First, I found that their entry point, Frankfurt, is a gateway to much of Europe. We were able to fly into Frankfurt and head directly to the Rhine Valley for the night. Then, we hopped a train and spent three nights in Holland (check out my blog on Amsterdam). This was before embarking on our summer Travel With Kids tour schedule, which included South Africa, Israel (another Condor port), Jordan, Egypt, Vietnam and more!

Second, I found that Condor Airlines has three classes of service all with their own benefits. Economy prices can’t be beat (I found Phoenix to Frankfurt round-trip starting at about $550, even on some summer dates). But as it’s a long flight – over 10 hours – we decided to upgrade for some added comfort in Premium Class. So, what did that mean for us?

The big enchilada is more leg room, more seat recline and foot rests which is key to more comfortable sleeping on a long flight. But, they also include 9″ seat back monitors with more extensive entertainment options as well as a premium menu.

In addition, we got Priority boarding, which gave us extra time to get settled in, extra luggage allowance (nice on a long European trip), a nice comfort kit with socks, eye mask, toothbrush and toothpaste.

Check-in was easy and smooth. The people at the counters were very nice and helpful and all the lines (even Economy) moved along pretty quickly. Premium Class and Business Class had their own lines, which were very short and quick.

On-board I was upgraded to Business Class at the last minute, which was a very nice surprise (yes, they know I have a TV show and blog and yes, the upgrade was free 🙂 So, I was lucky enough to have a seat that laid almost completely flat with a privacy screen between me and the other seat in my row (Business Class is configured 2 – 2 – 2).

I had a huge monitor (15″) with lots of movies and TV shows to choose from, and the gourmet three-course meals were pretty darn good!

The flight went great. We departed on time and landed early – a huge bonus you don’t get very often in today’s world of constant flight delays! The flight attendants were very friendly and willing to help fulfill any needs we had.

All in all, I’d say Condor is a fantastic deal to get your family to Europe. They now fly from 10 U.S. and 5 Canadian airports into dozens of European cities as well as some Middle East and Africa, which gives plenty of flexibility in trip planning. They offer great rates in Economy, and their Premium Class is a fantastic value – lots of upgrades at not a huge leap in price!