Six years ago, we flew Condor to Mexico for the first time. Afterwards, we said: never again.
Economy Class – and what can I say? My husband simply didn’t fit into the seat. His knees were pressed against the seat in front of him, his own seat wouldn’t recline because of a technical fault, and the inflight entertainment didn’t work either. It was cramped, frustrating and essentially a twelve-hour stress test.
We survived it. But we swore: never again Condor.
And yet here we are. Same route, same airline – because this time Condor offered the cheapest direct flight. Fortunately, almost everything else is different.
Condor Premium Economy: the difference is space
Condor has changed considerably since that first flight. The A330neo cabin feels fresh, modern and surprisingly stylish. Even Economy looked perfectly pleasant.
But for very tall people, pleasant isn’t necessarily enough. My husband is two metres tall. On a long-haul flight, a few centimetres can be the difference between arriving tired and arriving completely broken.
So this time we booked Condor Premium Economy.
And yes: for us, it was absolutely worth it.
The most important difference is wonderfully simple: space. Condor currently specifies a seat pitch of around 76 cm in Economy and 89 cm in Premium Economy. Thirteen centimetres may not sound particularly dramatic when you are sitting at home reading about them. After several hours in an aircraft, they feel enormous.
The seat also reclines further, has a six-way adjustable headrest and a memory-foam backrest. Nice details, certainly. But honestly? For us, it was the legroom.
Everything else is a very pleasant bonus
Premium Economy also includes the things that make a long flight feel a little less like something to endure: a premium meal, hot and cold snacks and complimentary drinks, including wine and sparkling wine.
Cheers.
The A330neo also has a 13.3-inch 4K screen, USB-A and USB-C connections and Bluetooth, so you can use your own wireless headphones. After our memorable experience with broken inflight entertainment six years earlier, I appreciated this perhaps more than most passengers would.
And there is another small thing I love: being seated towards the front of the cabin. You get off the aircraft quickly. You are served early. And after a long-haul flight, being among the first people heading towards immigration – and the airport loo – feels surprisingly luxurious.
Is Condor Premium Economy worth paying for?
For us: absolutely.
Not because I suddenly need champagne at 10,000 metres or because I believe every journey should begin in a premium cabin. I’m quite happy to spend money on some things and save it on others.
But I have become much more selective about where saving money actually makes sense.
Twelve hours with your knees pressed against the seat in front of you is not where I want to economise.
Premium Economy isn’t Business Class. Nor does it pretend to be. You are still sitting rather than lying down, and you are still sharing a cabin with plenty of other people. What you are buying is something much simpler: enough extra space and comfort to make a very long flight considerably more bearable.
And that, increasingly, is my definition of travelling well: not automatically choosing the most expensive option, but knowing which upgrades genuinely make a difference.
Sometimes grown-up luxury is simply paying for the thirteen centimetres.
For more information, check:Condor Premium Economy.
