Deployed on the flight to Cape Town is a 23-year-old Boeing 767-300ER D-ABUL, boarding is through a separate lane. The aircraft is fitted out with 30 seats in Business Class (Condor also operates a version with 18 seats), five rows in a 2-2-2 configuration, I am seated in 2G. Both front row seat pairs 1AC and 1HK clearly offer the advantage of more leg room, but on this twelve-hour flight 1HK is blocked and curtained off as crew rest. Seat pitch there is 59’’ (152.9cm), otherwise 58’’ (148.8cm), while Lufthansa offers 64’’. A distinct minus of Condor’s offering is the 10° angle in the bed position (Lufthansa offers full flat) and the shortness of the bed of only about 180cm (Lufthansa: 198cm). Condor offers a 15’’ screen at every seat plus power outlet and USB port. In bed position it is difficult for a man being 1.88 meters to find sleep. The bed surface is hard, especially at the foot end, which bends down nastily at the end, and that consequently prevents sound sleep, at least for me.

What distinguishes Condor in general are its cabin crews, I have a feeling of often encountering much more enthusiastic staff here than at network carriers. That shows again on this flight with abundant smiles, something frequent fliers don’t get to experience too often. But then, service pace is annoyingly slow, with the menu card given out and drinks served only an hour after take-off, which took place at 10pm local, and the meal is served only about 2 hours after rotation, much too late on a night flight.

Passengers are served a tray with two starters (sliced breast of guinea-fowl with radish salad and pesto as well as halibut and salmon filet on fennel-apple salad) plus leaf salad and cream cheese dip, also the cheese is already served. The fish tastes good, but if one would eat it all you would be more than stuffed, especially at this hour. There are three main courses to choose from (beef roulade with Spätzle pasta; salmon fillet and scampi with shiitake mushrooms, soy beans and barley risotto; ricotta ravioli and grilled mushrooms). I had opted for the fish, which tastes OK, but I just try it and then turn in my tray and let go of the desert (cherry cake) as It's just too late at night. I hardly touch breakfast (cold cuts and cheese, scrambled eggs with veal bratwurst, Bircher muesli), having only a bit of the yummy muesli. As breakfast has been cleared already (if it is planned this way or not is unclear) a flight attendant offers warm cinnamon buns from a basket, delightful.

The IFE offering is not huge, 30 films and many more audio CDs among other things, but the content itself is of good quality. Condor forces its passengers to fumble annoyingly with headphones, which are coming with 2-pin plugs, but to fit them into the 1-pin sockets the 2-pin plug needs to be removed, but nobody explains this unnecessary hassle.

The Condor Business Class ticket is not flexible or refundable unless you book the “Flex Option” for an additional 150 Euros. There is a baggage allowance of 30 kilos (Lufthansa 2x32 kilos) plus 12 kilos in up to two cabin bags, and there is a flat rate for Miles & More FFP miles of just 2,500 for any Condor Business Class flight. Condor generally offers value for money with its premium product. For business travellers, the product is not entirely suitable, but can in some cases be an attractive fare alternative to network carriers. At the same time, Condor absolutely doesn’t match their Business Class standards of comfort in lie-flat seats on long haul.