to the sandwich; the flight attendant simply presented a "Funky Falafel" wrapped in "plastic film made from plant-based sources." All-you-can-drink beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, are included. The cabin crew actively asked passengers if they needed anything else almost every time they passed by. There was no menu, so passengers had to ask what was available on board.
The "Funky Falafel" was rather bland. The overall presentation of the product also gave the impression that it was thawed frozen food. Condor denies this in a statement, emphasizing that the products are fresh. A sweet and a box of two chocolates were served later.
A Condor spokesperson explained upon request: “On board our city flights, guests can expect a two-class configuration with Business Class and Economy Class. In Business Class, refreshments include drinks and a fresh, high-quality sandwich, for which guests can usually choose between two options. In addition, guests receive chocolates and, for flights longer than 1.5 hours, a welcome drink and the option to pre-order a hot meal from our Taste the World collection. On board all Condor aircraft, the seatbacks in the first six rows of Business Class are adjustable, allowing guests to recline.”
In any case, no alternative to the "Funky Falafel" was offered on the test flight, which is rather unusual in business class, even in Europe's service desert. However, the fact that no hot meal was served on the short flight from Frankfurt to Vienna is increasingly becoming industry standard for numerous airlines operating in Europe – at least on short-haul routes.
Conclusion: There is still plenty of room for improvement.
At first glance, Condor's business class actually offers a solid product. The included services, such as lounge access, baggage allowance, and so on, are absolutely comparable to those of its main competitor, the Lufthansa Group. In some areas, Condor even has a slight edge. However, for frequent flyers, a deal-breaker is likely the fact that miles can only be earned through certain partner programs of the airline, but not through Condor itself or Miles & More. Since business class flights typically generate more miles than economy class flights, this could be a deciding factor for some travelers, working against Condor. However, it's reasonable to assume that the German airline might launch a frequent flyer program during its transformation from a leisure airline to a hybrid network carrier. Rumors suggest that it could eventually join an alliance like SkyTeam or Oneworld. At that point, a program could certainly be introduced.
The weakness of Condor's business class becomes apparent on board, as passengers can feel that they're on a "leisure airline in transition." The crew made no personal appearances or greetings to business class passengers, as is usually the case. The beverage selection is adequate; there's pretty much everything one could want. However, the food selection was rather limited, and Condor would be well advised to consider offering business class passengers more variety or at least a small hot meal. Since frequent flyer miles aren't a factor, it would make sense for them to score points with significantly better service compared to the competition. But that's precisely what's not (yet) the case.
The overall conclusion is that Condor's short-haul business class could use some fine-tuning to give passengers a better sense of what they're paying for – a higher ticket price compared to economy – and the corresponding experience of being treated like business class passengers. There's still room for improvement, and Condor's city network is still under development. Who knows what the future holds? The carrier is known for surprising the industry or simply trying out new ideas and implementing them network-wide if successful. The fact that there's an alternative to the Lufthansa Group on the Vienna-Frankfurt route is generally welcome in terms of price for point-to-point flights. The option to connect to other Condor flights, for example on long-haul routes, expands travel possibilities from Vienna and other airports where Condor offers feeder flights.
